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Public Education Is So Important
That It Should Not Be Left
To the Marketplace
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Libertarian, former Texas Congressman Ron Paul, like
Conservatives and Republicans, believes
that if the business world were free to operate without regulation, we would
have greater freedom of choice, including education. It’s the solution to our K-12
public school problem.
Paul is not
alone. There are many who criticize the public school system, calling for the
need to reform public education. They say privatization of public schools will
provide parents with more education alternatives.
Like Paul,
they believe a laissez-faire approach to education gives parents control over
the education dollar. He says, “School officials will strive to meet parents’
demands that their children receive a quality education.
Paul
acknowledges, “Schools should be accountable, but [asks] accountable to whom?”
Anyone,
however, who believes the marketplace will meet a parent’s demands and be
accountable to them over profit motives are being naïve.
Paul knows
it, but the “public schools are failing” and the “need to reform” crowd beliefs
are held under false assumptions. The need for reform is driven by those who
wish to profit from what they see could be a very lucrative industry.
As
educator Diane Ravitch explains, “’Reform’ is really a misnomer, because
the advocates for this cause seek not to reform public education but to
transform it into an entrepreneurial sector of the economy. The ‘reform’
movement is really a ‘corporate reform’ movement, funded to a large degree by
major foundations, Wall Street hedge fund managers, entrepreneurs and the US
Department of Education.”
K-12 public school
education should not be for-profit. But without a change in public awareness, that’s
exactly the direction public education is heading. If that happens, only those
who can afford to pay and only those who have the academic ability to succeed
will be accepted for enrollment in for-profit schools. But what happens to poor
children and those who academically may need a helping hand.
Public
education is worth our tax dollar investment. A parent paying a for-profit business
for their child’s education, a business whose only interest is their bottom
line, will not lead to a school system that provides a quality education for
all children equally.
That’s why public
schools in Finland are successful. Finland has achieved equality and
excellence in education because they have constructed a publicly funded
comprehensive school system
The real
public school problem is our failure to get involved and support our public schools.
Copyright ©
2015 Horatio Green
