Been doing a bit of reading and it seems to me that most all the objections to Trump’s Education Secretary nominee, Betsy DeVos, seems to be due to her support for School Choice. Everything else seems kind of trivial and “trumped” up. So, I guess it comes down to one simple question, are you For or Against monopolies?
Personally, I think that school choice (something we had back in Utah) ends up actually favoring teachers (at least the good ones) as competition causes schools to do more and pay more to attract quality educators. I know some people think that even against all available data that monopolies are preferable; that lack of completion in a given service or product produces better services and products. But it just isn’t true! While Communists love such monopolies, nothing enslaves a people the way monopolies do.
I know for us, we must pay out of pocket because we are living in a failing public school district, at least at the middle school level. So to break free from the monopoly we must first pay for the education we aren’t using then go out and purchase our own. It’s like being locked into a contract with a phone carrier, but not being able to get coverage so you have to go get a new carrier and pay for both at the same time. Of course it’s not about something so trivial as your wireless carrier. It’s about the current and future wellbeing of our kids! It’s really quite infuriating!
The school in our district here in Lincoln, Nebraska (Culler) is not just failing but doing so miserably. They can’t even maintain a safe environment for the children who experience extreme bullying on a daily basis. One dad was telling me how every day bullies would surround his kid and begin spitting on him. Seriously! And he was unable to get the school to stop it. Children are literally being abused and assaulted daily in that school and Democrats want to tell me that if I don’t support that system then I am somehow not pro-education.
Conversely, the private school, Lincoln Lutheran, where my daughter goes is way above excellent. So for me, I have to ask, if the Left in America is correct and education is a civil right, and public education is failing at that task, shouldn’t we conclude that the monopolized education system the left is imposing on my daughter is a violation of her civil rights? If so, there must be a remedy to this violation of her rights if we are going to live in a just world.
Education doesn’t go away under school choice. Might some failing schools close and be replaced by better schools because of it? YES! In extreme cases where corruption runs too deep. Though typically, failing public schools begin improving rapidly once they know they have to compete for the dollars in their budget with better performing private schools. Have the money follow the student and give public school administrators greater control over their own budget, including hiring and firing and I promise you will not just see improvements in education but also improvements in the way good teachers are compensated for their hard work. It’s a win – win for everyone except lazy educators and administrators. It’s time we do away with the monopoly in education and stop allowing the abuse and neglect of our children at the hands of the government..
As far as Trump’s pick goes, if she isn’t a criminal, I say confirm her. If she screws up it’s on Trump. The confirmation process was never designed to tell the president what his policies should be. And that seems to be the primary motivation behind the opposition to his pick.
