Before I start, happy and reflective Veteran’s Day to all my brothers and sisters who, like Mrs. Animal and myself, wore Uncle Sam’s colors.
Now then: John Stossel has another piece on education, and like most of his work, it’s worth reading. Excerpt:
As Virginia’s gubernatorial election drew to a close last week, Democrat Terry McAuliffe brought in teachers union president Randi Weingarten.
He thought that would help?
I suppose he, like many progressives, believes everyone thinks the way he does.
“I’m not going to let parents come into schools and … make their own decisions,” he’d said. “I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach.”
That’s the political attitude: Government runs things. We, the experts, know what’s best. Parents as “customers” who make choices? Nonsense.
I hope his defeat means Americans are figuring out that such politicians are enemies of progress.
Years ago, I was surprised to discover that NYC’s failing public schools spent $20,000 per student. Teachers had been holding protests where they shouted: “Fund schools! We don’t have enough money!”
But they spent $20,000 (now nearly $30,000) per student! At 25 students per class, that’s $500,000 per classroom! Think what you could do with that money: hire five good teachers?
Where did the money go? No one in the bureaucracy had a good answer. Governments make money … disappear.
My preferred answer would be, of course, to get government out of education altogether, but I can’t have that. So Governor-elect Youngkin’s preference may not be the best of all imaginable solutions, but it may be the best of all possible solutions: Choice. Vouchers, or a robust charter school system. Let a thousand flowers bloom, and yes, let parents have the final say in what their children are and aren’t learning.
Here’s the bit John Stossel misses:
Of course, some parents will make bad choices, and doom their kids to a bad education. OK. Explain to my how that’s my problem. Explain to me why I should shield these people, with my tax dollars, from the consequences of their own bad decisions.
That’s the part I’d like to see John Stossel address. I love ya, John, but you keep leaving that part out.
