Opposition to government involvement in education in the United States
Opposition to government involvement in education in the United States comes from a variety of sources and is based on many different rationales.
Opponents of government involvement
? The Alliance for Separation of School & State argues that government schooling "discourages individuality, innovation, curiosity, creativity and overall excellence."[1] R. Cort Kirkwood of the American Family Association argues that government schools seek to "hammer the child with values approved by the state" and that using public funds for education is inherently problematic because "everyone cannot agree on what should be taught or what "values," to use the vulgate, should be imparted."[2] On March 28, 2002, Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson stated on his daily radio broadcast: "In the state of California, if I had a child there, I wouldn't put the youngster in a public school...I think it's time to get our kids out. And I'm going to get hit for [saying] that."[3] An article published by the International Society for Individual Liberty states, "Government schools continue to graduate functional illiterates, and US public school students' math skills are now among the worst in the industrialized world." John Taylor Gatto argues that mere reform is not possible, as "School has become too vital a jobs project, contract giver, and protector of the social order to allow itself to be reformed."[4] In The Disestablishment of Schools, Ivan Illich writes, "The first article of a bill of rights for a modern, humanist society would correspond to the First Amendment to the US Constitution: "The State shall make no law with respect to the establishment of education."[5] In Common Fallacies About Capitalism, Nathaniel Branden notes that although everyone is theoretically allowed to send their children to private schools, "most parents are effectively compelled to send their children to State schools, since they are taxed to support these schools and cannot afford to pay the additional fees required to send their children to private schools."[6] The privatization movement includes such organizations as the Heartland Institute, Heritage Foundation, and Cato Institute.
Arguments against government involvement in education
Jacob G. Hornberger and other libertarians oppose government schooling on the grounds that it is a welfare program.[7] Albert Shanker, once president of the American Federation of Teachers, said, "It's time to admit that the public education system operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybody's role is spelled out in advance and there are few incentives for innovation and productivity. It's no surprise that our school system doesn't improve. It more resembles the communist economy than our own market economy."[8]
The Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation claims, "Government schools are established by law. Elected and appointed public officials nominally have authority over them. In practice, however, actual authority is typically exercised by professional bureaucrats and the teachers' unions." However, a Commonweal Institute report rebuts this point by stating that school boards holding public meetings enable public participation and public accountability.[9]
Murray Rothbard's For a New Liberty makes several arguments against government schools. He says that it is not unlike the situation we would have if government controlled the magazine industry. There would be endless arguments over how conservative or liberal it should be; how many pages should be devoted to bridge; etc. Allowing a plethora of non-subsidized schools to emerge allows these issues to be settled by the free market.
History
According to Eugene White, "Some say the first formal blow against public education occurred in 1983 with Secretary of Education Terrel Bell's issuance of 'A Nation at Risk.'"[10] In 1994, the Alliance for the Separation of School and State was founded. Shortly before his 2004 death, Marlin Maddoux wrote Public Education Against America: The Hidden Agenda, which argues that Christians should not educate their children in today's public schools.[11] In 2004, a resolution was proposed at the Southern Baptist Convention to encourage "all officers and members of the Southern Baptist Convention and the churches associated with it to remove their children from the government schools and see to it that they receive a thoroughly Christian education, for the glory of God, the good of Christ's church, and the strength of their own commitment to Jesus".[12] The resolution was defeated.[13]
References
- ↑ Why Shouldn't the Government be Involved in Education?, Alliance for Separation of School & State.
- ↑ Kirkwood, R. Cort (October 4, 2002. Private Money Could Build Private Schools. American Family Association.
- ↑ Dr. Dobson Tells Christians to Get Kids Out Of California Public Schools, Homeschool World.
- ↑ O'Brien, George L. Government Schools in Crisis. ISIL.
- ↑ Ivan Illich and the Deschooling Movement. Ed. David Botsford (1993). Libertarian Alliance.
- ↑ Branden, Nathaniel (June 1963). Common Fallacies About Capitalism.
- ↑ Hornberger, Jacob G. (April 1997). Fighting for Freedom. California LP Newsletter.
- ↑ Stossel, John. Schools Need Competition Now.
- ↑ Responding to the Attack on Public Education and Teacher Unions.
- ↑ White, Eugene G. (December 2006). CSI Public Schools: Solving a Mystery.
- ↑ Shortt, Bruce (May 3, 2006). Public Education Against America: The Hidden Agenda.
- ↑ Homeschooling Program - Southern Baptist Convention Resolution
- ↑ Strom, Ron (June 16, 2004). Baptists kill anti-public-school resolution. WorldNetDaily.