School Choice, primary and secondary systems
In the late-19th century, “public” education was established in all the states. It was not consistent throughout the country but gained strength and became an institution, and a positive one for our democracy. Our founders saw that an educated voter was the best foundation for the freedoms we hold dear.
Like any large organization, 150 years brings in lots of inefficiencies and waste that needs cleaning out. The economist, Schumpeter, introduced a term, “creative destruction” in the mid-20th century that describes the process organizations must, I repeat, must undergo to produce the results needed to be successful. Although it was developed to talk about companies producing products or services, it certainly applies to any other organization. We see the lack of results from large, non-market organizations that are due to the lack of a regular cleaning out that the market brings. Congress, churches, non for profits, etc. are examples. Our education establishment is long overdue.
Education resists measuring outputs, it likes measuring inputs. Any attempt to evaluate teachers, provide for competitors that can tap into public funding, test students, etc. is met with furious resistance. The U.S. has continually slid down the scale when our kids are tested and measured against other “competitor” countries. http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf.
The article below talks about the Washington DC program to grant funds for kids to attend schools outside of the DC public system. The parents love the program, the teachers and Democrat Congresswoman, Eleanor Homes Norton, hate it. They fear competition. We will lose this republic if we don’t reform education. http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/PISA-2012-results-US.pdf.
When Ben Franklin was asked after the new constitution passed, barely by the way, what type of government did the U.S. have, he replied;
The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”