The Republicans are leading the charge again on American education in the US, and they have (via the Trump administration) selected a person to lead the national part of education, Betsy DeVos, that seems to inspire fear and trepidation amongst many educators, even some of those who align themselves with Republicans. DeVos happens to support some of the things libertarians support, but educators are entirely justified in their concerns, not only with DeVos, but also with the way education has been operated in the past and the ways being discussed that it may operate in the future.
I don’t personally know any teachers who are in their profession for the money. Generally, they are underpaid, and often a significant amount of their income goes back into their classrooms to supplement what is underfunded by cash-strapped school systems. All of the teachers I know are in their profession because they feel a sincere calling to the work they do and are extremely passionate about teaching. They are usually exasperated from feeling under siege from the public and from politicians, most of whom have never worked in education. Teachers are tired of their profession being modeled and determined, as well as lead by, people who are not educators. They must modify their teaching styles not by what they know works out of their experience, but rather by whatever crazy new idea comes out of Washington, D.C., that requires everyone to experiment with unproven models invented by people who don’t know what they’re doing.
The comments I have seen by friends and family in the profession of education reveal these trepidations. Teachers and all educators are completely justified in their concerns about what happens to the education system. The arguments I’ve seen are valid ones, coming from liberals and conservatives alike. We all seem to want the same things. We want the best education we can get for our kids, and we all want educators to receive the equitable respect, recognition, and -yes- pay that they deserve.
It is patently obvious that what we have been doing to this point isn’t a great success. There are the same basic criticisms that have been around almost since public education began. Instead of doing things the same way we have always done them, it makes sense to operate differently. If something doesn’t work, it doesn’t make any sense to keep doing it.
Government doesn’t seem to have the right answers for education, so now it’s time to say that ALL schools should be private schools. Things change dramatically when people become customers rather than commodities. Things also change when workers become valued employees because they are, in essence, the main part of the product being sold. People who are valuable make more money, and customers with options spend their money where things are most efficient and operate the best, producing the best outcome for the money.
Vouchers can be a tiny step in the right direction, but they remain flawed instruments under current circumstances. When private entities are in competition with entities that operate at no additional cost to consumers, the inefficiencies are too vast, and it is not a true representation of a free market that innovates the best solutions. The reason teachers make far less in private schools is because the private schools are competing with public ones that do not charge anything beyond taxes, and the private schools cannot afford the same level of pay. The reason why some children in poorer areas might lose out on vouchers is because the schools in their areas are underfunded in a public system that mostly relies on property taxes in a depressed area, which is not conducive to proper funding. When you have lower rates of property taxes due to lower values of property, then it follows that there is going to be lower funding available in those areas. Vouchers, in current circumstances, just exacerbate the problem by removing even more of that funding due to children who are able to travel outside the area. When those same students that cannot afford to leave a depressed area become a profitable enterprise (they resent money to be made by private schools), then financial incentives take over and schools improve in those areas, so long as those students are not funded by property taxes, but rather by state general funds.
There are other valid criticisms to vouchers, as well. Public schools must accept everyone – those with learning disabilities, those with emotional problems, those with problems at home, those with special needs, etc. And, private schools do not have to accept everyone, and may also choose to cast some students out. The reason these children remain underserved by current private schooling is because there is little financial incentive to serve them. But, if all schools are private, there is money to be made on every student, and innovation opens up to specialties. Some schools may specialize in helping those with special needs, and others may specialize in helping students with behavioral problems.
Educators are often unfairly burdened with the brunt of the blame for school system failures, and most teachers will rightly point out that they could do their jobs better if there was more parental involvement. When people become customers rather than commodities, they gain far greater interest in what sort of product they are consuming. With private schooling, parental involvement dramatically increases with a financial interest at stake.
Government doesn’t seem to have the answers to improve schools. Nor does it have the answers to improve conditions for educators who deserve better. There is no better incubator for innovation than free markets. When free markets are allowed to flourish, problems resolve themselves. Perhaps not perfectly, but in a manner that is far more efficient and far more creative than government bureaucrats can ever hope to be.
Photo: NBC News
Danny Chabino
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