The notion that local governments should have almost total monopoly control over our children's education is not only unjust and tyrannical, it is also absurd. Children need education, to be sure, but they also need food, clothing, and shelter. The same poor or irresponsible parents who public-school apologists claim will not educate their children without compulsion, might not feed, clothe, or shelter them either.
Yet, we do not see local governments owning and operating supermarkets, department stores, or apartment houses. Instead, government food stamp or rent subsidy programs give temporary financial help to those parents who are too poor to provide for their children.
When it comes to education, however, instead of giving vouchers or other temporary loans or subsidies to poor families so they can pay for their children's education, we've created a government-owned-and-operated monstrosity called public schools. As we noted earlier, millions of parents now pay for private pre-schools, kindergartens, and colleges for their children in a vibrant, competitive, education free-market.
Most parents who can't afford college tuition for their kids usually apply for student loans either from a bank or a government agency. Yet for 1st through 12th-grade education, suddenly government must step in, treat all parents like idiots or potential child abusers, and own and operate all the schools.
To more fully understand the absurdity of this system, imagine for a moment that well-intentioned government authorities want to make sure that every child has enough to eat, that no child gets "left behind" when it comes to food. To insure this goal, local governments across the country take control of all supermarkets and grocery stores in your town.
Under this new system, bureaucrats now own and operate all food stores, and store workers become tenured civil-service employees who can't be fired. Your local government then passes a new "food tax" to pay for these stores and employees' salaries. This tax is added to your current real-estate tax bill. If you don't pay this new tax, local government officials can and will foreclose on your home.
Also under this system, suppose the local Food Board forces you and your family to buy from a particular store. The store clerks know you have to shop in their store, and that they can't be fired. As a result, they soon become indifferent to their customer's needs. The store managers can't be fired, so they manage the stores badly. The stores can't go out of business because they are supported by taxes, so they give you poor service and rotten food. If you want to change stores, you have to ask permission from your local Food Board bureaucrat, who will usually refuse your request. Also, changing food stores doesn't accomplish much because they are all the same-all owned and operated by the same government food monopoly.
If this system sounds absurd to you, if you would scream bloody murder at having to put up with such a system simply to buy food, why do you put up with such a system when it comes to your children's' education?
Also, as we noted earlier, those we elect to office are our agents, not our masters. They derive their powers from our consent. They are supposed to represent our interests and follow our instructions. Politicians, bureaucrats, and school authorities therefore have as much right to dictate how we educate our children as a real estate agent has to dictate who we sell our house to and at what price.
The following passage from Isabel Paterson's book, The God of the Machine, sums up the proper response to local governments and school authorities who think they have the right to dictate how you educate your child:
"The most vindictive resentment may be expected from the pedagogic profession for any suggestion that they should be dislodged from their dictatorial position; it will be expressed mainly in epithets, such as reactionary, at the mildest."
Nevertheless, the question to put to any teacher moved to such indignation, is: Do you think nobody would willingly entrust his children to you or pay you for teaching them? Why do you have to extort your fees and collect your pupils by compulsion?
Joel Turtel is the author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children."
Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.
Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel.
NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
The UnbornWith all this cloning in the news one can't... Read More
The official working week is being reduced to 35 hours... Read More
Federal Regulations on Business Destroy America, these regulations are a... Read More
The Carl Rove issue is definitely interesting and distracting. The... Read More
"Similar to Medieval Inquisitions, judges have been given the authority,... Read More
We are slowing the transportation flows of our civilization by... Read More
I hope to provide a starting point for the serious... Read More
The new law "Special Protective, Antidumping and Import Compensatory Measures"... Read More
Quit paying the DEA to chase marijuana. We could save... Read More
Question: Dr. Vaknin ? is it true that you are... Read More
The United States and other first world nations have been... Read More
Possible UAV materials are infinite: Foam, Composite, Balsa Wood, Plastic,... Read More
I am noticing an increasing and alarming rate to which... Read More
We see today a fierce unspoken competition between trucks and... Read More
The furore in the BJP camp in India, triggered by... Read More
We recently saw another ferry accident, this one in NY... Read More
I'm getting a little tired of being lectured by that... Read More
"Like humans void of soul or mind, they jeered and... Read More
The evacuation of Gaza is now completed, and the world... Read More
Well, another election has come and gone in the US... Read More
Non-lethal Goo Concepts have been tossed around by many war... Read More
While many Pennsylvanians are struggling to figure out how they... Read More
Visible remnants of the world's eldest democracy can be seen... Read More
Large parts of the world today suffer from a severe... Read More
Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has... Read More
Antigo wedding limo ..In Belarus parliament is going to struggle with degeneration of... Read More
They do not allow the criticism of the president in... Read More
Even the most devout proponents of free marketry and hidden... Read More
Perhaps we should have printers with ink which has metallic... Read More
If a farmer plants the same crop three seasons in... Read More
"The Jesuit priest John H. Surratt, proven to be the... Read More
The No Child Left Behind can work if the Federal... Read More
Leave it to the Columbia City Police Officers Association in... Read More
Previously Senator Dick Armey and his staff in 2000 to... Read More
It is a law that we register deadly weapons with... Read More
I just got done reading a series of articles dating... Read More
As I read the papers and watch the news day... Read More
The number-one question people ask us is, "What possessed you... Read More
Death may not be dignified in any light but the... Read More
This is a thought on the study of Home and... Read More
We have known of the innate characteristic need of members... Read More
It can be dangerous to engage in free speech. This... Read More
Q. Should the Government be concerned if the CPI rises... Read More
Recently scientists have been watching the exponential growth of marine... Read More
Iran has threatened to raise America's fuel prices again. They... Read More
The idea that the majority shows the will of the... Read More
In every national budget, there is a part called "Public... Read More
Do you really want to get ahead in your life?... Read More
I. The FactsJust days before a much-awaited donor conference, the... Read More
Many Americans feel betrayed by their government, our government. I... Read More
Political |