Education - The choice

Far to often, we justify actions which violate a person's rights as in the "Public Good." The logic being that to maximize the benefit to all of society, or the maximum number of individuals, then some people must be violated or will be violated unintentionally. The dogma of "The Greater Good" dictates that only selfish monsters would ever stand in the way of this progress.

This is akin to justifying a public stoning, since the greater number of people are for it and see it as necessary then the selfish victim rightly has no say and must submit to the majority.

What if you are the one person who draws the marked lot? What if it's your daughter or son who is forced to the alter of "The Greater Good?"

In a technological society like ours, education is required to operate effectively and to gain meaningful employment. I want to stress that any employment is meaningful, but greater education allows one greater choice on how to apply themselves in their work. A mechanic is just as necessary as a professor. An artist just as needed as a scientist. The list goes on.

The big decision is how each society want to supply education to it's people. Some use a laissez-faire approach, and if this is what they want than it works for them. Some use a socialist model, and if this is what they want than it works for them. Our society has decided on a mixed approach, and according to media and experts, it does not work for us.

The education system of our country is divided into local school boards, with the state and federal level having little control over the process. This is a good thing as it keeps the local officials linked to the parents and children they serve. The problems arise when the officials and the systems they serve in become locked into a way of doing things, making the whole system inefficient. What would serve our society better, and each locality must make this choice for themselves, would to allow greater freedom of movement within the public system without opening the debate over what types of school get money from the public coffers.

If a child is able to choose which school it wants to go to, within it's local public system, with the money and resources locked to that child, then the natural movement of children from under performing schools to performing schools within the public system will spur administrators and teachers to be better at their jobs. This is a simple and easily applied method of placing quote-unquote market pressure to spur efficiency and innovation, without destroying the public system our society has decided it wants in place.

I rarely consider European countries to be a shining example of how a society should run, but several countries, like Belgium, have placed programs like this into their schools and the results are dramatic. The following link will lead to 20/20 report detailing these kinds of programs. There are other reports out there, but don't take my word for it, think it through yourself. If the money stays in the system, how can it be bad for the kids if the administrators and teachers have mild pressure placed on them to perform for the kids?

This one is 'Stupid in America'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx4pN-aiofw