Like it or not, public education is deeply woven into the fabric of America. We have patriotic affection to the ideals a public school represents. An open door of opportunity for those willing to learn and work is the American dream. An informed, well-educated citizenry is essential to the future of our democracy. Public education is a central institution in America. It is a tradition that most Americans are not willing to let go even in the face of failure.
Our “brand loyalty” to the public schools has certainly created the institutional monopoly that exists today. Blind trust feeds the system. The 36th Annual Phi Delta Kappa Gallup Poll of the Public Attitudes Toward the Public Schools reveals that lack of financial support is now firmly established in the public’s mind as the major problem facing the public schools. Yet in reality, public education is the single largest expenditure at the state level. So how does money trump public concern for discipline or drugs? Simple, the establishment knows their public. They know how to create emotionally charged campaigns that will rally soccer moms into action. They know the buzz words that kill reform. They have the media outlets.
Milton Friedman built a better mouse trap fifty years ago, but the mice weren’t ready to bite. They still aren’t. The public is simply not prepared to abandon public schools. When lack of financial support is considered the major problem facing our schools, it is clear that the public is not readying themselves for a mass exodus. If anything, they are bracing themselves for higher taxes “for the sake of our kids.” You hear it continuously quoted in almost every news article related to education: “I wouldn’t mind higher taxes if it went straight to the classroom.” Here is just one example.
As long as folks think along those lines, the institutional monopoly will grow, the “educrats” will increase in number and our freedom to choose will diminish. Substantive change in education cannot occur in the absence of public support. The best way to challenge the status quo and mobilize support is to bring issues out into the sunlight. We need education reporting to embody the same shrewd skepticism and probing we find in political coverage. As it stands, today’s top education story is about white bread.
School choice is often narrowly defined and completely misunderstood by the general public. As a result, the legislative process is handily hijacked by powerful teacher unions and other defenders of the status quo. Choice never gets a fair shake and it won’t until parents and the public at large begin to understand their options outside of what they’ve always known. Only then can the education monopoly be broken down into the schools we want and need.
