The Failure of Government Schools

We spend the most money per student of any other country in the world.  Yet our results, our test scores aren't as good , as high as many other countries who spend much less.  Washington D.C. schools spend the most money per student in our country but their results and test scores are the worst, the lowest in the country.  We, here in Utah spend the least and our results are the best.  Throwing more money at the problem isn't a solution.

Parental involvement is a big part of the solution.  And that's where government control of schools fails.  We parents are supposed to be responsible for our kids' education.  But we've abdicated that responsibility.  With all a parent has to do each day for his kids, any help with the burden is welcome.  "Oh.  Ok.  You teachers and principals have got the education thing covered, right?  Whew!  What a relief.  Alright, I'll be over here keeping these other 57, 492 balls in the air."

Well, that arrangement hasn't worked out.  Parents have no skin in the game because it's "free."  They feel no motivation to get their money's worth.  No one has full control of the situation.  Some parents would like to take more control and to choose, to a greater degree, the direction of their kids' education.  But they're not paying for it.  When they gave up their responsibility, they also lost freedom, power and control.  The schools don't have absolute control (yet) because, well, these aren't their kids.

 Solution?  Get the government out of the schools, beginning with the federal government.  Introduce school choice through vouchers.  Get parents back squarely in charge of, responsible for their kids' education, including at least part of it's funding.  This can be accomplished gradually by degrees.  In addition to the elimination of the federal department of education, states could opt to stop all state funding of higher education.  Some of that money could be temporarily funneled to K-12; but education spending could stand cuts in spending across the board; cut school lunch, cut all coursework except math, reading, writing, HARD sciences and history, cut most, if not all staff who aren't classroom teachers from admin. up and down. 

The schools have succeeded in assuaging parents' concerns about low test scores in primary subjects by offering all manner of useless subjects like P.E., social studies, character ed., music, art, etc.  All of this serves to camouflage the fact that they're failing to teach the three Rs.  This is the equivalent of my showing up at your house to do some drywall work, doing a crappy job- the walls look all lumpy and you can see every seam, and putting a vase full of flowers in front of every wall, hoping you won't notice my incompetence.