In some types of school choice (like open enrollment programs and charter schools) the government plays a big role. And in others (like voucher programs and education savings accounts) not so much.
Join us on Reddit for an AMA (“ask me anything”) discussion with Isaac Morehouse on Tuesday, January 24th, at 3:00pm EST.
Calling education a public good is potentially dangerous.
Suppose that there are children throughout America who are utterly disengaged in their assigned public school each day, but that are absolutely riveted by the sports news on TV or YouTube each night. Suppose that at least one set of their parents realize their sports nut child is uninterested in school because it targets the instruction and examples to generic children.
In 1926, J. Gresham Machen testified before a congressional committee regarding a proposed federal department of education. In the first minute of his testimony, he explained that the purpose of the bill was “to promote uniformity in education,” which, he asserted, “is the worst fate into which any country can fall.”
“Perhaps the voucher movement ought to be called the ‘Make schools accountable to parents’ movement.” – Arnold Kling