Here is Justin Haskins writing over at Human Events:
Although we often hear about distinctive American features such as apple pie, baseball, and freedom of speech, the single greatest characteristic of the American way is the willingness to provide opportunity for all. Unlike its European predecessors, the United States was always meant to be a place where your standing in the world isn’t determined by who your parents are but rather by an unrelenting spirit.
The American public education system was born in that context. The idea is simple enough: A child’s future shouldn’t be determined by what has been given him or her. It should be the product of hard work mixed with talent and opportunity. Because not every parent has the means to provide their children with the schooling needed to build success, communities joined together to form education systems to benefit the entire nation.
Although this is unquestionably a noble goal, the rise of government-run schools has created a class of bureaucrats and opportunists seeking to benefit from a seemingly endless flow of tax dollars. They have hijacked public education and established a system with a primary focus on increasing teachers’ benefits, protecting school administrators, and mitigating the rights of parents, rather than educating kids.
…
Liberalism, which is really nothing more than the belief that government officials are more intelligent, responsible, and compassionate than the average person, is no longer some abstract ideology competing with other philosophies in the marketplace of ideas. It is now the standard, default position ingrained in children beginning in their youngest years. And it’s no coincidence the public education system has adopted such a philosophy.
…
The best and perhaps only realistic way to [combat this] is to implement and expand school choice programs. Those who support liberty could open their own schools, giving pro-liberty parents much more power in determining their children’s education. […] If conservatives don’t make this a priority, there won’t be any liberty left to protect.
Read more: Human Events
Image credit: dailysignal.com.
