Capital Commentary: Why Should Christians Care About Public Education?

Capital Commentary: Why Should Christians Care About Public Education? by Ted Williams, III.  MGB: There are several things we can do as a Christian community and as individual Christians to help the public schools.  One basic thing is to make sure any movement to school choice also includes a demand for increased public revenue for eduction, so that taxes go up at least as much as the tuition that would no longer have to be paid if the schools were still private, if not more to handle the further strains on the system.  We also need to not make it be about breaking the power of teachers unions or as a back door way to keep out or marginalize minority students.  This is true for Evangelical, Protestant and Catholic Schools.  We also need to share why private Christian and Catholic schools are better. 

A main reason is that there is less standardization and more parental control.  Individual schools are not dependent on system statistics or standards.  There are no "No Child Left Behind" goals for them to meet or teach to.  They can simply teach and be responsible to the parents of the children they serve.  Without standards, there is little need for central office administration to develop either curricula or teacher enrichment and certification.  Private schools are also freer and most likely wiser in dealing with discipline issues.  No one is suspended from private school for taking an asprin. 

Finally, as far as how the U.S. ranks in the OECD, the correct measure is to compare various states to other OECD members, at least the European ones.  The US as a whole can be compared to the EU as a whole or China as a whole.  If you want to compare Ireland and Finland, the correct units of measure are Iowa and Mississippi (two state systems who could not be more different in terms of population, funding or teacher quality).