Insanity, it is often said, is taking the same actions over and over and expecting different results. Many opponents of education vouchers in Texas provide an example of insanity. State Rep. Harold Dutton, the chairman of the Texas House Public Education Committee, recently said, What is the problem that you’re trying to cure with school…
Both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have said that “school choice”—i.e., vouchers or education savings plans—will be a priority in the 2023 legislative session. Advocates of “school choice” programs scored victories across the nation during the midterm elections. Every gubernatorial candidate who supports school choice was elected. Some, such as The Washington…
The school choice movement is gaining momentum across the nation. The American Federation for Children (AFC) is one of the nation’s leading advocates for school choice. According to the organization’s website, AFC seeks to empower families, especially lower-income families, with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children. We believe all parents…
In September, the Heritage Foundation released its Education Freedom Report Card. Florida received the top rating for educational freedom, followed by Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, and South Dakota. The District of Columbia was ranked last for educational freedom, with New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Massachusetts joining D.C. at the bottom of the rankings. Heritage used…
Few positives have emerged from the government’s response to COVID-19. One positive is that parents discovered alternatives to government schools for their children. Many have continued to utilize these alternatives. Microschools are a promising alternative to government schools. As the name implies, microschools are small—typically serving fifteen or fewer students. Often, the students are at…
Today’s political climate is one of a perpetual demand for conformity. Both Progressives and conservatives demand conformity. They merely disagree over who should be conforming and to what. Conformity means acting as others deem appropriate. It means subordinating one’s own judgment to the judgment of others. America’s educational system, which is dominated by Progressivism, is…
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said that he supports parents’ “choice to send their children to any public school, charter school or private school with state funding following the student.” The Republican Party of Texas has listed school choice as a priority in the upcoming legislative session. However, rural Republicans oppose school choose measures. They…
In a three-part essay titled “Our Killing Schools,” The Redneck Intellectual, C. Bradley Thompson, provides a philosophical explanation that goes to the root cause of school shootings—Progressive education. In the final essay of the series, Thompson writes, The crisis of America’s teenage boys is a philosophic crisis. The cognitive consequence of Progressive education—if not the…
In a three-part essay titled “Our Killing Schools,” The Redneck Intellectual, C. Bradley Thompson, addresses the school shootings that have stunned, angered, and confused Americans. Thompson goes beyond the typical explanations—video games, rap music, the absence of God in the classroom—for these senseless acts of violence. He provides a philosophical explanation that goes to the…
According to Politico, the budget passed by the Texas Legislature in the recent session establishes new metrics for evaluating school success rates that shift focus away from “performance statistics,” such as standardized test scores, and toward “success statistics,” like graduation rates, enrollment rates in post-secondary education like college or vocational school, and estimated income of…
Education in America is a virtual monopoly of the government. As such, it is a highly politicized topic and controversy surrounds nearly every discussion about education. From funding to curriculum, from test scores to text books, there is little agreement between politicians, educators, taxpayers, and parents about how the nation’s schools should be operated and the…
The curriculum in government schools is chosen and dictated by government officials. The textbooks used in government schools are chosen by government officials. The ideas taught in government schools, and the vast majority of Texas schoolchildren attend government schools, are determined by government officials. Parents who disagree with those ideas often have no viable alternatives…