Those who know the value of choice…
… are often the ones who work to deny the same choices to others.
John Fund took a good look at “Opportunity for Politicians’ Children” in the Wall Street Journal yesterday, noting that “My vote for the worst scandal in America right now is the education monopoly that keeps poor, inner-city kids trapped in failing public schools.”
Mr. Duncan himself knows the value of choice. He told Science magazine that he thought carefully where to send his daughter to school in the D.C. area when he moved from Chicago to join the Obama cabinet. He explained his decision to live in Virginia thusly: “My family has given up so much so that I could have the opportunity to serve; I didn’t want to try to save the country’s children and our educational system and jeopardize my own children’s education.”
It goes without saying that we support school choice. And for some families, like Mr. Duncan’s, they already have choice. They have the means and the flexibility to move to a suitable school district- or the resources to send their children to a private school that best meets their children’s needs.
Sadly, for the majority of families, this is not the case.
Mr. Duncan, like his boss, President Obama, already has access to educational options. We do not fault them for making what they felt were the best choices for their children’s education. We think it is important for parents to be involved in educational decisions and be able to find educational environments that work for their kids. What does concern us is that Mr. Duncan and President Obama recognize the state of the DC public school system and the obstacles those schools face, and yet, when they have the chance to give those students and families hope for a better education with the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, they shut the door.
Why should those families in DC not have the same chance for a better education? Especially when the DC Scholarships SAVE money versus the per pupil spending in the DC public schools? Can they really keep a straight face and say “heck no, I would never send my kids to those schools,” and then do nothing to allow other families the chance to get their own kids out of that environment? And why stop with just DC? Why should any parent anywhere feel that their child is trapped in a school that cannot meet their needs? Or trapped in a school where they feel unsafe?
To us that just doesn’t make sense. We applaud Mr. Duncan for wanting to “save the country’s children and our educational system.” That sounds all well and good, but we just hope that he is willing to open his eyes and really consider what works. School choice works. He should know that as well as anyone.
