Education

Overview

People have a natural incentive to become better educated and valuable.  Compulsory education is both ineffective and unneeded.  Government schools force parents into compromising the values and ideas they want their child to learn.  Public schools are sterile institutions that have to focus more on standardizing education to the lowest possible denominator rather than equip our children with the skill to become productive citizens.

As the government has grabbed more and more power from local communities and families, it has stifled the education of our children.  Federal agencies set standards that are both unattainable and too general to be of any use to the concerns and needs of our local communities.  Even when limited choice and competition have been introduced into the education system – like voucher systems for inner city schools – students learn more and perform better than their government school counterparts.

Opinions

Without taxation there would be no government schools.  Just as adults produce their own food, shelter, and clothing (or purchase it on the market), parents with children would purchase or provide educational products or services on the market.  If government schools must exist, then remove the compulsory attendance laws, and the laws which coerce citizens into funding government schools.  Only then may we truly find out how many parents would send their children to “public” schools.

Carl Watner, The Voluntaryists

In a truly free society, parents would be solely responsible for ensuring that children they bring into the world are educated to the point of being able to become self-supporting adults.  But in the world as it is, I favor a universal voucher system, in which existing tax money “follows the child” to whatever schools his or her parents choose. 

Robert Poole, Reason Foundation

Education is primarily the responsibility of parents.  Parental control of education is the best way to ensure that children will receive an education tailored to their unique skills and abilities -- after all, every child is different, thus one-size-fits-all federal programs must be resisted.  Furthermore, the United States Constitution does not give the federal government any authority over education.  Therefore, all federal education programs should be shut down and control of education restored to parents. 

Congressman Ron Paul, (R-TX)

In more than one hundred statistical comparisons covering eight different educational outcomes, the private sector outperforms the public sector in the overwhelming majority of cases.  Moreover, that margin of superiority is greatest when the freest and most market-like private schools are compared to the least open and least competitive government systems (ie. those resembling  a typical U.S. public school system).

Andrew Coulson, The Cato Institute

Education should be private and voluntary, and all schools and other educational services should be privatized.  Government ownership, regulations, and taxes in education are illegitimate.  Private schools, home schooling, and steps toward reducing government control of education should be supported.

David Theroux, The Independent Institute

We support reforms that respect the rights and obligations of parents to chose from among competitive educational services and provide for their children’s schooling.  We favor private charity, endowments, and scholarships, as well as a phase out of all government controls. 

Dave Nalle, Republican Liberty Caucus

Education and government must be kept apart the way church and government must be.

Tibor Machan, Chapman University

No compulsory unionism in schools or anywhere else, for that matter. No role for the federal government in education whatsoever and for state and local governments, the proper role is nothing more than protecting the right of parents to acquire the education they desire for their children. Homeschooling is a right.

Lawrence W. Reed, Foundation for Economic Education