Public Education in the U.S. is Socialism in action

Perhaps the largest problem facing this country, and the easiest to solve is the U.S.’s woeful underperformance in K-12 education. There are several solutions, all of which are an improvement on the current system, some of which are beiong experimented with right now: vouchers, local control, and the student weighted formula. State and local experimentation is crucial, yet too many states and localities are reticent to try anything new. Why? It certainly isn’t because our current system is adequate. It costs $7000 to educate a kid in the public school system each year, it costs $60,000 to encarcerate them in the California Youth Authority, which is where hopeless kids with bad educations are likely to end up.

The problem, you might think, can be summed up with a roll of the eyes, a look skyward, and the familiar utterance of “the teachers union.” They are certainly part of the problem, but not the whole problem, and a belief that eliminating or crippling the union will result in a successful and happy student population, is a belief that would end in disappointment. The system by which we fund schools, train teachers, and manage programs is a fantastic example of why the Soviet Union collapsed.

The plan? Ask Professor William Ouchi, oracle to Governor Schwarzenegger, and Secretary of education Richard Riordan. Click for an abstract and links.