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Education's Edsel

(from Chuck Muth’s News and Views)

Sharon Wise is the Republican National Committeewoman for Michigan who recently completed an eight-year stint on the Michigan State Board of Education.  She sent the following analysis regarding the monopoly powers the government has over education.  I think you'll agree that Sharon Wise is WAY too wise for government work!

***QUOTE***

It occurred to me at as I looked at running for the Board that parents want and need to provide five basic things for their children:  1) they need to feed them, 2) they need to clothe them, 3) they need to have a job or business to provide for them, 4) they need to put a roof over their heads, and 5) they need to educate them.

Of these five areas the only one we allow to be controlled by the state is education.  And if the model we use to deliver traditional public education services is a good model, I reasoned that we should be able to use that same model for any of the other four areas.  Hence, if we decided to feed our children the way we educate them, then...

1.)  All grocery stores/markets, as we know them, would cease to exist and "Food Districts" would be formed with the same boundaries as local School Districts.

2.)  Everyone would be assigned to a public store at which to shop based on the piece of property upon which they live--the same way our children are assigned schools to attend.

3.)  The public stores would be governed by local "Food Boards" and elected the same way School Boards are elected.  Their responsibility would be to oversee the stocking of the shelves, store hours, etc.

4.)  Local control will be the mantra for the Food Boards similarly to the mantra for School Boards, thereby allowing the Food Boards to determine the appropriateness of food items such as chocolate which reportedly causes hyperactivity, acne, etc.

It was obvious that if we employed this model to feed our children, there would be a revolt in this country.  Very likely an armed revolt!  People would never tolerate the intrusion of the government into their lives in such a way.  Which begged the question then and now:  Why do we have to accept the premise that the way we deliver public education services is the best, let alone the only, way to do so?

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