Choose School Choice for the Future of America

 

Choose School Choice for the Future of America

Children that Support School Choice During National School Choice Week

 

Seventy-five% of students have negative feelings toward their school according to a study from Yale. That is an incredibly high number that needs to be changed. School choice is the solution to this high number. School choice throughout the United States would offer students in grades K-12 new opportunities to obtain the quality education they deserve.

        The future of the United States depends on children becoming scholarly and not all children learn the same way. School choice would give families more freedom to choose the best schooling option for their children and the means to do so. 

School choice provides families the option to use the taxes they pay to state and local governments, which is currently used for public education, toward the type of education that best fits their child’s needs. The types of schooling include public, private (religious and non-religious), charter, homeschool, and any other type of learning curriculum.

There are many supporters of school choice including former President Donald Trump. He specifically said, “We’re fighting for school choice, which really is the civil rights of all time in this country. Frankly, school choice is the civil rights statement of the year, of the decade, and probably beyond, because all children have to have access to quality education.” Trump agrees that the opportunity to choose what type of school is best for your children will guarantee access to quality education.

Inner-city schools have a reputation of not offering quality education to its students. Many students in these failing districts cannot afford to find better schooling. If school choice was offered, families could decide to try different schooling options so their children get the best education possible. The future Pennsylvania Senator, democrat John Fetterman, does not support school choice. That is pretty hypocritical since he lives in a failing district but sends his kids to private school where parents pay up to $34,250.

Parents also become more involved with their child’s education when school choice is implemented. When a parent becomes more involved in education, their student’s performance improves. Evidence suggests that all areas of academics are boosted when school choice is an option. Parental assistance in school is very helpful to kids, as they can learn not only what their teachers teach them, but also their parents’ knowledge. Parents need to care about their child’s education and school choice will help that happen.

It is important to note that there is no proof that the quality of education in public schools will decrease if school choice was imposed everywhere in the United States. School choice would lessen the population of public schools which could increase performance. According to the Swedish Economic Policy Review, “The evidence suggests that there is room for productivity gains of 50 to 69 percent in public schools.” An increase in productivity of 50% is extremely high and would be beneficial to public schools and students that choose to attend public schools.

        Some people may believe that this new education idea will not be as effective as the current schooling model. While this is a valid concern, there are many reasons to believe that school choice will be a better option for students. According to a Journal in Educational Policy, “In general, competition resulting from school-choice policies does have a small positive effect on student achievement.” Also, as mentioned before, public schools will increase in productivity and parents will become more involved with their student’s education if school choice policies are implemented everywhere. These statistics show that school choice will benefit students in new ways that the current model cannot.

        These advancements to schooling will improve the future generations of the United States, and it will not affect the money coming out of your pockets. Some people worry about cost since it appears that more money will need to go into education to make up the funds going out to families. However, that will not have to be a worry because according to EdChoice, “Researchers have conducted 52 analyses on the fiscal effects of private school choice programs. Forty-seven found these programs generated overall fiscal savings for taxpayers; four found programs were cost-neutral; and one found a Louisiana program for students with exceptional special needs generated net costs.” So there is a very rare chance that taxpayers will have to pay more because of school choice.

        Imagine your child or grandchild sitting in a school that does not help them learn. When students do not learn and appreciate their education, they start to develop self-centered values. That is not a value that future generations of America should hold. Luckily, schools can help cultivate kindness as long as students are in a nourishing environment. School choice would help students get access to a healthy environment which is vital in the learning process according to Greater Good Magazine. “While these experiments show that kindness and its resultant joy are innate from a very young age, this quality/experience still needs to be cultivated as children enter environments where incentives that support these aspects aren’t always in place. Thus, it is incumbent upon schools to create environments in which these qualities can flourish.” Values that promote kindness need to be built and promoted in an environment where students feel comfortable learning.

        School choice benefits kids and families which is why it needs to be a policy throughout the United States. A better education for the younger generations of today will help the prosperity of the country in the future. Families should get the best possible outcome from their tax dollars, so their taxes should be used for whatever is best for their children. A better education for the children of this country should be important, and that is why school choice should be an option to all families across the United States.