National School Choice Week: Educational Innovation - "A Move in the Right Direction"

It's wonderful to live in a time when, if you can't "be there" physically, you can do the next best thing and view an event online. I'm referring to Washington DC's Think Tank Valley, groups of varied political/social persuasions that dot the city landscape. This morning it was The Heritage Foundation (http://www.heritage.org) (of which 'yours truly' is a new member), "Grading the States on School Choice" the topic, part of National School Choice Week (January 21-28).  Though Heritage is a conservative policy research institute, the school choice question cuts across party lines -- and for obvious reasons. ALL parents have a stake in this issue: just ask comedian Bill Cosby; Democratic strategist James Carville and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal. Not to mention British actor Sacha Baron Cohen! (Now how does HE fit into the picture? I thought his home was England but you see, it's an issue that cuts across the pond, too.)

Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) opened the panel and made an excellent case for school choice. Having previously worked in advertising/marketing himself, he clearly understands the importance of consumers making the decision for the best product or service. "The model that made America an exception can work for education if we allow millions of Americans to make their own decisions re. education for their children...We shouldn't assume that public education should be government education!" Using the best practices model in business would also work for education, taking what's best from different sources.


After eight years of tracking (2003-11), it was a "bit disappointing to see how little the bar has moved....there have been no great changes in standardized test grades even with President Bush's 'No Child Left Behind' program," said Dave Myslinski, Education Task Force Director at the American Legislative Exchange Council. One good piece of news: Florida is now the 3rd best state for general education, low-income students. That's 3rd best; from 2003-09, Florida saw great gains. 

Dr. Matthew Ladner, Senior Advisor of Policy and Research - Foundation for Excellence in Education, believes that 2011 was a Banner Year for educational reform due to a growing bipartisan consensus for school rehabilitation. But what is the overall problem? Dr. Ladner believes the answer may lie with late economist Milton Friedman, University of Chicago School of Economic Theory. The market drives human and material progress with enormous progress made in most human activities and in the things we buy. With education it's very much the opposite trend! The spending goes up, the results go down. There is no powerful incentive to achieve results with an education monopoly. NEEDED: Incentives for Innovation in School Choice. "Education is too important to be divorced from the market," Dr. Ladner emphatically stated.  


The USA is generally behind the curve in matters of school choice (compared to Europe) and we need to catch up. Opening schools to the free market is critical; the "Flip Classroom Concept" of schooling is one path to pursue. "Flipping" is using the internet to provide pre-classroom lectures, with the classroom then used as a place to interpolate that knowledge through teacher guidance, discussion and group projects. It's an idea much in vogue at the moment, some examples being: 
[1] Salman Khan Academy: "With just a computer and a pen-tablet-mouse, one can educate the world!" - http://www.khanacademy.org/
[2] Florida Virtual School: an online school for grades K-12 - http://www.flvs.net/
[3] Carpe Diem Schools: a tuition-free, Arizona public school system - http://www.carpediemschools.com/

From 1994 through 2009, my husband and I managed to put our three daughters through parochial schools. We received tuition assistance based on income and health issues of mine. As generous as the financial aid was, it nevertheless remained an ongoing 15-year budgetary challenge. We don't regret it, we'd definitely do it again! But it's time we open our schools to market forces and examine those options as carefully as we examine our car purchases. And aren't we fortunate to be living in a day and age when we can finally do it without (as in the recent past) breaking our bank account?


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www.heritage.org/events/2012/
www.khanacademy.org/
www.flvs.net/
www.carpediemschools.com/