School Choice

One of the reasons we do not send our children to public schools is that there is no real accountablity. At a private school, the parents are pretty much in control because we are the consumer. If we are unhappy, our complaints are taken seriously. I know this from experience.

I've read many stories in which the public school does nothing about bullies, political indoctrination and this:

While two parents in Lexington, Mass., are upset about the fact their second-grade son was read a fantasy book in school about two princes getting married, what makes them even more angry is the fact the boy's teacher said because same-sex marriage is legal in their state there is no way a mother or father can opt out a child from such experiences.

"We are outraged," parents Rob and Robin Wirthlin told the local Article 8 Alliance. "This is a highly charged social issue. Why are they introducing it in the second grade? And we cannot present our family's point of view to our children if they don't tell us what they're saying to them."
...
It was explained to the couple that since same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts, discussion of the matter is fair game -- parents do not have to be informed before or after the issue is presented. Kramer reportedly told the Wirthlins that the theme of the day was "weddings" and the teacher wanted to present all points of view on the subject.

The parents were given no choice, they were usrped by the school district and told when the child was ready to learn something that the parents deemed inappropriate, the decision was taken out of the their hands. Parents know their child better than the school district or the teacher, they should decide what is appropriate and what isn't for their child. But in this school district the teacher and the principal clearly do not agree and this parent won't get a satifactory response because this school district will set the agenda, they've proved that in the past:

Estabrook School was also in the news last year when father David Parker faced prosecution for trespassing and spent a night in jail after confronting school officials about homosexuality being discussed in his son's class.

They will never get a satisfactory resolution to this problem because they are not in position of power, they are not the direct consumers. If they were paying the schools directly they would have a lot more power. That is why school choice is imperative. It puts the power back into the hands of the parents. School districts would have to watch what they do because the parents could take their funding to another school. If my child was in the public school system, I would be working really hard lobbying for school choice. I believe all parents with children in public school should be doing the same thing, it is the only way they will have any say in how their child is taught.

(Link via The Rightwing News)