Frederick Hess:School Choice Advocates Continue to Unnecessarily Undermine Themselves

[Fiddytree]

Does School Choice "Work"? > Publications > National Affairs

I found this essay fairly interesting. He scathes the school choice movement for continuing to promise an overnight miracle and only using social justice rhetoric while not seriously considering the actual economic-political system needed to make their efforts succeed correctly. Due to this rhetorical limitation, school choice advocates have seemingly deflated their sense of morale. In essence, the author is arguing school choice has helped in certain markets, but "choice" alone does not create the environment needed to flourish for both the private sector and the public sector.

I am personally not all gloomy about the American education system, which I find permeates in all of the ideological camps regarding education at the moment (teachers are frequent offenders here), but I found this article refreshing.

 

[DrunkenAsparagus]

Re: Frederick Hess:School Choice Advocates Continue to Unnecessarily Undermine Themse

Nothing can change the fact that the ultimate determinant for student success is parents. However, I can't see how school choice hurts.

 

[phattonez]

Re: Frederick Hess:School Choice Advocates Continue to Unnecessarily Undermine Themse

This is far from a knockdown argument. I mean, it raises an interesting point and he's right that school choice won't fix all of the woes, but it's not saying either that school choice is bad. Oh well, the supporters of current methods will stand by it even without good argument.

 

[Orion]

Re: Frederick Hess:School Choice Advocates Continue to Unnecessarily Undermine Themse

Aside from home life, the biggest problem in the education system continues to be that it uses an outdated mode of teaching. Children growing up in today's world are plugged in and learn in dynamic ways. The old model of sitting in rows while a teacher talks at you for hours is a waste of time. The only thing it can possibly do is teach discipline and obedience, but it's not improving knowledge standards. I can find way more info. on the internet now than my teachers could teach me back in high school, and the glory of it is that I can read what interests me while discarding the rest.

University is different though because studies become so specialized.

 

[Fiddytree]

Re: Frederick Hess:School Choice Advocates Continue to Unnecessarily Undermine Themse

This is far from a knockdown argument. I mean, it raises an interesting point and he's right that school choice won't fix all of the woes, but it's not saying either that school choice is bad. Oh well, the supporters of current methods will stand by it even without good argument.

That's why I thought he was refreshing, because it was not so exaggerative with results. I share his optimism.