Stupid America

I'll be tuning into John Stossel's latest work called "Stupid in America" airing this evening on ABC.

There's an overview by Stossel at Reason Magazine. Most of us have heard much of this before. I'm sure it will ruffle plenty of feathers and that makes for good television. But what I really hope is that more folks realize that this monoply must end.

"This should come as no surprise once you remember that public education in the USA is a government monopoly. Don't like your public school? Tough. The school is terrible? Tough. Your taxes fund that school regardless of whether it's good or bad. That's why government monopolies routinely fail their customers. Union-dominated monopolies are even worse."

Metro Nashville is debating whether to have year round school, as are other communities across the nation. Go ahead, rearrange the deck chairs. It won't really do much good though. It's window dressing at best. Until parents are given real freedom to move their children to a school that suits the child the best, we won't see any real improvement. Our recent magnet lottery had 3 students apply for every slot--what more evidence do we need that parents and students want more of those sorts of options? WHY can't they have them?