July 16, 2012
The newspapers are full of the upcoming elections (both national and local) and especially the school board election and the decision by the six Shelby County incorporated cities to have their own municipal schools.
The Commercial Appeal is especially full of its admonitions to give the transition planning commission plan a chance to work. Well here are my thoughts on this whole mess.
- I have reviewed the transition planning commission plan and I think they did a good job. If you could be assured that it could not be changed in the future by the upcoming new 13 member school board, then it would be worth a try before going on to six separate school systems plus the Shelby County system. However there is no assurance of that. I asked a local transition board member about the continuation of the teachers’ union and he said that would be up to the board.
- Regardless of the outcome and even if Judge Mays rules that the six municipalities can form separate school systems, you can be assured that a suit will be filed claiming racial discrimination.
So here you have a micro mirror of what is going on at the national level. You have politicians saying to parents and taxpayers that “WE KNOW BETTER THAN YOU WHAT IS BEST FOR YOUR CHILDREN SO SHUT UP AND PAY UP”. If you disagree, then you must be a racist or you hate the poor.
If you are like me, you are tired of politicians and the media telling me what to do with my tax money and especially what is best for my children. It is time we stand up and vote these people out of office at the local and national level. Do not sit down and say “no one is listening and I cannot affect the outcome”. Stand up and get in the game.
The real answer for education is “PARENTAL CHOICE”. Let the tax money for education follow the child at the direction of the parents. Let the parents choose public, private, charter, parochial or home schooling with state educational standards measuring the outcome. This is called educational competition and it will improve all the competitors including the teachers’ union.
The same model is being debated at the national level. Do you want the federal government to make all your educational, healthcare, regulatory and tax decisions or do you want to keep the decisions closer to home? Do you trust the federal government or do trust yourself and your neighbors? Make up your mind and stand up for freedom.
Freedom is my not being forced to hand my money over to parents for them to spend educating their own spawn. That expense should be borne by them and them alone, as it used to be.