69传媒

Opinion
School Choice & Charters Opinion

Why I Don鈥檛 Trust School Choice (But Support It Anyway)

For supporters of school choice, what comes next?
By Jonathan Gregg 鈥 January 25, 2018 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

I support the school choice movement, but I do not trust it.

I do not trust school choice in the same way that I do not trust religious freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, or really any freedom at all, for that matter.

Let me be clear. These freedoms are glorious. They are essential. And they are the rightful pillars our country was founded upon. But they are not ends in and of themselves. As soon as they are treated as ends, they cause us to lose sight of the very thing they intend to cultivate: the opportunity for individuals to act virtuously and responsibly.

BRIC ARCHIVE

School choice is just this kind of freedom. It provides schools with the liberty to recast the educational vision for this country and escape from the constraints placed upon them by state accountability systems and acronymic boards whose concerns are often far from the classroom.

It opens up the possibility for school leaders to break away from the mound of paperwork and get back into the business of developing school culture and training teachers. And it presents the opportunity for parents to return to the foreground in their children鈥檚 education instead of being limited by a selection of schools that has become increasingly monochromatic.

But none of these things is good in isolation; each one merely provides the chance for a new pedagogical vision. This new vision of education requires the training and hiring of teachers and administrators who are passionate about their subjects, who care deeply about their students鈥 well-being, and who can model a life of virtue, excellence, and scholarship. It requires the selection of curricula that present challenging and meaningful content across all subjects. It requires the establishment of a school culture that goes beyond the 鈥渄o no harm鈥 mentality that has swept through many of our schools. Instead, we must actually train students in civic virtue, prudence, leadership, and hope. It requires an intentional partnership between schools and parents to unify the lessons learned at school with the lessons learned at home.

We must fight so that we can fill the void left by state standards and bureaucratic red tape with a proper vision for what education ought to be."

Most of all, it requires dynamic instruction that does not just present a set of facts and formulas but challenges students to discover those facts and formulas for themselves. 69传媒 must be able to make connections between these facts and figures and analyze their motives, implications, foundational principles, and applications to their lives.

Perhaps the best articulation of the nature of educational freedom comes from a 1925 lecture delivered by Jewish philosopher Martin Buber at an educational conference in Heidelberg. On a negative pole, Buber placed educational compulsion, but instead of placing freedom at the other pole, Buber places it in the middle, an escape from compulsion, but not itself a positive vision. In Buber鈥檚 words, freedom is a 鈥渇oot-bridge, not a dwelling-place.鈥 It is a necessary step in the progression away from compulsion, but not enough to fill the resulting void. 鈥淚t is the run before the jump,鈥 he declared, 鈥渢he tuning of the violin.鈥

These words ring particularly true during National School Choice Week. All of us who already embrace school choice鈥攁nd all those who might one day join us鈥攁re right to fight for educational freedom, but we must fight so that we can fill the void left by state standards and bureaucratic red tape with a proper vision for what education ought to be. School choice is that 鈥渢uning of the violin.鈥 Violins must be tuned, but they are not meant merely to be tuned. They are meant to be played.

While we rightfully celebrate school choice this week, we must remember the true end of our efforts: a vision for curriculum and instruction that is oriented towards virtue and excellence. As we renew our commitment to the liberty of school choice, let us also renew our commitment to the responsibility that accompanies this liberty. For, as Buber rightly observes, 鈥淟ife lived in freedom is personal responsibility, or it is a pathetic farce.鈥

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69传媒
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What鈥檚 Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Voters Rejected Private School Choice. A Trump Administration May Push It Anyway
Pro-school choice initiatives failed in Colorado, Kentucky, and Nebraska.
6 min read
Photo illustration of school building and check boxes.
Education Week + Getty
School Choice & Charters Charter 69传媒 Are in Uncharted Political Waters This Election Season
From big constitutional questions to more practical, local concerns, the charter school sector faces a number of challenges.
6 min read
Illustration of a montage of election and politics imagery with a school building and money symbol included.
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice: What the Research Says
Private school choice programs are proliferating as debates continue about their effects on low-income students and public schools.
7 min read
Image of research, data, and a data dashboard
Collage via iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters States Are Spending Billions on Private School Choice. But Is It Truly Universal?
More than half a million students in eight states last school year took advantage of private school choice open to all students.
7 min read
data 1454372869
filo/DigitalVision Vectors