Today, we in Michigan find ourselves again in a budget crisis. Yes, this is after being in session (less than half the days a normal full time person is at work), with a summer break and all the rest of the tough scheduling our legislators endure (what is it 8-10 days a month?). We find we are in a budget crisis again. It appears, to no one’s surprise, that the last and most difficult special interest to satisfy is the Michigan Education Association (teachers union). Both parties are sold out to keeping the status as is for the MEA’s leadership (regardless of the affects on our children’s futures). We have Republicans and Democrats living in fear of the MEA and its leadership. We commit far more than most states to education per child and we consistently underperform. I don’t think this is due to a lack of talent from our teachers, on the contrary, I know we have some very talented people (I myself am a product of the public school). We have a system where people are, for the most part forced to participate due to lack of affordable alternatives and overtaxing away of resources to give their children a better chance. I have a mother and two sisters who have taught in the public schools. Both of my sisters (and we ourselves home school) are now homeschooling. We have two of our children that we home school and two are at St Paul’s Lutheran School. I believe underperformance by our public schools is due to the incredible lack of understanding/denial of how to make education better. The teachers union (MEA) and those who are charged with making policy fail to acknowledge that the best way to create a better and cheaper system is to allow choice to the families for their children’s education (much like fixing healthcare-more free market choices). Wherever vouchers are tried they thrive (look at Washington DC which had thousands on a waiting list to get their children a better shot at a future). Vouchers should be embraced full force in Michigan. We need to stop teaching about things like homosexual lifestyle choices in school and focus on teaching children to read / do math with our tax dollars. Money on alternative lifestyles and pornographic sex education has no business in our schools and should not be funded by our limited state resources. The best move to fix the education system in our state (and greatly help the budget) is to give a voucher to children to attend any public school and transfer without limitation. We should also create a private voucher system for both homeschoolers and private schools. This voucher should be a partial amount of total that is set aside for the child thru the state. If we give 3k in a voucher there will be 3-7k left from that child leaving the system and this leaves 3-7k that can be used on the children who remain in public schools. I know this is going to create a backlash on me from some teachers union members. Most teachers and parents get this simple concept already and see why we need to change. There are those who deny the facts of our failed schools and are not willing to put the interests of educating our kids first by allowing parents to make the choice. Vouchers and competition are the best way to close the gap for giving our kids the best education money can buy. Offering vouchers will help the public schools fund the remaining children’s educations, not harm it. Let’s get over Democrat versus Republican and do what’s right for our children.
