Public School Arrogance

The state of Michigan currently has two 'cyber charter schools' in existence. But there is a bill making its way through the legislature which would allow for more. Needless to say, the idea has sparked debate in the most usual manner: the people who like them support them wholeheartedly, while those who feed from the public trough are appalled.

Supporters like the flexibility of schedule which such entities offer, and the fact that it givers parents more choice among schools. Choice, eh? It would be interesting to know how many educators are pro choice on issues such as abortion but not on questions of public schools, but that thought is a for another time.

The chief criticism of cyber schools, as it always is when the public school ox is at risk of being gored, is that they would take more money away from traditional public schools. As always as well, the correct response to that is, so what? That in and of itself simply should not be a factor. If our aim as a society is to educate our young then we ought to be willing to explore various ways and means of so doing even (or especially, given the performance of some public schools) at the, ahem, expense of traditional schools.

What we have here is another case of the education elite and the hypocrisy rank among them. How many times have folks in education urged everyone else to change? How many times in school, any school, really, were we exhorted to think outside the box? Yet as it turns out, public school supporters don't want to consider change which actually affects them. Thinking outside the box is great...until it's their box, paid for by your tax dollars.

This isn't to say that cyber schools should be embraced without reservation either. If they aren't performing well then we have to consider either ending or altering them. If you've got data which supports that, so be it. But kindly don't whine about them taking cash from traditional public schools because that argument simply doesn't wash. Public schools are not the lords of education. They do not own it, nor hold an exclusive right to dispense learning. They only think that way, which serves as a lesson itself.