The Public’s Choice
Parents, educators, and politicians moved forward with the illusion of reform based on individual “choice” without considering the public good.
If public education is a public good, what choice does the public have in deciding how it is provided?
We put choice into education law without really having a conversation about our choices.
The Power of the Word
In Understanding the Psychology of the American Idea of Choice, researchers noted that Americans respond more strongly to the word “choice” than people from other countries. They found that when we think about our lives framed in terms of choices, it …
- “reduces our support for public policies that promote greater equality,…
- leads us to feel less concerned about the growing gap between the wealthy and the poor,…
- leads us to feel less empathy towards others who have experienced negative life events,…
- [shifts] attitudes in favor of policies that promote individual freedom.”
At the heart of the issue of “choice” is our strongly embedded love of freedom. There’s nothing wrong with that, except, these findings may very well have been used against us. Overall, researchers found the effects that the word “choice” has on us seems “to bode poorly for solving social problems that require cooperation.”
Public education of children is a cooperative effort.
Choice Laws
The education law of the land, No Child Left Behind, is aThe Public’s Choice - The Crucial VoiceThe Crucial Voice:
