Coming up with the right name for a policy initiative is a critical step in framing a conversation and controlling the narrative. The classic example is the abortion debate, in which one side is "pro-choice" and the other is "pro-life," carefully selected terms that frame each side as champions of an undeniable good. Just watch supporters of "defund the police" get caught in an endless loop of "no, no, what we really mean is..." to understand how important this branding can be.
"School choice" is branding, and relatively new branding at that. You can watch it take off on the Google Ngram viewer to see how often the phrase has been used:
It starts its steep rise in the mnid-80s (Reagan, Nation at Risk), peaks in 2001, hits a trough again in 2013, and has been bouncing back since.
But what is "school choice" the brand name for? I mean, if we were serious--really serious--about school choice, we would come up with a system that allowed families to choose any school in the state, and we would take the regulatory steps to make sure that every one of those schools met the requirements of a quality school that was part of the public good of public education. We would CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: School Choice: Branding for an Open Market
