School choice is — and has been for a long time — one of the most important issues in the United States, yet it never seems to get the attention it deserves. At least as far as I am concerned.
The leftist indoctrination of children in taxpayer funded public schools has played a major role in the ability of the Democrats to sell their radical ideology. Ask almost any non-politician conservative in America, and he or she will tell you that it is a major concern.
Most Republican politicians would agree, but they’re a little muddy on what to do about it.
Conservatives have long talked about abolishing the Dept. of Education. It’s not just a knee-jerk wish born of rigid ideology; a strong case can be made for vastly improving public education by greatly reducing the role of the federal bureaucracy. Unfortunately, it’s a pipe dream that can be filed under “Easier Said Than Done.” A president would really have to be in scorched earth mode, and the amount of money that the evil teachers’ unions would spend in a counter-offensive would be difficult to combat.
The teachers’ unions wield enormous political power. Every Democrat politician in America marches to their drumbeat. Other unions do hold some sway over the Dems, but only with the teachers’ unions blessing. At times they seem almost too formidable to combat effectively.
While they can’t be done away with overnight, they can be slowly choked off via various school choice initiatives.
Home schooling is a powerful arrow in the quiver of those engaged in the school choice battle. The teachers’ unions have been denigrating home schooling seemingly forever, because their continued existence relies on convincing parents that their kids don’t stand a chance in life unless they go to a public school. Even though the pandemic was a boon to most nefarious leftist plans, it was rife with unforeseen consequences for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the National Education Association (NEA), and their ilk.
Despite AFT president Randi Weingarten’s post-COVID attempts to retell the story, the unions fought harder than anyone to keep schools closed long past when they should have been. The unions were claiming that the teachers’ lives would be at risk if the schools reopened. They were so ridiculous with their drama that they ran afoul of ultra-progressive Lori Lightfoot, the then-mayor of Chicago. The teachers’ unions then flexed their political muscle, opposing Lightfoot’s reelection and installing former union goon Brandon Johnson as mayor.
The egregious amount of time that the unions helped keep schools closed only served to make home schooling a popular option for those who may not have previously considered it.
A pandemic-era boom has fundamentally changed the face of American home schooling, transforming a group that has for decades been dominated by conservative Christians into one that is more racially and ideologically diverse, a Washington Post-Schar School poll finds.
Rather than religion, home-schoolers today are likely to be motivated by fear of school shootings, anxiety over bullying and anger with the perceived encroachment of politics into public schools, the poll finds. Yet even among those who voice such concerns, many do not share the deep-seated opposition to public education that defined home-schoolers of past decades, and the new crop is more likely to mix and match home schooling with public school, depending on their children’s needs.
Because it’s WaPo, I’m sure that last bit was sugar-coated.
What this means is that the pandemic boom in home schooling is still booming. The results can’t be seen just yet, but this is a direct shot at the public school behemoth. In a recent VIP article, my colleague Ben Bartee asked whether public schools are “finished” because of the post-COVID popularity of home schooling. Obviously, we’re not there yet, but this is a good start.
This is an excellent rallying point for Republicans who want to talk about school choice, specifically those running for office next year. If you’ve been reading me for any length of time, you know that I am constantly exhorting the GOP to bring the school choice issue front and center. I do that not only because school choice is a winning issue, but because it’s vital to the survival of the Republic.
It’s the DC Republicans who don’t pay enough attention to the issue. Thankfully, some very good school choice bills have been signed by Republican governors in recent years.
The post-pandemic shift in the home schooling landscape has kicked open the door to an ongoing conversation about school choice overall. That conversation can’t be quiet, and it can’t be allowed to die.
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