Right Thinking: So much more for legislators to learn
Andrew C. Spiropoulos
Some state legislators think they and their colleagues should be trained in the meaning and importance of diversity and inclusion. This is a serious idea that should be given careful consideration. And there are other important subjects in which legislators should receive training.
I would dearly love for legislators to be trained in the meaning of our nation’s constitutional principles. I would like them, for example, to learn, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, the cherished statement of our society’s fundamental beliefs, that our nation is based on the self-evident truth that all people are created equal. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. explained this principle eloquently – we should be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. Because we are created equal, we are all endowed with rights, which include the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Right Thinking: OKC schools in crisis well before pandemic
Andrew C. Spiropoulos
We just held school board elections in Oklahoma City and you couldn’t tell by who ran for office or the campaign discussions that the school district is mired in a historic crisis, and if dramatic changes aren’t made, the damage may be irreparable.
Even before the coronavirus landed, the district, in the previous five years, lost 5,000 students, a decline of almost 13%. In the same period, enrollment increased, often significantly so, in the Edmond, Deer Creek, Mustang, Moore, Norman, Piedmont and Bethany districts. Enrollment also rose in public charter schools, especially the online variety, and, again, this increase began before the virus-driven explosion in online school enrollment. The virus has caused enrollment drops even in the previously growing suburban districts, but Oklahoma City’s decline has been generally more severe.
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Right Thinking: Taxpayers should put students, families before schools
Andrew C. Spiropoulos
Education establishment apologists who insist that public support for school choice programs is a radical idea don’t seem to know that throughout the world, in nations as disparate as Australia, Chile, India, and Germany, public subsidy of private schooling is the norm, not the exception. In Australia, for example, 35% of students attend publicly supported private schools. In Chile, 53% of students attend a publicly subsidized private school.
How about the United States? While 6% of students attend public charter schools, less than 1% of Americans are afforded the opportunity to participate in private school choice programs. When it comes to education finance, America is the extreme outlier – most of the world embraces meaningful choice.