Frenier: School choice as reparation

By Carol Frenier

If the Democratic candidates for president really want to make effective reparations to African-Americans they would advocate nationwide school choice for them. Nothing would do more to “repair” our past treatment of this community than giving black parents vouchers allowing them to send their kids to whatever school they wished, including charter schools, private schools, independent schools and even religious schools.

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In the United States,the progressive educational establishment, via the teachers unions and state and federal government agencies, have a monopoly on public education. Local school boards have less and less say on what happens in our schools. Parents have less power than school boards, and urban black parents — well, let’s just say that a voucher that transforms them from a supplicant to a customer might make all the difference in their ability to get the kind of education for their children that would result in a quality life.

The biological connection between parents and children offers the best chance for children’s unique selves to be understood and developed. Yes, there are poor parents, and parents who could use help deciding what is best for their children. But it is patronizing in the extreme for the educational elites to assume that the majority of parents aren’t up to the task of making the best decisions for their kids. Even in the poorest inner city school systems there are parent organizations banded together to get the best education they can for their children.

Some also argue that school choice would result in the collapse of the government run public school system. If that occurred because parents chose to send their children elsewhere, why on earth would we want to force anyone to send their kids there? Such collapse would make it clear beyond doubt that the government monopoly on public education needs to be reformed or replaced. The fact that we still force urban black parents to send their children to the worst schools in the nation is nothing less than a continuation of the oppression for which reparations supposedly compensate. Since society is unlikely to fork over large sums of cash to repay ancient debts, let’s free up money we are already spending ineffectively and give the parents with the most at stake the opportunity to spend it more wisely.

Carol Frenier is a business owner living in Chelsea, Vermont. She is the chair of the Orange County Republican Committee.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

12 thoughts on “Frenier: School choice as reparation

  1. A great policy suggestion! Here is an additional thought about school choice in Vermont: the so-called architect of H 46 (who has announced a Dem gubernatorial bid) strongly opposes school vouchers. Could it be that, with public school children offered free clandestine sex change and other mutilating surgeries, many people (of whatever race or even political persuasion) will “opt out” of compelling their children into such a bizarre Huxleyan factory?

  2. Reparations have been paid to the tune of 22trillion since the REAL RACIST
    Lyndon Johnson started the affirmative action program. Which as with
    all leftarded schemes has accomplish zilch at great cost.
    As others said School Choice should be for all, time to break the strangle hold of institutionalized Union Education and get back to Schools that teach what you need not what they want…

  3. One of my grandchildren is home schooled in NH. Parents pulled her out bc she was going into fifth grade and sex ed curriculem included *everything* – nothing was optional and they couldn’t pull her out of that class. They went to the public school and asked how to purchase science textbooks – they use more than one – from science teacher as they’re on friendly terms…he said no, you really dont want them they’re not very good…and not ‘textbooks’ but *pamphlets*…wow just wow.

    • That’s very revealing. Thanks for sharing your experience. You might want to google “Core Knowledge.” It’s a web site by E. D. Hirsch, and all the curriculum material on there is free. I’ve looked over their history curriculum, and I think it is quite sound. I bet the science material is good too.

  4. An excellent idea. Perhaps one of our legislators will introduce a bill. Oops! Perhaps not.

  5. Full school choice will never happen as long as the establishment values union jobs over children.

  6. Good for you Carol. As a teacher in your early career you know better than anyone how poorly inner city kids are getting the short shrift. Sharing this opinion piece.

  7. Do the Democratic candidates for President really want to make effective reparations
    to African-Americans ??

    That would be ” NO” all they are looking for are votes, a hope on beating The President,
    knowing this would never be funded, just more smoke & mirrors.

    But If there are to be any ” Reparations ” you need to include the ones who deserve it the
    most and that would be the ” Indigenous ” people from the US as we had stolen their land
    and you need to include the Irish, Chinese and I assume others that were made to build this
    country

    If politicians cared, the American Indian would not be on reservations and getting handouts
    from the Government……Shameful !!

  8. I’m tired of the whining about how bad their education is. There are schools, some of them Catholic where there is discipline and they have graduation rates of 98% with most of the graduates going on to college, and guess what most of the students are not white. — They simply have parents that care. That is the key. We have the same results in most public schools when the parents care.

    so stop the nonsense about we have to do more to “repair” our past treatment of this community. Its the community that failed the students.

    • It’s not that parents, of any race, color or creed, don’t care. They’ve become apathetic because they have no control over their children’s education.

      How does one incentivize parental involvement? By allowing them to have the responsibility to choose the education program they believe is best for their children. They may make mistakes along the way. But they will learn from the experience. We will all learn from the experience… and prosper from it.

      • I agree with you. Every family should be given school choice vouchers. If it shuts down the public schools and the unions, so be it..

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