My response to Paul Mero's slavery analogy

After Paul Mero, president of the Award-Winning Sutherland Institute, released his essay drawing parallels between public schools and human slavery, the two of us engaged in a somewhat less-than-fruitful blog commentary on the subject. I called his remarks “insidious” and “disgusting” while he decried me as incompetent and, in as many words, a stereotypical “liberal white” wimp who can’t stomach such difficult discussions. I can see him saying "You can't handle the truth" in a big booming voice :-)

Well, I’m here to tell you that I've read his essay several times over to better understand his point of view. And, while the essay cites sources effectively and is grammatically sound, the premise of the essay continues to be fatally flawed. Mr. Mero has climbed high atop his ladder, but the fact remains that the ladder is perched against the wrong wall.

It is a real stretch for a reasonable person to accept the premise that our public schools are, by their nature, "coercive." What is coercive about an elected school board, subject to open meeting laws and GRAMA requests, and that are themselves beholden to their patrons, elected officials, and the full weight of state law? What is coercive about a system in which troublemakers are ousted and that the leaders themselves can be (and are) replaced by the will of the voting public for whatever reason the people see fit?

Serious observers also cannot adopt the position that our educational landscape is a "one-size-fits-all" solution. A great many differentiated opportunities exist and those options continue to grow. On my street alone, children attend over 20 individual schools.

It is also difficult, based on the evidence, to support the position that parents do not have significant input into the educational process. As a founder of a charter school I can tell you that we had enormous autonomy at every turn (for the record, I'd like to see the number of charter schools tripled in the near future). School Community Councils and School Trust Land committees, for example, direct millions of dollars collectively, all with a majority of elected parents staffing those boards. I serve on such committees and they do make a real difference, right in the trenches where it’s needed.

Also to be rejected is the notion that public education is inherently socialistic and/or paternalistic simply because licensed educators who staff our district offices and man our schools are actually educated in their fields. Perhaps, on the whole, they *do* know more than you or I do about the nuts and bolts of delivering educational services. Does Paul Mero levy the same charges of paternalism and Marxist motivations against doctors or attorneys? Does Paul suggest that doctors are paternalistic and condescending because they know more than ordinary citizens about healthcare? Mr. Mero would have you believe in a grand conspiracy that our superintendants, school boards, principals, and teachers are in league to dominate our lives because they fancy themselves to be so much smarter and more ethical than the rest of us. I think he is reading too much Ann Coulter who decries our teachers as “priestesses of the godless liberal religion.” Whatever.

(Never mind that thousands of school teachers in the state are LDS Republicans – but why bother with facts?)

The truth is, we as parents don't always have all of the answers when it comes to actually educating children. Most of us are not afraid to admit it. This doesn't mean we are not interested in the outcome - of course we are. It also doesn't mean that we should just take every word of advice or every curriculum program at face value. Parents have a right and responsibility to be informed and to vote for those elected school board members in our representative democracy that will be the most responsive to their needs. Heck, they can even run for school board themselves, volunteer on the school community council, start a charter school, home-school, or even start up a private school if they desire. I see nothing in the way of coercion, domination, or subjection in this system. We live in a society in which ordinary people like you and me, people without PhD's in Epistemology, Public Policy, or Organizational Behavior have enormous, hands-on control over the direction of our educational system. This is true for all citizens, whether they live in affluence or in impoverished circumstances. Given this unparalleled control available to ordinary citizens, regardless of income, race, or gender, to shape and direct our children’s educational opportunities, comparisons to slave owners exerting absolute authority and inflicting violence on hapless people-as-property subjects may get the ideological juices flowing but in reality hold no merit.

Additionally, I've seen many, many examples of teachers, districts and school boards bending over backwards to accommodate whiny, complaining parents who won't take personal responsibility for their children and instead wish to blame others for their children's snotty behavior and bad performance. (As an aside, those Parents for Choice billboards with the fat kids indulging in drippy ice cream cones almost suggest that they are encouraging such spoiled behavior). Ironically, even when educators truly do "know better" and could move a child forward, they are beholden to the desires of the parents. That’s the way it should be but it does make me sad when I see ignorance trump knowledge just to satisfy ego. And what of those parents who have devastating substance abuse problems or who are themselves guilty of wanton neglect or abuse of their children? Paul Mero is saying that just because our society puts our arms around these children, gives them a good meal or two at school, and works to better their lives (thus reducing poverty and crime and ultimately improving society for everyone) that we are to be branded as Marxists with our collective goal being nothing more than to increase state domination over people’s lives the way that slave owners increased their power by grinding down on their minions. Nonsense? Yep!

I've also seen several instances where patrons and citizens generated the momentum to replace members of school boards they didn’t feel were representing their interests. That’s great. That’s the way it should be. These elected school boards, comprised of ordinary citizens (as opposed to authoritarian slaveowners) have the ability to shape curriculum, to direct funds, to appoint a new superintendant, and to negotiate salaries, to name just a few of their many powers. What could be less coercive than the people, citizens like you and me, making these decisions for the good of ALL children? How striking the contrast between our representative, citizen-initiated system and the forced authoritarian control of a class of elitists subjecting complete domination over other human beings.

Howard Gardner stated that education ultimately boils down to "goals and values." As a society, we cherish certain values. We also set goals and seek to achieve those goals. To encourage equity (not equality, but fairness), I, as well as many fellow Democrats and Republicans, believe in educational policies that cast a wide net, a "big tent", that ensure adequate resources to fund a variety of quality services for every child. That is the goal. Of course, there is the possibility that some with widely differing viewpoints are going to be dissatisfied. And sure there are some lousy teachers and some “bad fits” out there. But such is a two-way street. We as a society are willing to educate the kids with lousy, whiny parents. We as a society are willing to take on children who don’t even show up on the free-market radar. We, as citizens in a representative democracy, plan, decide, and implement projects together, day in, and day out. We do this not to increase the power of the state but to improve the lives of the individual citizens. But instead of following the process that WE as a society have put in place, Paul Mero and others demand a short-circuit quick-fix – just give out the money – hand out the vouchers. No accountability. No representation. Let the corporations and the business interests, propped up by our contributions, rule the day. You don’t like the school board you elected? No problem, here’s a voucher. Forget running for office; forget having an honest dialog; forget being a little patient or even a bit understanding. That’s just Marxist nonsense. We’ve got big, drippy ice cream cones for you! Come and get it while the gettin’s good. Those school boards we elected are drunk with power – they are the slaveowners and you are their subjects. Rise up and take your voucher!

Who knows…perhaps vouchers will pass. But when Johnny is expelled because he said the wrong thing to the owner’s son or when Sarah gets booted out because her 81% is driving down the test scores or when Marta’s parents can’t afford the tuition increase imposed by the schoolmasters because they want a bigger house, remember that we as a society will be there to pick those families up. And maybe, just maybe, our “system” won’t look so bad after all.