Testing shows that 79 percent of Utah students are not proficient in writing (Sept. 29) and that Utah SAT scores are below average (Dec. 6) in a nation whose science and math skills rank in the lowest 20 percent of developed nations. Furthermore, exactly zero of the 10 education goals established in 1989 by President George Bush have been achieved. In fact, we are losing ground quickly.
Meanwhile, the steady stream of letters and articles over the past few months on education recommend minor adjustments and funding increases that have no hope of solving this huge deficiency.The root problem? Political processes dictate that more and more class time and money is spent on administration, union demands, phony self-esteem, behavior modification, amoral political correctness and other pursuits that do not enhance the skills of the students. More political maneuvering and government mandates from on high will not solve the problem; they are the problem.
Let's try a libertarian solution. Spend education dollars on students rather than schools. Give each student his/her share of the entire education budget to spend at the school(s) of his/her choice (or to save for future years). The schools, public or private, get no budget whatsoever except what they earn from their customers by providing them with a usable education.
As a group, we've learned to accept failure that none of us would tolerate as individual customers shopping for an education for our children. As a result, it's time to take the education decisions away from the group and return them to the individual.
John R. Pack
Sandy