Parents are the adults closest to children, and, in almost all cases, know their children better than anyone else. Parents pay for public education through mandatory taxes. Most send their children to public schools, attend parent-teacher meetings and encourage their children to do homework. By and large, parents possess the best information about their children. Thus, the nature of the parental relationship suggests that there is great wisdom in giving parents the role of making major decisions about the education of their children. However, decisions about what schools their children attend and what education programs the schools use are typically made by the system's own professionals, says Jack Klenk, formerly of the U.S. Department of Education.
- The current educational system, created in the early nineteenth century, is overdue for a modernization that will make it more flexible, less bureaucratic and more family-friendly.
- To be authentically public, it must serve all parents without discrimination, parents from the whole public, not just those whose children attend one category of schools.
- For education to serve the public, it must give parents access to a variety of schools, not just government schools.
Source: Jack Klenk, "Who Should Decide How Children are Educated?" Family Research Council, March 2011.
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