Kids eveywhere are heading back to school, but sadly for many that doesn’t mean much learning will be going on. In a piece for the Washington Times, Heritage’s Dan Lips provides a sobering look at our disappointing education system (too many kids learn very little and don’t get very far in spite of a $100,000 investment in them through our public schools) and then turns the question to the public:
Why are the special-interest groups so successful [at blocking reform]? Because their livelihoods are on the line. They recognize that they’re fighting for control of a $600 billion per year enterprise. And they’re willing to do whatever it takes — including hiring countless lobbyists and spending untold millions to win elections across the country — to see that their interests are protected.
Can the same be said of parents, students and taxpayers — everyone who should be concerned about the quality of our nation’s schools? Have we done all that we can to convince our leaders and neighbors of the urgency of the education crisis and the need to put children’s futures ahead of the special interests? You know the answers to these questions.
The simple truth is, we are responsible for the crisis in American education. We have let it happen. And millions of children will continue to pass through our nation’s schools without reaching their potential so long as we, as a nation, continue to do nothing.
This is an issue that everyone should get involved in–it’s not just a federal issue, but people should be speaking up to their school boards and local representatives that our schools can and should do better and that starts with putting the kids (not politics) first.