The Miseducation of a Nation

Linda Schrock asks:

"Why are we not providing the children of today with rapid opportunities to become successful readers? Why aren't the children of today, with all of the technology and resources now available, learning to read faster and better than the children of the late 1700's and early 1800's?"

My answer: because education is a state monopoly. Schools have no incentive to improve. In the private sector, companies constantly try to better each other in order to gain market share. A private firm that falls behind quickly finds its former customers in the arms of its competitors. Meanwhile, parents are forced to pay for public schools, whether they are satisfied with the product or not. Public schools are actually better off if parents are dissatisfied with the product. The public school bureaucrats still get tax dollars from the families of home schooled and privately educated children, but they don't have to pay out the expense of "educating" them.

Those industries that have managed to stay out of state control have advanced quite a good deal since the late 1700's (think: horse and buggy vs. Lexus RX Hybrid). Meanwhile, government schools have actually managed to regress over the past 250 years.

By the way, I thoroughly suggest thumbing through the Linda Schrock archives on LewRockwell.com for an inside view on the state educational system. You'll be as horrified as I am at the prospect of leaving your child's development in the hands of leviathan.