On Art, On Politics

Stories of Milwaukee’s experimental voucherized school system, both hilarious and horrifying, have disenchanted many former fans of free market education theory. In the spring of 2005, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that: “Parental choice by itself does not assure quality. Some parents pick bad schools - and keep their children in them long after it is clear the schools are failing. This has allowed some of the weakest schools in the program to remain in business. “

That the silent force of the free market has failed to do its job does not sufficiently account for the disappointments of the Milwaukee experiments. In Milwaukee, for some reason, defective products persist past their expiration date and despite the dissatisfaction of consumers. In a system of choice, parents and students must become good consumers; a free market in which there is no standard of value is no market at all. It’s just free. And that’s stupid.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that not every school in the Milwaukee school voucher system is a disappointment, but where there is disappointment the findings are shocking. They report that the range of 115 voucher schools in the Milwaukee school system included successful schools as well as schools like the “Academy of Excellence Preparatory School, where reporters found only one administrators and two students the day they visited. The trio was about to leave for McDonald’s.”

The possibility of wasting taxpayers’ money on illegitimate schools is high in a system in which everyone is free to sell a product and for it there are no standards of valuation. Some time in the mid to late 1800’s New Jersey instituted a requirement that all teachers must provide proof of their credentials and “shall have first have deposited in the hand of the town clerk for the time being, of such township, precinct, or town corporate, a certificate, stating definitely the science, branch or branches of literature which such teacher, or teachers, respectively profess to teach.” This old degree of regulation might not be laissez-faire enough for voucher systems but perhaps Milwaukee’s children could have benefited from an innovation of this kind. It’s customary to level charges of child abuse against bad educators in some states. And surely, outside of New Jersey, child abuse isn’t only something that state workers do. It might be that the voucher institutions described in the Milwaukee article were actually composed of “certified” staff, which makes a case for teacher testing.

In a 2000 debate with Rick Lazio for the New York Senate, Hillary explained: “I’ve been involved with schools now for 17 years, working on behalf of education reform. And I think we know what works. We know that getting classroom size down works. That’s why I’m for adding 100,000 teachers to the classroom. We know that modernizing and better equipping our schools works. And we know that high standards works. But what’s important is to stay committed to the public school system, not siphon off money, as my opponent would, with vouchers.”

When we look to Milwaukee to verify Mrs. Clinton’s words, as many do, she seems to be right on top of things. Without some measure of quality, without standards, parents in Milwaukee were unable to say whether their child was receiving a quality education. This is mainly because, on its face, most education cannot be quantified. At least, if we don’t hold schools to state or national standards, evaluations of every school should be available to parents. However, it is not the case that In her 1996 book, It Takes A Village, Senator Clinton notes “some critics of public schools urge greater competition among schools as a way of returning control from bureaucrats and politicians to parents and teachers. I find their arguments persuasive, and that’s why I strongly favor promoting choice among public schools.”