Explore Freedom

Government Can’t Run Schools Like Businesses

by Thomas L. Johnson January 1, 2005

What this all boils down to is, are we trying to raise sheep — timid, docile, easily driven or led — or free men? If what we want is sheep, our schools are perfect as they are. If what we want is free men, we’d better start making some big changes. — John Holt, The Underachieving School Just ... [click for more]

The Great Voucher Fraud

by Laurence M. Vance December 1, 2004

The mantra of “school choice” is repeated endlessly by proponents of educational vouchers, and is getting louder. But does an income-transfer program cease to be an income-transfer program just because it is recommended by conservatives, libertarians, a Republican president, and free-market economists? Advocates of educational reform are agreed on one thing: the doleful condition of the public school system. But ... [click for more]

State-Run Schools: The New Caesaropapism

by Lawrence M. Ludlow September 1, 2004

After two and a half years of the so-called war on terror, it is disturbingly clear that the attacks of 9/11 were the result of an immoral U.S. foreign policy and that the government’s inability to prevent the attacks represents a massive and inexcusable failure. Nonetheless, faith in government reached epidemic levels in the aftermath of 9/11. Instead of wholesale ... [click for more]

Spotsy High a Prison

by Thomas L. Johnson September 1, 2004

How can we speak of democracy or freedom when from the very beginning of life we mold the child to undergo tyranny, to obey a dictator? … How can we expect them, when school-life is finished, to accept and use the rights of freedom? — Maria Montessori, Education for a New World Two Spotsylvania High School students have been very ... [click for more]

How Brown v. Board of Education Throttled Black Schooling

by Sheldon Richman August 1, 2004

The Law of Unintended Consequences is always in force. Given the inherent uncertainty of the future and the interconnectedness of things, any action is subject to the likelihood that some effects will be unexpected. Among these, some will be welcome, others distasteful. There is, in this law, a practical argument for ... [click for more]

Drugs and Schooling: The Meaning of State Education

by Sheldon Richman February 1, 2004

When an opponent declares, “I will not come over to your side,” I calmly say, “Your child belongs to us already.” —Adolf Hitler What do government schooling and the mislabeled “war on drugs” have in common? Both are primary mechanisms of social engineering, each designed to subordinate ... [click for more]

To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool: How Both Sides Got it Wrong, Part 2

by Scott McPherson September 24, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 The opposing view to the “pro” home-schooling position taken by USA Today in their September 3 “Today’s Debate,” was written by Dennis L. Evans, director of doctoral programs in education leadership at the University of California, Irvine, who came out swinging. Writing under the heading “Home is no place for school,” Evans stated, “Home schooling ... [click for more]

To Homeschool or Not to Homeschool: How Both Sides Got It Wrong, Part 1

by Scott McPherson September 19, 2003

Part 1 | Part 2 It is highly encouraging that the topic of homeschooling is growing in popularity, a fact reflected by the increasing amounts of time being devoted to its discussion in the mainstream media. An example of this can be found in the September 3 issue of USA Today. In the “Today’s debate” section of the paper, USA ... [click for more]

Socialism Lives in Public Schools

by Thomas L. Johnson January 1, 2003

A piece entitled “Education is not just another product in the market economy,” by Bob Chase, president of the National Education Association, is one of the clearest expressions of socialism and collectivism that one could ever encounter. His article also contains both errors and omissions. He begins with a significant error. Chase claims that in the 19th century when people ... [click for more]

Should Government Run Churches … or Schools?

by Scott McPherson December 27, 2002

What if government ran our churches? Imagine the spectacle. If the government were in charge of religion, there would be just one for everyone. No more competition between differing sects and denominations. No longer would there be diverse and numerous places of worship flourishing all over our cities and ... [click for more]

Cancel Christmas, the Government Owns Your School

by Scott McPherson December 27, 2002

The moral case for separating school and state was made long ago. Still, the role that government played in micro-managing the holiday season in Americas public schools this year proved yet again the wisdom of this cause. In the December 20 Washington Times, readers got to glimpse another of the fiascoes which make up our government-run education system. An increasing ... [click for more]

The Problem Is the Schools

by Sheldon Richman August 20, 2002

I’ll bet Michael Newdow doesn’t care if private schools have kids say “under God.” Newdow is the father who sued the government school district near Sacramento, California, because his daughter’s school begins the day with the Pledge of Allegiance, which contains those words. An atheist, Newdow objects to the school’s ... [click for more]