The Libertarian Answer to the Worst Public Schools

   Public education is the biggest joke, and failure, of the United States in the past 50 years.  Chicago public school teacher’s union just turned down $76k/yr, plus benefits and a 9 month school year because the health benefits were not as high as before, and now they would have to be judged by the test scores of their students.  The city of Chicago spends $13,000 per student, and a large part of the money going to the schools is used to finance pensions and retirement funds of retired union teachers.  The answer?  More money?  If teachers in Chicago are not embarrassed, then let’s give them a reason to be afraid.  Here is my suggestion.  Close the worst schools in Chicago…fire the teachers and use the campus to start a new school run by former military personnel. 

1)      Military veterans returning from service who go get teaching credentials with their GI bill should get together with local businesses to start a school for inner city kids who cause disruption and have a history of violence or gang activity.  The school will be staffed by former military, and offer a disciplined and safe environment for these kids to learn a trade, or even get guidance on how to be prepared to join the military when they turn 18.

2)      This school will be run with the discipline of the military, with metal detectors, random or “for cause” drug screenings, dress code, and enhanced discipline/punishment methods proven to change even the hardest badass into a compliant "student".

3)      The class curriculum will be determined by areas of interest in trades like mechanics, air/heating systems, plumbing, culinary arts, as well the basics of math, reading and military history.

4)      Cost for this will be exponentially lower than $13,000/student, and may be offset with a voucher or tax credit for families that seek this option.  Also, the local businesses can utilize the school as a feeder for employees, or just donate because they want to improve their neighborhoods.

5)      Enrollment would come from voluntary enrollment, parents who just can’t control their kids or a judgment from a juvenile court system in lieu of incarceration.

Not only is this an old idea, it has been tried and successful in the past…until we allowed our teacher unions to control the system until it decays into what it is now.  This school could be the answer to sending kids to jail to learn even worse criminal behavior, and would save our city's precious financial resources for the kids who actually want to go to school to learn…now their only obstacle is to find a way to send the current teachers to a boot camp to learn how to be decent human beings instead of whiny, greedy, spoiled and lazy role models for our impressionable kids. 

 

-Rev