Years ago, an abused and abandoned little boy was placed in state care. He suffered from learning delays, was hyper-vigilant and nervous, had been diagnosed with ADHD and attachment disorder and was highly distrustful of adults. He was placed in our home as a foster child. After a few months his behavior had stabilized enough to attend first grade in a formal classroom.
The problem was the public school to which local administrators assigned him, using a blind algorithm based on zip codes, was on the state’s Failing Public Schools list, and there was no indication that conditions there would improve anytime soon.
To get him into a school that met his needs we offered to pay, out of pocket, tuition at an excellent private school in the neighborhood. “No,” his state case worker carefully explained, “The child is a ward of the state. He must attend the public school assigned by the local district.”
So here was a needy child trapped in a socialistic, public monopoly system that offered no choices or alternatives.
There was only one solution: We adopted him. Instantly, a world of free market education options opened up for him. The child still faced many personal and learning challenges, but access to free market choices provided the teachers, online resources and supportive social environment he needed. Today he’s in college.
True, this solution came with some financial sacrifice, but it was worth it to gain access to market choices. If policymakers would allow more access to learning options, or better yet, provide public resources directly to families, the power of the free market in destroying ignorance could be made available to all children.
