Is compulsory public education a good thing?

Question

I have a couple problems with the idea of forced education:

(1) Education involves mental labor. Forced labor is commonly called slavery.

(2) It seems to ignore the obvious fact that the first and primary educators of children are their parents. In wresting the mental development of children away from their parents, the state effectively instills its own particular ideologies into their young minds. State control of people's minds is often called fascism (though this would admittedly be a very incomplete definition).

(3) Despite the advantages of education, some parents would not bother to educate their children. In light of this, I would expect that in addition to higher wages for the moderately educated, a worker class would emerge which could easily man the agricultural sector, eliminating the worker shortage that necessitates the influx of foreign immigrants.

Answer 1

Hmmmm...I think you make some really good points, but your point # 3 is kind of why I'm in favor of compulsory education.

If I thought that people were inherently good and productive, I might agree with you...but I know too many lazy and neglectful people who would offer thier children NO EDUCATION if not forced to send them to the free one available.  Consider all the discussion about children that aren't being parented at all.  Some people really do only parent just because it's the law.  I'm thankful for thier children that those parents, at minimum, must send them to public schools.  Otherwise, those children might be left with NO resources, no help, no education and thus forced to be lower class citizens by circumstance.

I'm all for choice.  If a person chooses to make nothing of themselves, so be it...but the beauty of America is all that is available to its citizens.  I LOVE THAT.  You can come here illiterate, abused, rejected and unwanted...but can learn and grow and become something despite your background or family history.  I would HATE for that to be taken away in favor of letting people just do whatever.  Some kids would thrive, but others would be neglected.

Now in spite of all of that, I'm very much in favor of educational choice.  I would like to see the other educational options have more respect in our society.  I would like to see homeschooling be a more viable option for more people and NOT be an uphill battle that gets people shunned and looked at funny.  But for those parents who aren't inclined to homeschool or who aren't even interested in providing thier children with basic education I'm thankful that thier is a public education system

Answer 2

doesn't sound good

Answer 3

I no longer believe in compulsory education.  You would likely enjoy this blog:

http://www.school-is-h**l.blogspot.com

Answer 4

I am a teacher, so of course I believe in education.  Must it be compulsory?  I think so.

1)  Interesting idea, but there are some key differences. Slavery involves forcing someone to work for someone ELSE'S benefit.  If done "right", Education primarily benefits the INDIVIDUAL.  It also benefits society as a whole.

    Also, no one can "force" you to learn anything, as legions of dropouts can attest.  People have an opportunity to take advantage of...or not.  If you refuse to learn, you leave.

2)  It is legal to homeschool your children in all 50 states, as long as you follow your state guidelines.  100 years ago, MOST children were either working or being schooled somewhat informally.  1200 kids in a school taught by strangers is a relatively recent phenomenon.

    The state does not "control minds."  Push certain ideas, sure.  But people are free to question or reject anything they learned in school.  Universities sometimes get in trouble when professors reject conventional ideas.

3) This is actually an argument FOR compulsory education.  Some would argue that in a post-slavery society, blacks were provided with a substandard education that ASSIGNED them such a role.  Being trapped in a crappy, minimum wage job because you don't have any skills?  That sounds more like slavery to me than teaching a 5 year old to learn to read.

Answer 5

You'd be surprised at how smart some of the so-called uneducated children become!  Many are "unschooled" by their parents and they have no trouble becoming capable college students.  It's amazing.

We choose to follow a semi-structured academic plan --- the children use a method of self-teaching that enables them to learn to study and to study to learn.  

It is very simple yet very productive.  The student works through a math lesson with 99% supervision and 1% aid (if needed).  The next step is to write a full page convincing essay every day.  Then they read, read, and read for 2 hours or more.  The remainder of the day is wide open for individual pursuits ---- jobs, clubs, games, sports, crafts, hobbies, etc. etc. etc.

Our friends that *do* school the same way have gone on to Graduate School.  Some have doctorates in their field.

Those that choose to go directly into the workforce instead of college are doing very well in their chosen jobs.  

This is all done without ever setting foot in a public-school classroom.

Answer 6

You are spot on. Do you listen to Boortz? The idea of government schools never frightened me when I knew them as "public" schools and went to them. I'm glad I got out when I did.

Answer 7

Whew, you've raised some good points. *Public* education is not compulsory in the US, however. If you don't like the educational system, you can pull your kid out, send her to private school, or even homeschool.

I agree with your statement that parents are ultimately responsible for their children's education. The task can certainly be delegated, however. If parents truly are responsible for their children's education and they choose to enroll their kids in the public education system, are they then not indirectly showing their approval of the methods and ideologies employed in America's schools by not "opting out"? They are ultimately responsible for what goes into their children's minds, remember.

Additionally, under the Constitution, the State is only allowed the authority delegated to it by the People. Thus, the State is not really "wresting the mental development of children away from their parents" by requiring compulsory education of any form. They were given that authority at some point in time. If the People decide they no longer want compulsory education, then it is up to them to rescind the State's authority. We have already seen a demonstration of parents reclaiming the authority for their children's education in the private school movement and later the homeschooling movement so changes in the educational system certainly are possible.

Answer 8

Your ideas are very sharp. I recommend reading Education: Free and Compulsory by Murray N. Rothbard. It is available for free at www.mises.org

Answer 9

I think you make an assumption here that may not be true.

#1 Slavery is forced labor for the benefit of someone else. A child profits from education it doesn't matter if it is public, private, or home school. They still benefit from being able to do even the rudimentary things.

#2 While the parents are the primary educators of young children some parents chose to send their kids to schools believing that it is best for their kids.

I do agree that the public system has an agenda that isn't for the parents belief system but unfortunately in this day in age it's the nature of the beast and our nation is moving farther and farther from the beliefs that this nation was founded on. There is more and more persecution of Christians in public and that includes the government and school system. I believe politics should be left out of the schools but that won't happen since the government funds them.

#3 If school were not compulsory then what you describe in the 3rd section would become true. Except the problem is that even in agriculture you need an education! A farmer needs to know how to read and understand what he reads to put new practices in use. He needs to know math in order to know how much pesticide (if he uses them) to apply to keep his crop healthy without causing to much harm to the environment and people who consume his food. He needs Science so that he can understand and test new theories in farming. He needs history so that he can know what has succeeded and what has failed. The old saying says that those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it (good or bad).

I home school because I believe that my children deserve better than what the schools in my area can provide. They will have a better education than I  received and be ready for college when the time comes.

We have a freedom to chose what education our children get because of the Constitution. If our children don't learn what rights they have how can they become productive citizens?

Answer 10

I don't think that compulsory public education is even constitutionally supportable, let alone a good thing.

All of your points are good, except I am not sure I like the sound of #3, even if there is truth to it.  Regardless I see know reason why education should have to be PUBLIC, as long as an education is taking place,  that should be all that matters.