Among the items awaiting Congress when it returns from its August break is
reconciling competing House and Senate bills reauthorizing No Child Left Behind.
These bills passed early this spring. Each bill is being marketed as a huge
step toward restoring state and local control over education. However, an examination
of both bills shows that both provide local schools with only limited relief
from a few federal mandates.
The biggest problem with these so-called reform bills is that they do not
significantly reduce federal education spending. Congress and the executive
branch use the promise of "free" money -- which they have taken from the American
taxpayer -- to convince state and local governments to allow the federal government
to control the classrooms. The only way to protect American schoolchildren
from schemes like Common Core is to repeal, not replace, the federal Department
of Education.
Restoring local control over education would be a good step toward restoring
constitutional government. However, simply replacing federal bureaucrats with
state, or even local, bureaucrats will not create an education system capable
of leaving no child behind.
The key to real education reform is to give parents control over education
by giving them control over the education dollar. When parents control the
education dollar, schools must be responsive to parental demands that children
receive a quality education that meets their unique needs. Therefore, if Congress
was serious about improving education, it would defund the warfare-welfare
state, which would then allow dramatically reduced taxes. Congress could also
end the Federal Reserve, thus freeing middle and working class Americans from
the regressive inflation tax.
In order to make parental control meaningful, parents must be able to choose
from a variety of education alternatives. Thus, private schools, religious
schools, and homeschools must be allowed to compete in a free market without
government interference. This would allow parents to choose an appropriate
education for their child.
The growing popularity of homeschooling has already created a thriving market
in homeschooling curricula. Working with a team of scholars, I have developed
my own homeschooling curriculum. My homeschooling curriculum provides students
with a rigorous education in history, math, English, foreign languages, and
other subjects. The curriculum is designed to benefit both college-bound students
and those interested in pursuing other educational or career opportunities.
The curriculum features three tracks: natural science/math, social sciences/humanities,
and business. Students may also take courses in personal finance and public
speaking. The government and history sections of the curriculum emphasize Austrian
economics, libertarian political theory, and the history of liberty. Unlike
the curricula in too many government-run schools, my curriculum never sacrifices
education quality to ideological indoctrination.
The curriculum is free for students from kindergarten through fifth grade.
Families with a student above the fifth grade pay $250 a year, plus $50 per
course.
I am offering three special deals to allow parents to see if my curriculum
is right for their child. One is an academic boot camp, designed especially
for college-bound students. This is a six-week course that should help students
raise their grade point average by at least a full point.
The curriculum is also offering special courses in phonics and mathematics
for preschoolers. Both courses consist of 40 video-based lessons designed to
teach children basic math and reading in two months.
If you are a parent searching for an appropriate homeschool curriculum for
your child, please consider enrolling your child in my academic boot camp,
my preschool mathematics program, or my preschool phonics program. Go to ronpaulcurriculum.com for
more information.
