One Size Does Not Fit All | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary

One Size Does Not Fit All | Neal McCluskey | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'The best way to look at education is not as a private or public good, but from the perspective of reality: All people are different, and diverse people cannot be equally served by a single school system. Some parents want their children to learn that Columbus was good, some bad. Some kids are ready for algebra in eighth grade, some as sophomores. Some students respond well to zero-tolerance discipline, others don't.

Once you acknowledge reality, there's no question that a monolithic system will be hopelessly inefficient. Worse yet, it will foster incessant conflict as people try to get the schools to teach the things they — not somebody else — want.'

'But what about the public good? Aren't there some things that we agree every child must learn?

If we all agree, then freedom is no threat; parents will choose schools that teach those things. And if we don't?

Look no further than endless warring over evolution to see what happens when we ignore reality in service of the perceived public good. As Michael Berkman and Eric Plutzer recently documented, even when state standards call for the teaching of evolution, big percentages of high school biology teachers skip it. Why? To avoid conflict with objecting parents and students.

In other words, by trying to force evolution instruction on everyone, even those who want it often miss out.'