As both a parent and a scholarly observer of efforts to improve education, I have developed an acute appreciation of how the public schools influence both the information provided consumers and the expression of consumer preferences. Not only are the schools a monopoly supplier of education, they monopolize discussions of educational issues at the state and community level. As anyone who has participated in a public discussion of a local educational issue can report, voices friendly to the status quo are recognized and legitimated. Voices that question or dissent are marginalized. It is a frustrating experience.
Skeptics find themselves at a considerable disadvantage.
The schools profess to be the only competent spokesmen for students' educational needs and they speak in impenetrable jargon. Not only are dissatisfied individuals unable to understand or counter official pronouncements, they often find themselves isolated and their views characterized as poorly informed and extreme. In essence, public discussion of education typically takes place in such a way that there is no credible alternative to the views expressed or endorsed by the local schools. Most often consumers' views are treated as a nuisance to be circumvented or ignored. Consumers not only lack credibility, they usually lack the leadership, organization, and resources necessary to organize themselves.