Last week Betsy DeVos, the Secretary of the Department of Education, weighed in on the issue of school choice Towards the end of her presentation at the Brookings Institute Ms. DeVos not only slammed the current state of public education by declaring "the entrenched status quo has resisted models that empower individuals," she went further by comparing school choice to choosing a shared ridership over a taxi.
There are many disturbing and ill thought out points on such a strange comparison and I intend to contact Ms. DeVos to let her know that the comparison is no more apt than her noting the idea that guns need to be in some schools because of grizzly bears. You might remember that gem from her confirmation hearing.
Back to school choice and uber/lyft. Here's one point I want to bring up at the outset. A person choosing 'shared ridership' over a taxi is one that involves an expenditure of private dollars. That's all fine and good...a person's money is to be used as one sees fit. But the idea of 'choice' with regard to schooling, that is much different. With respect to the use of federal dollars this is now an issue that calls for the use of public funds.
This is one of many differences (I'll get to others tomorrow) where the taxi - uber/lyft comparison to 'choice' in school selection is, dare I say, a bogus one.
Dick
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