A vote for vouchers put students ahead of the union
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By Teresa Hislop
Guest commentary
I taught at Ben Lomond High School for more than five years. While there I worked with many incredible people and dedicated educators. During that time I was a Utah Education Association/National Education Association member. I currently teach science at the Utah's Electronic High School, a public school housed in the State Office of Education. Our children attend Weber School District's Midland Elementary.
Midland has a fabulous faculty and staff; we are pleased with the education they are receiving there and have no plans to withdraw them from the school.
I am also an adamant supporter of vouchers. I feel very strongly that vouchers will improve education. The following are a few of the reasons I support vouchers.
As a UEA/NEA member, I attended meetings and even made phone calls encouraging citizens to vote for candidates labeled "education-friendly" by the union. In my experience, union members always chose teachers over students. When teacher and student needs paralleled, the students benefited. However when union wants conflicted with students' best interests, the union's desires always won out. NEA, the national teachers' union that donated $1.5 million to defeat vouchers, also spends money to promote condoms in schools, abortion on demand, gun control and non-traditional values.
UEA/NEA puts union needs first. Parents put children's needs first.
Vouchers will return a measure of accountability to the educational system. Under the current educational monopoly, there is no need for schools to respond to parental concerns. Parents anxious about class size, track assignment (in year-round schools), choice of classroom teacher or curriculum that promotes nontraditional values have little recourse under the current system.
They can live with the decisions that are made without their input or home school their children. Vouchers give parents a choice; they introduce accountability to the consumer into the educational system.
Though some claim that vouchers benefit only the rich, the opposite is true. Wealthy people already have school choice. Because they have the funds, they can choose private schools should they so desire.
By offering funds to those with lower incomes, vouchers give a school choice option to those who cannot currently afford private schooling.
Vouchers will catalyze change. As parents exercise the voucher option, schools will rise to address the reasons for students' departure.
Public school officials will figure out ways to utilize the money (estimated to be $5,500 per student) left in the system when students leave.
They will figure out ways to reward good teachers, dismiss inadequate teachers, reduce class size and address parental concerns. Both public and private schools will compete to best address children's educational requirements. Parents will not select private schools that fail to adequately address standards.
Public schools that excel will gain and retain students. Parents will choose the institutions that best address the distinct, individual needs of their children. Everyone wins -- except union leadership.
A vote for vouchers is a vote to put children's needs first.
Hislop lives in Roy.
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