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Freedom Action of the Week
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Free-Market.Net's F r e e d o m A c t i o n o f t h e W e e k
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Edited by Thomas L. Knapp. To subscribe or unsubscribe to this and
other lists, click to: http://www.free-market.net/features/lists/
----- Featured Action of the Week -----
Second Week of July 2001:
The World's Shortest Education Survey
Education is one of those "hot-button" issues that are difficult to
discuss. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone seems to be firmly set in
that opinion. It's hard to change minds when it comes to how our children
are to be taught, by whom, and at whose discretion.
Several years ago, I signed the Proclamation for the Separation of School
and State. Earlier this year, you saw the Proclamation featured in this
column. It's a great platform on which to stand for liberty.
The ongoing task, though, is to change the minds of those who see public
education as a "good thing badly handled," who believe that it can be
"reformed," and who want to see it "saved." The group of people currently
working for the separation of school and state is dedicated and skilled --
and growing -- but ultimately we have to make our case to larger numbers of
people. People who are not, at this time, on our side. People who have to
be convinced.
Not too long ago, the Separation of School and State Alliance introduced a
new tool. You may recognize its similarity to another tool -- the World's
Smallest Political Quiz -- that libertarians have been using for years to
demonstrate our basic affinity with the interests of most people. The
similarity shouldn't be surprising: Marshall Fritz, head of the Alliance,
formerly led the Advocates for Self-Government, the group that popularized
the World's Smallest Political Quiz.
The World's Shortest Education Survey is a fine piece of work in a way that
the Quiz isn't. Where the quiz aims to categorize people politically based
on several positions, the Survey takes a slightly different tack: it
reveals the proper position on one issue by referencing the respondent's
likely, and also proper, position on another. It asks five questions each
dealing with who should be ultimately making the decisions about children's
education: parents, government or someone else.
Based on the extremely reasonable notion that it is parents who should
decide what schools their children should attend, what they should be
taught, how often they should go, and who is qualified to teach them, the
Survey wraps up with a kicker: who should pay for it? The respondent, of
course, is now forced to confront the fact that he or she wants parents in
charge of everything else, and is likely to have an epiphany. Parents, of
course, should be paying for what they provide or control.
This, of course, leads inexorably to the position that school and state
should be separated. It does so in a way that illustrates the logical
progression, rather than simply asserting the position.
It's a good tool.
Let's use it.
We've developed a printable graphic of the World's Shortest Education
Survey. It's 3.5" by 6.5", small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, be
inserted in an envelope, or left tucked unobtrusively between the pages of
a book.
This week, power up your printer and run off a few copies of the Survey.
Keep some on hand to give to friends who might better understand your
position after answering the questions. Make a trip to your local library,
visit the section dealing with education policy, homeschooling, etc., and
drop a few copies into the books that are checked out by concerned parents
looking for answers.
If you have a personal or political web site, linking to the Alliance's
site, or to the online version of the survey, would be in order.
Let's start expanding the ranks of those who realize that government and
education don't mix.
World's Shortest Education Survey, Side 1:
http://www.free-market.net/images/features/actions/schoolcard1.jpg
World's Shortest Education Survey, Side 2:
http://www.free-market.net/images/features/actions/schoolcard2.jpg
Online version of the World's Shortest Education Survey:
http://209.24.29.72/NEP/
Separation of School and State Alliance Home Page:
http://www.sepschool.org/
Advocates for Self-Government (Home of the World's Smallest Political Quiz):
http://www.self-gov.org/
Action of the Week archive:
http://www.free-market.net/features/list-archives/activism/maillist.html
----- Alternate Actions -----
The Freedom Action of the Week Club: Commit yourself to doing one
action per week. If the action above doesn't appeal to you, consider
one of the alternate actions at:
http://www.free-market.net/features/action/
If you know about another action or organize one of your own, e-mail
Tom at tlknapp@free-market.net so we can tell the rest of the group
next week.
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