OPINION:
My husband, Scotty, and I are blessed to be the parents of three active boys, and, naturally, we spend a lot of time thinking about how to best set them up for success in life as adults. Each of our boys has different needs and ambitions which means that there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to parenting or educating in the Smiley household. There is also a lot of competition between the three of them, and this competitive spirit often pushes each to work harder and achieve more.
There are several parallels to be drawn between what Scotty and I are experiencing with our boys and our nation’s education system.
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The COVID pandemic revealed a lot of weaknesses in our school system, not the least of which is a lack of competition and attention to results. Competition has always been a primary driver of improvement, and a weakness in America’s education system is the lack of competition faced by public schools.
We need to ensure that quality education isn’t tied to a family’s ability to buy an expensive home in a good school district or pay twice for their children’s education through local taxes and private school tuition. Educational competition leads to higher educational quality, and everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, benefits.
The Iowa Test of Basic Skills, the California Achievement Test, the National Assessment of Education Progress … these are just a few of the many standardized tests American students have taken over the years. While one might look at all these different metrics and argue that there is a focus on results, I do not believe we spend enough time ensuring that, after 12 years of education, our students are equipped with the practical life skills necessary to become productive members of society.
A poll released by Rescuing the American Dream (RAD), a policy organization I founded earlier this year, demonstrated that education remains a top priority for American families.
However, it also showed a staggering number of voters (72%) believe that technical or vocational training is more valuable in the current job market than obtaining a traditional college diploma.
Despite this, gone are the days of shop class, home economics and apprenticeships in our modern schools depriving students of exposure to skills and trades that they could use immediately upon graduation. Just as my boys have different aspirations and needs, so too do America’s students. We need to ensure that our schools set all of them up for success in life, not just those seeking a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Where do we go from here?
First, we need to introduce more competition into our education system. One way policymakers can achieve that is by expanding school choice options. Education tax dollars need to follow the child which empowers parents to pick the educational model that best fits their child. Instituting a market approach to school funding inherently introduces a competitive element that rewards top-performing schools while necessitating that underperforming schools either reform or risk closure.
Additionally, we need to make sure teachers receive a salary commensurate with the important work they do. In my home state of Washington, the average teacher salary is $82,000, but bureaucrats working for the Department of Education earn an average salary of $131,000. This might seem to go against traditional conservative orthodoxy, but more competitive pay will lead to better teachers who spend their careers trying to ensure that America’s youth are prepared to thrive in their adult lives. It’s an important calling that deserves to be compensated accordingly.
Finally, conservative policymakers (at the federal and state levels) need to work to institute policies that end the stigma against students who choose not to go to college. This can be accomplished by any number of means, including expanding exposure to trades in high school and instituting apprenticeship programs as part of the school curriculum so that high school graduates are equipped with skills that can help them launch a career after graduation.
The beauty of this country is that we all have unique hopes and dreams that drive us to succeed and strengthen our communities. I want to see our education system reflect the diversity I see all around us so that every child is equipped to pursue their own version of the American Dream.
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Tiffany Smiley, a Washington native, is a national veterans advocate and was a 2022 candidate for the United States Senate. She is the founder of Endeavor PAC, which seeks to support new candidates for elected office; and Rescuing the American dream, a policy organization committed to developing, promoting and effectively communicating solutions to the challenges Americans face today.
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