BREAKING FREE: PUBLIC SCHOOL LESSONS AND THE IMPERATIVE OF SCHOOL CHOICE

by Sol Stern Encounter Books, 2003 248 pages, $29.95 To order: (800) 786-3839 www.encounterbooks.com

There's no time like back-to-school time to recall how, last year, the Supreme Court made it easier for poor families to take control of their children's education. In Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the court upheld the constitutionality of a school voucher plan in Cleveland. The plan provides subsidies for poor parents who choose to send

their children to a private, often religious, school. The court found that such a voucher system did not violate the First Amendment's prohibition on the establishment of religion.

Vouchers have become one of the hottest political issues in American politics. Proponents argue that excessive public school bureaucracy, entrenched and unresponsive teachers unions, arcane certification requirements and “politically correct” ideology have all conspired to create a strangle-hold on the public education system. Opponents argue that vouchers are simply an excuse to abandon the commitment to public education. Sol Stern's new book is an account of that debate and a persuasive case for dramatically restructuring American public education to provide all parents with educational choice.

The book is divided into three parts. The first, “My Public School Lessons,” recounts Stern's personal experiences with the New York public school system. Stern is himself a product of that system, as are his two sons; his wife is a public school teacher. Although his sons went to good public schools, he nevertheless learned from them “about the lethal combination of a self-interested and powerful teachers union, a dysfunctional bureaucracy and progressive education fads that was damaging all children.” The second section, “Union Dues,” emphasizes how intense bureaucratization and a belief that ever-increasing budgets and constricting certification regulations trump substantive educational goals. The final section lays out the case for vouchers as a way to help both public and private schools by infusing choice and flexibility.

Stern is a gifted journalist, and the policy arguments he makes are strengthened by vivid portraits of the teachers, administrators and students who are directly affected by the system. He is careful to praise as well as to criticize, but he is unsparing with those he sees as not having children's interests at heart. He is particularly critical of education philanthropists who “expected excellence for their own children's elite schools, yet in their rush to feel good about themselves they showed no interest in applying the same standard” to public schools that they assume must be of a lesser caliber.

Catholic schools are sometimes the only alternative for poor parents, many of whom go to great lengths to find the tuition money. In “Catholic School Lessons,” Stern shows that the Catholic schools prove that neither more money nor onerous educational qualifications necessarily helps children. Catholic schools generally outperform public schools in the same neighborhoods with far fewer resources. Their success, Stern argues, lay in their beliefs in achievement, discipline, organization and the lack of bureaucracy or onerous certification requirements. There is no reason why public schools cannot follow this model. Vouchers, Stern hopes, would permit public schools to learn from the flexibility and values of parochial system to benefit all children.

The debate over vouchers should not be about the First Amendment but about fairness and equality, and a desire to give children the best education possible. Affluent parents already have school choice; they can afford to send their children elsewhere and avoid failing public schools. Before Zelman, poor parents were without that option and stranded without recourse in a failing system. That no longer needs to be the case.

Gerald J. Russello writes from Brooklyn, New York.