EXCLUSIVE — This presidential
election
season has thus far afforded precious little oxygen to top
Republican
voter priorities, such as inflation reduction, violent crime, immigration, and education. While coverage remains laser-focused on the Trump indictment circus and debate stage pyrotechnics, specific policy proposals on crucial issues have garnered little attention. As the race (incredibly) enters its tenth month, the electorate remains fuzzy over key policy differences between the candidates.
That’s why it was refreshing to see Republican presidential contender Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) release a detailed plan to improve the educational outcomes and mental health of our nation’s youth earlier this week. It would be difficult to identify a more pressing concern for voting adults nationwide, nor a more consequential matter for the continued prosperity of our nation and our ability to remain the preeminent global superpower. With achievement in American education
tanking across subjects
at an alarming rate in recent years relative to other major nations, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic, a comprehensive overhaul of the institution is long overdue.
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In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Sen. Scott stressed the need to introduce competition into the education system, which he likened to a monopoly.
“To introduce school choice in our K-12 education system would be incredibly important,” Sen. Scott told the Examiner. “I don’t care if that’s public school choice, charters, private school, or home school. The fact of the matter is that if you arm parents with choice, the kids will have a better chance to succeed. Competition will make people work a little harder and focus a little better on their priorities. Today, 25% of the top 100 high schools in the nation are charter schools. But only 12% of the overall high schools in the nation are charter schools. They are outperforming their peers.”
To the bureaucrats who have run our education system into the dirt by
spending untold millions on sharply ideological social-emotional learning
programs, caving to the corrupt teachers unions’ every demand, such as extended school closures and masking during the pandemic, and failing to implement evidence-based instruction, Scott’s plan might seem simplistic. But that’s only because common sense is foreign to most of our nation’s education leaders.
“Why not put more resources in the pockets of successful programs and give them more of an opportunity to spread in order to provide better outcomes for the poorest and most vulnerable kids, whether in rural Iowa or inner-city Chicago?” Sen. Scott said. “Funding what works, giving major buckets of resources to what works, Title I dollars to kids from underperforming schools and Title II dollars to kids with special needs. Making those ‘backpackable,’ so to speak, gives them a chance to succeed.”
Indeed, another major aspect of Sen. Scott’s education plan is to break the back of teacher’s unions, which have accrued vast political power in the 21st century at the expense of student achievement.
“The antagonist of the story, of course, is the teachers unions, who stand in the doorway and lock kids into failing schools. Breaking the back of teachers unions requires choice in education. Giving principals and local leaders the right to hire and fire teachers and administrators is so important,” he said.
Scott is also quick to emphasize the connection between mental health and student achievement. He hopes to “restore American childhood” by, among other things, restricting the ability of Big Tech to profit off of addictive and mind-numbing content that exacerbates the youth mental health crisis. The tobacco companies were once regulated for hooking children on a product that was, in many ways,
less noxious than social media apps
such as TikTok. It’s time Big Tech received similar treatment.
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“We’re looking at parental access for having access to social media for kids before the age of 13,” Sen. Scott said. “We need to make sure we give parents as much control over the decisions their kids are making on social media platforms. We saw a 30% increase during the pandemic in kids going to the ER because of mental health episodes. That is something we should pay very close attention to, and social media plays a significant role”
In the height of political silly season, it is refreshing, and dare I say, cause for hope, to see a major presidential candidate focus on something that matters. The restoration of the nation’s education system is paramount to the health of our nation. Republican primary voters should give Sen. Scott and his plan a long look from now till Iowa.
Peter Laffin is a contributor at the Washington Examiner. His work has also appeared in RealClearPolitics, The Catholic Thing, and the National Catholic Register.
