7 lies public school advocates recite and repeat

Public school advocates will defend the system with lies, whether they realize they’re spitting fibs in your face or if it’s sheer ignorance. 

Most parents I’ve met are major public school advocates. And today, I’m challenging seven fibs that they’ve recited and repeated in the way the State wants them to.

The list I concocted below stems from my observations spanning 25-plus years, since I was in grade school. Chances are, I could’ve written a list of 50 items, but to start things off, the seven biggest lies public school advocates tell was a good place to start.

Oh, and these lies are coming from people across the political spectrum, so it’s not limited to the Left or Right. Let’s get started.

1 – Homeschooled kids lack social skills

A lie I’ve heard repeated more than any other throughout the years, and one that watching too much TV plays a role in. While I’m sure it’s a thing, every single homeschooled kid I’ve ever met was more talkative, more sophisticated, and had a broader range of interest than anyone who grew up in the public school system.

2 – Private schools exploit families

These people usually cite cherry-picked studies from their allies in academia. But private schools only exploit and take advantage of families and students when they’re allowed to.

The best way to negate this is to deregulate, tear down the barriers to entry, and flood the market with private education. Schools practicing exploitative tactics would cease to exist unless the government arm is holding them up.

3 – Public schools are community cornerstones

High school football, a meeting hub for parents, and a centralized location for kids are a few reasons public school advocates repeat this lie. But here’s the kicker: Local property taxes comprise the bulk of a school’s funding. 

Instead of that money staying in private hands and going toward consumer demand, residents of any district are left without a choice but to fund a so-called “cornerstone” without consent. Governments decide for communities what their cornerstone will be, whether individual families want it or not.

4 – Education must be exclusive to the classroom

I’ll never know why I’ve heard this one repeated throughout the last quarter century. When you were first learning about the world, were you sitting in a classroom?

Did you learn to talk in a classroom? To walk? Perhaps even to learn colors, perform basic math, or read basic words? Did you first learn to interact with others in a classroom?

This one might be the most ridiculous argument because it’s so easy to not only debate, but debunk. Yet, somehow, people fall for it.

5 – We need public schools to provide extracurriculars

This one ties back into the “cornerstone” claim listed above. In reality, public schools monopolize extracurriculars, whether or not they bring in money.

If extracurriculars shifted into the market, only those churning out profits would survive, and that’s a good thing. This method wouldn’t “shatter a kid’s dreams” if there was no volleyball or softball program. Instead, it would be an opportunity for them to get together and start their own league.

And best yet, they would find creative ways to draw crowds and share the profits should they be successful. Instead, public schools “providing” extracurriculars contribute to that culture of dependency that has been plaguing America and the West.

6 – Kids in private schools are more likely to ‘sleep with each other’

Seriously, I’ve been told this. Again, it’s one of the most ridiculous arguments I’ve come across. But one parents and peers have repeated since my middle school days. You always heard that girls who slept around with guys the most went to the Catholic schools.

And while I don’t doubt that sh*t was going on—I once hung out with a Catholic girl who had a reputation for this—in actuality, it was going on in all schools. Simple conversations with people from other districts was enough for me to stick a dagger into this claim.

This one’s neither a public nor private school problem, but a societal one. One way to fix it is to start embracing the family structure, religion, and community on a voluntary level. All three aspects compete with the State, which funds public schools through multiple flows—from the local, state, and federal levels.

7 – Public schools guarantee kids a right to education

We already established education doesn’t confine itself to the classroom. People are born curious and with a unique array of interests. That means they’ll organically educate themselves and become experts in what they’re interested in without the need for a public school classroom.

If anything, the opposite is true. Public schools are more likely to guarantee indoctrination, not education. And they rendered many of our curious, creative minds void. This is why, by one’s senior year of high school, kids can’t wait to get out of these so-called “learning institutions.”

Let’s face it. Public school is miserable to most except for a hallowed few who excel within its system. But most of us, like the protagonist in my young adult fantasy, Yote Diamondback, excel more when they’re directing their own education.

Enter the Arcane Elemental Academy

It’s something Yote learns to do at the Arcane Elemental Academy, an umbrella academy featuring 32 competing schools. Yote’s in for a surefire culture shock, but she learns quickly that those around her love Arcane’s system.

Meet her before she ventures to Arcane and check out the first three chapters of Book I, The Arcane Prophecy. And if you like Harry Potter mixed with a good dose of anarcho-capitalism, brace yourself for something amazing.