This is why conservative candidates at every level need to continue to fight for school vouchers. Without vouchers, we condemn the least able, the most poor, and the perennially disenfranchised to criminally poor schools.
Eh. I'm not so enthusiastic about vouchers, since it still implies government control over where parents can send their children to school or what young Americans can study. In other words, vouchers are only Band-Aids on a gaping wound. I would rather that--
The Department of Education should be dismantled entirely.
Get rid of NCLB, as it federalizes what is the responsibility of individual parents and local communities.
"Sunset" the federal student loan program for college students. Any students who are still in the pipeline should be allowed to continue to borrow for up to seven years (depending on degree type), but no entering students should be allowed to borrow under the federal student loan program. The availability of cheap, government-backed credit has distorted the marketplace for higher education credentials (namely, undergraduate degrees) by essentially treating all degrees as equal when, in reality, different degrees and majors have different earning potentials. Federal loans have contributed largely to the persistent and dramatic increases in tuition and fees over the last three decades and have actually increased the percentage of graduating students who start their lives in debt.
At the local and state level, retain K-12 schools, merit-based post-secondary (vocational or "university") programs that are "high performing" (e.g., TJHSST in Northern Virginia). Establish a uniform set of standards (see the uniform set of test standards below) for these schools, and fund them in full.
Improve the quality and the security of public libraries, and explore widening access to major public research libraries through the use of digital technologies, using technologies that are open-source and based on open, public standards. Make course materials for undergraduate classes available for free over the Internet. Make available tutors (the equivalent of today's teachers) at local libraries, and allow tutors to set their hourly rates.
At the local and state level, establish a uniform set of tests that can be taken by individual students for a fixed per-test fee, and establish a uniform set of standards that constitute a "public education" (i.e., demonstrate competency on a number of tests, participate in an apprenticeship or hold a part-time job, etc.).
The purpose of public education is to provide citizens and other lawful residents with opportunities, regardless of their means, to improve themselves by gaining knowledge and skills and to become better people, i.e., people who will guard and defend the liberties and freedoms that have defined American society from its inception. That's the true goal of public education, and IMO, one that is consistent with the view of Mr. Jefferson.
Forget the traditional classroom with desks and a teacher. Make the information available for free in public libraries, organized of course, make tutors available on an hourly basis, and allow students to study on their own and pass certification tests. Lincoln studied by the fireside at night, in his spare time, and he became President.
How dare you use the word “ubiquity” with a public school educated person! (Seriously, I had to go and look it up.)