Escape to Learning

Monopoly is the root of failure.

A monopoly is power of exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or control that makes possible the manipulation of prices. Since the purpose of a monopoly is to stifle competition, restrict freedom of commerce, and give the monopolist control over a given market, the courts have viewed such entities as anathema to the American free enterprise system. Various court decisions have underscored the belief that citizens are better served by competition than by monopolies; consequently, numerous monopolies have been dismantled by government action. The definition of “monopoly” certainly describes public elementary and secondary education, which has de facto exclusive authority over education, controlling its price and stifling competition. If the government pursued the public school monopoly as vigorously as it pursues private monopolies, the education business would be quite different.

Does a government monopoly provide the best way to help children acquire specific necessary knowledge and skills? No, because monopolies, except for a very narrow range of activities such as defense against foreign aggression, adjudication of disputes, and protection against domestic criminality, restrict options for customers. Therein lies the main problem with public education. Because it is a monopoly licensed by government, the public schools have no choice but to limit options. That is the whole purpose of a monopoly – to control the market, to control prices, and to control options. The lack of options in public education is not the fault of teachers, administrators, and school board members. They are only employees, trapped in a system over which they have little control – not that many of them would make changes even if they could.

The monopolistic structure of public schools demands that they limit educational options for students. The public schools are governed by one set of state laws, implemented by one state department of education, overseen by one school board, directed by one superintendent, administered by one principal, and bargained with by one union. The result is educational uniformity in which school districts are able to operate in only one way. For this reason, all public elementary and secondary schools are essentially alike. And because the schools are a government enterprise, all students must be treated equally, with no exceptions allowed. If an exception is made for one student, it must be made for all, and therefore is no longer an exception. As a school administrator, I wanted on countless occasions to help students, but if I did so, my actions would violate a school board policy, an administrative regulation, or a clause in the teacher union contract. A monopoly must operate in this way; otherwise, it would disintegrate.

A monopoly can work acceptably well when it is restricted to a very narrow service, such as trash collection. In the city where I reside, the municipal government collects all trash and yard waste. It’s a relatively simple task. Every Tuesday night residents in my part of town put their trash in plastic bags, each bag weighing no more than 20 pounds, and place it at the curb to be picked up the next day. On Wednesday nights, we place our yard waste in official city containers and place it at the curb for emptying the next day. This procedure works very well (even though contracting out would work better) because this monopoly serves a single need, that is, the removal of trash from homes. But the school monopoly is not servicing a narrow need. It is attempting to provide for the broad educational needs of a variety of children. No single education structure can satisfy the needs and wishes of all children. Children are unique individuals with individual learning styles.