Cooperative Individualism

 

As I explained elsewhere, the education system for Libertarians is theoretically quite different than the education system that we employ today. The big idea behind it is self-directed learning, meaning the students make their own choices as far as their own education. So how does a self-directing education system work for the teachers and administrators? Here is a hypothetical breakdown of how a libertarian school system would operate.

For the Teachers

The Parents are in Charge

The first major change is that the parents would be in charge with paying the teachers, like they would a tutor in the current system. The parents would only pay the teachers that their children are signed up with. Since the students pick their own subjects and their own teachers, the amount paid would vary greatly between teachers.

Likewise, evaluations would happen through the parents, approving the success of a teacher and paying them accordingly. The major flaw with this set-up is what the parents are seeing versus what is actually happening in the classroom. If a student is uninterested in a subject matter, he or she could be inaccurately representing what the class looks like, putting fault unfairly with the teacher. In order to side-step this, it should be treated the same as a college course. There is a flat fee for the course that everyone pays, regardless of how well the student is performing or how interested the student is in the subject matter

Competitive Environment

Another big difference between the libertarian school system and our current system is that the teachers will now be competing for students. Since the more students that sign up for you class means the bigger paycheck you will earn, it would be in your best interest, as a teacher, to perform well. You need to make your class interesting and engaging in order to be successful.

If a student does not like a teacher’s class, it is easy to change to another class. The problem I see here is how the payments would transfer from one teacher to another, unless it is a monthly set up.

The Teachers Also Have Power

Do not think that the teachers are completely at the mercy of the students and parents, however. The purpose of having a free system, does not mean one party is free, but that everyone is free. So in terms of the teachers, they would have more power to remove students from the classroom than they do at the moment.

If a student is negatively impacting the classroom, the student can be kicked out. Of course, the teacher would lose the payment from that student’s parents, but on a positive note, the teacher will also get a positive reputation for being in control of the classroom and taking education seriously.

Administrators

School Funding

Schools are also run by a management team. This would not change, since someone needs to be in control of the school. The school administrators would gain funding from what the teachers are earning from the parents. Newer teachers would have to pay a higher portion of their profit to the administrators than more popular and experienced teachers.

There would be no excess in the budget because all necessities would be itemized out and then prioritized based on need. If the parents are pushing for something additional in the school, then it is put on the parents to find the means to achieve it.

Equipment Fees

Parents would need to pay equipment fees that were appropriate for each classroom. This would be how books would be purchased and classrooms would be maintained. An English class, for example, would require general maintenance, books, paper, and pens. A computer class, however, would be far more expensive due to the cost of the computer equipment.

This will put the financial value on the type of class it is rather than having everything treated equally, since that is really not the case with education an specific classes.

 

 

Since the Libertarian Party is based on the idea of “liberty” as well as minimalist government involvement, naturally a Libertarian-run school system would look differently than the system that we have today. But what exactly would the system look like? This is completely hypothetical, but this is the idea that I have for how a Libertarian school system would operate.

Testing

To begin with, let’s take a look at standardized testing. In a Libertarian school system, it would be unlikely that the students will be required to go through standard tests that are mandated by the government. Since the focus is on the individual, you cannot hold other students against each other. Tests may still be given, but perhaps not required, allowing teachers to evaluate their students at a level appropriate for both the grade as well as what fits the students well.

There is a lot of pressure put on students globally, forcing students to take tests and take them well in order to pass onto the next level of school. Students under testing pressure have been reported to suffer from depression and anxiety, which is not benefitting the success of students.

The Subjects

In order to have an education set-up that is better tailored for the success of students. Part of this would be making the selection of subjects optional. Teachers could provide introduction courses in order to demonstrate what the topics and subject covers, but then allow the students to pursue what interests them rather than force them to follow subjects that they would struggle through.

The idea behind this is that students who are more enthusiastic about learning will be more likely to encourage their peers and improve the overall enthusiasm of a classroom. If you have a group of people who are far more excited by their studies, the learning environment will be positive overall.

Difficulty

Instead of forcing students to take lower level courses that may bore them, students would have the option to freely move to higher levels without having completed the lower level. Likewise, if a subject matter is simply too challenging, students will have the option to move down a level.

The purpose behind this is that students should not be rated with ability by their age. Some students are going to be more advanced than students of the same age while some may be struggling to keep up. This would also alter socialization since students will not be making friends with kids that are the same age necessarily, but instead would be making friends based on similarities and interests.

Attendance

Attendance would be up to the student completely. They would not be penalized for absences. It is their responsibility to know what they can do to catch up. Students will be obligated to create their own timetables; no one is going to do it for them or tell them when to be and where. The key to this is that no one will do it for them after school is over, so they need to understand how that works now.

This will also breed an interest in school simply because no one is making them go to school. They will go because it is important and interesting to them, with the understanding of what the future career consequences would be if they fail to complete school. If a subject is not working out or is too hard, the students will have the opportunity to make the changes necessary to encourage them to succeed at school. While this may seem too hands-off to some, the concept is that children will learn organization and positive decision making young as well as understand that they have a direct hand in their own education, making them more involved than they are now.