Parents, families, and communities: ordinary people know more about education than any of the higher-ups in government, because they live with it everyday. How can we, as those ordinary people, harness that power?

On The State of Education with Melvin Adams, we talk a lot about school choice and school reform. Today we have a guest that shares that passion. We’re back with Frederick M. Hess, commentator and scholar, to talk through his book The Great School Rethink. Frederick has studied education for decades and has some ideas about how we can restore vitality and productivity back into America’s schools. Join us today for a discussion on choice, parenting, and how we can forge good relationships between families and schools.

“We’re starting to move away from ‘you have to pick this school or that school’ and starting to ask what kind of learning environment is going to be right for this student and that family.” — Frederick Hess,  director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute

Here’s a recap of the conversation…

• Rick tells us why we’ve been thinking about school choice the wrong way for the past thirty years
• Why is changing schools so stigmatized in today’s public school climate?
• How did the pandemic shutdowns change school choice?
• Should education be a “free market”? How can public school leaders make the best decisions for constituents?
• The value of Education Savings Accounts and how they can help fund high-quality, diverse school options
• How did parents get marginalized in education?
• What mindset-shifts need to happen for parents to begin taking responsibility for their childrens’ education again? How can teachers and schools foster that partnership?
• The true purpose of public education
• How ordinary citizens can take up the fight for school reform—instead of Washington bureaucrats

Would you rather watch the video versions of our podcast? Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified every week when new episodes drop. Here’s today’s conversation with Rick:

If you like what you heard today, stay tuned for our next episode on The State of Education with Melvin Adams.

RESOURCES MENTIONED ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

• Check out Frederick Hess’s new book, The Great School Rethink
• See more of Hess’s work at the American Enterprise Institute or follow him on Twitter