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Americans Want a Completely Different K-12 Education System

What do Americans want from K-12 education? The answers may surprise you. According to a new report by Populace Insight, called the Purpose of Education Index, most Americans want K-12 education to be focused on practical skills and outcomes—not college attendance. In fact, respondents ranked college attendance 47 out of 57 when it comes to education priorities, with most Americans expressing a desire for students to leave high school with practical life and career skills. 

The report also found that most Americans believe individualized schooling options are the future of K-12 education. Most respondents also believe students should receive the unique support they need to flourish; in fact, the report found Americans believe K-12 education needs more than minor tweaks: it needs to be fundamentally transformed. Americans don’t want “better” K-12 education—they want a completely different K-12 education system.

Respondents desire something our current education system is not producing enough of: students who can think for themselves. This means seeing students graduate high school who are able to “think critically to problem solve and make decisions.”

Americans want an education system that makes independent thought a priority and “teaches students how to think rather than what to think.” This is a resolute condemnation of the Left’s attempts to indoctrinate students.

Unfortunately, most of these priorities are absent in K-12 education. That means it is time for change. The best way to get this change is to unleash the free market. This will allow Americans to create and build new education models to give families the choice to find the learning options best suited to their child’s needs. When we put students over systems, every child has a better opportunity for success.
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