If President Obama was miffed when his daughters' school closed because of "what, a little bit of ice" earlier this winter, I wonder how he feels about Sidwell being shut down for Washington's six inches of snow today. (Maybe a little better--it really IS coming down around here. I just walked by the White House and took in the view. I hope the Obamas are enjoying it; it's gorgeous. But I digress.)
It's one thing for the Obama girls to miss a few days of school because of inclement weather, but some of their classmates are going to miss school every single day, at least if David Obey and other House Democrats have their way. This morning the Washington Post editorial page relays the story of Deborah Parker, whose two children also attend Sidwell Friends thanks to a voucher from the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program.
"The mere thought of returning to public school frightens me," Ms. Parker told us as she related the opportunities -- such as a trip to China for her son -- made possible by the program. Tell her, as critics claim, that vouchers don't work, and she'll list her children's improved test scores, feeling of safety and improved motivation. ??But the debate unfolding on Capitol Hill isn't about facts. It's about politics and the stranglehold the teachers unions have on the Democratic Party. Why else has so much time and effort gone into trying to kill off what, in the grand scheme of government spending, is a tiny program? Why wouldn't Congress want to get the results of a carefully calibrated scientific study before pulling the plug on a program that has proved to be enormously popular? Could the real fear be that school vouchers might actually be shown to be effective in leveling the academic playing field?
Kudos to the Post for calling out Obey and others for their hypocrisy. There are plenty of reasons to be against vouchers in theory, but what are the reasons for taking away these opportunities from??actual Washington, DC children in reality? I can think of none.
