EDUCATION

Public education has been provided by governments in Ontario for more than 130 years.  A long history of government involvement makes it difficult for most to envision an Ontario in which there is no government role whatsoever in providing this important service.  Nonetheless, the policy of the Ontario Libertarian Party is to create conditions in which quality education can develop by completely ending all government participation and allowing education to be a matter of individual choice.

The inspiration for public education in Ontario was a model taken from the German state of Prussia in the nineteenth century.  Its primary purpose was to instil obedience, conformity and, above all, reverence for the Prussian military state.   Public education in Ontario continues to be dominated by that regimented learning model.  Socializing the student remains of paramount importance.  New ideas, creativity, originality and dissent from conventional thinking are discouraged.

There are many talented, conscientious educators working within the public system.  However, direction by government bureaucrats through the Ministry of Education will always limit what can be accomplished.  No amount of fiddling with the existing system or spending more confiscated  money on education will fundamentally change anything.

Until now, it is only a small minority which has either been able to afford, or has been prepared to make financial sacrifices to receive the benefits seen in private education.  The rest have had no alternative but to hope for the best from the public system.  Since parents are responsible for raising their children, a libertarian government will return to them the responsibility for educating their children which governments have appropriated.   It follows that the education of adult students will in all respects be the responsibility of the student.

The mind is the human means of survival which nature has provided.  The acquisition and implementation of knowledge in the pursuit of happiness and prosperity are both natural and necessary.  Training the mind should be an exciting, empowering prospect, not an ordeal to be endured.  Private education will succeed in this where public education has failed.  Excellence will be acknowledged and rewarded.  There will be an end to political arguments about academic goals and standards, teacher credentialing, school accreditation, curriculum, financing, or whatever else happens to be in dispute at any particular time.  Exciting innovation and advances will become the norm instead of the exception.

Libertarian ideas must be understood in context.  Getting government out of education will eliminate the considerable taxes now levied for that purpose, but more than that will change.  Once libertarian ideas are generally accepted, growth of productivity and higher incomes will make it easier to afford a good education.  Everyone, no matter what their circumstances, will have more opportunities than what is now available.  Undoubtedly there are some who will have financial difficulty in caring for their children. That number will be small.  Over time it will become even smaller.

It is normal for humans to cooperate with one another to achieve common goals and, when able, to help others in difficult circumstances.  That natural human trait has been stifled by taxes and other obstacles to prosperity which governments have imposed as well as the general culture of irresponsibility which they have fostered.   It will flourish when libertarian ideas concerning the proper role of government prevail and result in the election of libertarian governments.   Respect for liberty encourages benevolence and wealth creation.  When such conditions exist, there will certainly be spontaneous voluntary help for needy children.

We have experienced great progress and innovation in fields left untouched by governments.  Most advances have come about in unpredictable ways and very few would have occurred if a government ministry had been in charge.  We continue to be held back by present day thinking bestowing legitimacy upon government interference in far too many areas of human activity.  A total change in that thinking is the only way to end stagnation in education.

Return to Index to Libertarian Platform

Statistics

Numers from the Toronto District School Board Director's Annual Report for 2004-2005

Type	Schools	Students	Teachers	Ratio
Elementary	451	188,304	10,000	18.8
Secondary	102	87,283	5,800	15.0
Adult Day Shool	5	12,000	Same	17.1
Totals	558	287,587	15,800	18.2
Direct Support			16,180
Administrative	40		7,020
Overall Total	598	287,587	39,000	7.4

Note: There are almost 29 direct support staff per school!

Notes from the TDSB Annual Report 2005-2006 (The latest one available on their web site as of October 2009)
272,000 day students and 39,000 permanent and temporary staff.
7.0 Students/staff
Total Expenditures = $2,407,200,000
$8,850 per student

Background Information:

Education Un-Ltd:  This YouTube video tells the history of public education in the United States and its origins in Prussia, and mentions how Egerton Ryerson imported Prussian education into Ontario Schools.

The Fraser Institute: Education:  An educational market, one in which parents choose their children's schools and schools compete more freely for students, will produce better educational results for more students.