(Interspersing a series on School choice in the midst of my series on Mental Health Crisis solutions.)

“We should experiment in the states with a number of governance arrangements, leverage these laboratories of democracy, and see what works,” asserted Marc Magee, sociologist and founder of the 50Can advocacy organization, discussing the viability of the standard school district structures for promoting excellence in education.” (Smarick 2023).

While he spoke thus over a decade ago, he is using the same kind of language today regarding the education of your children- experiment, reimagine, innovate and words such as these can be found throughout 50CAN’s website and blogs.  In a recent 2023 example, you can read about Mr. Magee’s desire to experiment with AI in the education of your children.  He wants to see educational efforts put forth in “continuing to experiment with AI, which has evolved so much since we first looked at ChatGPT seven months ago” (Magee 2023).  As a self-proclaimed admirer of public education in its first 100 years (until the 1970’s), Mr. Magee has styled himself and his organization as leaders in advocacy for public education innovation (experimentation) at the state level repeatedly expressing a desire to harness “new” and here-to-for private methods of education like micro-schools and homeschools by using public money-which of course means public accountability (TNCAN 2023, Smarick 2023).  Even today in Tennessee, 50CAN, known as TennesseeCAN in our state, is moving forward, working with our elected representatives promoting continual educational innovation- or shall we say educational experimentation.

According to 50CAN, educational experimentation plans move forward in large part through political advocacy, and therefore, they have established an advocacy model and developed training programs over the last decade.  Mr. Magee and others have released a short booklet with a long title called A Little Opposition is a Good Thing and Other Lessons from the Science of Advocacy (Magee 2019).  It highlights themes from academic research covering revolutionary movements and political change movements across the span of modernity.  In this 66-page booklet, recommended choices for advocates working in the various states are laid out.  In our case, here in Tennessee, it appears that some of those tactics are already being used in growing a public campaign for universal school vouchers and attempting to gain support for their yet to be revealed legislation. 

In this booklet, the first lesson reads, “A little opposition is a good thing.”  In this section, the writers assert that the literature shows that indifference to a change issue more accurately predicts political failure than opposition to that change.   Therefore, they recommend that “…. advocates should embrace it [opposition] and use the energy of their opponents to gain attention for their side” (p.11). This may be the tactic we see at play right now given the fanfare accompanying the November announcement of the plan for “Education Freedom” legislation in the upcoming legislative session.  In addition, there have been reports of at least one meeting where a TN CAN advocate was present to discuss this legislation with the public.  Are they stirring up the energy of the opposition? Pushing the issue to forefront of the upcoming political season and positioning “their” legislators to take a stand on this legislative issue?  This booklet would make you think this a distinct possibility.

Another tactic in their advocacy playbook tells “…advocates [to] move quickly to catch the status quo off guard when new innovations emerge, and then pay attention to how their opponents respond to their actions.” Here, indeed they may to be trying to catch us off guard, moving on the universal voucher (school choice) issue before the current charter school experiments in places like Memphis and Nashville have had time to mature thereby disrupting plans.  In addition, the universal aspect of this proposal has direct implications for homeschoolers in Tennessee who have enjoyed a good measure of stability and freedom over the last few decades.  Further, this sudden disruption of the status quo gives advocacy groups insight into the opposition coming from various sides of the political aisle.  They can watch this gauging their next political move while they themselves have not provided any concrete plans in the form of an actual bill.  Instead, the parents and citizens of Tennessee have been left with more questions than answers when it comes to this sweeping but rather general proposal.  Perhaps the instability of the proposal itself seen in such early promises of “no strings” morphing somehow into an assurance for “accountability” or “strings” with the use of public money is a part of the political drama enacted upon us for their informational benefit.  Is the chaos of this proposal intentional?  Again, their small booklet with a long name makes one wonder.

In yet another advocacy tip, the booklet proposes that befriending legislators and being a reliable informational resource tend to produce desired political change for an issue.  Apparently, the advocates in Tennessee have been working on these relationships for several years (see their yearly TN Policy Report Cards going back to 2015).  According to their literature, the advocates or lobbyists best serve their cause by “…working as an extension of the staff of aligned elected officials. Researchers see this kind of lobbying as a form of government subsidy, where outsiders pay to help elected officials carry out the elected officials’ own plans.”  Evidently considering themselves as staff members of our elected officials (yet without direct accountability to the people), they claim to be writing the legislation behind closed doors (information received from people attending their meeting).  Who did we elect to make the laws?  Advocacy groups like 50CAN, funded by billionaires? OR state senators and representatives accountable to the citizens of Tennessee?   (LINK TO PRIOR WPWL ARTICLE)

The observations above along with information found in 50CAN’s own website and literature may give us insight into what we see being enacted in Tennessee as the legislative session nears, and now the parents of Tennessee find themselves in the following situation.  We have a major media announcement by our Governor of plans for sweeping changes to education funding in our state. Funding using public money to pay for private services.   However, the bill itself does not yet exist and is reportedly being crafted by an unelected advocacy agency (or perhaps agencies) behind closed doors.  Many of our elected officials, including the sponsor himself, express ignorance of the bill’s contents to date and have only made some general comments about what it might say.  Many legislators refuse to take a stand one way or another on the issue since no bill has been proposed or work out thus far. Additionally, we are likely being played by well-funded agencies like 50CAN who are using their advocacy playbook moves to try to gain the upper hand so that they can add our children to their grand sociological experiment funded by billionaires and elitists.  

Indeed, as parents in Tennessee, we must be the opposition they are looking for.  We must strongly oppose any form of public money funding any form of private education in our state, particularly in the form of universal vouchers “given” by the very government that broke the system in the first place.  We must say “NO” to experimentation with our children, and think Biblically on this issue.  The family is accountable to God and His truth in providing for their children’s worldview and education- public money makes us legally accountable to the state and its worldview.  These public monies proposals do not move us forward but backward in family and parental freedom to choose.

While groups like 50Can (TNCAN) may run their advocacy plays upon the legislators and the citizenry, Tennessee parents must be clear.  We will not allow sociologists and elitists to experiment with our children or take away our private choice.  Be the wise and prepared opposition. Protect your children and protect your family’s educational choices otherwise the proposed universal School Choice experiment could end up becoming a loss of all choice leaving everyone with only State Choice.  

Citations:

Magee, M. P. (2019, October). A Little Opposition is a Good Thing and Other Lessons from the Science of Advocacy. 50CAN.org. https://50can.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2019/09/Science-of-Advocacy-2019.pdf

Magee   , M. P. (2023, November 19). The New Reality Roundup – Round 190. 50CAN National. https://50can.org/blog/the-new-reality-roundup-week-190

Research reports. TennesseeCAN. (2023, December 15). https://tn-can.org/research-and-resources/research/

Smarick, A. (n.d.). By the company it keeps: Marc Porter Magee. The Thomas B. Fordham Institute. https://fordhaminstitute.org/national/commentary/company-it-keeps-marc-porter-magee

Tennessee CAN. (2022). 2022 TENNESSEE POLICY REPORT CARD. https://tn-can.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/12/FINAL_TNCAN-2023-PolicyReportCard-web-compressed.pdf