Columnist Sarah Mikac explains why Students For Education Reform believe all students and parents have the right to quality education.
When you start looking at schools for your children, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to look too far? Wouldn’t it also be nice if you didn’t have to worry about sending your children to a school outside your neighborhood in order for them to receive a decent education?
The way America’s school system currently stands makes it so we will spend a great deal of time searching for a quality education for our own children. Students For Education Reform firmly believes that all parents and students have the right to quality school choices, no matter their ZIP code. Unfortunately, that is not a reality in how schools and school districts are set up today.
In 2011, Ohio resident and single mother of two Kelley Williams-Bolar was convicted of a felony for sending her children to a school outside her ZIP code. Although her children were living with their grandfather at an address in that district, Bolar still was sentenced to 10 days in jail for the so-called “crime."
Bolar explained that she sent her children to a different school because the school they would be attending had inadequate materials and didn’t meet the standards of education she wanted her daughters to receive, so she used her instincts and did what she thought was best for them. Bolar isn’t the only parent to have been criminalized for putting education first. It is a crime that only seems to have grown.
Should parents really be punished for attempting to improve their children's education and increase their opportunities? Students For Education Reform believes access to quality education choices should be a natural-born right, and a more equal system should be available to students across the United States.
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Students For Education Reform also believes that, when it comes to school options, a parent should be provided with free information about the school they are sending their child to. That means creating a school board and equipping teachers to be able to answer questions as well as supply honest feedback on their schools as a whole. Doing that will ensure happy parents, students and employers, as well as create an informed and empowered community.
Not only does Students For Education Reform hope for a wider availability in exceptional schools but we also believe every school should accommodate for every type of learner. So when you are preparing to send your children to school, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to look too far?
Interested in joining Students For Education Reform and fighting educational inequality? Come to our meetings every Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Baker 237.
Sarah Mikac is a sophomore studying English. Want to get involved with Students For Education Reform? Email her at sm120113@ohio.edu.
