Why are we treating schools like supermarkets?
I remember hearing that the pre-packed sandwiches that you buy in different supermarkets are all made in the same factory. I couldn’t believe it. However, one night I met a farmer at a business event that told me his produce goes to several supermarkets, the exact same produce but with different packaging and different pricing. He couldn’t believe that I couldn’t believe it. It seems many products you buy in the supermarket at different prices are made in the same factories.
It makes sense that people like to have choice when it comes to shopping. Choice drives competition and drives prices down. Supermarkets are a great example of this. Most large towns will have around half a dozen supermarkets, mostly selling the same things, but with different brands and different prices. People tend to choose to shop in one of the supermarkets, or at least to do their main shop in one of the supermarkets. The supermarkets try their best to pry business off their competitors in all sorts of ways — whether that’s special offers, loyalty cards or promotions. There seems to be enough similarities in that all of the supermarkets are busy enough to make money.
Choice is important when it comes to shopping. It also matters for many other services, such as hotels, flights and hundreds of other commercial ventures — for example teacher resource sharing websites! (That’s a cheeky plug!)
Unfortunately for many people in Ireland, having access to half a dozen supermarkets isn’t something they have. I grew up in Dublin and lived within 2km of several supermarkets. When I went to a supermarket, I could have my choice of dozens of types of cereal. My wife comes from rural Mayo. Her only local shop wouldn’t have the likes of granola. Cornflakes or porridge oats were her only option unless she travelled for 25 minutes to her nearest town for slightly more choice, or one hour to the big town for the same range of options as I had only a walk away. Technically we both had choice. Mine was just far easier to access. Suffice to say, my wife generally ate porridge and I flitted between several brands of chocolate-covered grains. Looking back, perhaps the lack of choice was better for my wife!
The trouble of free school choice is that if we are genuinely offering free school choice, it should be available to everyone, not just the few. Most people in Ireland don’t choose their child’s primary school. People like my wife’s family had no real choice than the only school in their village. People like me also didn’t really have a choice despite all the schools in the area. The reason for this was because we weren’t from a Christian background. It meant there was only one school in our area that would treat us with equal respect and not have to sit through faith formation in a religion we did not subscribe to.
Ultimately, the reality is that most people in Ireland don’t have a choice. In fact I would argue the majority of people don’t have a choice. They simply go to their nearest school unless they aren’t Catholic.
The problem with this is that the State can’t plan places in schools because even though most people do go to their nearest school, this can’t be guaranteed. They have to wait until a child enrols in a school before they can resource the school and this takes lots of times. This is especially problematic for children with additional needs but also for bus transport.
If all children had to go to their nearest school and there was no concept of free choice, all of this could be planned and the State could plan accordingly. Unfortunately because 95% of schools come with Christianity taught as truth, this is not possible, so what do we need to do?
The answer is simple. Remove the barrier.
If we simply removed faith formation from the school day, everyone could go to their nearest school. The only exception to this is the Gaelscoil but no solution is 100% perfect. Finland has the same thing with Swedish language schools. The UK has the same thing with Catholic schools. A small number of people will try and game any system for their own benefit. If the vast majority of people simply go to their local school, we would solve 95% of the problems we have in schools — as I said special education, bus transport, but also insurance, utility costs, ICT provision and management, planning, and so on. If people want to be instructed in a particular faith, this can be done as an after school club like any after school club. And speaking of after school clubs, after school care could be a reality in a system where everyone went to their nearest school. It could even become a public service.
The benefits of having no choice may seem counter-intuitive to those of us with a supermarket-mentality, but think about what both entities are trying to achieve. Supermarkets are constantly trying to compete with each other. Schools don’t need to compete with each other. Supermarkets are constantly trying to vie people to them. Schools don’t need to poach children from other areas. Supermarkets are constantly trying to make more money and grow their customer base. Schools don’t need to make money and need to serve their local community. You get the point.
For me, the benefits of NO CHOICE far outweigh the benefits of FREE CHOICE. Free choice is not available for everyone, just the few, and it prevents the State from being able to plan the education system. It also keeps private interests open — those that benefit financially from schools. For example, the Sisters of Mercy have over 1 billion euro in assets in Ireland alone. The State pays every cent of their school buildings, maintenance and upkeep. A supermarket’s aim is for private entities, i.e. their shareholders or the people that own the business, to make as much money as possible. Unlike with schools, they cannot completely rely on the State to keep them afloat and they take on that risk.
So let’s leave the choice to the breakfast cereal aisle in our supermarket and let’s look at an education system which in non-competitive, where every child and every family is treated like an equal. After all, that’s the goal of education.
