I have two reasons to favor educational choice. Their names are Lincoln and Hollie.
Together with my wonderful wife Julia, we are raising two beautiful kids who amaze us daily. Lincoln, who turned three a few months ago, never stops exploring, jumping, running, and laughing from breakfast till bedtime. (As for the picture above, we can never get him to smile for photos!)
Hollie, our 9-month-old, inspires me to be more curious about the world. As she develops and grows, I watch in awe as she discovers the world, one new thing at a time.
Julia and I love our kids with all our hearts. We’re doing our best to raise them the best we know how. Sometimes we struggle to do as much as we think we should, but we always hit our pillows each night knowing we did the best we could.
Lincoln and Hollie share some attributes, but Julia and I know they will learn very differently. That’s why we are carefully and prayerfully considering home-school for them.
As a product of public schools, I know teachers are wonderful people who work long hours and sacrifice much. Yet, they are restrained by large class sizes and onerous mandates. Julia and I cannot say we believe the school system will teach Lincoln or Hollie the way they need to be taught.
Other parents might choose differently and that’s fine. That’s the critical point of school choice: The people who love and cherish their children should have the right to decide how their kids will learn.
It’s as simple as that. Politicians and high-dollar lobbyists will try to cloud the issue, but choice in education comes down to loving parents seeking the best for their kids.
Today, Julia and I, along with the staff of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, ask you to support our efforts to recognize some deserving families across the state. In conjunction with Idaho Gives, IFF is raising money to ease the burden of families who choose home-school or private school for their kids.
See, these families pay twice for education: once through their local school district taxes, and again for their own books, paper, pencils and teaching manuals. That’s a heavy burden.
We are going to use money raised this week to ‘refund’ the school district taxes of some deserving families. On July 31, we will announce selected families and deliver $500 awards.
IFF will also donate $500 of its own money to a private school that exemplifies excellence and choice. Julia and I have already donated. Will you join us in supporting these deserving families?
