Clearly, the future of any society is determined by the children it raises--and educates. A sound education system is one of the public investments a government can make that has a positive return...but only if it is implemented prudently, judiciously, and with the best interests of the students in mind. Public money spent on educational endeavors should be scrutinized and evaluated for efficacy just like any expenditure made in our personal or business lives. All too often, however, we see massive amounts of money being pumped into educational systems--all in the name of "doing it for the children"--with no deliverables or accountability. This hurts the educational system which, in turn, limits our future and sacrifices the incredible potential of succeeding generations.

Education needs to be competitive and be built on a system of incentives and rewards (both at the student and organizational level) for new and greater challenges and opportunities. Failing to address performance issues is nothing short of a failure of leadership...and absent these transformational forces, schools rapidly become complacent, education stalls, and children lose motivation.

I believe that we owe our children access to an education, but I also believe that families should have the right to determine where their children go to school. If they choose to not have them attend public schools, they should not bear the full tax burden to support such. Further, public schools should be subject to the same performance standards that any private institution is subject to, namely create a self-sustaining demand. Schools, both public and private, with excellent performance will be able to attract--and compensate appropriately--the best teaching and support talent. Schools that fail to adequately prepare students for life in our evolving society will not survive. This is ultimately the most fair scenario if our intentions do indeed put the children first.