<This op-ed first appeared in the Washington Examiner on May 19, 2020> COVID-19 has thrust parents across the country into the unexpected role of primary hands-on educators. While we all know that the private model of schooling differs from that of public schools, this outbreak has put those differences in stark relief, nowhere more so […]
How business leaders helped save New Zealand from socialism—Lessons for Washington State
<Speech delivered to the Executive Business Roundtable of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce on January 9, 2020 at the Overlake Golf and Country Club, Medina, WA.> It’s an honor to be speaking here. The Bellevue Chamber of Commerce and other groups like it are important institutions for advocating on behalf of businesses and advancing policy […]
New Seattle Mayor and her opponent opt their kids out of public school
Time and time again we come across elected officials who conclude the public school system is inadequate, and because they have the means, remove their kids. Liv Finne discovered prior to the election that our new mayor and her opponent did exactly that. As Mayor Durkan acknowledged in an interview, it was a “great privilege” […]
Goodbye Seattle Public Schools
We were wrong about Seattle Public Schools. Moving our daughter to a private school was not our plan. Two grandparents were public school teachers, as was my mother. My wife, our siblings and I are products of a public education. In New Zealand, where I grew up, the best public schools were as good as […]
Prejudice and paternalism in Seattle
The following is an exchange on a community discussion board that I had this week with my neighbors about a “Day of Solidarity” that took place in public schools. I’ve changed the names of my neighbors and edited some of what I and they wrote for the sake of brevity. To me some of the […]