5 questions for author John Stossel, critic of public schools

Nancy Mitchell, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 2, 2007 at midnight

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John Stossel believes having the government run American schools is not just stupid, it's "stunningly stupid," he writes in his new book, Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity.

The co-anchor of ABC News' 2 0/20 received a warm welcome Tuesday in Denver from an audience of more than 500, including Mayor John Hickenlooper and former Gov. Bill Owens, who gathered at a downtown hotel to support the Alliance for Choice in Education, which gives $2 million of scholarships annually to help children from low-income families attend private schools in the metro area.

1 You said people are in love with public schools, although they shouldn't be. What is your own education background?

People mistakenly believe public schools are the melting pot of America. People don't know they're now more segregated than private schools. But I'm a public school graduate.

2 Can you describe your evolution from loving public schools to being a critic?

Most of my evolution is what I discuss in my book, how everything I thought was true at Princeton (he graduated in 1969) turned out to be wrong. I started seeing how market competition gives us better stuff. The only thing worse than a government monopoly is a highly unionized government monopoly. It's a recipe for mediocrity. Schools are a glaring example.

3 Yet when you talked to educators about market competition, they told you that schools are different from business. Did you consider that?

I used to think they were different, and what I learned from my reporting is they are not. I'll give Rocky Mountain News readers $100 if they can tell me one thing the government does better than the private sector.

4 What should people who agree with you do?

I don't know. I'm no political activist. All I know is the education chapter in my book has really resonated with people. They should read it and do whatever they think is best.

5 What are the biggest obstacles to changing America's public schools?

The belief that the public school system is a big melting pot and the greatest thing in the world and that parents think their child's school is above average. It might be, but the results of international tests tell me it probably isn't. The other big myth is we're not spending enough money on education. We spend about $10,000 per child in America. So that's the ultimate myth.

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