Morrison votes against lowering the mandatory school age

Mondays are never my favorite days; shaking off the cobwebs of a weekend spent exercising my creative brain to return to technical web developer world. I perused my Facebook feed as a gear-shifting activity and saw a picture of Tom Morrison's (arguably adorable) children helping him vote against lowering the mandatory school age in Illinois. He voted against it because, paraphrasing, "parents know what is best for their children." Big sigh. Exasperated thoughts. Deep breath. 

The Illinois House Bill wasn't taking "good choices" away from parents. Parents can choose home-, parochial-, or public-schooling options for their 6-year-old children. It doesn't force parents to send their kids to the nearest public elementary school - the legislation just states that 6-year-old children need formalized schooling. 

Most parents enroll their children in kindergarten. This bill is aimed to helping with the truancy rate in low-income neighborhoods. These children need every educational advantage they can get. Further, studies in other states that have lowered the mandatory school age have proven that it does not increase educational costs. 

So, Mr. Morrison, what sort of well-meaning parent of a healthy child makes the "right" decision to deny their child an early education? Let's talk Social Contract, since Mr. Morrison doesn't seem to like any governmental intrusion on the lives of constituents. If we go back to Locke, whose Social Contract ideology is by and large the basis for the guiding principles of the Federal Government (with notable contributions by Rousseau and Hobbes), one has the rights until those rights infringe upon those of others. 

How does a parent's right to choose outweigh a child's right to an education? We've seen the educational abilities and preparedness of Illinois students diminish in recent decades. Parents don't have the right to inhibit their children from learning. They can choose the format of such learning, but to prohibit it altogether? I suspect Representative Morrison simply did not read or understand this legislation.

He and his family can choose to home-school their children; shield them from the beliefs of others. This law does not prohibit the parents' right to choose this sort of education. It just states that children need to be in some sort of formal educational process by age 6. 

For those of you who follow this blog and continue to respond about the importance of the state budgetary/pension crisis, check out Rep. Morrison's Facebook page. This is what he chose to picture on his page as a pressing issue for Illinois. These are his values. These are his priorities.