National School Choice Week is here. Why choice isn't enough

By Jennifer Burns, Op-ed contributor Sunday, January 25, 2026

The school choice movement has given families something wholly precious: freedom.

Freedom to leave schools that are failing their children.

Freedom to pursue education aligned with their values.

Freedom to imagine and even demand something better.

But freedom alone is not enough.

Choice without discernment is just motion — like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. There is activity. Finally! We might even feel quite productive. But if the ship itself remains on its destructive course, it is all for nought. And without a deliberate and distinct change in direction, families risk trading one inadequate system for another — newer, shinier, perhaps more convenient, but no more worthy of their children.

Before we can choose the school, we must understand the purpose of education. In The Republic, Plato argued that education is never neutral. It shapes desires, habits, and loves. It transforms the soul — whether it intends to or not. So, then the question must be, what is our choice of schools transforming our children into?

What kind of people do we hope our children become? What do we believe is true, good, and beautiful? What virtues matter most? What is a human life for?

If parents do not answer those questions, someone else will. Every school does. Every curriculum carries a worldview that will indoctrinate our children. Even schools that claim to be “neutral” are forming students to make a god of something – comfort, efficiency, self-expression, or achievement detached from character. But children deserve more than accidental or mediocre formation. They deserve education shaped with intention, wisdom, and care.

Christians understand this instinctively. Education is not simply about information. Education is about formation. Scripture tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” True education begins with humility, with the recognition that truth is something we receive, not something we invent.

A school worthy of our children takes that seriously.

It cares about who students are becoming, not just what they can produce. It forms hearts alongside minds. It teaches students to recognize goodness, to pursue truth even when it is costly, and to preserve and delight in what is beautiful. It cultivates courage, gratitude, self-control, and responsibility. It understands that freedom is not the absence of limits, but the ability to live rightly within them.

Plato grasped this much. Education aimed at anything less than virtue, he argued, ultimately fails both the individual and society at large. Stories we read matter. Habits we cultivate matter. Practices we engage in matter. What children admire and imitate eventually becomes who they are.

Many modern schools, government and private alike, aim far lower.

They chase test scores. They promise job readiness. They mirror cultural trends. Some offer affirmation without challenge, success without sacrifice, identity without responsibility. Others focus so narrowly on performance that the person disappears entirely.

But children are not products to be optimized. They are souls. They are image-bearers. And whether we are paying attention or not, they are becoming someone. Hopefully, that someone is the kind of someone we enjoy being around, that we will look forward to having over for dinner when they have kids of their own, and, most importantly, will be someone we share an eternity with in Heaven.

That is why school choice is not merely a consumer decision. It is a moral one.

Parents are not shoppers hunting for the most amazing deal. They are stewards, entrusted with the formation of their children’s hearts and minds. To choose a school is to choose a vision of life.

The most important question cannot be: Is it affordable? Is it convenient? Is it popular?

The question is harder and far more important: Is this school worthy of my child?

Does it tell the truth about God and who we are in relation to Him? Does it teach students to love what is good, even when it is difficult? Does it form them to think clearly, speak honestly, serve faithfully, and stand courageously? Does it prepare them not just for a career, but for a calling?

If such a school exists nearby, it deserves support, sacrifice, and protection. And if it does not exist, that absence should not lead to resignation. It should lead to action.

The future of education need not (and should not) be shaped primarily by government. It will be shaped by parents, pastors, educators, and education entrepreneurs willing to stand up and take responsibility. Across the country, people of faith are reclaiming education as a calling. They are building schools and learning communities grounded in truth, virtue, and hope. Instead of merely complaining or quietly enduring broken systems, they are choosing to provide solutions.

National School Choice Week offers an opportunity to freely discern. It is a moment not only to celebrate choice, but to consider how that choice can be exercised with wisdom and intention in ways that truly serve children and communities.

During National School Choice Week, Christians can take tangible steps to turn conviction into action in ways that serve their communities and help children flourish who may have been overlooked within the traditional education machine. Three are worth particular consideration.

First, explore education models that prioritize formation alongside academic excellence. Many families are discovering classical and hybrid schools that integrate faith, rigorous learning, and flexibility. Options may exist in local communities or online, including faith-based online models such as American Faith Academy that offers busy families AI-assisted tutoring anchored in a Christian conservative curriculum.

Second, consider starting a hybrid or microschool. This doesn’t require elite credentials. It requires commitment, collaboration, and often partnership with a church or local community. For those sensing a call to build, mentorship, and “school-in-a-box” platforms with Christ-centered curriculum are available through organizations like Excelara that support education entrepreneurs.

Third, research the funding options available in each state. Education Savings Accounts, vouchers, and tax-credit programs are expanding rapidly, making it possible for more families to access education aligned with their values. Resources such as SchoolChoiceUSA.org offer guidance on how these programs work and how families can apply them to hybrid and alternative education options.

None of this requires rejecting modern tools. Technology, when governed by wisdom, can serve formation rather than undermine it. Even artificial intelligence can be the infinitely patient and wildly cost-effective tutor that supports mastery and clarity while freeing parents and teachers to focus on mentorship and relationships. The danger is not technology itself but allowing tools to define the aim of education rather than serve it.

Plato asked what kind of education would produce just men and women. Christians ask an even higher question: What kind of education helps a child love God and glorify Him?

That is the standard.

That is the measure.

That is what makes a school worthy.

School choice gives us freedom. But freedom is only a gift when it is used wisely. Let us seek, and if necessary, create, schools that are truly worthy of our children.