Schools have long been authoritarian institutions. Many of these dictatorships are clearly beneficial to the students in so far as they provide a safe learning environment. But as communications experts will be quick to remind you, body language, inflection and expression are more important than the actual words spoken. In other words, it is not just what you say but how you say it .

My question is whether an authoritarian institution can adequately train students to be responsible citizens of a constitutional republic? Low voter turnout and lack of involvement in civic affairs suggests there is a problem. Citizens willingness to trade freedom for safety is another signal that the message being delivered in schools is incomplete. Entitlement mentality is another possible offshoot of the way the free public schools are organized and operated.

One process that would kick start the change needed to create a more open environment would be to collect student feedback at the end of each module. Students could comment on the instructor, facility and training materials. Comments would be read and used as part of a quality improvement effort for all aspects of the service delivery process.

Another change might be recognition of the student, and his family, as the customers in this process. Customers always have rights in a system that they enforce with their purchases. Customers have the right to go to a different provider if they don't like what they are getting. The charter school approach heads us in this direction. As state funding follows the student, schools will compete to provide better services. Vouchers are essential as long as government insists on financing schools.

As a final note a new system would require students to pay, in some way, for their education. Service, loans, or nominal fees could be used to enhance the educational experience. Consumers understand that you "Get what you pay for." When consumers pay they are willing to fight to enforce their right to expect quality. Partly this is expectations. "Free" usually indicates a come-on, a promotion, up-selling , or even fraud. Things you pay for have value. You want them, sometimes badly. Education is something we must want badly because we are going to have to work so hard to get it.