How can education reform cost nothing?
The proposed education system is an evolving entity that can be powered by funding to a degree that is determined by democratic consensus within available means.
The three situations you mention should be considered as the stages of the evolutionary process:
- enacting freedoms is the first step of the reform. It can cost nothing, and can actually result in savings while bringing a boost to long-term educational outcomes
- voucher system is a system of funding that empowers the principal rather than the agent in decision making. There is an implementation cost to school vouchers, but the system can lead to further savings, e.g. as compared with public schooling. This can further boost educational outcomes by optimization of decision making and further increase in freedoms via school choice
- education free of charge is the ultimate target that requires substantial funding. This type of funding requires affluence and a cultural paradigm shift that might take a generation to happen. This is a form of redistribution that brings fantastic returns on investment. Knowledge is gold!
Incidentally, the cost of education will keep plummeting with the explosive development of on-line learning tools. The time of perfect education might be nearer than we all think! Unschooling is a misnomer that should be replaced with free learning. The cost of unschooling is negligible in comparison with benefits. Ultimately, we may get to the point where we need no distinction between free learning and learning free of charge.
This FAQ expands on the content of "I would never send my kids to school" by Piotr Wozniak (2017)