Education Problems in Public Schools
85EDUCATION IN AMERICA
Americans now trail far behind Europe and Asia by every measure of scholastic achievement—especially in math and science—despite spending far more than any other country on education for our public schools. The top 5% of our students are matched academically by 50% of those in Japan. In algebra and calculus, the Japanese and the Chinese double our academic success.
Only 41 percent of a student's day is spent on basic academics in the public schools of America. Students in Japan and Germany spent 250% more classroom hours on basic academics every year—while Americans are in sensitivity training—and are assigned three times the homework.
25% of our high school graduates can barely read their diplomas. Nationally, 40 percent of fourth graders cannot read a simple children's book; among blacks and Hispanics, that proportion is as high as 65 percent. America has seen a 50 percent drop in the number of students who score over 700 on the SAT verbal test in the last 45 years—back to exactly when the teachers' unions rose to power through changes in state laws regarding collective bargaining.
EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Instead of holding back children who need remedial help, everybody must pass, leading to a dumbing down of the curriculum for everybody. Our high school graduates show an appalling lack of understanding history, knowing geography, and having the ability to write above a minimal level. We graduate children from high school who cannot identify the United States on a map of the world. Progressive teaching methods, and the teachers' unions, are the problem.
One false assumption about public schools is that the amount of money spent determines the quality of the education. This is not the case. Washington D.C. public schools spend twice as much as public schools in Idaho, and three times as much as public schools in Utah, and yet the D.C public schools have far poorer outcomes.
JOHN DEWEY
"The Father of Modern Education" is John Dewey—a Communist, an Atheist, the leader of the teacher's union, and a signer of the Humanist Manifesto.
The Humanist Manifesto calls for Secular Humanism to become the new religion of America. It is designed to replace "the fables of Christianity," which it calls powerless, insignificant, and backward. It specifically states that there is no God; rejects the supernatural; worships science; and states that religious worship and churches should be eliminated. Secular Humanism opposes Capitalism and endorses Communism.
John Dewey (1859-1952) had no appreciation for the Declaration of Independence. According to him, no truth is self-evident. Dewey was no fan of democracy either. He wrote: "There is no sanctity in universal suffrage, frequent elections, majority rule, congressional and cabinet government. They are to be modified to suit the needs of the state."
John Dewey sneered at religious people as misguided simpletons. He believed that with his guidance, the little people could be trained to let go of their beliefs, habits, thoughts, desires, customs, and social institutions. Dewey wrote that modern science has destroyed the ancient view that the universe has a purpose. Science is the only the means to truth, and its truths are subject to change, so therefore there is no such thing as objective truth—all truth is relative and changeable.
John Dewey sought to spread his Progressive ideas through the American Public School System. His goal was use the public schools to undermine faith in God, and faith in the American Way. Dewey believed all wealth should be redistributed equally to everyone.
John Dewey was unquestionably the most influential reformer of the public education system in the United States in the 20th Century. He set the curriculum for American Public Schools for generations.
PROGRESSIVES RULE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS
The goals of public education have been radically transformed—intentionally perverted—by Progressives over the past fifty years. Every public school teacher in America must be certified by the education department of a university or a teachers' college. Therefore, the way to brainwash millions of Americans is to first brainwash those who will teach children in the public schools.
The American Association of University Professors was founded by John Dewey and today has 47,000 members. The AAUP was formed specifically as a Progressive movement that had a goal of defeating religion in the name of a new god named Science. The AAUP wanted the Creator God eliminated from universities, American culture, and the public square. In 1988, the AAUP declared that Christian schools and colleges forfeit the right to represent themselves as "authentic" seats of higher learning.
The Progressive educational philosophy is based on these basic beliefs:
An absolute faith in science and the theory of evolution; a belief that children could be taught very much like animals in accordance with the new behavioral psychology; a conviction that there was no place for religion in education; and that traditional values were an obstacle to social progress which had to be removed.
Progressives, as taught by John Dewey, consider socialism morally superior to capitalism. To change the way America thinks, an elite cadre of intellectual leftists has long sought to capture the minds of American youth by editing textbooks, and presenting slanted facts as truth.
The philosophy of Progressive educators is opposed to the American system of self-governance that limits government to a few carefully defined functions. Progressive educators do not teach children that their rights are antecedent to government—not created by it. They do not want children to understand economics or history because if they did they would come to understand that market-based economies deliver prosperity while Socialist systems deliver poverty and de facto slavery.
Progressive educators have gradually taken control over what are supposed to be "local schools" in America. They do it with money. These "experts" write up federal curriculums and federal guidelines about what children should be taught and not taught; but they are only "voluntary." Of course, the public schools are denied federal dollars for education—taken from all taxpayers—if they do not "volunteer."
SECULAR HUMANISM
Atheism is a religion (Malnak v. Yogi, l977). Secular Humanism is a religion. The so-called "Separation of Church and State" has driven God-based religions from the public schools only to be replaced by the man-based religion of Atheistic Secular Humanism.
Secular Humanist Paul Blanshard writes: "I think that the most important factor moving us toward a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is sixteen tends to lead toward the elimination of religious superstition."
Paul Kutz, a signatory of Humanist Manifesto II (l980) writes in its preface: "Humanism is a philosophical, religious, and moral point of view." Kutz' books call for the establishment of humanistic churches.
American Humanist Association has a religious tax exemption status approved by the federal government. Nine times Humanist Manifesto I calls Secular Humanism a religion.
John J. Dunphy writing in The Humanist states: "[Secular Humanist] teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preachers, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey Humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level--preschool, day care, or large state university. The classroom must and will become an area of conflict between the old and the new-the rotting corpse of Christianity together with its adjacent evils and misery, and the new faith of Humanism."
Everybody has a Worldview. The term worldview refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which an individual interprets the world and interacts with it. Every person has one whether they know it or not, or can define it or not. Therefore, nobody has a neutral worldview. Not even a professor or school teacher or writer of school curriculums.
Some claim they compartmentalize or privatize their worldview, or religion, into public and private spheres. Politicians will say as an individual I am opposed to this or that but as a public official I have the opposite view. This is simply mendacious. A person's worldview colors all of their roles in life and all aspects of their life. Someone's values are always being advocated even in so called "neutral" settings. Public schools are administered by people who think, and that thinking reflects their worldviews.
THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
The public schools do not recognize, and certainly do not honor, God. Christianity is shunned and Christians are routinely discriminated against. Meanwhile, public schools go out of their way to accommodate Muslim children. The Koran is called the revealed word of God; Christianity and Judaism are called claims or beliefs. Jesus is described in one sentence: He was a Palestinian—a word not invented until the 20th Century.
A federal appeals court has ruled that it's fine for NYC Public Schools to ban nativity scenes at Christmas time, but permit the Islamic star and crescent during Ramadan. The ruling is based on the absurd notion that the star and crescent symbol is "secular," as opposed to "purely religious" nativity scenes. Jewish menorahs during Hanukkah are also given "secular" status and are not forbidden by our black-robed rulers.
The American Civil Liberties Union has so intimidated the public schools that they go to great lengths to censor any mention of God. Some schools will not recite the Declaration of Independence in the classroom because of the references to God. Students are not told that Christians founded all of the oldest, most prestigious universities in America, such as Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
The public schools have been surgically scrubbed of the Christian faith. In one 30 page section about the Pilgrims in a Social Studies textbook, the Christian faith is not mentioned once. American History is presented devoid of Christianity.
DARWINISM
The public schools insist on teaching the Theory of Evolution as if it were fact—which it is not. The public schools teach our children that they are primordial slime and nothing more than apes with thumbs. This is quite a contrast from the Biblical Truth that our children are the very Image of God. I can't help but think this trumps all that Self Esteem training at the center of postmodern education. And it makes killing unborn babies so much easier if they are merely a random accident and clump of cells, rather than an immortal creature made by a Creator with a plan and a purpose—and a Judgment Day.
The evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin offers us the creation without the Creator. It is the foundation of Atheism. It teaches children that there is no immortal soul, no spiritual nature of man, and no God we should obey. Human beings are merely highly evolved animals that should not deny any desire or pleasure. Life has no meaning and no purpose.
I submit that this worldview changes how people treat other people in a profound way. And not in a good way either. Rather than believing that every person you encounter is an immortal being, they are no better than beasts.
Sir Arthur Keith, a famous British evolutionary anthropologist and anatomist, confesses, "Evolution is unproved and unprovable. We believe it only because the only alternative is special creation, and that is unthinkable."
The Theory of Evolution is contrary to established science. George Wald, another prominent Evolutionist (a Harvard University biochemist and Nobel Laureate), wrote, "When it comes to the Origin of Life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous Generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!"
MORAL RELATIVISM
Since by the teachings of Darwinism we are mere accidental animals—and there is no God—all morals must be relative, meaning rules just made up by people. The teacher's union subverts the American Way of Life by teaching our children this worldview: Moral Relativism.
This is an ideology that posits there is no such thing as truth. This is diametrically opposed to the highest goal of education: the search for truth. If all ideas are right then none are.
Educators don't really believe in this moral relativism anyway. If they did, they would not be so quick to point out what they have decided are the moral failings of America. What moral relativism really is then is the denial that our children should have any personal morality—which has been replaced by a focus of societal morality.
There are many social indicators that demonstrate the destruction caused by moral relativism. Moral relativism automatically makes the young doubt the existence of God. The ideas of Socialism appear more reasonable if there is no such thing as truth. Without truth there is no such thing as morality, or immorality; and any philosophy—no matter how bizarre—must not be condemned. But moral relativism does recognize one great sin: being judgmental. Isn't it odd that to have good, sound judgment was once considered an indispensable attribute?
Moral relativism teaches the children that American values, traditions, customs, and system of government are no better than any other. Thus, they are not worth defending.
High school graduates today are not only poorly
educated, they have nothing concrete to believe in and are therefore unwilling
to make moral judgments. They have
inflated opinions of themselves and are quick to bristle at the slightest
criticism. The result is an explosive mixture of nihilism, narcissism,
ignorance, and resentment.
Our public school system is saturated with moral relativism. The one sure thing
that a college professor can expect from new students is that they do not
believe in moral absolutes; they are unwilling to judge morally the opinions or
actions of others, even when they disagree with them. Throughout their school
days it is drilled into students that all lifestyles are equal and that they
should not discriminate between them. Any firm code of morality is destroyed by
brainwashing, the ultimate message of which is "there is no ultimate right
and wrong."
TEACHING TOLERANCE
"Tolerance" is the goal of much of this idiocy. There is nothing as intolerant as Tolerance. Supposedly it means refraining from forcing your views on others or judging them for their actions. But many of the other tenets held by the Progressives of the teachers' unions are all about not tolerating views or speech outside the Progressive canon.
Conservative people or Christians must tolerate the views of the radical socialist but their views are not given the same treatment. In fact, they are singled out for intolerance above all others. Boy Scouts may not use a classroom to meet after school unless they tolerate homosexuals; but homosexuals are not expected to tolerate Boy Scouts. Tolerance theory has now gone so far over the edge, that to be against anything Progressives are for is to "hate." If you don't agree with me you hate me. And you are a racist bigot.
TEACHING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
What is Social Justice? It's a euphemism for Socialism or Communism. It is an ideology that believes that all people in our country should have equal income and assets—equal outcomes to their lives regardless of unequal contributions to society. This involves teaching children that if any people have attained more wealth than others, it is the result of oppression—injustice. "Teaching for Social Justice" is required by teacher credentialing programs.
IDENTITY POLITICS
The National Education Association promotes identity politics. Instead of working for the betterment of America, one works for the benefit of the group to which one belongs. The only group disbarred from participation in identity politics is white males. All other groups are conditioned to see themselves as victims of oppression, with the resultant boulder on the shoulder that one can see all around us. For the white boys there is reserved the NEA doctrine of White Guilt—making them ashamed of who they are. I don't think that is good for their Self Esteem. But it serves the Progressive goal of leveling down the achievers.
SELF ESTEEM CURRICULUM
The focus of public school education has been diverted from the learning of knowledge, wisdom, and truth—to "Self Esteem." Honor rolls and spelling bees are going the way of the dinosaur—not to mention dodge ball. Sixty percent of American high schools no longer use class rankings or announce valedictorians.
"Honors awards at graduations from such schools should be based on moral achievement. The primary focus of ceremonies should go to these who, regardless of academic competence in other areas, have shown themselves most capable of sensitivity, caring for others, and commitment to the common good" Michael Lerner in The Politics of Meaning.
Competition and achievement are frowned upon and if prizes are awarded, they must be given to all kids in a group—participation awards. Honors classes, designed so the brighter students could learn more, have been discontinued at many schools because the vast majority of the kids who qualified for them were white. That might not be good for the Self Esteem of those who do not qualify as bright. Progressives would rather have the smartest children in America bored to tears in remedial classes with everybody else.
Constructive criticism has been replaced with undeserved praise. Children are told that even wrong answers are still "good" answers. This underrates the importance of effort.
200 studies have shown that the Self Esteem Movement in education has yielded zero positive results. In fact, the opposite is true. It has spawned a generation of narcissists who face every choice with "it's my life!" If they fail in life it must be because "society" is oppressive.
The enormous wave of violence in schools can be traced to Progressive education. What should be taught is personal responsibility. The Self Esteem Movement has given a generation the freedom to be fools.
The public schools have rejected sound educational precepts, such as to teach an established body of knowledge, wisdom, and truth. Rather than be taught to think and reason logically, students are encouraged to trust their adolescent feelings. This is not a serious place of learning. No wonder when things don't go their way they sometimes respond with rage and violence. Therefore, many schools now require armed guards and metal detectors.
MULTICULTURALISM AT SCHOOL
The NEA has been at the forefront in promoting multiculturalism in public schools. This contradicts one of the greatest American traditions: assimilation. Rather than America achieving unity in its societal values and culture; multiculturalism teaches that the American Way is no better than any other—in fact is probably worse.
Multiculturalism leads some black kids to persecute good black students for "talking white." And so, many students are condemned to a life lived with a pitiful grasp of the English language.
Multiculturalism leads some white kids to not understand or appreciate their awesome heritage—a little something known as civilization. Instead, they emulate dysfunctional cultures, as witnessed by the "whiggers" phenomena.
POLITICAL CORRECTNESS
Political Correctness is an enormous part of the NEA agenda for your children. The term "Founding Fathers" is now banned in some schools because it is not gender neutral. Any classroom discussion of art, literature, music, technology, inventions, or civilization must include an equal number of achievements by all racial groups and genders—no matter how insignificant.
Political Correctness offers harsh penalties for free speech and the right to think for yourself. Many do not know that this doctrine originated with Vladimir Lenin and was a favorite of Chairman Mao—Cultural Marxism. George Orwell would be surprised that America has become the home of the Thought Police. These rules attempt to create a new mental reality for our children that contradicts the real world.
THE FEMINIZATION OF BOYS
The public schools have long been in the midst of a campaign to feminize boys. The teachers union favors feminine behavior—wants to make boys into little girls—and boys suffer a disconnect from themselves. Boys are in trouble because of this horrifying social engineering.
Ten out of eleven children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder are boys. This is the reason given for recommending Ritalin for male children who act like real boys. Parents who refuse to put their children on Ritalin are often intimidated by threats from public school officials that child protective services could charge them with neglecting the educational and emotional needs of their children.
Schools receive additional funds from the government for every child labeled ADD and then drugged. Parents on welfare also receive additional money if they have a child on Ritalin. But hundreds of boys have died from taking this drug.
Girls today are twice as likely to pursue a professional career. Girls have steadily improved their performance in schools but the performance of boys has steadily declined. Women now earn more college degrees than do men.
The Gender Equity Act of 1994 categorized girls as an under-served population, placing them on par with other "oppressed" minorities. Since then teachers and administrators have been deluged with gender equity materials and conferences sponsored by the Department of Education.
The feminization of boys is an outgrowth of the Feminist idea that boys and girls are the same, and will grow up to not be any different from each other if we change their childhood environment—creating an androgynous society. Even in preschool, the Department of Education recommends that supervisors intervene if boys or girls play with toys that are associated with "gender stereotypes."
THOSE DEAD WHITE GUYS
Along with this is the NEA mandate to ignore Dead White Men as much as possible. Go ahead and use that Bill of Rights; our legal system; clean water system; sanitation; roads; automobiles; airplanes; medicine; agriculture; health care; electricity; telephones; internet; refrigeration; air conditioning; social safety net; personal freedom and liberty—but don't tell kids how it all got here. By all means, don't read the Great Books of Western Thought.
Students are subtly taught to be citizens of the world. Progressives want a global government; a new world order. The biggest obstacle to this goal is Western Christian Caucasians with strong traditions of freedom and individualism. For world government to work, such peoples must be diluted and their influence nullified, so that a new generation, fully accepting of "diversity" and focused on global issues, thinks of citizenship in global, not in local, regional or national terms.
ANTI-AMERICANISM
The former National Chairman of the Communist Party, USA, William Z. Foster, in his book, Toward a Soviet America, wrote that education could advance the revolution best if centrally controlled and organized under a Federal Department of Education. Foster said that the Department of Education "should be revolutionized, cleansed of religious, patriotic and other features of the bourgeois ideology. The students will be taught on the basis of Marxian dialectical materialism, internationalism, and the general ethics of the new Socialist society."
The National Education Association (teachers' union) adds: "Allegiance to a nation is the biggest stumbling block to the creation of international government. National boundaries and the concept of sovereignty must be abolished. The quickest way to do this is to condition the young to another and broader alliance. Opinion favorable to international government will be developed in the social studies curriculum in the public schools."
The indoctrination of our children with leftist ideology is complete with the usual anti-Americanism. Children are taught that the famines and starvation in Africa are the fault of America; not their own pitiful, utterly corrupt rulers. Children are not told that American citizens give more money to Africa, and volunteer more time, than the rest of the world combined—or anything else flattering about our nation.
The history of America is portrayed as a long story of oppression and injustice—not as the greatest nation in the history of the Earth. It is certainly not a place with any values worth fighting for or that children should feel damn lucky to live in. The only taboo in public school education is Traditional Values.
PROGRESSIVES REVISE HISTORY
"There are still a lot of people who take the view that we're being too chauvinistic if we say democracy is superior." National Education Association
Since the 1970s public school students have been taught a revised American History that paints America as the villain of the world. Democracy is presented as simply one system among many others. America's faults are the focus; with an emphasis on the oppression of minorities, women and the poor.
Our history textbooks focus on the Founding Fathers as slaveholders; the Ku Klux Klan; the My Lai Massacre; and the internment of Japanese by President Franklin Roosevelt. They give scant attention to the heroic achievements of our people such as the civilizing of the wilderness; the abolition of slavery; the liberation of Europe in World War II; and the liberation of hundreds of millions of people after we forced the collapse of communism.
No nation in the history of this world has done more good than the United States. But our children are taught that America is a racist, hostile, imperialistic force in the world. They are indoctrinated into believing that capitalism and free enterprise are bad but socialism is good.
The fact is American history teachers teach a big lie to their students. The children are not told that most early Americans owned guns; the Federal Income Tax was unconstitutional before the 16th Amendment was passed in 1913; Darwinists lost the Scopes Monkey Trial; the Federal Reserve helped cause the Great Depression; the New Deal spawned massive bureaucracies and curtailed freedom; World War II ended the Great Depression not the New Deal; the Rosenbergs really were spies for the USSR; Senator McCarthy was correct that communist spies were working in our government; Lee Harvey Oswald was a communist; the Great Society and the birth control pill helped cause the destruction of the American family; the decline of American manufacturing was caused by union greed and corruption; Ronald Reagan is most responsible for ending the Cold War; Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury not adultery; 9-11 was the work of Islamic terrorists.
Students are taught the following lies: Columbus was responsible for killing millions of Indians; The Founders Fathers envisioned a "wall of separation between Church and State," to keep religious influence out of government; The United States of America was created by rich white men to protect their personal wealth; the 1950s were boring and created a generation of conformists; George W. Bush was selected, not elected in 2000; Global warming is a fact and it is caused by America.
CONCLUSIONS
The ideas behind multiculturalism, social justice, diversity, and political correctness are derived from Cultural Marxism. They exist to condition students to reject the traditional morality of America despite its overwhelming success and prosperity. Public schools purposefully contradict what parents teach their children—especially if the parents are Christians. Any parent who voices objections to this ideology is branded "mean-spirited" "judgmental" and "intolerant."
Schools minimize the importance of cognitive thinking. Students have been denied the basics of education—to be taught to read, write, and do basic mathematics. They graduate from high school with a tiny vocabulary.
Public schools have surely contributed to a rise in crime and immorality by rejecting any code of morality. If there is no right or wrong children will feel free to just go with their feelings and emotions. To decide for yourself what is right or wrong is fine for mature adults who have a moral foundation, a fully developed intellect, and some life experience but to allow a child to decide for itself is absurd.
Every child needs a simple but exact code of conduct. Otherwise we produce children unable to take a stand and this is a weakness that leads to immorality more often than not. Do we not all want the next generation to be decent and responsible? They rarely become this in a moral vacuum.
Children lack the mental prowess necessary to observe, analyze situations, compare results, anticipate consequences, and make decisions based upon firm commitment to goals and ideals, which is all a part of the values clarification process. In fact, many adults have a hard time doing this.
Morals and values are often the result of the experiences of people which are then passed along to the next generation. It is absurd to assume every person should "reinvent the wheel" and start from scratch, living and experiencing, and then determining a set of values that applies to them. First, people don’t have a lifetime of mistakes to make to finally arrive at a sensible set of morals and values. Second, any morals and values of the past which have been widely accepted over long periods of common human experience tend to make sense and apply at any time.
The methods and approaches of values clarification are riddled with subtle and not so subtle hints and suggestions to alternative values and beliefs, such as sexual promiscuity, drugs, anti-capitalism, and anti-religion. The manner in which the materials are presented encourages the student to question their religious notions, sexual morality, parents as guides and authorities. It also tends to encourage extreme tolerance of any form of deviance.
When I read that young people think Socialism is a good idea, or that it is fine for the government to takeover health care, banking, insurance, manufacturing, set wages, and in the future implement Central Planning and Collectivism, I am not angry with them. How could I be? They don't know any better. Our children are being force fed a worldview radically different than the one most Americans believe and completely opposed to the ideas upon which America was founded. It is an atheistic worldview that denies our children are spiritual beings.
ONE SOLUTION
One solution to education problems in public schools is to decertify the teachers' unions. Teachers are, after all, public servants who need no protection against robber barons.
Along with this, the Federal Department of Education should be abolished to return public schools to the control of the communities in which the children and parents reside. Why should people in New York or California or Washington, D.C. have the power to dictate the educational curriculum in Iowa, Alabama, or Wyoming?
If public schools in New York or California want to teach children that America, free enterprise, our Constitution, and the Christian faith are all villainous—so be it. At the same time, if public schools in Mississippi or North Dakota want to pray or read the Bible, venerate the Founding Fathers, teach patriotism and the glories of American History, so be it. Let each community decide for itself the values, wisdom, truth, and knowledge it wishes to impart to its own children.
ANOTHER SOLUTION
American children are overwhelmingly enrolled in public schools for one and only one reason: they are free. Hardly anybody has a good word to say about them otherwise. Of course, they are only free in that they are paid for with taxes on the incomes of American taxpayers—whether they use them or not. Might as well get your money's worth, eh?
But shouldn't free Americans be able to use their educational dollars as they see fit? If you don't pay your taxes that support the public schools you go to prison. Once again, we see Americans forced at the barrel of a gun to pay for things they not only do not want; but are detrimental to the health of our children and our nation's future.
One solution is vouchers for parochial or other private schools—which naturally the teachers' unions are vehemently against because they are not about the kids, they are about the teachers.
In New York, Catholic Schools graduate 90% of their minority students in urban neighborhoods—versus 50% in the public schools up the street, beholden to the union.
But Catholic schools are closing rapidly. In The City they have room for 15,000 failing students right now. Vouchers could save a lot of kids. The Catholic schools save a lot of taxpayer money, too, spending $7,000 per student per year versus $20,000 per student at the public school. So, they do twice as good a job for 1/3 the money!? Yes! They do.
Shouldn't parents have a right to save their children from a life of poverty? One would think that leftists, who never run out of things people have a "right" to, would agree. But not compared to their love for unions.
Progressives are ready for this eventuality though. They have a plan to attach to vouchers a laundry list of Progressive educational requirements, all of which are in this chapter, multiculturalism, etc., etc., etc.
Progressives are adamantly opposed to homeschooling, private schools, charter schools, and certainly Christian schools. The reason for this is simple: Progressives are not demanding the right to educate their children as they see fit—most of them don't have any. They demand the right to educate your children as they see fit.
"When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already…What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community." Adolph Hitler
"Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state." Adolph Hitler
vote upvote downshareprintflag
- Useful (17)
- Funny
- Awesome (17)
- Beautiful (4)
- Interesting (7)
CommentsLoading...
Great information James. I work as an "interventionist" for fourth-grade students in a Title I school. The lack of basic mathematical skills is appalling and heart-breaking. In a 7-hour school day, I have concluded through close observation that a teacher is able to get in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours of instruction (the remainder of the 7 hours is dedicated to snacks, disciplinary actions, restroom breaks, lunch, recess, more disciplinary breaks and constant interruptions from the front office). My wife and I choose to homeschool our four children for this very reason and because we want them to have a grasp of biblical concepts and their importance to world events. I applaud your efforts. Bless you and yours.
CJ Sledgehammer— You are quite welcome, my friend. That book is fascinating, to be sure.
I am glad you are with us on HubPages. Thank you for your affirmation and encouragement and blessings.
God Bless You!
James
Keith Engel— I found you! Thank you very much.
Brother, James, your advice for flip-flopping my Hub worked like a charm, thank you!!!
Another "thank you" is in order for the "heads up" on The Underground History of American Education. I can't wait to read it.
Many blessings to you and yours - C.J. Sledgehammer
Keith Engel— I looked all over facebook and could not find you in Pittsburgh or even in Pennsylvania. My FB page is:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=728601746
CJ Sledgehammer— I am well pleased to receive both of your comments on this article. Thank you for taking the time to read my work and respond so thoughtfully. I am grateful for your gracious compliments as well.
Yes, you are right on that college hammers (no pun intended) Christian students into submission. College administrators and professors claim to be truth seekers but react to any truth claims made by the Christian Faith with hostility and disdain.
The Japanese are a rare breed of people. They are the only successful atheistic society I have ever heard about. Surely their homogeneity and culture have much to do with this, along side the fact that the Japanese are super intelligent as a race.
That said, you hit the nail on the proverbial head with your observations that "Japanese schools are . . . are not encumbered with all the liberal nonsense and sensitivity training that afflicts our public school system. . . . do not have time for all the liberal indoctrination and mind control that happens in American classrooms. . . . Japanese schools are filled with educators, while American schools are filled with indoctrinators, and that is the difference."
Indeed.
I recently read a book that opened my eyes wide to the horror that is American public schools. It is called "The Underground History of American Education."
To reverse your comments, go to edit Hub, edit comments box, and it will ask you if you want most recent comments first or last. I like to see them last myself, but once there are over 100 of them it takes a long time to load the page. The only way to show only the most recent 50 comments is to show the most recent comments first.
God Bless You!
James
Jame, if you tried to look me up on Facebook, I had my privacy settings pretty strict so if you tried to look me up and not find me, try again.
Keith Engel— I have enjoyed our dialogue. I do have a FaceBook account and I will search for you later this morning. I found a used copy of the Ayn Rand book you recommended and I am about to dig in. Thanks again. :D
James, I was rereading through this magnificent work and came across a little discussion you were having with Paraglider.
He made a good point that Japanese schools do not pay homage to God, but they are thought to be far superior than American schools.
I think the truth behind this issue is that Japanese schools are far superior because they are not encumbered with all the liberal nonsense and sensitivity training that afflicts our public school system.
I think Japanese schools want their children to be competitive in the world market, and, therefore, do not have time for all the liberal indoctrination and mind control that happens in American classrooms.
Our government wants our children to believe in certain things and behave in certain ways, so education is not as important as indoctrination.
Japanese schools are filled with educators, while American schools are filled with indoctrinators, and that is the difference.
Best wishes, behave, and be well - C.J. Sledgehammer
P.S. How do I flip-flop my comment section, such that, the latest entries go to the top and only displays the last 20-50 posts? You did this on your White Girls and Black guys Hub, but I'm not sure how you did it. Thanks.
James:
An extraordinary work of art. Bravo, my friend, bravo!!!
About the only thing that I can add is what the public school system doesn't take away from you - college will.
Only 1/5 of professing Christians entering college still considered themselves to be "Christian" upon graduation.
Best wishes, behave, and be well - C.J. Sledgehammer
NP James, here goes what got me thinking when I first read it way back in High School in 1995:
Wizards First Rule: People are stupid…People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it’s true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it is all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet are confident they can, and so are all the more easier to fool.
You can either approach that with indignation and arrogance or understand that you should always question, always seek out answers, never stop learning just because you are done with formal education.
Anyway, instead of continuing commenting and discusing on this through this manner, you are more than welcome to send me an email, or look me up on facebook if you have an account.
Keith Engel— Thank you for sharing all of that extraordinary information with me. I had not heard of Rabbi Daniel Lapin before but this morning I read up up on him and I am impressed. I love the way he thinks.
I checked out all of the reviews of "Ominous Parallels." And I studied Terry Goodkind a bit.
Pope John Paul II was one of the towering figures of the 20th Century.
The list of 18 items from The Road We Are Traveling is quite illuminating. I appreciate you sending me that. I might incorporate it into my first book I am working on. Thanks again for engaging. Good man!
James
BTW Check this out: Political System X: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Chase
In The Road We Are Traveling, Stuart Chase compiled a list of 18 trends in contemporaneous politics around the world which he felt constituted a new political paradigm he referred to as 'X'. Chase argued that the increasing prevalence of these trends would make a return to the status quo after the war unlikely, for better or for worse.
1. A strong, centralized government.
2. An executive arm growing at the expense of the legislative and judicial arms.
3. The control of banking, credit and security exchanges by the government.
4. The underwriting of employment by the government, either through armaments or public works.
5. The underwriting of social security by the government – old-age pensions, mothers’ pensions, unemployment insurance, and the like.
6. The underwriting of food, housing, and medical care, by the government.
7. The use of deficit spending to finance these underwritings.
8. The abandonment of gold in favor of managed currencies.
9. The control of foreign trade by the government.
10. The control of natural resources.
11. The control of energy sources.
12. The control of transportation.
13. The control of agricultural production.
14. The control of labor organizations.
15. The enlistment of young men and women in youth corps devoted to health, discipline,community service and ideologies consistent with those of the authorities.
16. Heavy taxation, with special emphasis on the estates and incomes of the rich.
17. Control of industry without ownership.
18. State control of communications and propaganda.
So the new Obama Propaganda Documentary is called The Road We've Traveled. Coincidence? I think not!
Thank you once more for the kind words. You are correct in thinking that I am all to aware of all that you mention. In part much of this understanding, wisdom, comes from three sources. Terry Goodkind, Ayn Rand, and The Bible. Since you seem to be a reader, I of course suggest you get the chance to read Goodkind and Ayn Rand. There is also a book done by Leonard Piekoff, who Ayn Rand dubbed her "intellectual heir", called the Ominous Parallels, this book was written in 1981. On the cover the left half has the Red and the Swastika on the right hand side, the blue and the seal of the US. Here goes a link:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Ominous-Parallels-Brilli
Of course, I having growing a bit wiser, I am not a complete conformist with everything that has to be said by either of these people. Yet, there is much of it that is at the core of who I am as well and my understanding due to introducing me to philosophy as a whole and understanding the importance of philosophy.
As far as the religious issue, I only brought it up because I know some people have very hostile views toward the Pope unfortunately. So I wasn't sure how you would react. Though the Catholic Church is the only institution that has lasted for 2k years roughly. Another person I suggest you checking out is Rabbi Daniel Lapin. I am currently reading his book Thou Shall Prosper, Ten Commandments for Making Money, and it is a wonderful insightful book that will be used definitely quite a bit with my project eventually. I will leave you with a quote from said book.
"Surely, there will be no destitute among you, God will bless you...but only if you harken to the voice of the Lord your God...Destitute people will never cease to exist in your society, so I command you to always open your hand to your brother the poor." Duet. 15: 4,5,11.
"The contradiction from the two Biblical verses is resolved. Let nobody consider himself to be poor. Forming that opinion of yourself erects an insurmountable obstacle of becoming rich. If nobody allows a self image of being poor, then the first verse is correct, there will be no poor among you. However, there will always be some people with less than you. They must not consider themselves poor, but you are obliged to give something to those less than you."
"Equal opportunity for all is the promise of any civilized society, but equality of outcome is unachievable and will only be promised to the accompaniment of totalitarian elimination of free choice. Trying to ensure that every one ends up with the same is not perfection. In human affairs, perfection, like poverty, is relative."
Keith Engel— Thank you for sending my some of the most profound comments I have ever received. You are truly a deep thinker and articulate writer. I hope you posted this same material as a Hub of your own. I agree with every word you said. In particular, I enjoyed the great quote from St. Thomas Aquinas.
I agree with you that "the pursuit of Wisdom is an art lost." That is because Satan, working through his minions—the Progressive Left in America, those godless communists who hate their own country that has granted them a fabulous lifestyle of comfort and the liberty to tear down the goose that laid the golden egg for them—have convinced most of the populace that there is no such thing as wisdom. Any worldview is as good as any other. They sow confusion because their spiritual father is the author of confusion and the author of deception and the father of lies.
You write, "the great disintegration of society as it slips further down an ever increasingly immoral road." You are spot on. The New Left does not believe morality exists and so they teach that to our children no matter what parents think.
I am going to get "The New Left: The Return of the Primitive" by Ayn Rand ASAP. I read a bunch of reviews of it today and they were ALL positive.
You write, "As said I am a Catholic, not sure what denomination you are . . ."
I am merely a Christian. I belong to no denomination. But I love all the members of the Body of Christ.
I love your quotes from Pope Benedict, a man whom I much admire. He said: " . . . true wisdom is inseparable from knowledge of the Creator, for “both we and our words are in his hand . . ."
Amen!
He also said that we must muster "the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. The preparation of committed lay leaders and the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country . . ."
Hallelujah!
You write, "Most people, thanks to the wonderful education system, have no understanding anymore of the Philosophical and Theological principles upon which this country was founded."
You are absolutely correct, Brother. That is no accident, my friend. I think you know that.
I appreciate your brilliant remarks. I so enjoyed reading them. Thanks again.
Well crap, I guess I made to long a comment. Here goes the three quotes I wanted to use from the Pope:
“As you know, the task of a teacher is not simply to impart information or to provide training in skills intended to deliver some economic benefit to society; education is not and must never be considered as purely utilitarian. It is about forming the human person, equipping him or her to live life to the full – in short it is about imparting wisdom. And true wisdom is inseparable from knowledge of the Creator, for “both we and our words are in his hand, as are all understanding and skill in crafts.” Pope Benedict XVI Sept. 17th 2010.
"With this (religious) illiteracy we cannot grow, unity cannot increase. So we ourselves must recover this content as a richness for unity--not as a package of dogmas and commandments, but as a unique reality that reveals itself through its depth and beauty...We will renew the church only if we renew peoples knowledge of the faith" Pope Benedict XVI To Priest on Feb 23.
“Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. The preparation of committed lay leaders and the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country; as essential components of the new evangelization, these concerns must shape the vision and goals of catechetical programs at every level.” Pope Benedict XVI January 20th 2012
Anyway, what is uniting the US anymore? Most people, thanks to the wonderful education system, have no understanding anymore of the Philosophical and Theological principles upon which this country was founded. I had no idea the Pope said these matters as I began working on this project, and it has been one sitting in the back of my mind for quite sometime. Yet, when the you see the Pope's words are reflecting what it is you think the Lord is calling you to do, there is coincidence, then there is Divine Providence.
Well James, here goes what actually got me back to the faith, simply put, you have enough ghost shows on TV where stuff takes place that can't be explained and its like, I can't pull the reversal of Socrates Philosophy. The one matter Rand and Objectivist talk about is the validity of the senses. Yet, Skeptics generally have to all of a sudden question the sense another person experience, such as wrong identification or some such. So I'm sitting there like, yeah, well science has no explanation for when Ghost Adventure guys are filming and you hear footsteps and then a door all of a sudden slam.
Anyway, I got my degree in English as previously stated, when all you do is analyze to death books and other matters and already having a pretty inquisitive mind to begin with, all I do is analyze various problems. Well Rand wrote an essay called, Philosophy: Who Needs It, her answer was everybody and you either chose a structured philosophy or you would get a mish mash of ideas and have your own philosophy, filled with contradictions no less. Now I ask you James, what has been missing from society for a long time? Only a minority actually studies philosophy, when Philosophy was the King subject of study from the Renaissance to roughly the early 20th Century. Philosophy isn't taught in our schools, why is that? Yet what replaced Philosophy? Psychology. Here goes a slight excerpt from the rough draft of a possible introduction:
"Among all human pursuits, the pursuit of wisdom is more perfect, more, noble, more useful, and more full of joy. It is more perfect because, in so far as a man gives himself to the pursuit of wisdom, so far does he even now have some share in true beatitude. And so a wise man has said: “Blessed is the man that shall continue in wisdom.(Sirach 14:22)” St. Thomas Aquinas Summa Contra Gentiles
Philosophy and Religion are two parts of a harmonious whole. As described above Philosophy is the seeking out of wisdom through a structured form of thought that can help a person make wise decisions, leading to wisdom and understanding. God as taught by the Judeo/Christian faiths is the All Knowing, All Good, All Powerful, All Loving, and All Wise Creator of the Universe. It is in this concept of God and understanding of His Nature that we can see the connection between Philosophy and Religion. Philosophy as stated is the pursuit and love of wisdom. God is Wisdom in its most ultimate and pure form. It is in this connection of Philosophy and its study that an individual can come to a closer understanding and love of God, The All Wise.
The reason for this is that the language of Theology, the study of God, and the word of God as found in the Bible is the language of Philosophy. Furthermore, since man is created in the image of the Divine Creator it is through the pursuit of becoming Wise as one of the purposes of Man. It is to become Wise in a similar fashion to that of God. This is not to say though that man can become a god or otherwise become as wise as God, only that the pursuit of becoming Wise and having Wisdom should be a life long pursuit and is one of the ways of ensuring a good life in accordance to the will of the All Wise. It is for this reason that Philosophy and Religion hold a sacred and harmonious bond between one another and why the two can’t be separated. It is also why having and choosing a Structural Philosophic way of thinking is of the utmost importance...
Of course, the question arises why the need for the bridge of Philosophy to understand Theology? Why not just go right to Theology? A child doesn’t learn to walk without first crawling, doesn’t learn to run without first walking. Yet, the opposite is done when it comes to this relationship. Theology is taught first and then philosophy is used as a means of trying to help people understand Theology, with out people understanding the philosophy that is being used in the teaching of the Theology. This is what St. Thomas Aquinas does in his Summa Theologica and what is done in even many books on the Catechsim, such as The Teaching of Christ. Before one can talk about the higher principles found in faith and religion a basic understanding of first principles are needed to bridge across to the higher principles. It is perhaps one of the reasons that also we have seen more and more people losing faith as time has gone on and various assaults have been set against faith in general. With out a solid basis of principles that make sense to people it is difficult for some to grasp the higher principles and also this makes it that much easier also to assault faith and likewise for those to lose faith.
And here goes another slight excerpt:
First is that fact that since Philosophy is no longer a subject of study, being replaced by Psychology, the pursuit of Wisdom is an art lost on many especially since there is no philosophy guiding that pursuit of wisdom. All thought and knowledge has been replaced by the various schools of science. Yet, without Philosophy being the guiding Light upon which such knowledge should be used and how Man and society as a whole interact, society has become lost just drifting currently through one series of events to another with out understanding.
Second, is the fact that despite philosophy no longer being a subject of pursuit and study, like it was during the course of all of human history until the finding of Psychology, doesn’t mean that philosophy of some type still isn’t guiding human thought and action. As stated previously everybody must have philosophy and as such what is guiding many people today is a mish mash of the various Philosophies that branched off from Kant during the 19th and early 20th Centuries, especially since a version of this philosophy is taught in most school systems today, Progressivism and Relativism .
Third, even though Psychology has brought much to the understanding of Human Behavior it doesn’t provide the all important factor which Philosophy does bring, wisdom. Fourth, is that even though one of the few forms of Philosophy that still exist currently is found in the various Judeo/Christian Faiths, the actual replacement of philosophy by Psychology has like wise affected these Judeo/Christian Faiths as has the influence of the mish mash of philosophy that has taking place since Psychologies usurpation of philosophy.
This is what is causing the great disintegration of society as it slips further down an ever increasingly immoral road and Governments become more powerful and willing to use evil actions against its citizens. The Great Disconnect and the importance of philosophy and its connection to religion is one that needs to be reestablished in today’s world. As looking at the long history of philosophy through the Battle of Aristotle vs. Plato, and thus the history of Man across the world, basically this battle can be summed up in that the battle of history has been one of individual man and freedom vs. the group and those who wish to control the group as "Philosopher Kings" as Plato put it in the Republic.
Anyway, Yes that is a list of Chapters from the Book: The New Left: The Return of the Primitive by Ayn Rand. As far as my project, as I sated no matter what I began working on, it came back to this matter of philosophy and education. I wanted to start a school business as previously mentioned. Yet, the matter being is who should it benefit? Me? Sure, I could probably eventually put the work into getting it running eventually. Yet, I am not sure how long that will take and matters are reaching a critical point now. Sure, I could write a fantasy book. Yet, who will that benefit and who will that help? How many people will actually read it? Not to mention that it was going to be based off of this current project anyway. So, why write a fiction book when I needed to work out the Philosophy for the book anyway. Might as well work on the philosophy to begin with. As said I am a Catholic, not sure what denomination you are, but here goes something the Pope said to Priests and Seminarians last month.
"With this (religious) illiteracy we cannot grow, unity cannot increase. So we oursel
Keith Engel— Man, you are a deep thinker. I am well pleased to come to this realization for it makes it a great pleasure for me to have made your acquaintance. Thank you for coming back and posting these two comments. I checked out the links. Are those demands real?! They are unbelievable. I can use that information for my book.
I copied and pasted the list in your first comment box onto a word document so I can research it tomorrow. Those are chapter titles in Ayn Rand's book, right? I love the titles and can't wait to dig into them. Maybe I will see if the library has it so I don't have to read it on line. I must prefer the tactile feel of a real book in my hands.
I also agree with Rand about many things, but certainly not atheism. Welcome back into the fold! :D
I had no idea that Atlas Shrugged was at number 2 of the most inspirational books. Impressive.
You wrote, "My current project now is working on a philosophy that brings The Bible and Objectivism together."
I love it! What a great idea. Listen, if the Lord is calling you do write something, by all means do it, brother.
God Bless You!
james
Here you go James about the OWS List. On their site, they quickly all of a sudden added that this isn't an "official list" as it was posted by a user. Yet, you get the idea.
http://libertywell.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/occupy
http://occupywallst.org/forum/proposed-list-of-ows
If you haven't done so I suggest checking out getting a possible Sub to GBTV, he is the only person in Media I think talking about the real issues facing the country.
Here goes another video from Glenn Beck, showing the various factions and connections.
No Problem James about the delay. I understand the issues concerning the book as I finished the first draft of a book not long ago. I was all set to work on editing it and the like, but just began to lose passion in many ways for the project. Yet, in the last few weeks I have been going through in that with all the issues facing the world and possible economic collapse facing us and other matters, does the world need another Fantasy novel? Everything kept coming back though also to one matter and that is Philosophy and actually my calling to The Catholic Church and priesthood. In many cases, I have lost faith in the institutions of the country and even to a certain extent the people. When all you see in comments sections all over the web is various hate and spiteful talk it is difficult to work on a fantasy book when you see these matters. It has come down to a matter where can I effect the most change? No matter what I work on, it comes back full circle to becoming priest and The Church.
Anyway, that is another topic altogether. Ayn Rand Return of the Primitive, is an excellent book. Here goes the Index:
The Schools:
The Cashing In: The Student Rebellion
The Chicken's Homecoming
The Comprachicos
The Culture:
Apollo and Dionysus
The "Inexplicable Personal Alchemy"
The Age of Envy
The Politics:
The Left: Old and New
From a Symposium
"Political" Crimes
Racism
Global Balkanization
Gender Tribalism
The Anti Industrial Revolution
The Philosophy of Privation
Multicultural Nihilism
The Anti-Industrial Revolution
All these were written in the late 60s early 70s. Perhaps just from the titles you can get an idea of just how predictive these were to what is currently happening. Though I agree with Rand in many most matters, and was an Atheist for a bit due to reading her, I have come back my Faith as well. The 1994 Survey done by the library of congress for most inspirational books has The Bible at number 1 and Atlas Shrugged at number 2. My current project now is working on a philosophy that brings The Bible and Objectivism together. Rand view her philosophy as the height of the Aristotelian school. St. Thomas Acquinas Summa Theologica is Aristotelian. It might sound crazy, but it seems to me the Lord is calling me to work on something similar to the Summa. Anyway, God Bless and keep up the good work.
Oh and also thank you for the Kind words regarding my own Hubs on this matter concerning schools.
Keith Engel— I am sorry for taking so long to respond to your three excellent comments. I have been working on my book, almost around the clock to take advantage of a sudden burst of energy I have towards that project, which had lay dormant for some time.
The book was done but it was three times too long for a first book by an unknown author and I was too jealous over all of it to whack it to pieces so I just put it on the shelf.
Now that I look at for the first time in months, I think it is too derivative and I am setting about writing a shorter summary of my own book. Anyway, I digress.
I enjoyed the Glenn Beck videos. I appreciate you for sharing those links with me.
After I am done here, I will search for "The Return of the Primitive" by Ayn Rand.
I had not heard that Occupy Wall Street is protesting Homeschooling. That seems odd. I will look for where that is coming from too.
I totally agree with you about this: "The problems with Public Educatoin are many, yet all of them stem from the fact that the public education system is a monopoly."
Amen! You are spot on.
I agree as well with your overall assessement of our situation. You have keen insight. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me.
Nick AE— Welcome to the HubPages Community! I hope you will join us by writing some Hubs of your own. If you do, let me know and I will read them. When your essay is done, HubPages will be an excellent place to easily publish it.
Nick, I thank you very much for taking the time to read my article. I am well pleased that you enjoyed this piece. I appreciate your extraordinary remarks and the accolades.
James
James,
I hope you don't think I was trying to promote myself in this matter. Yet, I think it is probably the most important issue in America today that I want more people to understand and grasp the problem with Education today.
You know, Glenn Beck interview a 8th grader who did an essay on Fredrick Douglas and the teachers actually began to bully her because she questioned the education she was getting. The young girl began to cry because she realized her freedom of speech was actually being trampled upon. We are about ready to be taken by the throat and ultimate power is about ready to be taken and almost everybody is blind to that fact.
Keith Engel— Thank you for alerting us to your fine Hub on this very subject. I went over and read it and it is spot on. :D
vox vocis— Thank you very much for taking the time to read my article. I appreciate the voted up—and you hitting all the good buttons for me except funny, especially so since you are a teacher. I recognize that the article is quite lengthy and I am grateful for your patience.
I apologize for the tardiness of my response to your kind and most excellent remarks. I have been away from HubPages for a week.
I found your comments about the Turkish students quite interesting. In America, we already do this for our huge number of Spanish-speaking students, mostly from Mexico, whom we teach in Spanish with English as a second language. We also allow them to pledge allegiance to Mexico and parade around school with Mexican flags—in the name of political correctness and multiculturalism. After all, we can't appear to think our flag, language, country, or culture is better than anybody elses.
I am shocked to read that the "German school system is one of the lowest performing ones (in Europe)." I have always heard you guys had one of the best performing school systems.
Glenn Beck just did a great bang up job on this issue.
The problems with Public Educatoin are many, yet all of them stem from the fact that the public education system is a monopoloy. As I stated to the other commenter, you can read my three part article series on the subject and it might help with your essay. Another great article, and I am not sure if you will be able to find it online, comes from the book The Return of the Primitive by Ayn Rand. The article from this book is called the Comprachicos, it deals with many of the same issues brough up by James in his piece, only written back in 1970 so it was quite predictive in nature as far as what has taken place in our school system today. Of course, you have the Occupy Wall Street People demanding that Home Schooling be outlawed as well, so what does that tell you. They don't want people to think for themselves, but to be indoctrinated further.
I am so glad i read this. I'm a sophomore in high school right now and what i read in your essay reflects a lot on what i see daily at school. In a Geometry class where 3/4 of the 30 students in there are jocks that do absolutely no work and brag that they're going to get a full scholarship because they play football, it makes me feel like I'm the only one in there who gives a crap about my real future. I'm a gifted student but i feel like I get zero support from the school system. Right now I'm working on writing an essay on the problems with public education,just an essay im doing on my own time, and yours shed a lot of light on what makes public education such a jab in the rear. Great essay, and I hope this excellent paper pissed off a lot of NEA officials. -Nick-
Vox vocis, if you want further insight to the overall structure of the public school system, I suggest reading my hubs called the Fear of Competition.
Wow! Voted up (all but funny)! As a teacher of English and Italian language and literature, I enjoyed reading this hub very much and gained an important insight into American public school system, and a lot of other useful information. I was surprised to learn that some black kids persecuted good black students for 'talking white.'" I'm not sure whether there's a hidden racial issue there (shameless). I'd like to add that eastern world immigrants in Germany (not all of them, but majority) have a lot of difficulties in German schools beginning with learning German. Moreover, the Turks have requested from German government that their people attend Turkish schools and learn German language as a foreign language (in Germany, but ask for German passport, too). This was turned down (the school part), and now they're asking a school reform making education easier for pupils (and they still want to learn German as a second language). My opinion on the subject - Eh? ??? In addition, according to Pisa statistics for Europe, German school system is one of the lowest performing ones (in Europe).
I'm saving the article for future reference. It's the kind of material you should read a couple of times because it's a lenghty read (positive remark) :)
Keith Engel— I appreciate you bringing the names Cox & Forkum to my attention. Though I borrowed two of their cartoons on this page, I knew nothing about them until now that I read up on them a bit.
I am intersting in what you have planned for your very own school business. Lord knows we need a fresh approach.
BTW, Love Cox and Forkum, too bad they stopped doing cartoons on a regular basis.
No problem, Mr. Watkins. One of the reasons I am so passionate about education issues is what occurred with my own education through the public school system and how I have had to reeducate myself in many aspects. I view myself as a writer, but struggle with grammar much of the time unfortunately. During my 6 and 7 grade years I learned zero science from a teacher who refused to teach us. In 8 grade I learned zero science again after our teacher passed away and if I remember correctly there wasn't really a replacement. Math went downhill once I left public schools and went to a private high school when I had 3 different teachers my freshman year. You got used to one teaching style when another came along. Such mish mosh of education and years lost can set one back so much.
I look back at my education process as a whole and realize that though some responsibility lies with me in the process, some of the responsibility, the brunt, also lies within the institution itself. I am also not one of these people who will sit back and complain about something and not have the passion in wanting to try to fix the problem by not getting my hands dirty and taking a risk. I have been working on what I hope to be my own school business eventually. The main difference is that in high school I change the normal curricula significantly. Philosophy and Economics will be core curricula being taught, with student being able to choose their other curricula similar to a college. If you are interested in seeing what I have planned just shoot me an email.
Keith Engel— I appreciate it and I will read your work this weekend. Thanks again.
Aye it was after I published my first article on competition and the school monopoly that I saw a link to your article. Since in many ways it was in direct correlation to what I was writing, and it helped that I wouldn't have to write or present my own case on curricula issues. So I linked it when it made sense to do so.
Keith Engel— I am honored that you provided links to my article. Thank you very much. I'll be over ASAP to check out your Hubs.
I played at Marquette long before you were there, back in the 1970s. :D
Aye, well I actually linked your hub twice in the last two parts of my article. Since I was focusing on the Monopoly aspect of the public school system, I wanted to stay focused on that, not the curricula aspect. Yet, that aspect is tied in as well with the monopoly in that there is no choice in that aspect for parents.
Nice about your band playing at Marquette, I attended between 1999-2003. I am happy you enjoyed my profile. Have a good day. If you notice I don't allow comments, but if you have any questions or want to comment, don't hesitate to send me an email. I will respond.
Keith Engel— Welcome to the HubPages Community! I love your profile page. We have much in common, such as I also am a prodigious reader. My rock band played a concert at Marquette University once too!
I look forward to reading some of your articles, which I shall do soon. In particular, I will seek out your three part series on the public school system.
Thank you for the kind compliments. I am glad you enjoyed this Hub and that we are mostly in agreeance.
James, A really wonderful hub. The only point I disagree with are your views on evolution. Anyway, the whole education mess is one that I am very passionate about as I am working on my own three part series of hubs on the monopoly that the public school system has on education. An aspect you touch briefly on at the end of your article. It is a subject that no matter how many times it is brought up, or which angle a person takes it from, that needs to be brought to the attention of people and have them think about the current education system.
Michael Graves— You said something very significant when you said: "No wonder white collar crime is out of control in this country."
Yes, indeed, this is part of our national problem—a lack of conscience.
I am glad I made you think. I share in this pleasure, when someone makes me think about life and the world in which I live.
If we teach our children that there is no absolute right and wrong we are headed down a spiral toward moral anarchy, my friend. And that should be a place we do not want to go.
Wait... WHAT?! Are you kidding me? Rape and murder were ALL they could come up with? No wonder white collar crime is out of control in this country... apparently, theft is perfectly acceptable by modern standards. Wish I'd known. ~rolls eyes~ What about lying, betrayal, purposeful emotional or physical harm of another person? As to reading your work, it's a pleasure, James. I like being made to think, and even if we don't see eye to eye all the time, you definitely give me a reason to ponder my own assumptions about the world.
Michael Graves— Welcome to the HubPages Community. I look forward to reading your first few articles, which I will do ASAP.
I like what you wrote:
"I think that people of all faiths, and those of no faith, should be united in the purpose of creating a better life for people, irrespective of their individual beliefs"
I agree with you. I saw a study the other day of our current crop of young adults. Other than rape and murder, they could not name any behaviors that are "wrong." How telling.
I sincerely appreciate your gracious compliments and the voted up. Thank you for taking the time to read my work.
Despite my disagreement with some of your points, I voted this up, because I think that you present your ideas with clarity, grace, and insight. I myself am rather conflicted religiously, but I find it odd that, in a world that is supposedly devoid of "religious superstition", that so many ills (including lack of proper education and a clear moral compass) are prevalent in the youth of today. I am somewhat influenced by my Unitarian leanings; I think that people of all faiths, and those of no faith, should be united in the purpose of creating a better life for people, irrespective of their individual beliefs.
Terishere— Thank you!! I am well pleased to read that you first homeschooled your son, and then sent him to a school where a child will learn the same facts and knowledge as any other child but learn in the framework of a Christian worldview, rather than a worldview that is decidedly anti-Christ.
As you say "I do believe there is a hidden agenda behind the education of our children. What better way to take a nation down with out firing a shot, that is to change the social behavior, ethics and morals of our Children. They've turned education into social experiments."
Amen! You should have written this Hub as you explained what is happening in far fewer words and with more concision that I. Well done!
James
Great hub!! And I do believe there is a hidden agenda behind the education of our children. What better way to take a nation down with out firing a shot, that is to change the social behavior, ethics and morals of our Children. They've turned education into social experiments. It's deplorable!!
I home schooled my son, then sent him to a private Christian school. Private schools aren't set to the same set of rules for the public schools.
Great hub!
Terri
Ben— Correction noted.
I appreciate you reading my Hubs. I agree with your thoughtful comments. Thank you for sharing your worldview with me.
James-- I meant stand AGAINST the Cultural Marxist education system. Sorry!
James--I will read your hubs you provided links to as soon as I get back from an errand. I try to believe in Creation and in Jesus. I have been baptized and I do pray. Sometimes I have trouble believing and it makes me worry. But, I also believe in Darwinism. I think that evolutionists and creationists should learn to stand together and protect free speech, the morals that this country was founded on, and the Cultural Marxist education system. I don't see a problem with non-believers standing up for the rights on Christians and standing against The Institute of Marxism, that is alive and well today in our public school system. Religious beliefs aside, we will ALL SUFFER if the denigration of our Judeo-Christian heritage continues.
Ben— I am glad you could appreciate that quote from the Harvard professor. These folks tie themselves in knots to deny the Creator.
Evil has wormed its way into the government and the schools and universities. They say talk and study that includes God is "not science" and therefore unworthy of discussion—except perhaps in "critical" studies to debunk the Bible. The book to read is "The Soul of the American University" by George Marsden.
You are right about the Civil War uniforms but I'm not so sure about the size of Adam. He was perfect and it could be he was 6'3"—my height. :D
Your belief in both Creation and Evolution is shared by many today. I think Mendel uncovered much about Genetics that Darwin was unaware of. I wrote a Hub about Darwin and Evolution you might find interesting. In fact, I wrote another piece at the same time about the matters you speak of too.
James--
"When it comes to the Origin of Life there are only two possibilities: creation or spontaneous generation. There is no third way. Spontaneous Generation was disproved one hundred years ago, but that leads us to only one other conclusion, that of supernatural creation. We cannot accept that on philosophical grounds; therefore, we choose to believe the impossible: that life arose spontaneously by chance!"
That has to be the funniest thing I have ever read! A Harvard professor professes that we are to "believe the impossible"! What is wrong with our educated elite? Why not believe in the other "impossiblity", Creationism, in that case? Wouldn’t that be equally “impossible”?
Doesn't it make you think when you consider that the government has total control over education and it just so happens that nearly every person educated in this country has beliefs that serve to benefit the government the most? If both theories are unprovable, then without external influence, would't approximately 50% of the people believe one version and 50% believe the other?
I believe that we were created by God but I believe that we have also evolved in many ways from the way that God created us. The average adult male now is probably at least twice the size of Adam. The soldiers of today could not even come close to squeezing into a Civil War uniform. Healthcare and nutrition are responsible for some of that but I also think that larger men were selected for breeding more often by females who unconsciously were really longing for superior protection. Also, men had to learn to hunt which led to what we now know as fierce male competition and developed spatial orientation and projectile ability today. I believe that art, music, communication, and all other forms of beautiful human expression evolved as a sexual fitness indicator – after creation. I believe both happened, Creation and Evolution. Maybe I have a screw lose; I don’t know.
Ornov.dm99— Thank you! I very much appreciate your kind compliments. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!
I tried to come over and read your article but the link you gave me doesn't work.
Oh dear friend it's a so great and wonderful hub site.your hub site so educational for every body. it's a so important hub site for every man to know.
so friend you will get another more information ......
Alexander Mark— You are most welcome, my friend. My mission on HubPages is to educate. I am glad you get it. I love you man!
Thank you for those quotes, they are brazen and stunning. I am definitely going to take a look at those hubs, I know you write from knowledge and good research.
Thanks for the kind words. If I am wrong about something, it is out of ignorance and this is why I am here, to learn (and to teach the little I know). Teach on.
Alexander Mark— Someone once said "Give me a people's history and I will write their future." Or words to that effect. Wait, I found the quote.
"Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state." Adolph Hitler
And also:
"When an opponent declares, 'I will not come over to your side,' I calmly say, 'Your child belongs to us already…What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community." Adolph Hitler
I wrote about Socialism in depth. I split it into six Hubs so it wouldn't be so long.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Socialism-vs-Capitalism
I also wrote about Health Care:
http://hubpages.com/hub/National-Health-Care
I enjoyed reading your excellent comments. You are a thoughtful person with a good heart. Thank you for all you said. I agree with you.
Until I read this hub, I did not know what Social Justice was, reminds of what they called history in high school: "social studies." How the heck did that get away with that? I just know I was always confused by that, but now I know they were teaching progressive morality and twisting history to suit their agenda. Three years in a row, the exact same thing - it wasn't remedial either!
As far as socialism, I am not entirely convinced it is a bad thing in its European form, but evidence would tell the story. Anti-Semitism is on the rise in Europe, people are overtaxed and budgets are being cut for health care. Old people are sometimes even euthanized I have heard, or merely don't receive the care they need because they don't want to waste the resources or money. Honestly, some of this is rumor, and I think I'm seeing a hub concerning the facts about socialism in my future. I am not too confident about the quality of life in the US, but we have more individual freedom here, and we enjoy more prosperity than the general populace in Europe or anywhere else. It's hard to argue with America's prosperity and world leadership.
I do wish for a health care budget that applies to every person, regardless of their pay scale, but not a centralized one. McCain had a great idea about that. But I certainly do not want a centralized, government controlled health care plan. Maybe something along the lines of school vouchers. If education is crucial, so is health care. I'm not sure we will agree there. Any thoughts?
But I am with you, I do not believe in distributing the wealth, it removes the need for competition, which destroys prosperity. More than that, it diminishes the individual and individuality is a gift from God.
I wonder how it works in Israel. I think they are more socialistic, yet they are a technology leader.
One thing I'm pretty sure of, if the majority of Americans believed in God and served him, there would be no perceived need for socialism (or moral relativism).
Alexander Mark--- Welcome, my aviation friend. Now that's what I call a comment! :D
Your remarks are truly profound. I am well pleased to have found a kindred spirit. You had me nodding with agreement all the way through your comments.
Thank you very much for your words. I am glad you enjoy my work, and I appreciate the laudations.
I agree with you that vouchers are a sensible answer. Of course, even better would be to dismantle the teachers unions, return control of public schools to local communities, and revamp the curriculum without all the progressive nonsense. Let's eliminate "diversity" "inclusiveness" "multiculturalism" "Political Correctness" et al. Did you know that those training to become teachers must take "Social Justice" classes? Socialism would be the true definition.
There are many great teachers. Sadly, because of the power of the teachers unions, the great teachers cannot be properly rewarded for their efforts. Only seniority comes into play when promoting and giving raises to teachers. Talk about setting up a system for failure!
Federal control of public schools is not only wrong it is unconstitutional. It is the mechanism used by progressives to infiltrate every little hamlet in America with their pernicious ideology.
And moral relativism is the key to that wicked ideology. With it, morality becomes what the State says it is. And we can see the results all around us of that experiment: the destruction of a once great nation.
Brother, I enjoy almost all of your work (sorry, I hate sports) and all of your writing is excellent. However, this so far for me is the most profound piece of work of yours I have ever read. It was hard to go through all of it because it is so very true and it is so incredibly hopeless and sad. As you know, I am also a huge fan of school vouchers and this would solve half the problems we have with government sponsored education, of which I am an unfortunate recipient. The other half is the centralization of control over what passes for standards all schools have to meet. This hub started out with a huge bang - I literally started to feel nauseous as I read about high school graduates not being able to find the US on a map (that's part of Asia right?). What? you're from Australia? Do you speak German (wait, I mean Austrian) there?
The quote by Dewey about everyone being interdependent has come true. It is not only pushed in school, it is woven into American culture through movies and media generated social attitudes. I see younger people at work making, "friends," with others they don't like because they can be a help to each other. Then I see them getting mad because that other person betrayed them or is using them. And yet they refuse to see the connection between their permissiveness and their troubles with relationship habits. What makes it all worse is that by making allies of wicked people, it encourages more people to become wicked themselves - all a part of that moral relativism. Especially when the well-meaning friend must rationalize their off-balance relationship with someone whose beliefs are diametrically opposed to their own, through relativism!
Group Learning: This idea is taught as a logical path to learning even in college, which is one of the reasons I can't bring myself to take education seriously. I have literally heard teachers say at the beginning of the semester that we are all to learn from each other instead of the professor. What ends up happening is that all the knowledgeable people in class become mini-teachers who are not paid, and those students who are there to learn are forced to interact with the semi-knowledgeable students and become afraid to ask the teacher questions while getting only half or less the education they paid for. You end up mislearning (sorry for the Bushism here) things and not getting a complete and rounded education.
The point about homework versus the in-classroom learning in Japan is a big sore point for me. My ability to absorb and learn plummeted when graduating to high school from middle school, I was suddenly required to do hours of reading instead of being taught by the instructor. In fact, reading was not always assigned, the teacher's battle cry was, "study the material." Okay then, which part? No one really knew. That's what the teacher is for, right?
I must add a disclaimer that not all teachers were / are this way of course. I have sat under great ones that did not employ group think or grade curves, but allowed their passion for the subject and their love for seeing their students grasp the lessons to come through. But sadly, they are the minority.
It seems like progressives are always pushing the idea that everything needs to be approved by a centralized process. "Every public school teacher in America must be certified by the education department of a university or a teachers' college." And only accredited schools are respected. I'm sure you've heard of Kent Hovind? He is probably the greatest proponent for, "Young Earth Creationism." He receives a lot of criticism but his logic is more sound than those that promote evolution, at least to the layman. Unfortunately, he is the victim of a witch hunt via tax evasion laws - you can decide for yourself if that is legitimate or not. But of the numerous and varying criticisms he receives, one of them is that he did not receive a degree at an accredited university. It is my belief that most great thinkers become renown not so much for the schools they attended but for their own achievements. I'll take a cheap shot and throw the name Bill Gates out there who, to the best of my knowledge, did not complete a formal education. I'm sure you can come up with many more names than I can off the top of my head.
The point being that there is no need for a centralized control unless there is a motivation to control people (I think you stated all this). We are often preached at by progressives that this sort of action is for our own good, like seatbelt and helmet laws, mandatory health insurance (from which politicians are exempt), gun laws and so on. Instead, these things are meant to control us, not help us.
I love this line: "Progressive educators do not teach children that their rights are antecedent." It is so incredibly profound and so simple and obvious, yet until now I could never put it into words. This is exactly how I felt about government from the very little I learned in school. Even now, the ideals that belong to the mostly conservative side of politics feel like a Christmas present to me. We have rights? We can vote? We can make change? Along with the surety of evolution and false white guilt, I still fight these feelings, and it's been about 15 years since I graduated from high school! The school system has a very destructive effect on the mind, it lasts a lifetime. Most people who swallow the pill so to speak, will never challenge these assumptions, so I count my little internal struggle a blessing.
This is so true: "High school graduates today are not only poorly educated, they have nothing concrete to believe in and are therefore unwilling to make moral judgments. They have inflated opinions of themselves and are quick to bristle at the slightest criticism. The result is an explosive mixture of nihilism, narcissism, ignorance, and resentment." I work with a lot of 20 year olds, and this describes them perfectly. A fair number of them are really nice people despite this, but I see the attitudes you described in that sentence ruling their lives and dulling their minds from independent thought. Those very same nice kids will even listen to me patiently while I present my views, but will then take my opposing view and morph it into something that resembles their own philosophy in an attempt to peacefully end the argument while retaining their own moral superiority. It breaks my heart to see them so willingly put on the blinders in the face of logic and reason. The progressives have won, America's youth is very clever about dealing with anything that opposes their brainwashing.
Maybe it's time we start turning the tables and think about how to use their belief system to prove that Christianity should not be relegated, that true tolerance came from Jesus, and that moral relativism cannot exist without a proper measuring stick. Why is killing wrong? Who says? What if I kill you right now, is that wrong? Good thing that the Bible taught me that murder IS wrong!
My knee-jerk reaction to what I have read is to run to the nearest fundamental Baptist church and start brainwashing my own brain with normal thinking as far as it concerns values and political correctness. Maybe I should. This article is making me seriously consider telling people the truth without pulling punches, without hinting at anything and without sensitivity to their egos or political correctness.
But I have to remember what Paul said in a sentence in an important set of verses: 1 Corinthians 9: 19-23, "...I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some."
You've got me fired up James, the thoughts from this exposé have been burned into my brain. I can't help but see the enormous harmful repercussions of America's education system and how it has not only opened the door, but rather a trapdoor to the slide into immorality and destruction. More and more, I see the Christians as being not a part of culture, but rather like being outsiders and rejected by society as they were in Roman times. This is a good thing though, we can't afford to let fears of being accused of being hateful or politically incorrect stop us from seeing one more soul saved.
no bosy— Hey Roberto! I know what you mean. The college level is far worse. I saw a statistic that I don't remember exactly but the number of children who entered university as believers and came out at least skeptics was staggering. And as you say, for those without the foundation in Christ—they are defenseless against the atheistic onslaught of secular humanism.
Thanks for the visit, comments, and love, brother. Always good to hear from you. :)
So many people I have known go to school and come out with an attitude of Godlessness. You have to keep your mind where the program asks for so long it tends to stick until God shakes it back out of you. Imagine young people that have no real foundation in the Lord coming and succumbing to its pull to Satan. Great hub love ya Jim.
munirahmadmughal— Thank you for taking the time to read my article. I am glad you found it interesting. The comments have been very good.
I agree with your thoughts about education, and about a "Supreme Controller." You made excellent remarks about democracy and the rule of law, as well. I especially liked this that you wrote:
"The system of the heavens and the earth are evidence of His existence and presence. In extreme difficulties to whom one calls by whatever name it is He who hears and helps. . . . How kind,merciful and tolerant is the being of the Creator that even those who do not beleive in Him, He is providing them everything."
Well said. I appreciate you for sharing your thoughtful insights here with us.
WeNdYpOoPoO— Public education is in a shambles. The teachers union has it in a death grip. I sincerely feel that things will not change unless the teachers union is disbanded, or the schools all go private. Home schooloing has proven to be a tremendous success. That ought to tell us something important. If a housewife or househusband can teach a child better than a "professional" indoctrinated public school teacher, something is seriously wrong with our education system.
"Education Problems in Public School" is an interesting hub. The comments show that people are expressing their views freely. It cannot be denied that it is the education that creates awareness and it is its practice towards the right direction that brings propseruty and progress. Public Schools have played their role gracefully. In a democratic set up there is free competition. It is the integrity and transparency that brings respect in the hearts of parents for an educational institution. The life and death are sufficient to show that there is some Supreme Controller and creater of even life and death. To beleive ot disbeleive in Him makes no difference to Him as it is not the human alone there are many and multiple other creations. The system of the heavens and the earth are evidence of His existence and presence. In extreme difficulties to whom one calls by whatever name it is He who hears and helps. Creation is with responibility. Reseponsibility is with accountability. Accountability is with reward and punishment. How kind,merciful and tolerant is the being of the Creator that even those who do not beleive in Him, He is providing them everything. Lifespan is a period to play ones role in the welfare of the mankind whereby dignity of mankind is maintained and human rights are fully respected. Democratic priniciples are based on mutual deliberation on the problems and issues and then use the mutual consultaiton to come to some conclusion. The dissenting views are also important and kept on record but the matter is solved by majority view. No procedure is better than the democratic procedure to maintain the rule of law.
May God Almighty bless all.
James I often wonder if it would be better for me to home teach my children then sending them to school. I feel that children donot learn half of what I did when I was in school. Children are lucky if they can spell in the 6th grade, it makes me angry that our country doesnt care about the next generation that will be running our country. Kinda scarey right.
itakins— Hari Kari, right? I surely agree with this that you wrote:
"We do need to encourage kids to perform to the best of their ability- in a well rounded fashion,without suppressing their individuality."
Amen!
James
Suicide is not specific to school-age kids alone ,the problem is ,if one is indoctrinated as a school-kid into believing that failure is unacceptable ,then at whatever age one feels he/she has failed ...through job loss,exams ,or whatever,they are not equipped to deal with the problem and suicide is a 'perceived ' only option.
We do need to encourage kids to perform to the best of their ability- in a well rounded fashion,without suppressing their individuality.
itakins— I have heard about the suicide problem over there. I hadn't heard that it was school age kids. I surely agree in a balanced life. I am strong on balance.
Thank you for your illuminating remarks.
James
Japan's suicide rate is about fifth in the world....many would believe this is linked to the pressure applied to kids in school (among other factors)to achieve academically. Failure is unacceptable!Hardly an ideal example of what a good education is about.
There has to be a balance surely- !
American_Choices— Perhaps you are right that schools should go on year round. I'm not convinced. I tend to think that the summer break is a time for families, and a time for both teachers and students to recharge their batteries before the students move up a grade and the teachers get a whole new group of kids.
I think too much of the school year is spent on nonsense about inclusiveness, tolerance, multiculturalism, et al., while studying knowledge, wisdom and truth suffers.
Thank you for the accolades. I am gratified to read your kind remarks.
James A Watkins,
All of your Hubs are powerful and wonderful but this one is very special - it touches all of us. It shows foreigners that our educational system is not working - it highlights the problems and defines what is wrong.
I still don't understand why schools are not open 12 months - the farming industry is literally extinct - it has gone to corporate America so why are our schools closed so often?
NikiiLeeReyes— Thank you for the applause!! I agree with your comments. I appreciate you making them here.
Teaching is one of the most noble professions. You go for it.
A lot of the school day is spent on social engineering, not study.
I look forward to reading your work, too. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!
How right are you; We spend more money on transit services than we do on our school systems. Billions of dollars a year wasted on ridiculous things; we know we can live without. While school systems suffer and get shut down by local officials. Its the future generations that pay for such carelessness. I applaud you for your bravery in writing this Article. This is why I want to become a teacher, because I care for the future generations to come. I want them to succeed and excel. Reach their limits and go beyond them as well. More than 80% of teachers we have today; are careless. At the end of the day they're still getting their "pay" whether kids are doing the work or not.
You are a stand up guy and I am admiring this. I look forward to reading more of your work. Blessed be.-Nikkii
Kaie Arwen— This Hub's for you!! :D
I was wondering if my favorite teacher would read this essay and chime in. Thank you very much for doing so. You should write a Hub on this topic.
I surely agree with you that parents should have a right to see that their children are educated properly. And I am well pleased to see you support local control of curriculum. It only makes sense in a diverse nation that people in Manhattan have a far different view of the world than do people in Fargo, North Dakota. I think conservative people agree with local control of schools and curriculum. The progressives, on the other hand, are against it because it thwarts their goal of dictating curriculum to everybody for the purposes of social engineering.
Your comments about special education are poignant. I surely appreciate your outstanding input on this subject.
lionswhelp— These are some powerful Scriptures, my friend, and so appropos. I tremble at the fate of those who openly rebel against God. As you quoted:
"The fool has said in his heart, there is no God"
Amen!
pai— Thank you very much for your outstanding comments. I largely agree with your insights. I think many teachers start out passionate about teaching but are worn down by the job and then simply go through the motions. Because of tenure secured by teachers' unions, they stay on the job and cannot be fired. But overall, the teachers are not the chief problem. Nor is it lack of money. It is the ideology of teaching schools, of teachers' unions, and the resultant curriculum and worse—the social engineering that takes up half of each day in the place of real studies.
I appreciate your presence here.
Mr. Happy— I agree with you that students need not be forced to attend Christian schools. I say that parents should be able to choose the schools for their children, and if they choose a Christian school they should not be forced to pay taxes for schools that preach an Atheistic worldview of Secular Humanism. That is what vouchers are for. If your public school spends $7500 per student per year, and you want your child to attend a Christian school, then that same $7500 is given to the Christian school for your child's education.
stars439— Thank you for coming by to read my magnus opus, my friend. I appreciate your outstanding comments. I surely agree with you that the only view excluded from public schools is the Judeo-Christian, which made our country what it is. That is ridiculous. It implies to children there must be something wrong with it. It is taboo. Just think of all the nonesense that is NOT taboo in public schools!!
I especially loved these words you wrote:
"No one need be forced into religion, but ignorance of a great and profound topic like Christianity should not be denied as a form of study that could at least merit some credits to students. I believe much of our heritage and ethics were launched into our world by God and Christianity. For anyone to have the audacity to deny the study of God and Christianity to society in any public school is ludicrose in my opinion. Freedom is having knowledge for us to make choices. I want my privledge to believe in God or not believe in God."
James- If I really sit down and respond........... I think my comments would be longer than the Hub :-D Public education is in trouble, and although I totally support vouchers; I prefer solution number one. Give the community.......... not the state or federal government the power to write curriculum.
I support vouchers because I work in the public education system, and I removed my son from that same system when he entered his junior year of high school. When the highlight of his day became watching the "girl fights," and listing distractions it was time to move him out. I home schooled, and will always be happy I did. The "voucher" would have made that far more feasible financially; it may also have turned my decision to a private school rather than home school. Parents shouldn't have to pay a small fortune to have their children educated, and they should have a choice about how they are educated.
I support the community writing curriculum because our national curriculum just isn't working. I support a longer school day because there aren't enough dedicated minutes to "teach" what needs to be taught, and I support the abolishment of standardized testing because an education should consist of far more than "teaching the test."
NCLB, LRE, FYI, and all of the other "mandates" need to be rethought. Classes haven't necessarily been dumbed down, they've been slowed down to a snails pace. We spoon feed curriculum to our special education students in order to insure them the least restrictive environment, and in order to educate them with their peers; we do them a disservice; they need to learn to read, and if that is what it's all about.......... funding for the gifted needs to be increased and accelerated learning needs to be implemented. Least restrictive environment has become a double edged sword.
Don't get me wrong.......... I love what I do; I love my kids, and when inclusion works it is a beautiful thing; there are many success stories, and there are many that aren't successful at all.
In regards to special ed., lawsuits brought us where we are today. One day, I predict that many of the parents who fought for inclusion and what often means just passing the students through will be back in court; they'll be suing because their children haven't learned how to function as adults because we haven't taken the time to teach them the "skills" they need. It's just a circle............ and it's spun itself into a web that will be awfully hard to escape from. With that, I'll close............. I could touch on many other things.......... but it's Saturday and there are other things to do ;-) Kaie
Mysterylady 89— You are welcome. I am looking at results. And since God was banned from the classroom—and replaced by atheistic Secular Humanism, the results in our society have not been good. I think there is a clear difference between ideas and reality.
I agree with you, that we hold the bright kids back by making them sit in the same classes with the not-so-bright. As far as Christian schools: it is hard to argue with their success rate.
Thank you for your thoughtful remarks. :-)
Wayne Brown— You are welcome, WB. One problem is the federalizing of education, which takes control of schools away from local communities. The purpose of federalization, which was started by Jimmy Carter, is to impose politically correct ideas on every little hamlet in the country—Groupthink, one could say.
Another main trend going on simultaneously is teaching the idea to children that successful societies are not successful because they have superior ways of doing things—superior ingenuity, superior system of government, superior economic system—but that it is an ill-gotten success only obtained by exploiting other societies.
This has to be the Progressive line you see—it is the only way to explain the unequal successes of various societies in the world in view of the Progressive shibboleth that all cultures (societies) are equal.
Thanks for your excellent comments.
James
Great Hub James.
All these things have been done by Satan's puppets, Revelation 12:9. Not to worry Jesus Christ will return just in time to save us from ourselves, Matthew 24:21-22. Then all the great atheist and socialist will have time to read Psalm 14:1-7- 'The fool has said in his heart, there is no God, They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the chidren of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. There were they in great fear; for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shammed the council of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Oh, that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad." God will save his people(Jeremiah 30:7-10).
After God brings these humanist sinners back to life during the Great White Throne Judgement, Revelation 20:10-15 and lets them decides for themselves if there is no God. Then they will understand how foolish they have been. Then they will get to see Jesus Christ in person, Revelation 22:12.
oops
educational
Problems that are facing our school system are undisciplined children who disrupt the class and take time away from actual teaching. Some of the teachers are not qualified or simply not passionate enough about the profession they have choosen. Teachers are underpaid, and they really are holding the future of this country in their hands, the children. Some schools suffer from the lack of funds for appropiate and updated school materials. Schools are letting a percentage of students dumb down the edcuational system, which puts American students lower on the scale when compared to students over the world. Parents who have children in preschool thru high school are not making sure that their children are getting their fundamentals which is very essential to go on to college. These are just a few of the problem facing the American school system.
In Toronto we have regular schools and Catholic schools. For those who want to pray and study how man was created out of mud, a Catholic school works. For unbelievers like me, regular schools worked. You cannot force people who are not Christian to attend Christian schools, just as a Christian would not attend a madrassa.
Dear James A Watkins: This hub is absolutely brilliant and very educational, and a great piece of valuable information. John Dewey and it seems others have contributed to a poor quality of education in our country. Many wonderful attributes come from Christian knowledge. No one need be forced into religion, but ignorance of a great and profound topic like Christianity should not be denied as a form of study that could at least merit some credits to students. The study could be optional and at least be offered to American citizens. I am not and expert on anything, however I believe much of our heritage and ethics were launched into our world by God and Christianity. For anyone to have the audacity to deny the study of God and Christianity to society in any public school is ludicrose in my opinion. No one need be forced into any kind of religion, but at least allow society to see what it should desire or not desire. Churches, pastors, ministers, teachers of Theology and of religions everywhere are part of our world of knowledge that our world deserves. Freedom is having knowledge for us to make choices. When will the dark ages come to an end. I want my privledge to believe in God or not believe in God, and I would appreciate it if society would provide me with every bit of the knowledge available in regard to God or of religions. Give me the choice to hear the voices of fine minds everywhere on all subjects that exist in our world. GBY my good and well informed friend and educator. I tried to be first to comment but I missed out again. :)
James, you certainly stirred up a hornet's nest with this hub! I agree with you that public education has many problems we need to address, but I don't think turning schools into Christian centers of learning would solve the problems. A school should not promote any kind of religious indoctrination. I remember having a student who came to class and would spend the whole preiod reading her Bible. She believed everything she needed to know was there. Another student insisted God had sent the freeze that killed off so many of the orange groves in Florida.
Someone pointed out that one of our problems is caused by our trying to teach everyone. Countries that teach only the more intelligent kids will seem better.
I personally never felt any attempts to brainwash me when I was a student and when I was a teacher. I don't think I am alone.
I have more to say, but enough for now. Thanks for a thought-provoking hub.
For all the money that washes into the drain of education on an annual basis, it is a crying shame that this is all we have to show for it. Where are the voices that speak of and for America in our education system? Why not have Terrorist Appreciation Day at school and teach everyone how to make an IED? With the promise of a "broader education", parents have been lulled into thinking that their child is being taught more than the reading, writing, and math that made up their education in great part. They believe their child is getting all that and more when in actuality they are getting so much less along with a mindset that makes the feel guilty to be an American. Don't you think it is about time that the taxpayers stepped back into the mix and had their say on education? Thanks for a great write James..it was thoroughly informative. WB
Deborah Demander— Thank you for taking the time to read my work. I appreciate your outstanding remarks. I am well pleased to hear from you again, particularly about this topic. :)
Polly— Thank you for your kind compliments. Yes, the results of a godless public school system are there for all who have eyes to see.
I agree with you that to walk on by a murder victim is the sin that only the Good Samaritan can rectify.
Your comments are extraordinary, my dear. I am proud of you for making them.
singlmomat52— You are welcome, my dear. Thank you for your excellent compliments and insights. It is always good to hear from you. :D
You correctly outline the multitude of problems plaguing the public school system today. I am thankful to live in a small town, where the values are still traditional. When I lived in a large city, I homeschooled four of my eight children, for about nine years. It was taxing, but I knew they would be better for it. And they are.
Namaste.
That was a great hub, very good read. We can see how much taking Christianity away has helped can't we? Home schooling is a great idea since you know your children won't be shot or given drugs which is why I took mine out and besides the teacher wanted us to teach them everything anyway. I did that and it worked out wonderfully and although I couldn't teach them college by that time they were who they are. My son became a technical writer of which I am very proud and they both are very talented and outstanding writers although like me they have never tried to push any of their novels or writings but I am just saying it can be done but it is not easy, but worth it. For teachers I have some pity with how kids are today and no one allowed to correct them and who knows but they will get the teacher, so why should they care? The principal may fire any teacher bringing too much to them so that leaves that much more pressure on the teacher for low pay. They talked my state into gambling saying it would be for education yet I see teachers looking for sales buying things the students need, even collections are taken up at times! No one asks questions...ever. We all have watched God be pushed away and we all can see the results. And it is only now starting to scare the ones who were too chicken to speak up. Personally I have always been a loud mouth, I can't say it has done one ounce of good but if there had been more like me I know we wouldn't be where we are now. It is no different than a crowd watching someone being murdered and just walk on by.
carolina muscle— Thank you! Thank you very much.:D
tonymac04— Things may be different over in your fair country, my friend. But here in America, the purpose of our public schools from the beginning was to teach the Christian faith and Christian morality from the Bible, in addition to general studies of knowledge—from the point of view of a society convinced of a Creator God. This is how it was in America for three hundred years. The Bible and prayer could not have been banned from the public schools in the 1960s if they had not been present there. These decisions were opposed by 80% of the American public, and amounted to legislating from the bench, and imposing a Secular Humanists worldview upon the students, with the now seen predictable results.
The same with our universities. The motto of Harvard is: “Truth . . . for Christ and the church.”
The charter of Harvard says:
"Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning. And seeing the Lord only giveth wisedome, Let every one seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seeke it of him (Prov. 2:3)."
And then you speak of social control: that is what this article is all about! It is about the terrible falsehoods foisted upon our students so as to destroy our nation.
Thank you for your comments.
Love and Peace to you, Tony.
James
Your Hubs are well thought out and very well written. I agree fully about the education system in this country. I sometimes wonder if the learnig process is stiffled with all the distractions kids have today. I also believe that the teachers of today are not as dedicated as they were 40 or more years ago. Thank you for another power packed Hub!!
Dolores Monet— I am well pleased to hear of the "Patriot Program." I am curious, when they recite the Declaration of Independence, if they do, do they delete references to the Creator—as does President Obama?
I am glad we agree about many of the problems in public schools. It does sound as if you have a pretty good district. Thank you for visiting and commenting. I enjoyed reading your words.
fred allen— Progressives have turned their backs on God, having decided that they are too "smart" for Him. They figured they could perfect humanity through the application of social sciences. What they have done is dumbed down American children, and made them perfect candidates to agree with their progressive agendas. It is brainwashing, pure and simple.
Your comments are extraordinary, and the best I have received. Thank you so much for providing clarity to the situation, my friend. Well done!
ama83— They are being graduated because it would hurt their "self-esteem" to not be. I appreciate your comments that express well-placed concern for the failings of the public schools. Thank you for taking the time to read this mammoth (sorry about that!) Hub. :D
BDazzler— Thank you for telling us about Ben and his wife. The truth is stifled in public schools. It is a true tragedy. The governmental study, "A Nation at Risk," said this:
"If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war."
James A Watkins Hub Author 2 weeks ago
Bob Wheeler— Thank you very much for taking the time to read my article and respond with such wise and discerning remarks. I appreciate your kind compliments and blessings.
I am glad you have chosen homeschooling for your children. It is the only way to teach within the framework and context of a Christian worldview.
I completely agree with your comments and analysis. I am grateful for the applause. :D
James