- "Cosmic Justice"
- "The Anointed" (a.k.a. "Our Betters")
Posted on 06/13/2007 4:04:18 AM PDT by Kaslin
Here's a good question for you: Why have public schools at all?
OK, cue the marching music. We need public schools because blah blah blah and yada yada yada. We could say blah is common culture and yada is the government's interest in promoting the general welfare. Or that children are the future. And a mind is a terrible thing to waste. Because we can't leave any child behind.
he problem with all these bromides is that they leave out the simple fact that one of the surest ways to leave a kid "behind" is to hand him over to the government. Americans want universal education, just as they want universally safe food. But nobody believes that the government should run nearly all of the restaurants, farms and supermarkets. Why should it run the vast majority of the schools - particularly when it gets terrible results?
Consider Washington, home of the nation's most devoted government-lovers and, ironically, the city with arguably the worst public schools in the country. Out of the 100 largest school districts, according to the Washington Post, D.C. ranks third in spending for each pupil ($12,979) but last in spending on instruction. Fifty-six cents out of every dollar go to administrators who, it's no secret, do a miserable job administrating, even though D.C. schools have been in a state of "reform" for nearly 40 years.
In a blistering series, the Post has documented how badly the bureaucrats have run public education. More than half of the District of Columbia's teenage kids spend their days in "persistently dangerous" schools, with an average of nine violent incidents a day in a system with 135 schools. "Principals reporting dangerous conditions or urgently needed repairs in their buildings wait, on average, 379 days ... for the problems to be fixed," according to the Post. But hey, at least the kids are getting a lousy education. A mere 19 schools managed to get "proficient" scores or better for a majority of students on the district's Comprehensive Assessment Test.
A standard response to such criticisms is to say we don't spend enough on public education. But if money were the solution, wouldn't the district, which spends nearly $13,000 on every kid, rank near the top? If you think more money will fix the schools, make your checks out to "cash" and send them to me.
Private, parochial and charter schools get better results. Parents know this. Applications for vouchers in the district dwarf the available supply, and home schooling has exploded.
As for schools teaching kids about the common culture and all that, as a conservative I couldn't agree more. But is there evidence that public schools are better at it? The results of the 2006 National Assessment of Educational Progress history and civics exams showed that two-thirds of U.S. high school seniors couldn't identify the significance of a photo of a theater with a sign reading "Colored Entrance." And keep in mind, political correctness pretty much guarantees that Jim Crow and the civil rights movement are included in syllabi. Imagine how few kids can intelligently discuss Manifest Destiny or free silver.
Right now, there's a renewed debate about providing "universal" health insurance. For some liberals, this simply means replicating the public school model for health care. (Stop laughing.) But for others, this means mandating that everyone have health insurance - just as we mandate that all drivers have car insurance - and then throwing tax dollars at poorer folks to make sure no one falls through the cracks.
There's a consensus in America that every child should get an education, but as David Gelernter noted recently in the Weekly Standard, there's no such consensus that public schools need to do the educating.
Really, what would be so terrible about government mandating that every kid has to go to school, and providing subsidies and oversight when necessary, but then getting out of the way?
Milton Friedman noted long ago that the government is bad at providing services - that's why he wanted public schools to be called "government schools" - but that it's good at writing checks. So why not cut checks to people so they can send their kids to school?
What about the good public schools? Well, the reason good public schools are good has nothing to do with government's special expertise and everything to do with the fact that parents care enough to ensure their kids get a good education. That wouldn't change if the government got out of the school business. What would change is that fewer kids would get left behind.
Jonah Goldberg is editor-at-large of National Review Online.
Send to the list?
It’s not the government’s responsibility to feed any kid, cloth any kid, get him to the doctor, make sure he has toys, so why is it their business to provide an education? I mean, seriously, what gives the government such power?
Thanks for posting. A very big issue for me.
So why not have people pay to educate their own children?
I thought Jonah Goldberg was smarter than this. Surely he know that when the government pays, the government controls.
It is well past time for the Separation of SCHOOL from State.
Lookee here ... http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm
The problem is fear. People fear that without Government schools that to many kids will go uneducated. Its amazing that we got by without mandatory government schooling at all until the industrial revolution. At which point Public Schools were being founded to provide good little workers and managers for the factories.
I can at least compromise on Public Schools that run up to 7-8the grade that are purely academic. After that good luck.
Public schools are what makes America great.
Public schools are the very essence of our incredibly successful melting pot.
I thought we needed public schools because “It takes a village” to raise and indoctrinate our kids?!
ping
A big issue for me, too. Let schools compete for kids and the quality will go up. Maybe, maybe have charity schools, but that’s it. And still let the private sector compete for those kids via vouchers.
I’m sure your question is rhetorical, but as another poster stated, it’s about control.
There was a shift in the purpose of education around the time of the industrial revolution, and it’s escalated even more so today. Once upon a time, people were educated for their own benefit, to grow and mature and gain Godly wisdom. Now, education serves the sole purpose of producing ‘bots for the good of the global machine. Instead of producing wisdom, it’s bent towards producing producers.
As early as 6, Little Johnny is asked “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. In other words, “What can you contribute to the socialist utopia we’re forming?”
Add to this a decline in pre-adult responsibilities, an increase in entertainment-on-demand, and the overall ‘whatever’ attitude of public schools, and we’ve got ourselves a recipe for disaster.
I thank God daily that he allows us to homeschool our children. There is no way I would willingly send them into the belly of the beast day after day, to have their minds filled with pc-mush by godless heathen.
One of the great things about supporting the left is that it gives one the chance to utter amazingly racist statements.
It was essentially a 'done deal' with Planned Parenthood the author.
But parents, who were suppose to be the last to know....got wind of it.
And parents, myself included, managed to get copies of the curriculum draft..
....made more copies..
...disseminate them to other parents..
...prepared our talking points after getting informed on the issue and what we could do to effect change, even at this late date
.... alerted parents, teachers, preachers, business folk...county wide...
..and even sent off & found a sex-ed curriculum that reflected the moral values of the majority of parents...(Abstinence Only)......
After weeks and weeks of stalling the school board decision....
..after informal gatherings around the county to encourage parents to attend school board meetings and speak out!!
....the final vote was taken....and there were hundreds of parents in attendance!
The board rejected our replacement curriculum....
...but instead of pushing their Planned Parenthood curriculum on us....
..they rewrote their own....and it reflected, almost word for word, the one we had presented!!
It was a total win!
And for 15 years, they held the line...
..if anything 'new' came up to be introduced into the curriculum, it had to be reviewed and voted on by a committee expressly selected & with parent involvement!
HOWEVER, recently Planned Parenthood reared their ugly head again, and tried to introduce 2 entries to the curriculum......
...Same sex relationships-(homosexuality)
..and promotion of birth control
County by county, state by state, Planned Parenthood will not give up....
My two children went through public school....but as a parent, I was 'hands on' with every event, every meeting I could attend.
I knew the teachers, principals, curriculum, social engagements, etc.
If parents are not paying attention....
..if they are not engaged with what is affecting their own children...
..I pity them and I pity their children.
I would encourage every parent to get a copy of the NEA guidelines and read what they actually believe and try to promote in your child!!!!
> I thank God daily that he allows us to homeschool our
> children. There is no way I would willingly send them
> into the belly of the beast day after day, to have their
> minds filled with pc-mush by godless heathen.
This bears repeating, and I COMPLETELY agree.
We homeschool all our children, by the mercy and grace of God.
The quickest way to start turning public education in America around is to go to a voucher system.Giving people a REAL choice about where they send their kids for an education will foster competition between private and public schools,something that’s lacking with the present system.Ultimately I believe it could lower the cost of education also because in many private schools teachers are NOT members of unions like the NEA,and we all know how these union pirates have pushed the cost of education through the roof !!!
I’m an engineer type, so’s my husband. We work around a lot of engineer types who have kids that you’d think would be very smart, but come out of school wanting to be psychology majors or something else useless. I don’t know what happens in school that wastes all this potential, but it’s sad.
When we’ve got kids, I’ll homeschool them. Guaranteed.
Did you forget your sarcasm alert ?
If you truly believe what you posted, please provide examples and sources for same.
...and never be held accountable for it.
Shred them for my rabbits to use as litter?
Hopefully, that’s starting to change.
Good heavens, Jonah, put down the pipe and open a window.
We homeschool here and I have been anti- public education since I was a child (circa 1961). Nevertheless, Jonah is recommending total chaos here. In the US today there are far too many ignorant, govt-dependent parents, and their children are getting a bad education rather than none at all. If we did away with public schools, many children would be in NO schools, and they wouldn’t be home either. The voucher given by the govt would be spent on something other than intended, or simply vanish over time (eg, a “tax credit” will stay the same number while the tax bill goes up). Kids would be in the jungle of the city streets instead of the lesser jungle of the school. Illiteracy would rise, and for every child with a better education you’d have two (or 20 or 200?) with a worse one.
I understand where he wants to go, but —— You can’t get there from here.
They’re not ‘public schools’.
It’s ‘government education’.
I think they could be made into retaining walls.
Praise God! More and more are trending towards homeschooling every year. We are blessed abundantly for it.
“Public schools are the very essence of our incredibly successful melting pot.”
Ya think? My sons 5th grade teacher called Bush a Nazi in front of the entire class. Several parents went to the principal about this. Nothing happened.
A month later a kid wore a t-shirt with an American flag logo on it. Teacher sent him home to change. A 5th GRADER!! Made a kid leave school, walk home to change a shirt and come back to school. Kids parents weren’t home so they couldn’t come pick him up.
Result? Kid didn’t leave school, stayed in the principals office for the rest of the day, missed homework assignments because he couldn’t go to class and was given a suspension for wearing the t-shirt.
Public schools are melting posts ok. Send your child there and they melt him and remold him as a good little Marxist.
>>I don’t know what happens in school that wastes all this potential, but it’s sad.<<
I believe it has a lot to do with our culture, which has a predisposition to celebrating laziness and mediocrity. The best thing for any parent (or future parent) to do is pull the plug on pop-culture fillers (MTV, mall fashion, etc) and shift the focus back to teaching our kids morality, prudence, constancy, and piety. It’s not easy, and it makes us easy targets, but at the end of the line, it’s worth it.
The whole conversation does sort of leave one speechless, no?
> ....but as a parent, I was ‘hands on’ with every event,
> every meeting I could attend.
> I knew the teachers, principals, curriculum, social
> engagements, etc.
Add the lengthy bus rides, not being able to take vacations and family trips WHEN you want, etc, etc, etc, it’s just easier and takes WAY less time to school them yourself.
And you never have to worry about Planned Parenthood rearing their ugly head in your home ... unless you watch broadcast TV or Hollyweird movies.
Status quo = "The Mess We're In"
Quite a few have quit to do other things and create a lifestyle where they can homeschool.
Thankfully my two turned out well...
..my daughter was a teacher (in a private Christian school) for 8 years before giving birth to her daughter..
....now she's a stay-at-home mom :)
..and she has no intention of public schooling her child!
Home school or Christian school.
Perhaps, though, government schools mostly serve funtionally as a another baffle/screen/hurdle in a rough 'meritocracy' where functioning,caring families will save their kids from the government school rubbish and less meritorious families will settle for what's "free" and easy. It's kinda like offering television, booze, porn and drugs to a population to divert them.
They're 'free to choose' and it 'Thins out the herd'.
BUMP!
All I need to see the state of public schooling in general is to buy something at Target and be waited on by some stupid blonde bimbo with her butt crack sticking out of her khaki pants who can just barely give me correct change.
I grew up in that area (Baltimore-Washington)and both those cities are controlled by black Democrats and they are incapable of governing....the fact that the black community continues to support them IS a shameless obscenity!
You said, in part: Public school students certainly outnumber home schooled students, but the home schooled students always seem to be the ones winning the spelling bees.
***
You are right, but then, have you SEEN the kids that win those spelling bees? The guy who won last week was pretty freaky. I am not saying that home schooling has to result in poor social skills, but attention has to be paid to that, I think.
I am a product of the public schools (although I graduated high school over 30 years ago, and things were a little different then). It is true that they do not do all things that well, but for the students who excel, the education was, and remains, pretty good (my kids have just finished their freshman year of high school, and the classes outside of the general population are good, here in semi-rural Western Piedmont North Carolina).
In some ways I view public schools as serving some of the same purpose of collegiate and professional sports. If those guys weren’t playing sports, many would likely be living a life of crime and violence. Sadly, we have trained parents (through welfare and other entitlements) that the government owes them a living. Until this can be addressed in a meaningful way, public schools remain a necessity if our economy and society is to continue to function. I want to be able to say that everyone in this country has a fair chance at success, despite one’s financial situation or how one is raised at home. Schools provide that opportunity.
I understand that inner city schools do not always provide that chance, and for that I recommend vouchers and competition between schools. I am a big believer in people rising to the level of expectations of them. This includes both students and teachers (maybe even parents!).
I look forward to reading the posts on this thread.
Schools are as good as the community at large wants them to be. School boards are elected (in most cases) and once elected they should represent the local values present. If they dont' they get pushed out, or should, if the community has looked up from watching American Idol long enough to go vote. If not, then they get what they deserve.
> Thankfully my two turned out well...
As a good friend of mine likes to point out, your children turned out well IN SPITE of the government school, not because if it.
My guess is that they must have had one VERY SOLID foundation at home that could not be shaken by the leftist unionist trolls in the schools.
> ..my daughter was a teacher (in a private Christian
> school) for 8 years before giving birth to her daughter..
>
>....now she’s a stay-at-home mom :)
>
>..and she has no intention of public schooling her child!
AMEN!!
Glad to hear it! The schools have degenerated precipitously in just the last ten years.
My oldest son has six (so far :), and his good wife homeshools them all.
I would be happy to keep the money we pay in school taxes so we could apply it to my children’s Christian education.
Cry me a river
I tend to be more moderate, like you. My wife was home-schooled, and we’ll be home-schooling our kids, but some people either just don’t want to take responsibility for the education of their kids. For them we have the easy route of government schools. In the end, it’s best for our society to have a safety net for those kids. Better than nothing.
FWIW, I used to think home-schooled kids winning spelling bees was a good thing. Now I’m thinking that the ones who win them might not be “balanced.” Many seem to be fairly socially unskilled.
Schools are what the local community makes them. Parental involvement and community involvement makes a big difference. I have spoken at school board meetings even though I didn't have a child there, because I care about getting a good return on my tax money. Every member who pays taxes has a stake in the local school, whether their child attends or not.
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