Matters of Education 1

This item reveals a massive failure on the part of our educational institutions which reflect the consequential massive successes the progressive movement has made with its infiltration of our cultural, governmental, societal, religious, business and educational institutions. The ultimate effect is education has in many ways become the means by which to propagandize leftist/progressive causes.  Quote: "Senators Hear About Leftist ‘Thugs,’ Speech Suppression on Campuses."   http://www.libertyheadlines.com/senators-hear-violence-bias-conservatives-campuses/?   This is a problem that must be halted and free and open civil discourse not only returned to educational institutions but all across our society.

NY state seemingly does not care if prospective black or Latino teachers can effectively read or write.   Their test scores were routinely less than stellar so to solve the problem the state eliminated the requirement.    https://thehornnews.com/shocking-obama-spent-record-amount-hiding-info/   Such is the state of our education leadership in this country.

Public education is far too often not what it should be.  Quote: "We shall see that since the State began to control education, its evident tendency has been more and more to act in such a manner as to promote repression and hindrance of education, rather than the true development of the individual. Its tendency has been for compulsion, for enforced equality at the lowest level, for the watering down of the subject and even the abandonment of all formal teaching, for the inculcation of obedience to the State and to the "group," rather than the development of self-independence, for the deprecation of intellectual subjects. And finally, it is the drive of the State and its minions for power that explains the "modern education" creed of "education of the whole child" and making the school a "slice of life," where the individual plays, adjusts to the group, etc. The effect of this, as well as all the other measures, is to repress any tendency for the development of reasoning powers and individual independence; to try to usurp in various ways the "educational" function (apart from formal instruction) of the home and friends, and to try to mold the "whole child" in the desired paths. Thus, "modern education" has abandoned the school functions of formal instruction in favor of molding the total personality both to enforce equality of learning at the level of the least educable, and to usurp the general educational role of home and other influences as much as possible. Since no one will accept outright State "communization" of children, even in Communist Russia, it is obvious that State control has to be achieved more silently and subtly. For anyone who is interested in the dignity of human life, in the progress and development of the individual in a free society, the choice between parental and State control over the children is clear. Is there, then, to be no State interference whatever in the relations between parent and child? Suppose that the parents aggress upon and mutilate the child? Are we to permit this? If not, where are we to draw the line? The line can be simply drawn. The State can adhere strictly to the function of defending everyone from the aggressive violence of everyone else. This will include children as well as adults, since children are potential adults and future freemen. Simple failure to "educate," or rather, instruct, is no grounds whatever for interference.     https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/06/27/the-danger-of-public-education/   This trend has been ongoing for well more than 75 years.  Socialist John Dewey was the founder of this movement.

Homeschooling as it turns out is a really good alternative to public schooling.  Federal government needs to leave them alone.  Quote: "The cordial nature of the occasion was no surprise; Secretary Betsy DeVos was a friend of homeschooling during her years as a private-sector advocate for school vouchers and public charter schools. Notably, in a 2013 interview with Philanthropy Magazine, she said, “Homeschooling represents another perfectly valid educational option. We’ve seen more and more people opt for homeschooling, including in urban areas. What you’re seeing are parents who are fed up with their lack of power to do anything about where their kids are assigned to go to school. To the extent that homeschooling puts parents back in charge of their kids’ education, more power to them.”  DeVos’s take on homeschooling contrasts sharply with that of her predecessor in the final year of the Obama administration, John King, who fretted that homeschooled children “aren’t getting the range of options that are good for all kids.” That kind of government-knows-best attitude partially explains so many families are becoming home educators and expanding their options independently via homeschool co-ops and other independent arrangements.  What did the delegation from the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) want from a new secretary who is philosophically simpatico? In short, just for her to leave homeschooling alone. No need to extend federal school-choice funding via vouchers or the like, which the Trump administration has been actively calling for."     https://spectator.org/homeschoolers-dont-need-federal-help/

Academic institutions are in large measure liberal left operations.  This is particularly so in the non-scientific disciplines, although even the sciences are trending left. The large number of incidences of shutting down anyone invited to campus with other than a liberal point of view is regularly in the news.  Riots, reversals, etc.of the invitations non-leftist speakers led by leftist professors and students forsakes the very purpose of those institutions and should concern everyone who believes in freedom of speech and the open exchange of diverse ideas.  This piece suggests a small number of academics may believe this is not placing them in a good light and have signed on to reversing course.  However, the piece doubts the sincerity even of this small number.  Details are provided here.    https://townhall.com/columnists/dennisprager/2017/04/25/the-cowards-of-academia-n2317668?

This is a phenomenon that has emerged over the past 100 years of federal government tampering with public education.  The population had been dumbed down.  Colleges and universities have significantly reduced entrance standards commensurate with the failings of the public k-12 system to educate vast numbers of students.  One consequence is this.  Quote: "To gain admittance to college in the 17th century, students had to be able to read and translate various Latin authors on sight. 100 years ago, students were required to have read various classical works before being admitted.  Today, however, many American students are being admitted to colleges without ever having read a book from start to finish. They are part of a cohort of students known as “book virgins.”  https://www.theburningplatform.com/2017/06/27/many-college-students-are-book-virgins/

Civil order, decency and common sense are rapidly declining in our society.  The unorthodox behavior of political leftist in dealing with Trump is just the start.  Unorthodox leftist behavior pushed on small kids is really frightening.  Read this if you do not believe me.    http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/06/25/drag-queens-schools-end-intolerance/

No one can claim that Obama was good for education.  He sought to impose federal dictates for teachers on colleges and universities.  But, thankfully congress has reversed this perverse effort.   http://www.wnd.com/2017/03/obamas-rules-to-punish-teachers-vetoed-by-congress/    This was, pure and simple an effort to establish total federal government control over education.  Anyone who has read the Constitution is aware that it does not provide the federal government any role in education.  In fact, President Carter's establishment of the Department of Education was a violation of the Constitution.  But no president has had the guts to do away with it and Congress has allowed it to persist.  Unfortunately national averages as measured against other nations has declined ever since.

Finally, here is an academic with some guts.  Misbehaving students don't sit well with him.  Quote: "When the students at historically black Bethune-Cookman University booed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during her commencement speech this week, the president of the university stepped in, threatening the graduates that they would receive their degrees by mail if the protests continued.  According to The Washington Post, DeVos was booed from beginning to end by students at the Daytona Beach, Florida, school, all for the crime of being in favor of school choice and saying Americans should engage with individuals across the political spectrum.  “I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with you, and particularly with those who have disagreed with the invitation for me to be here,” DeVos said."    http://conservativetribune.com/uni-president-ultimatum-devos/?