Another worthwhile response that adds to the discussion, re the recent education messages concerning the problems with America's government schools, has been received from a long time reader of these messages. This one focuses on the Constitution, parenthood, & the Catholic Church. A sample - "Doug - Not to mention the fact that the Federal Govt has NO business UNDER THE CONSTITUTION sticking its nose into education.. The General Welfare clause doesn't mean "Welfare check" or "we force you to educate other people's children to the detriment of your own." See ReturnToExcellence.net comments under June 5, 2011 posting for entire Response.
I provide the above test scores that got this entire series of messages started. Please note the corner of the world where the top five in math & science lies.
Hi Doug: The Responder made a brilliant comment "we force you to educate other people's children to the detriment of your own". This Responder nailed it...
ReplyDeleteDoug:
ReplyDelete1 Thanks for the add. there are a LOT of Cathlolics in NJ..even if you don't count the ones who walked away from the faith...and we are STILL a majority Christian state. Hope this will wake "the sleeping giant" against the biggest drain on our prosperity - fiscal and spiritual - the public school system which does not EDUCATE but INDOCTRINATES.
As Thoburn points out - the Libs are not against "religion" in the schools - as long as it's their Secular Humanist religion and no other, particularly Christian. Google Humanist Manifesto I, John Dewey, father of public education, was a signer of this pack of lies - and it sure sounds like the official religion taught in the public schools.
BTW, please don't let folks be lulled into false security by assuming private & charter schools are all better than public schools --- It's not just academics. Even some parochial schools are poisoned by the Humanist virus because the teacher training colleges are rife with it. The Catechism says parents have the right and responsiblity to educate their children in faith & morals ---something which some secular private and parochial schools fail to do and sometimes even actively undermine. So examine your child's school closely beyond academics....see how they handle discipline and how they treat YOUR faith.
Personally I have found several Catholic schools who let the state and secular book publishers have too much say in determining curriculum....with the result that many Catholic school kids don't know their faith.
2. Isn't it funny how well our country did before the institution of public education. Even Horace Mann, the "Father of the Common School movement" who based our model on Prussian schools, had to be largely self-educated -- according to that bastion of truth (ha ha) wikipedia:
"Mann's father was a Yankee farmer without money. The son's frugal upbringing taught him habits of self-reliance and independence. From ten years of age to twenty he had never more than six weeks' schooling during any year.[4] He made use of the town library, founded by Benjamin Franklin. At the age of 20 he enrolled at Brown University, and graduated after three years[5] as valedictorian of his class in 1819."
Sounds like he didn't suffer from lack of education growing up - or from "frugal" upbringing. If anything I'd argue he benefited by being free to work at his own pace and interests - and he probably worked far in advance of the "common schools" for which he advocated....at least the modern day ones anyway.
But then again, you'd get those who would argue Lincoln was a dummy because of a lack of public schooling: Wiki says "Lincoln's formal education consisted of approximately 18 months of classes from several itinerant teachers; he was mostly self-educated and was an avid reader."
Ever wonder why we don't have any more "Horatio Alger" stories? Seems like the decline follows the rise in funding for public schools....and for other welfare state policies...as well as the abolition of prayer from the schools in 1960s. I mean, theoretically everyone gets an education in this country don't they? (*sarcasm*)
You have to ask why more poor people arent' moving out of poverty...and why more people are growing poorer by the day!
God bless you,
Doug - I figured it was the theme....for me, the root of much of this is the public school "system" operated by union bullies.
ReplyDeleteThe sad part is that you get even faithful Catholics sending their kids to public school and saying that it's not a bad thing...because 1) many of the Catholic schools have gotten SOOO bad about teaching the classics and living the faith, (there was yet ANOTHER horror story this week from a Tea Party family here in town - and the nun principal threatened them with making it difficult for their son to go to the Catholic high school of his choice if they said anything about the incident. I"M FURIOUS...and the whole reason they put their kids in Catholic school is because of a crappy public school teacher who not only allowed the students to bully their ADD/OCD child, she actively participated in it --- and bragged about it to the child's parents because she thougth it was hilarious...and the UNION PROTECTED HER FROM BEING BANNED FROM TEACHING ANYWHERE...in fact she is still working at the school and coming in contact with children!!!!) and because 2) here and there you get a good conscientious teacher in the public schools because they pay so much more than private/parochial schools, which Catholic parents into feeling positive about the system to the point where they don't care how it tramples their liberty...or turns their kids minds into communist mush.