Education the False Hope

Preface: The thoughts on education herein are the sole ramblings of one citizen trying to make a difference in the world.

Lets face it, public education in America stinks. We all know it, we have seen the statistics and we know the rhetoric. As time progresses, public education gets worse and is in a slow death spiral at the cost of our children's literacy and competency.   I have heard the Democrats cry for the salvation of education through more money and better tools so that we might be comparable to the "Chinese". I have heard the Republicans cry out for the salvation of education through less government bureaucracy and better management so that we might be comparable to the "Chinese". 

"So that we might be comparable to the Chinese". Is this the new political response line to education? I just received a tweet from Newt Gingrich who attended a "education equality day rally" with Rev. Sharpton, Former Governor Roemer, and Education Secretary Duncan. Newt Gingrichs statement "Learning IS the most important civil right in the 21st century and it should apply to every american of all ages to compete with China." So there is a bipartisan movement that education is important and we better get to a level where we can compete with China. 

Wow - insightful. Not much on the how, why is that? Its because no one wants to tackle the issues of education. The issues of education will deeply offend some voters, and thus, no politician in their right mind really wants to tackle them. So lets broad stroke the issues here!

1. Parental Accountability - When did public school become state provided day care for children? I have talked with my neighbors and other parents with children and I am completely dumbfounded some days. There is no stereotype here, I have spoken to single parents, two parents both working, two parents one working, etc and there seems to be a genuine "it is the job of the school to educate my children." But what about the parents? Where is their commitment? Education and learning doesn't stop at 3 pm, it is a life long journey and is as much the responsibility of the parent as a life coach, as it is the formal educators. This lack of accountability feeds into the negative of school life as well. The lack of parental accountability for their children's negative actions, their lack of involvement in their discipline, creates large moments of disruption and wasted time of the other students. This is the first step that must be rectified. Parents must be involved, and those who aren't must be faced with having to. Disruptive children should not be part of the equation, force the parents to fulfill their role and take accountability. I have seen too many children sitting in the office all day, not learning, not doing anything because the parents will not come and be accountable. There is no growth, there is no positive change, and the lack of parental involvement bleeds into the success of other students. 

2. Change the quality of educators. Now this is a real humdinger. I have met some fantastic teachers. The type that want to make a difference and want to teach. They want to reach out to students and make a difference in their lives. Then there is the other 80% (randomly figured based on my personal experiences, no fancy polling here). They can be classified as 20% par, 40% sub par and 20% worthless. The funny thing about obtaining an education degree is that it isn't that hard to obtain, and yet the general feeling is that teachers (as civil servants) ought to be paid salaries on the level of engineers, scientist and other private professionals. There really should be a prerequisite for a teaching degree that states: As an educator you must enjoy teaching for the satisfaction of teaching and have a fundamental mastery of the subject you teach, not because you have failed out of other disciplines.  We do not need failures teaching our children. 

3. Quit lowering the bar and sensitizing children. We win and we lose, we compete and are successful or we fail. My children do no participate in competitive games at school because they are not offered. The gym teacher is obese, is that an oxy moron? Shouldn't a qualification for a gym teacher be that they are somewhat athletic, know how to play sports and set a good example of health and fitness? Little Johnny gets a gold star because he writes "swm" for "swim" because it is the effort that matters, no correction necessary. Why should he need correction to see it spelled right? It might hurt his self esteem. Lowering the bar, is setting us back farther and farther. We need to draw a line in the sand and say this is how it ought to be done. 

4. Remove the unions. What a disastrous implementation, whose sole goal is self preservation through whatever means necessary, which means at the cost of our children's education. Education used to be a time honored profession and now is a joke. There are teachers actively teaching that are worthless, protected by tenure and the unions. Unions have done nothing positive to any industry they have been involved with, in fact they have driven them all into the ground. When we trace back quality of education and lowering of the bar, these changes can be directly attributable to the Unions involvement and dictation of what is correct. 

So what do we do? There are lots of options out there. If we think of a cost versus parental time involved, we can simplify to the following: Private schools offer a great alternative for parents who can afford it without needing much involvement. Charter schools allow the parents to offset the private school cost by being more involved as a parent. Homeschooling has costs and the most parental involvement, for the parents that feel they can achieve high levels of education. The most important point is quit relying on the public school system and expecting a first rate education. I read once that the public school system was created to provide basic reading and writing skill sets. It was never intended to be an institution where high levels of quality education were achieved. 

This all brings us back to point number one: "Parental Accountability". Being a great parent doesn't mean letting your kids grow up by themselves. It means being involved on a daily basis as a parent, life coach, teacher and friend. If you want a high level of education for your child, be involved to make sure they receive it. I know lots of families that fit that profile, but I also know lots of parents that probably never should have had children. But thats a discussion for another day...

Tax Day Tea Party

While enjoying our nice Easter Sunday afternoon, my daughter asked me what the "Tea Party" was and if I was going. The quick answer is that yes I will be attending the Grand Junction, Colorado Tea Party on April 15th from 12-1:30 at the Lincoln Park Grand Stand, marching to the corner of 12th and North Avenue:

Two Rivers 9-12 Project

The "Why" always seems to be the difficult explanation. This morning I read on the media matters blog that "Fox News takes Ownership of tea parties, and, therefore, their extremist rhetoric."  I have to say this struck me funny, as I've never thought of myself as "extremist" but further in the article it goes into "...Fox News repeatedly aired footage from previous tea party protest that include protestors with signs suggesting President Obama and the Democrats are socialist, communist, fascists, and thieves."

As I explained to my daughter last night, the protest began, and still is about, a higher concern that transcends party politics and petty differences. That is what left wing activists, liberals and the majority of Democrats don't understand and every time they write or speak on the subject they miss the mark, as in the article above.

The Tea Party protests are about the change of the government over the past, now get ready, not 3 months, not 8 years, but 70 years. They are about the defining difference between:

Tyranny versus Liberty

Socialism versus Capitalism

The protest being put on are by working people who don't normally protest, like the activist employed by moveon.org, but rather hard working American citizens who make up the back bone of the American Spirit. There has come to light a fundamental shift in where America has slid slowly at first from Liberty and Capitalism, as established by our founding fathers - to a Tyrannical Socialistic society.

Since FDR's administration the inflation of federal government control has continued to a point where what we are facing is no longer represents how America was structured to survive. The over inflation of the federal government is limiting States Rights, Local Jurisdictional Rights, and costing the tax payer a massive amount of money for generations to come. 

What most liberal media has missed is that, We the People of the United States of America, do not fully blame the advancements of President Obama spending 787 Billion in "Stimulus", 450 Billion in"Omnibus", and 3.6 Trillion "Budget" as the sole reason to hold the protests. What President Obama did was provide us a wake up call to the realization of how far our government and spending habits have been altered, under our sleepy eyed watch. We have now decided this is no longer acceptable. 

Join us on April 15th as we protest the change in American values. Speak out loud to the Federal Government and let them know that we do not need the Federal Government controlling aspects of our daily lives, we do not need the Federal Government providing for us at the cost of the tax payers. We were founded on principles separate of those of the United Kingdom, France and Canada for a reason. We can manage to take care of ourselves. For as we know we have certain "Rights" was also have "Responsibilities" to maintain those rights. We do not needlessly waste Tax Payer dollars by increasing spending for programs and facilities that are not necessary.

If being an "extremist" means believing in the Constitution, understanding our Bill of Rights, and wanting the best for America and our children, then so shall I be labelled. 

Average American Actions

I've been so caught up in all the national issues, its been difficult to get back to writing! It seems each time I set down to pen out a paragraph, the government does something more incredulous than the previous decisions! However, while I was at our local Garfield County Pig & Goat Auction yesterday for 4-H, I was faced with the cold reality that the Average American just doesn't get this involved, and they are trying to live their lives one day at a time.  

I don't think it is that people don't care, but it is almost the point that people are afraid to ask or talk about our government and what we are becoming, because it is paralyzing and provides socially uncomfortable situations. Isn't that sad, we have evolved to a point where society gets its information from mainstream media, and as the government openly defies every scripted liberty outlined in our constitutional freedoms, we tend to look away and duck our heads. It reminds me of the TV episode "What would you do" where people are confronted with morally challenging situations and they document how people react. 

So what is our reaction? I am not one of the people that can claim myself as making more than 250K a year, or depend on government funded welfare. I work hard every day to pay my bills and provide the best life I can for my family. I do not have an overabundance of reserve capital and we count our pennies every paycheck. I believe statically we fall into a category that is ignored and discounted from all discussions, even though we are part of the work horse of America. So what does the Average American to do? 

1. Start the Dialogue - Its okay to discuss issues that concern us as Citizens. While no one wants to hear from a fanatical activists, we need to realize as citizens it is okay to discuss and openly debate what is impacting us.

2. Educate ourselves - Recently I started looking at a road to recovery and it begins with the  fundamentals. Who are we as a country, what were the motivations for the foundation of our country, and how to apply those concepts to help preserve the future of America? 

3. Get involved - As I have posted previously there are Tea Parties sprouting up all over and probably in a Town near you! Visit http://www.teapartyday.com/

The involvement and action of its Citizens is what has made this country great. We can not and should not feel remorse or guilt for expressing that we are upset that our personal freedoms are being infringed upon. When the average American, the backbone of this country, turns its head and accepts defeat, we fall into a downward spiral that can only result in Tyranny.

Where are we headed?

After being disgusted with the  rather bland and uninspiring press conference of President Obama last night I turned to a few of my quality reads and came across this quote and thought it seemed to be fitting in how the democrats and centralist politicians are forming their arguments and agenda:

"...a powerful national government may encroach considerably upon the liberty of individuals as well as of the different States, and assume the responsibility for it, without weakening the Empire Idea, if only every citizen recognizes such measures as means for making his nation greater."

The analysis of the quote was:

"In other words, the problem of empire-building is...it must somehow foster the impression that a man is great in the degree that his nation is great....And people who have no individual stature whatsoever are willing o accept this nonsense because it gives them a sense of importance without the trouble of any personal effort."

Like many Americans I have been watching the polices, agendas and programs be unveiled only to be taken aback more and more. The large government growth in the Stimulus was transparent in what it was trying to accomplish under the guise of stimulating economy. The House of Representatives move to go after individuals regarding AIG bonuses and abusing the power provided to the Congress in the Constitution was appalling, and last night the reveal of allowing the government to go after private businesses and nationalize them if they so seem fit is terrifying! 

The first quote was from Adolph Hitler, the explanation was by Morley in Freedom and Federalism as detailed in The REVOLUTION a Manifesto.

"Liberty or Death" - Patrick Henry

Today I am bringing everyone a speech that I feel ought to be remembered at this time (does it hit home in todays world?), and was given on March 23, 1775:

"Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom if Hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot?...The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged, their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable-and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come!

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentleman may cry, peace, peace - but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

- The American Patriot's ALMANAC

Bonuses - The Great Mystery

So I received an email from the RNC Char Michael Steel on the Bonuses for Bailed Out Businessess (BBOB). Now, to set the record straight,  I do not support the drum beating that has occured within the last week. To me is just seems like a bunch of political grandstanding at the individual constitutional rights expense.  I did find the following clip amusing enough to share it:

Fear This!!

So we have seen the abject of Fear from the administration in many forms over the past few months. We were told that the Stimulus package must pass now! There was no time to review, no time to dawdle, pass it now or America would move from recession to depression. And they acted. We were told the Omnibus had to be passed, America had no money to fund the government and we needed the money to support jobs until September 2009. Earmarks and "pork" were a "tragic" side effect but this was last years bill. No offer of "Hope" just cram it and pass it. This should be real FEAR.

The Congress is acting to tax specific individuals receiving "bonuses" in companies who received money under TARP. Tracking individuals and taxing them 90% on money received. Do you feel safe? How about the FEDERAL Government interjecting itself in private contracts? This should be real FEAR. While Congress wastes our time and violates our personal liberties, where is the pitch fork routing of the Congress Members and Staffers who received campaign contributions from these bailed out entities, or assisted in the bonuses being preserved? To add to the list, perhaps we could search through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae and discover who has received money from those organizations?

Today I listened to the radio and they asked random people, "Can you name the President?" The 20 somethings could. When asked "Can you name the Vice President?" 33% got it right, the others simply didn't know. They all agreed that the FEDERAL government should provide housing, daycare and transportation to all Americans. This should be real FEAR.

When did we become a dependent society? How did we lose touch with what is RIGHT and what is not? These are the things that I fear, and so should all hard working Americans.