Education in America

Education in America

Many today are frustrated with America’s education system.  The problem, call it symptomatic, is the liberal bias that has become a component of what is being taught.  Such teaching is not just in colleges and universities, but at the High School level, and now penetrating into the Elementary School system.  Public institutions are most prone to the problem for the simple reason they are governed, as it were, by the Federal Government.  States have some influence, but the primary charge is put forward by the Federal Government.  In addition to the Federal Government, another influencing group, is the Labor Unions, primarily the teacher’s Union.  

Consider this.  Under President Jimmy Carter (#39) Congress in 1979 created the Department of Education as a Cabinet position. One purpose was to “improve the coordination of Federal education programs.”  This would include curriculums.  History records the successor to Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson (#17), formed an education department, or office, to collect information and statistics on our schools. At that time there were concerns over the control, power, the Federal Government might impose over local control of schools, thus a Cabinet position was not established.  In the 60’s LBJ (#37) in his ‘War on Poverty’ sought to create programs to improve education for the poor at all levels. From the time of the Emancipation our government has been most accommodating towards minorities, blacks principally, to better their position in America and enable them to reap the benefits of freedom, independence and the opportunities America offered, and were put forth in the constitution and Declaration of Independence. 

History shows that progressives, Democrats, when in power in DC, continuously seek ways in which to deny States Rights by taking control of functions at the Federal level.  Over the years this has happened with Labor, Commerce, Education, energy and others.  

Today, with a budget over $60 Billion (2010), and 4,000-4,500 employees to guide our Nation’s schools, the Federal government rules national education.  The mistake, as I see it, is having one vision for education, inputs from the experts acknowledged, and not the possibility of 50 visions, which would be the case if this Cabinet position did not exist and the office of Education retained a fact gathering mission. History shows the goal of Federalizing Education has not been attained.  Politics, at the National level, the President and Party in power, have too much say in what is said in our institutions of learning.  

The liberal progressive nature of Presidents since LBJ, to include Carter, Clinton (#42), and Obama (#44), and the make-up of the Education Department, has contributed to a left leaning, bias filled, tenured professors and teachers, that have turned our centers of learning into indoctrination centers, the emphasis being liberal progressive ideals that tend to ignore family and religion;  replacing them with government as parent and God.  There is an imbalance in teaching, more liberal than conservative, with less emphasis on actual history and more revisionist history, such as the 1619 Project and White Fragilities.  The revisions favor the narrative of the radical left.  The Democratic left preaches that America is a nation of oppression, citing the Constitution as imperfect and misdirected. It dwells on slavery, as if advances and progress have never taken place, ignoring too that many minorities, subsequent to the arrival of black slaves, have achieved great success in America due to what our Nation offers everyone.  You do not hear Mexicans, hispanics, Asians, the Irish, and other minority groups calling for reparations.  They honor those that have been successful and overcome poverty and other hardships, because of America, not in spite of America.  The progressive Democrat despises capitalism, free enterprise, and ignores the reality of disparities, regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion, instead regarding such differences in the nature of people and outcomes as discrimination.  The progressive Democrat also loves Big Government.   Opportunities can be equal,  outcomes cannot. 

Not every State is Democrat controlled nor Republican controlled, neither liberal nor conservative.  This means there is opportunity for education influenced by the left and right to exist depending on the State you choose and the governance voted into power. There would not be one voice dictating to every State how or what they must teach in order to receive Federal funding.  Such suppresses freedom of expression and creativity in teaching. 

Unions must also be broken and the archaic and intransigent nature of tenure for educators eliminated.  Technology today can then be properly and aggressively applied to teaching. Those that have lost their enthusiasm, their drive and desire to teach, would be dismissed.  Instead of 3000 algebra teachers there could be a few, assisted by TA’s in classrooms, providing virtual instruction in small classroom settings, the best educators, and the best lesson plan and the best methods for imparting knowledge to be provided every student.  Same for literature and history, a liberal arts education that even Mortimer Adler would love. The emphasis would be on students, not on teachers. That is as it should be.  States and localities could find the best and brightest to teach their children.  As with school choice, there would be choice, freedom on the part of parents to choose how their children learn and what their children learn.  

Food for thought.

by  T. W. Balderston

Author: Damascus Quran (available at Amazon, on Kindle), other books:  Wake Up Wake Up - The Testimony of a Layman, The Proven God, The Wonder of Terra.  Blog:  Understand-Islam.com