Today the mass murder of 19 fourth graders and two teachers dominated the news. It is yet one more reminder that the public school model in the USA is ineffective, dangerous, expensive, and totally obsolete.
Want some more reminders?
- Congress sent more than $190 BILLION to schools for “Covid Relief” in two years. What happened to all that money? A lot of it went into football stadiums, Critical Race Theory programming, teacher pay and benefit increases, and a plethora of direct-payment corruption to political cronies. It sure was not spent on security, because liberals do not want their children defended with guns – that doesn’t fit the anti-gun narrative. Despite the huge spending, public schools closed anyway, causing an irreparable learning gap, psychological damage, and physical problems.
- The cost per student continues to escalate (see some startling figures here) while educational performance continues to decline.
- Public schools now emphasize aberrant sexual behavior, gender-bending, and extracurricular activities over fundamental studies that produce employable skills. They promote racism and fear, teaching vulnerable children that Martin Luther King was a liar – content of character doesn’t matter, only the color of one’s skin.
- Parents who attempt to influence school boards toward improvement, or even reasonableness, are physically removed from public meetings, and investigated by law officials as “public terrorists”.
I could go on, but you know the drill.
All of this points to the fact that the American public school model is obsolete. It just doesn’t work any more. Schools cost too much, produce too little, put kids at risk, and are destroying our nation and the very future of the kids we entrust to them.
So what’s the answer? Like most government programs that have become too big to be manageable or functional, our education system should be blown up and replaced. The notion that kids learn best stuck at a desk in a room of 25 students, dominated by one teacher (who may or may not have their best interests at heart) and waiting for resources and attention is crazy. We all know that children are eager to learn, and will do so as fast as they are allowed to. Kids need LESS rigid supervision and more independent creative time and resources.
I think we should look to the private sector for answers to fixing the broken public school model. The funding system is a critical roadblock. More parents would home school their children (a tremendously successful model) if they didn’t have to pay for their unused public education, too. And businesses who currently can’t get qualified employees would be better served to educate their own prospects rather than rely on a public system that has no idea what they need. In any event, if taxpayers (individual and business) must pay for education, they need more control over the process and results. Families need the right to choose where and how their children are educated, and any government funding to that end should stay with the student, not go straight to the school in his/her zip code.
It won’t be easy to wrestle our future away from the bureaucracy. But it’s way past time to do it.
Tom Balek – Rockin’ On the Right Side
I study nuclear science
I love my classes
I got a crazy teacher, he wears dark glasses
Things are going great, and they’re only getting better
I’m doing all right, getting good grades
The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades
Tom Balek - Rockin' On The Right Side 
Absolutely spot on!!
TT
Sent from my iPhone
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I’ve been an advocate for school choice for decades.
The homeschool model does not always work that well. Children become socially isolated and socially awkward. I do like the idea of parents having the money to spend on a school of their choice. Structured classrooms actually do work. Your most successful charter schools have that model. My grandchildren go to Catholic school with structured classrooms where they are challenged. They are thriving.
Barbara, for the first time we seriously disagree.
My twin 12-year old grandkids have only been homeschooled. They are part of a large community of home schoolers who support each other with activities, specialized classes, social activities, etc. They are top-tier athletes (swimming, diving, baseball, basketball, ninja, triathlon) competing on some of the best select teams in the metro area. They both have thriving businesses already (pet services, baking, yard work, artwork) and often make $20 an hour and up. Their savings accounts are bulging.
They are required to take standardized tests administered by the state dept. of education, and they rank at college grade-level in most subjects, especially math and science. And quite the opposite of being socially awkward, they, like their home-schooled friends, are much more socially adept than the public school kids we see because they are used to being around kids of all ages and adults. They do not spend their time on smart phones, social media, video games, and porn sites. They study about three hours a day and have plenty of time for individual interests and lots of physical activity, both fun and work. Also time to travel for real-world educational opportunities. Everything they see is a learning opportunity, and no time is wasted waiting with a hand in the air.
You may be seeing home-schooled kids in isolated rural areas, and that could be difficult without a very focused home teacher and contact with other people. But many people around here co-op with skilled teachers to run “mini schools” in their neighborhoods and to enhance their own work. That can work in a rural setting as well.
Home schooled kids may not be able to put condoms on cucumbers, or recite all of the 56 genders and their pronouns. But trust me, they run academic, physical, and emotional rings around their public schooled counterparts without the stress of peer pressure, bullying, crime, drugs, sex and the other crap that public school kids have to maneuver through. They are happy kids.
I’m happy your grandkids are in a Catholic school – most of them generally do an outstanding job, especially compared to public schools. But please take a second, hard look at home schooling. Not everybody can devote the time to do it successfully, but my daughter left a lucrative professional career to home school and has never looked back. It was a great decision both financially and for the health and future of their family.
Afraid we are well beyond the Eve of Destruction for our public education system. No focus on core mission (CRT, sex identification, etc. more important than literacy, math, science, history and life functionality), no challenges – equity results for all and everyone gets a trophy, no God, morality or higher level values.
sorry for the rant
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Hey Tom,Finally surfacing from a very difficult PA primary election season in which I was involved up to my eyeballs! Thanks for the article! So glad I homeschooled! I tried to tag you when I re-posted it on Twitter and other social media sites, but found that it looks like you’re no longer on Twitter or Facebook? Howdy and best wishes to Linda and your family! Donna Ellingsen
I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to try a variety of jobs, seeing what’s out there, and then teaching horseback riding and crafts at three summer camps. That told me how easy teaching could be, but also how destructive the public propaganda education camps were becoming. Home schooling is the wave of the future.