School Daze

It's that time of year.

The end of August and the beginning of September is when America's children head back to school.  Most of these children will be going to public schools, including most children of conservatives.  And that bothers me. 

For decades conservatives have sounded the alarm about the academic failings and leftist social engineering plaguing public education.  And for decades conservative parents have kept sending their children to public schools.  Why?  If public schools have become liberalism's madrassas, as Ann Coulter called them, why do conservative parents blithely entrust their children to them?  What kind of sense does that make?

Yes, I understand that the main alternatives to public education, homeschooling and private schools, aren't feasible for some conservative parents.  But I suspect that a lot of conservatives could home school or private school their kids but just aren't willing to make the sacrifices that would entail.  They'd rather take the easier and cheaper way out and send little Johnny to public school, convincing themselves that he'll somehow escape the secular progressive indoctrination endemic there.  He won't.

Polls show that the majority of younger Americans, those 30 and under, support Obama, while the majority of older Americans don't.  Why this generation gap?  Public schools.  They have been shockingly successful at inculcating the PC, liberal, big government ideology into their captive audience of children.  Conservatives know this, yet they keep giving public schools their kids.  It makes me wonder how committed conservatives really are to the survival of their own principles.

I believe that if conservatives want their beliefs to not only survive but flourish then private education must become the norm for them.   Public schools are hostile to conservative ideals and that isn't going to change any time soon.  Entrusting their children to public education when they don't absolutely have to is, in my view, a failure of conservative parenting.  It's like Abraham Lincoln said.  The political philosophy in the classroom in one generation becomes the political philosophy of the country in the next generation.  Conservatives can stop that "prophecy" dead in its tracks.  Don't send little Johnny to the little red school house.  Teach him at home or use private education.  Aren't conservative ideals worth the sacrifice?

First The Banks, Then GM, Now The Schools

It's becoming clearer and clearer everyday. Barack Obama is a BIG believer in BIG government. He thinks the federal behemoth should be in charge of pretty much everything, including our children's schools. And now Obama has come up with a plan to get America's kids ready for the challenges of the 21st century. Are you ready for it? The Great One wants to lenghten the school day/year. That's right. He wants our kids to be in school all day AND virtually all year. Brilliant, huh?

And why does Obama think a longer school day/year is a great idea? For the same reason he thinks universal health care is a great idea: all the other industrialized nations do it. You can't find a better reason than that.

Actually, on the surface, the idea that longer time in school will improve grades and test scores doesn't seem so farfetched. The only problem is that, according to Yahoo! News, American kids already spend more hours in school than the Japanese, Taiwanese, and Hong Kong kids who consistently outscore them in math and science. So what are we to make of Obama's grand plan? It's just another big government liberal scheme.

If Obama really cared about the education of America's children he would, as I've said in another post, encourage parents to homeschool or send their kids to private school, as he himself does. If it's more and better learning he wants, homeschools and private schools almost always outperform public schools. So why not give vouchers to parents, especially poorer ones, to send their children to the private school of their choice? If Obama wants to spend federal money on education, that seems to be the best way to do it. The only possible drawback is that many private schools, especially parochial ones, might not accept the vouchers if they come with too many strings attached.

Also, if Obama really cared about reforming education he should worry less about the length of time kids spend in school and worry more about what they're doing while they're there. The Department of Education, established by Jimmy Carter, is over thirty years old. The US spends more on education than any other industrialized country, yet all that federal involvement and money hasn't resulted in better educated children. Maybe it's because the kids are spending too much time learning how to put condoms on cucumbers rather than learning math, science, and history. Turning public schools into centers of leftist social engineering is, I suggest, the real reason for the poor performance of too many American kids. And it's probably the real reason why Obama wants American children to spend more time in school.

It's time to rein in Obama and his ilk. Controlling education is not one of the powers the Constitution gives to the federal government. We've had over thirty years of increasing federal interference in education and the results are dismal. Obama is out of his place trying to dictate to local schools how many hours or days they must require kids to attend. He should leave the children alone and stick to what the Constitution says his job is. Novel idea, huh?

The Littlest Patriot

I first saw this video on my friend Robert's blog and was blown away by this little girl. Her name is Sarah, she's 11 years old, and she delivers a speech that shows more knowledge of and love for America and our heritage than anything you hear from the politicians in Washington, especially the liberal ones. I was heartened by little Sarah. She shows that the youth of this country are not complelely sold out to "hip" and "cool" leftie ideas. Sarah shows that there are young Americans who actually love this country and aren't afraid to say so. I want all of you to give a listen to this brave little patriot. If we're lucky, if God chooses to smile on us, Sarah and many more like her will be the future of America. And amen to that!

Get 'Em While They're Young!

While driving home from work today I was listening to Michael Medved's radio show and heard something totally creepy. It seems that Barack Obama really does believe he's Dear Leader and he's going after the kiddos to make them believe it, too. How is he planning on doing that? By giving a speech on September 8 to America's school children, a speech that teachers are being greatly encouraged to permit their students to watch during the school day. This, as I said, is totally creepy.

It's not just the fact of Obama giving a speech directly to children that's creepy. It's the things that are going along with it. According to Medved the Department of Education has suggested that, in preparation for the Anointed One's speech, teachers should encourage their students to read books about Obama and should ask them questions like, What can we learn from President Obama? And my favorite, How does Barack Obama inspire us? WTF?!?!

We are not living in North Korea! This is America! There is nothing inherently wrong with Obama or any president talking to America's children, but Obama is a chief executive who's shown he doesn't like criticism. He's taken it upon himself to tell Americans which news sources they can trust and which they can't. He's told Republican lawmakers that they need to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh. And he's complained that Fox News isn't "adequately favorable" to him, as if it's the media's job to be favorable to him. Clearly, Obama has a problem with dissent. So, his upcoming speech to the nation's kids is suspicious.

The guest on Michael Medved's show, a Midwestern school teacher called "Carol", asked why Obama doesn't give his speech during primetime. During primetime, "Carol" pointed out, not only could kids still hear the speech but their parents could listen too and give their opinion on Obama's message. Perhaps that's why Obama is giving his education speech during school hours, precisely to do an end run around that parental filter. Dear Leader wants to reach the children directly so they'll then go home and tell Mom and Dad how great he is because he cares about them and wants them to do well in school. The strategy is simple: get the kids and the parents will follow. I'm not saying that is what Obama's doing but it sure looks like it.

As news of Obama's speech spreads I hope many, many parents will opt their kids out of the "historic" event. If Barack Obama really cares about education then the people he needs to be addressing are parents, not children. But parents are adults who might surprise Barack with some challenging questions and thoughtful skepticism. Obama will have no such worries with little kids; they can be counted on to give him the unthinking devotion he seems to need just to function as a human being.

Obama needs to grow up. He wanted to be president; well, now he is. If he can't take the political heat he should resign and leave the presidency to someone more thick-skinned. But the one thing he most certainly must not do is use our children for his own political gain. Parents and others who love children don't take kindly to that sort of thing. Just thought Dear Leader ought to know.