The Sectors are currently identified as follows (in alphabetical order):
Arts: The realm of creative expression through various media.
Economics: The science that deals with the production, distribution, consumption and management of goods, services and currency.
Education: The realm of intentional learning - the gathering of knowledge and understanding.
Environment: The surroundings in which we live; the natural world as whole – including ourselves.
Governance: The administration of authority and leadership of a community.
Health: The vitality, well being and wholeness of a living system.
Infrastructure: The underlying physical structures and systems to support human society.
Justice: A way of protecting each individual's innate rights.
Media: The means of disseminating information and entertainment among people.
Relations: The field of human interaction: with sensations, emotions, thoughts, other beings, and the environment.
Science: The ordering of knowledge by thesis, experiment and conclusions.
Spirituality: The exploration and experience of our fundamental metaphysical nature as spirit.
Worldview: The beliefs we have about ourselves, life, and the Universe that shape how we interpret what we experience.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
What about the Poor? What about Irresponsible Parents?
What about the Poor?
Before we venture into this very important question, consider this: government schools already fail the poor in some of the most spectacular ways — illiteracy, dangerous schools, the worst teachers, low expectations, and the list could go on.
Ask yourself if the disadvantaged could be any more poorly served.
A free market in schooling would open incredible opportunity to the poor as philanthropists, churches, civic groups and all the people who already give of their hard-earned money worked to provide true opportunity. It is already happening in many areas, but parents and the people who wish to help find themselves between a rock and hard place — with the kids still trapped in public schools, there is only so much they can do. With tax money freed up and more private schools opening, opportunity will flourish.
Chris Cardiff of the National Center for Independent Education points out that if all 16 million poor and lower-middle-class children were provided with a $1500 scholarship (to private schools), the cost would come to $24 billion — 25% less than the state of California spends on public education and 92% less than is spent nationwide on public schooling.
Ironically, even when people come to see that this is true, some can't escape the government mantra that it is not acceptable for even one child to fall through the cracks, even though most poor, inner city kids are doing exactly that — better to have the equality of universal failure at the hands of the government than risk mostly success and a few failures at the hand of the uncontrolled free market.
It is hard to over-emphasize how deeply ingrained this attitude is. People literally believe that horrible public schools are better than not quite perfect private options, as long as everyone is suffering. This is, of course, an idea they've learned from their public schools. They've been taught, and believe, that these schools serve ALL children, so regardless of their shortcomings, no matter how truly awful they are, even if they're producing illiterates and societal misfits who will end up in prison, it is okay, because they serve everyone. It's fair, you see.
One of the greatest lessons of public school is how to stare reality in the face and deny it.
Douglas Dewey sums up the situation of the poor and public schools brilliantly:
It won't happen overnight, but as it stands now, with the government controlling the situation, it won't happen at all; it will only get worse. If we are willing to settle for what we have now just so one child doesn't get a better opportunity than another, we deserve what we get. The kids won't deserve it, the communities that have been damaged by government meddling won't deserve it, but those of us who have a powerful enough voice and the means to make a difference will deserve it. Keep reading.
What About Irresponsible Parents?
Okay, maybe the poor will receive help and maybe they'll accept it and rise to the occasion, but what about parents who just don't care, parents on drugs, parents too uneducated (and how did they get that way?) to think school is important?
We could have lumped these parents in the poor category. Most of them would qualify. But that would be unfair to the many poor who do care and feel powerless. Yet, the answer is the basically the same.
The children of these parents are already ill-served and failing. The situation could not be much worse. Some of them will still fall through the cracks, but many more will be rescued by people who care that they succeed, who are willing to take risks to that end.
That does not describe the public schools that now house these children. There may be good, caring teachers within these schools, but their hands are tied by the states and cities that employ them. They are not at liberty to innovate, to act freely, to offer real alternatives and a way out.
There are already philanthropists and foundations that pay private school tuition for the poor. This would increase many-fold, in the form of scholarships and direct aid to schools so they could offer free tuition to needy students. There are also churches and charitable foundations that reach out to the poor and will branch out into the field of education with the extra money that will be available because government at all levels is no longer confiscating it for their own endeavors in the school field.
Entrepreneurs will also certainly venture into poorer areas, funded by philanthropists who wish to see urban improvement and who view schools as a good means to that end.
This is not a wishful scenario. There are already many people in the private sector working to help the children of irresponsible and of poor parents, but they're up against the stranglehold the public schools have on the children. They are trying to undo damage as it continues to be done. Freeing the children would open endless windows of opportunity.
There is a tremendous amount of damage to be fixed, but as Douglas Dewey points out, much of that damage has been done by the schools themselves, as well as by the welfare system. Both have robbed parents of the responsibility to work and take care of their children. The results now stare us in the face and challenge us to begin the rebuilding.
It is significant to note here that this may scare politicians and school authorities more than any other aspect of the potential demise of government control of education. Empowered citizens is frightening enough to a government; empowered poor people is terrifying. In the eyes of authorities, this is tantamount to letting the most dangerous inmates out of the prison, and they've convinced the rest of us that it's too scary to even entertain.
The end of government control of education is the only chance disadvantaged children have.
Before we venture into this very important question, consider this: government schools already fail the poor in some of the most spectacular ways — illiteracy, dangerous schools, the worst teachers, low expectations, and the list could go on.
Ask yourself if the disadvantaged could be any more poorly served.
A free market in schooling would open incredible opportunity to the poor as philanthropists, churches, civic groups and all the people who already give of their hard-earned money worked to provide true opportunity. It is already happening in many areas, but parents and the people who wish to help find themselves between a rock and hard place — with the kids still trapped in public schools, there is only so much they can do. With tax money freed up and more private schools opening, opportunity will flourish.
Chris Cardiff of the National Center for Independent Education points out that if all 16 million poor and lower-middle-class children were provided with a $1500 scholarship (to private schools), the cost would come to $24 billion — 25% less than the state of California spends on public education and 92% less than is spent nationwide on public schooling.
Ironically, even when people come to see that this is true, some can't escape the government mantra that it is not acceptable for even one child to fall through the cracks, even though most poor, inner city kids are doing exactly that — better to have the equality of universal failure at the hands of the government than risk mostly success and a few failures at the hand of the uncontrolled free market.
It is hard to over-emphasize how deeply ingrained this attitude is. People literally believe that horrible public schools are better than not quite perfect private options, as long as everyone is suffering. This is, of course, an idea they've learned from their public schools. They've been taught, and believe, that these schools serve ALL children, so regardless of their shortcomings, no matter how truly awful they are, even if they're producing illiterates and societal misfits who will end up in prison, it is okay, because they serve everyone. It's fair, you see.
One of the greatest lessons of public school is how to stare reality in the face and deny it.
Douglas Dewey sums up the situation of the poor and public schools brilliantly:
"When all else fails, government school apologists point to the inability and unwillingness of 'poor people,' especially those in the 'inner cities,' to see to their children's education. It is an appalling hypocrisy for governmentalists who have used every available means to rip and burn the social fabric of black, urban, and low-income Americans to point to their own handiwork as proof of their indispensability. It is true that family and civic life in cities and among the poor is in tatters. The main cause is the stripping away of family responsibilities from families by government — education chief among them. Restore that one thing and the rebuilding can begin."The rebuilding can begin. There are people who care, people who are ready to help far more than they now can, people in the private sector longing to enable and empower the poor and exploited to repair the damage done to their children and their communities by government schooling. There are poor parents who long to salvage their children but who are trapped in a system bent on their destruction.
It won't happen overnight, but as it stands now, with the government controlling the situation, it won't happen at all; it will only get worse. If we are willing to settle for what we have now just so one child doesn't get a better opportunity than another, we deserve what we get. The kids won't deserve it, the communities that have been damaged by government meddling won't deserve it, but those of us who have a powerful enough voice and the means to make a difference will deserve it. Keep reading.
What About Irresponsible Parents?
Okay, maybe the poor will receive help and maybe they'll accept it and rise to the occasion, but what about parents who just don't care, parents on drugs, parents too uneducated (and how did they get that way?) to think school is important?
We could have lumped these parents in the poor category. Most of them would qualify. But that would be unfair to the many poor who do care and feel powerless. Yet, the answer is the basically the same.
The children of these parents are already ill-served and failing. The situation could not be much worse. Some of them will still fall through the cracks, but many more will be rescued by people who care that they succeed, who are willing to take risks to that end.
That does not describe the public schools that now house these children. There may be good, caring teachers within these schools, but their hands are tied by the states and cities that employ them. They are not at liberty to innovate, to act freely, to offer real alternatives and a way out.
There are already philanthropists and foundations that pay private school tuition for the poor. This would increase many-fold, in the form of scholarships and direct aid to schools so they could offer free tuition to needy students. There are also churches and charitable foundations that reach out to the poor and will branch out into the field of education with the extra money that will be available because government at all levels is no longer confiscating it for their own endeavors in the school field.
Entrepreneurs will also certainly venture into poorer areas, funded by philanthropists who wish to see urban improvement and who view schools as a good means to that end.
This is not a wishful scenario. There are already many people in the private sector working to help the children of irresponsible and of poor parents, but they're up against the stranglehold the public schools have on the children. They are trying to undo damage as it continues to be done. Freeing the children would open endless windows of opportunity.
There is a tremendous amount of damage to be fixed, but as Douglas Dewey points out, much of that damage has been done by the schools themselves, as well as by the welfare system. Both have robbed parents of the responsibility to work and take care of their children. The results now stare us in the face and challenge us to begin the rebuilding.
It is significant to note here that this may scare politicians and school authorities more than any other aspect of the potential demise of government control of education. Empowered citizens is frightening enough to a government; empowered poor people is terrifying. In the eyes of authorities, this is tantamount to letting the most dangerous inmates out of the prison, and they've convinced the rest of us that it's too scary to even entertain.
The end of government control of education is the only chance disadvantaged children have.
Doesn't the Government have a Direct Interest in an Educated Populace?
Yes,
the government does have a direct interest in an educated populace —
one that is educated just enough and in ways that will perpetuate the
goals and existence of the government.
William T. Harris, the U.S. Commissioner of Education in the late 1800s, summed up the goal of government schooling like this:
Our schools have been
scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The
average American [should be] content with their humble role in life...
He was bragging.
He was not the only leader of
education to express that sentiment. Many others said the same thing.
The goal of schools was to create a manageable society, an easily
controlled people who would not become dissatisfied with their lot in
life and who would obey when their government called on them to do so.
But surely, you might be thinking, that's not how it is today.
Haven't we evolved past that? Aren't we more enlightened now?
Unfortunately, Horace Mann, John Dewey and their cohorts are still
studied and admired in university schools of education.
Many education majors still come
away with the sense that they are agents for social change and feel
justified in superseding the values and wishes of parents and families.
Armed with the power of the state and unaccountable to parents, they do
the government's work in shaping young minds to submit, to be good,
obedient citizens who trust the government as a benevolent father who
wishes nothing more than to care for them.
There are teachers who have not
accepted the role of social crusader, of course. They recognize that
strong families make for a better society and they honor and encourage
that, but all too many have embraced the ideology of Mann and Dewey.
When we turn our children over to
government schools, they become truly what the government has claimed
for many years — "our" greatest resource. Don't think for a minute
that the government means parents or families or even communities when
it says "our." It means the government's greatest resource, a resource
to meet the needs of a growing and hungry state.
The government needs three things to thrive and grow:
1. Obedient citizens who will not upset the status quo.
2. Money, which requires citizens who believe the government deserves their money
and will utilize it in better ways than they themselves will, or at the
very least, citizens who are afraid not to hand their money over.
3. Power: citizens who will willingly subdue fellow citizens who refuse to submit;
citizens who will fight wars; citizens who will turn on one another
when ordered or asked to do so but will not turn on the government.
Without force, the government is powerless. Unless people are willing to
act unquestioningly on behalf of the government to enforce its edicts,
the government has no power.
You do not need to believe that public schools were started in order to meet these needs of the government (though a careful study of school history will reveal considerable evidence for the theory), but you should be able to recognize that today's schools fulfill the needs. And it should alarm you.
Our founders worded the U.S. Constitution so that the federal government should have no role in education.
It was not within the scope of their endeavor to dictate the same to
states, but their efforts at the national level were surely a warning to
citizens of the danger of handing over to a ruling body the teaching of
its subjects.
Many parents have reached the point of fed-up.
The parents who struggle to maintain a presence and influence in their
children's lives while they attend government schools often find
themselves doing battle with the school and with their children, giving
in on things that are important to them when the battle becomes too
pitched.
Now is an excellent time in history to join the growing movement of freedom in education.
Why Shouldn't the Government be Involved in Education?
The Short Answer:
- Government schooling stands in direct opposition to the liberty this country was founded on.
- It fosters unquestioning obedience, acceptance of authority, herd mentality, and dependency.
- It manufactures "equality" by lowering standards.
- It discourages individuality, innovation, curiosity, creativity and overall excellence.
- It undermines families and other relationships.
- It undermines religious beliefs, values and morality.
- It fosters social, psychological, emotional and intellectual dysfunction and promotes immaturity and perpetual adolescence.
- It makes children the victims of political change, special interests, researchers, unions and social reformers.
- It undermines the ability of parents to provide their children with the quality and type of education they desire for them.
Many people, possibly even most people, think or suspect that it's important for the government to control schools for a number of reasons:
- To make sure equal educational opportunity is available to everyone.
- To force parents who might otherwise neglect their children's education to send their children to school.
- To make education affordable for everyone.
- To ensure the preservation of democracy.
- To help create a common social fabric where all are respected and accepted.
What most people don't know is specifically what this new dream entailed. Yes, the reformers wanted all children to be educated — to a point. To the point of being useful as citizens and servants of the government and industry, but not to the point of becoming too independent to control. Here it is in some of their own words.
And this is just a small sampling of hundreds of similar sentiments from education founders and reformers. But maybe Horace Mann said it best — he believed his cause was sacred, and for that reason, he felt he had the right to force people to sign on. Not all parents handed their children over willingly, especially in Mr. Mann's home state of Massachusetts, where parents refused to comply with compulsory attendance laws and found themselves at the sharp end of state militia bayonets. Mr. Mann's dream had come true — the state would enforce his plans for the future of all citizens.
Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American [should be] content with their humble role in life...
- William T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education in the late 1800s
The children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone would be interdependent.
- John Dewey, philosopher and education reformer of late 1800s-mid 1900s
Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order... In this way, the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer-in of the true Kingdom of God.
- John Dewey, philosopher and education reformer of late 1800s-mid 1900s
Only a system of state-controlled schools can be free to teach whatever the welfare of the State may demand.
- Ellwood P. Cubberley, former superintendent of San Diego schools and Dean of Stanford University School of Education (late 1800s-early 1900s)
'Parent choice' proceeds from the belief that the purpose of education is to provide individual students with an education. In fact, educating the individual is but a means to the true end of education, which is to create a viable social order to which individuals contribute and by which they are sustained.
- Association of California School Administrators
We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause.
- Horace Mann, education reformer, abolitionist
But the dream has turned into a nightmare for families and society. Even Mr. Mann might be shocked at the results of his win for compulsory state schooling. When push comes to shove, people, and Americans in particular, don't take to force very well. They don't buy the idea that one man or a small group of men can know what's best for everyone. And they certainly don't believe he has the right to use the police power of the state to force his views on others.
But while people are busy working and living and supporting the state, while they're busy creating a successful economy, legislators and reformers are often busy working against the people. By the time the people realize what's happened, it's too late. The shock of finding themselves at the mercy of the state can take a while to subside, and by then the state has dug in its heels and reversing the encroachment of liberty is not so easy. Because people are so busy with life, they often do not have the time or resources to fight back. That is, until they just can't take anymore.
Thomas Jefferson said it best in the Declaration of independence:
...all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government...Of course, Thomas Jefferson was specifically referring to the British. But he was also making a broad statement about unjust actions of government. People will put up with it for a long time, but not forever. When it finally reaches the point of being unbearable, people will rise up and take back their liberties. And just as the British fought desperately to keep their control, so will all other forms and levels of government when faced with a loss of power.
In the case of government schooling, the move toward freedom has already begun and is gaining steam. The parents of over eight million students already send their children to private schools or home school them. Many thousands more spend $25-$80 an hour on tutors to supplement or compensate for their children's public school experience.
But the question still remains, why should the government NOT control education? Here is a handful of good reasons to supplement the ones already listed in our "Short Answer" above (some merely elaborate on the points above). You will probably be able to come up with some more of your own.
- The government does not have the right to force one group of people's ideology on others.
- History shows that almost all people with power
will abuse that power. Exceptions are few. Our children should not be
captives to the police power of the state.
- Government education undermines the strength of
families by implying or even teaching that parents are backward and
unenlightened — that teacher knows best, and by monopolizing
increasingly larger portions of children's lives.
- In its effort to create "equality" and because
of its unwieldy bureaucratic nature, government schooling reduces most
children to a lowest common denominator, denying kids true opportunities
to soar.
- It reinforces all the negatives of human nature
— selfishness, cruelty, disrespect, unfeeling competitiveness — by
disenfranchising families, by keeping children under a tight regimen of
being graded and judged, and by its institutional nature that forces
children into self-preservation modes that would not exist in real-life,
family and community settings.
- It teaches children not to trust themselves and
to completely trust and be obedient to authorities. Kids are tested,
graded, judged, held back, allowed to pass, all based on the decisions
of school authorities. Children learn that above all else, they cannot
know anything until they are taught or until they are told they are
right or wrong.
- Because schools cannot teach religion or address
the big questions of life (meaning, good and evil, etc.), these things
are simply left out of the curriculum, leading children to believe they
are not important and that parents who say they are are not to be taken
seriously.
- Students are routinely taught or led to believe
things that the state wishes them to believe and are not taught other
points of view. For instance, students are taught that paying more in
taxes is good and that people who object to supporting schools or the
needy through taxation are greedy and uncaring, contrary to the
teachings of our country's founders. They are taught that it is
important for people to trust the government, and while the government
should certainly work for that trust, that doesn't relieve people of the
duty to trust, even when the government falls short.
- Students are NOT taught what may be the most
important lesson the founding fathers tried to impress upon posterity:
no one, no one with the police power of the state to back them up can be
trusted. Government may be a necessary evil, but no government is to be
trusted. Government must be watched and kept under control at all
times, with "eternal vigilance." Power corrupts. Authority will be
abused. As if to make their point, some of the founders went on to abuse
their own authority.
- Schools backed by the power of the state have no
need to answer to parents, nor do they have any intention of doing so.
They may make small (and usually temporary) concessions to community
mores, but they know that in the end, they can do as they wish,
regardless of the desires of parents or community.
- Government run schools become tools for special
interest groups who wish to target children with their message. Parents
would be shocked to know that schools allow many special interest groups
access to their children in a variety of ways, ranging from allowing
psychologists to conduct studies on kids to allowing groups to do
special programs in schools to allowing teachers to use materials from
these groups in the classroom. Parents have virtually no say in these
matters.
- Schools make superficial changes from time to time — more tests, different curricula, a new grading system, but nothing changes about the most important aspects of government schooling: it is coercive; it serves the ends of the government and those who find ways to use the government; it undermines the family and morality and liberty; it robs the vulnerable young of their independence of spirit and thought, replacing it with trust in government and fear of retribution for disobeying that government.
Consider these things:
- Government schools cannot present lessons within the
context of any religion's worldview, because they would certainly
violate the principle that the state has no right to endorse one
religion over another.
- Teaching "just the facts" about religion in
history is impossible. Everyone interprets even the facts differently.
For instance, people might quote Thomas Jefferson's endorsements of
religion in the public sphere, but Jefferson was a deist. Did he speak
from that context? How did he see religion as part of public life?
- To teach just the facts means to remove anything
open to controversy, which can't be done outside dates, times, places,
and facts that are meaningless without deeper discussion.
- For Christians, Jews, Muslims and many other
people of faith, a view of the world that does not take into account the
dictates of their religion is a skewed view. How might the Crusades be
meaningfully studied without understanding the entire history and
meaning of Christianity, Catholicism, Islam? How might the Holocaust or
the establishment of the state of Israel be meaningfully studied without
understanding Judaism?
- To be sure, history can be studied without
meaning — dates, times, places, names of people and events. But there
is no purpose in knowing facts without understanding why. To try to
explain why without exploring the beliefs people base their lives on is
not only a futile exercise, but it actually creates a sort of new
religion — a sterile religion of the state, void of insight, void of
meaning, designed to replace all competing worldviews.
- Don't blame the government. It has no choice but to teach within meaningless contexts. Whose meaning should it endorse? When a student wishes to understand why an American founder felt that liberty would not be secure except in a moral society, what can the teacher say that will not provoke protests of misinterpretation about the meaning of "moral"? So the fact is left out altogether, and history is taught without any moral context except whatever the state decides is right and wrong. Why the state decides that one thing is right and another wrong is not open for discussion. Students learn that a certain level of morality, of right and wrong, does exist, but they are led to believe it exists as a creation of the state.
- Religion holds no real historical significance.
- Religion is of no current significance. They can
receive a complete education with barely a mention of religion.
Religion need not inform their worldview.
- Religion can and should be separated from the rest of life, delegated to the weekend status of a hobby.
- If there is a conflict between faith and the state, the state's desires should take precedence.
- Religion (and thus religious people) is not to be taken seriously and might even be dangerous to democracy(!).
- Among the many differences we should respect in others, religion (or whichever religions are in current disfavor) is not one of them.
The only solution for parents who wish their children to grow up with a strong worldview that reflects their beliefs is to choose a form of schooling that is compatible with their faith. It is in private schools and home schools that all faiths can be discussed openly and freely, that the impact of religion on history and the meaning of life can be freely learned and debated.
Whether you are of a religious persuasion or not, the big questions of life -- questions about meaning and purpose, questions about the role of religion in history -- will be important to you, and you will want those questions addressed in such a way that your children will absorb your values and beliefs. It is one more reason, on top of many others, to choose independence from state schools.
How Did Government Get So Involved in Education?
It wasn't always this way.
The United States was founded, formed and grew to international prominence and prestige without compulsory schooling and
with virtually no government involvement in schooling. Before the
advent of government-controlled schools, literacy was high (91-97% in
the North, 81% in the South), private and community schools
proliferated, and people cared about education and acted on their desire
to learn and have their children learn.
Mr. Matthew J. Brouillette, President of the Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and former Director of Education Policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote:
From the outset of the
first settlements in the New World, Americans founded and successfully
maintained a de-centralized network of schools up through the 1850s...
For the first 150
years of America's settlement and the first 50 to 75 years of the
nation's existence, government schooling as it is known today did not
exist.
Today, few people ask how Americans, without
the help of government education, came to tame an unsettled continent
and eventually establish the freest nation in history.
Mr. Brouillette goes on to say:
Early America was
arguably the freest civil society that has ever existed. This freedom
extended to education, which meant that parents were responsible for,
and had complete control of, their children's schooling. There were no
accrediting agencies, no regulatory boards, and no teacher certification
requirements. Parents could choose whatever kind of school or education
they wanted for their children, and no one was forced to pay for
education they did not use or approve of.
Americans were as innovative about education as they were about everything else. They
started private schools, hired tutors, taught their children at home,
taught themselves. As the country grew, private schooling of many
varieties grew and complemented the many other options.
But there were always the reformers, the
people who thought they knew better than everyone else and felt they
had the right to force their views on others — by law, if no one would
cooperate otherwise.
From the PBS web site:
Public education today
is a product of more than a century of reform and revision [mid 1800s to
present]. In each era, visionary individuals have taken the lead and
transformed the system to meet their ideals.
"Visionary individuals" is
an overly nice term for people who consider themselves superior enough
that they should have the right to force "their ideals" on all others.
One of these visionaries
was Horace Mann, a lawyer from Massachusetts. He's often referred to as
the father of public education because he was such a fervent reformer,
but there were others before and after him.
Mr. Mann's hometown of Boston was a city of many private schools in the early and mid 1800s — with attendance reported at 96% by a committee commissioned to study the issue.
But high attendance was
not the goal of school reformers. Horace Mann helped establish a board
of education in 1837, and by 1852, he had his compulsory schools and
state schools from elementary through high school.
Power is tempting and many
reformers and politicians fell to its lure. One state after another
tightened its grip on American education. Parents who refused to comply
sometimes found themselves at the sharp end of state militia bayonets.
Once the state grabs power
in a particular area, it is only natural that unless people fight back
the power will grow and freedom will slowly die. That's where we stand
today.
Albert Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers, said this:
It's time to admit that
public education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system
in which everybody's role is spelled out in advance and there are few
incentives for innovation and productivity. It's no surprise that our
school system doesn't improve: it more resembles the communist economy
than our own market economy.
But Americans have not surrendered their freedom altogether. 27,000
private schools serve over six million students in America. Nearly two
million students are home schooled. Tutoring services and learning
centers number in the thousands. Community groups, churches and
charities offer free tutoring. Parents pool their resources to run
summer schools and special classes for their children.
Much more could be done if
parents and students were not trapped in the web of government
schooling. As it is, many parents are actually afraid to step into
independence. Some are afraid because schools threaten or intimidate
them. Some are afraid of the financial responsibility. Many simply are
unaware of all the opportunities and possibilities available.
It is our goal to not only
explain why government involvement in schooling is detrimental to
students, families, society and liberty, but to provide families with
ideas and resources to aid their path to independence.
SOURCE: http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm
Alliance for the Separation of School & State
SOURCE: http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm
Alliance for the Separation of School & State
THRIVE - Education Solutions Strategies
Instead we want to develop strategies that break down the state
monopoly on education and empower all people to choose where and how
they want to be educated.
These education solutions have to take place alongside solutions in other sectors. They are all interconnected. For example:
Stage 1: Reform Existing Systems – Transition out of the state-school model and encourage alternative schools to emerge by loosening government regulations and allowing people to attend the schools they choose.
Stage 2: Limit Government Control – Make the transition to education without government intervention.
Stage 3: Set up Systems for Voluntary Cooperation – Keep the government out of education and allow people to choose the education they desire.
Stage 1: Reform
Redirect a Portion of the Military Budget into Education
A small portion of the military budget could be redirected into education. A recent poll showed that American taxpayers want more money to go toward education and less toward the military. These funds could go to (1) help state schools get the resources they need to make it through this transition period, (2) a new government scholarship program to finance education of the poor, and (3) develop new models of education and funding solutions for non compulsory education.
Set Up A Scholarship Fund For Those Who Need It
There will be fewer and fewer people who need assistance as taxes are lowered, but there will inevitably be some people in need of financial support as the state school system is overhauled. A state scholarship program could provide temporary relief in this first stage until the private sector is able to take on the responsibility. Funding could come from redirected military funds and elimination of interest on the Federal Reserve debt.
Setting up this state scholarship fund will not be easy. We can learn from existing, though imperfect, assistance programs such as school voucher systems to learn how government funds are set-up, how people receive the funding, and how to determine who qualifies.
Some existing programs to learn from include:
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program – This is the nation’s oldest voucher program for low-income families. Parents receive up to $6,500 to enroll their children in private school. The program has grown significantly from 337 students attending seven schools in 1990 to 18,550 students attending 122 schools in 2008. Studies show that these students have a higher graduation rate than those in public schools and that parents are satisfied with the program.
School Choice Info – There are a variety of school choice programs in Cleveland, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Milwaukee, Vermont, and Washington D.C. that are described on this site. It gives information on legislative history, fiscal impact, research, enrollment, demographics, and more.
Gradually Lower and Eventually Eliminate Education Taxes
Because our goal is to move away from state schooling, the taxes that currently go toward funding schools would no longer be necessary as more private schools emerge and the scholarship program grows. 90% of K-12 education funding comes from state and local sources, [1] so eliminating these taxes would require a variety of strategies.
Allow and Encourage Diverse Education Programs to Emerge
At this stage, the market would be open for alternative schools and programs to emerge and expand. Families who are unsatisfied with state schools could have their children receive any type of education they desire and stop paying taxes toward the current state schooling system. Those who are unable to afford private schools could receive funding through a scholarship program. Here are a few successful models that new schools could potentially learn from.
Peninsula School in Menlo Park, CA – A private, progressive school that offers a non-competitive, non-authoritarian learning environment.
Sudbury Valley School – An independent school ranging from pre-school to high school based out of Framingham, MA, that allows students to choose what they want to do every day. It is based on the belief that everyone has a natural curiosity to learn and that student’s will get the most out of their education by initiating their own activities and getting the support they need to do it. They have a compelling structure in which each student and teacher has one vote to make decisions about rules, staff, facilities, etc.
Charter Schools
Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are privately run. They are exempt from state rules and regulations, but must meet “accountability standards” that typically require the school to show increased student performance (usually based on state tests). While charter schools have received a good amount of criticism, they do provide some valuable insight. Part of their success is due to the fact that they are run like a business, not a government institution. This transfers to policies and systems that demand accountability. There often are more efficient use of resources, higher teacher salaries, higher teacher performance standards, and a benchmark system to evaluate the school’s overall performance. Some of these systems may help inform private schools as they begin to form.
The “Unschooling” Model
Another approach to education is to ditch the idea of schooling altogether and to support each child’s natural interest to learn. “Unschooling” is a growing subset of the homeschooling movement that is not based on any particular curriculum and does not follow any set structure. The underlying belief is that children are naturally curious and that they will learn as long as they are supported in pursuing their passions. It has been catching on in recent years, with some estimating that the unschooling population is growing by 10-15% every year.[2]
Advance Education to Include More Whole-Systems Thinking and Analysis of Current World Issues
We are living in momentous, challenging, and exciting times, yet very few classes focus on the current state of affairs. Students would benefit and become more engaged if their education reflected real world situations rather than abstract ideas and notions. You can get college credits through Gaia University and Wisdom University to study various subjects on the Thrive website and propose solutions to many of the problems we currently face.
Stage 2: Limit Government Control
Transition State Scholarship Program to a Private, Charitable Fund
With billions of dollars of taxpayer money returned to the people in Stage 2, more and more funds would be available for charitable contributions. Caring for others would no longer be handled (inadequately) by the state, but the responsibility of citizens. Given the current state of the world, it’s clear that the state, while officially responsible, actually fails in its role.
State schools would no longer exist and people would be free to pursue the type of education they desire. The state scholarship program would be phased out and privately run scholarship programs would kick in. For a breakdown of the numbers and how this could work, see Chris Cardiff’s article, What About the Poor?.
Stage 3: Voluntary Cooperation
Get and Keep Government Out of the Educational Process
The key in this stage is to keep government out of schools. There are already 8 million children in the U.S. who learn free of state control, so educational independence has already begun. In this stage, the possibilities are endless….Have fun! Learn and teach what you want! There could be schools focused on solving global crises, sustainability programs, teaching co-ops, internship programs, whole-systems curriculum, crafts, trades, arts, sciences, technology, homeschooling, “unschooling”, etc.
The early colonies actually serve as a model for a functioning education system that honors individual choice. Women, immigrants, African Americans and Native Americans were not honored within this system, but applied today, we could create equal rights for everyone.
Not withstanding the genocide upon which the colonies were established, former Director of Education Policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Matthew J. Brouillette, says “Early America was arguably the freest civil society that has ever existed. This freedom extended to education, which meant that parents were responsible for, and had complete control of, their children's schooling. There were no accrediting agencies, no regulatory boards, and no teacher certification requirements. Parents could choose whatever kind of school or education they wanted for their children, and no one was forced to pay for education they did not use or approve of.”
We can learn from this model. To read more about it, check out Brouillette’s article here.
[1] National Education Association, Diversity Toolkit: Class and Income: http://www.nea.org/tools/18836.htm.
[2] Victoria Clayton. A New Chapter in Education: Unschooling. October 6, 2006. MSNBC article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15029646.
These education solutions have to take place alongside solutions in other sectors. They are all interconnected. For example:
- while there is still public education, we’ll need to decrease the military budget and get rid of interest on the Federal Reserve debt and redirect those funds to finance the transition away from state schooling.
- Education taxes would also decrease and eventually be eliminated, which would free up funds for families to pay for their own schooling.
Stage 1: Reform Existing Systems – Transition out of the state-school model and encourage alternative schools to emerge by loosening government regulations and allowing people to attend the schools they choose.
Stage 2: Limit Government Control – Make the transition to education without government intervention.
Stage 3: Set up Systems for Voluntary Cooperation – Keep the government out of education and allow people to choose the education they desire.
Stage 1: Reform
Redirect a Portion of the Military Budget into Education
A small portion of the military budget could be redirected into education. A recent poll showed that American taxpayers want more money to go toward education and less toward the military. These funds could go to (1) help state schools get the resources they need to make it through this transition period, (2) a new government scholarship program to finance education of the poor, and (3) develop new models of education and funding solutions for non compulsory education.
Set Up A Scholarship Fund For Those Who Need It
There will be fewer and fewer people who need assistance as taxes are lowered, but there will inevitably be some people in need of financial support as the state school system is overhauled. A state scholarship program could provide temporary relief in this first stage until the private sector is able to take on the responsibility. Funding could come from redirected military funds and elimination of interest on the Federal Reserve debt.
Setting up this state scholarship fund will not be easy. We can learn from existing, though imperfect, assistance programs such as school voucher systems to learn how government funds are set-up, how people receive the funding, and how to determine who qualifies.
Some existing programs to learn from include:
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program – This is the nation’s oldest voucher program for low-income families. Parents receive up to $6,500 to enroll their children in private school. The program has grown significantly from 337 students attending seven schools in 1990 to 18,550 students attending 122 schools in 2008. Studies show that these students have a higher graduation rate than those in public schools and that parents are satisfied with the program.
School Choice Info – There are a variety of school choice programs in Cleveland, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Milwaukee, Vermont, and Washington D.C. that are described on this site. It gives information on legislative history, fiscal impact, research, enrollment, demographics, and more.
Gradually Lower and Eventually Eliminate Education Taxes
Because our goal is to move away from state schooling, the taxes that currently go toward funding schools would no longer be necessary as more private schools emerge and the scholarship program grows. 90% of K-12 education funding comes from state and local sources, [1] so eliminating these taxes would require a variety of strategies.
Allow and Encourage Diverse Education Programs to Emerge
At this stage, the market would be open for alternative schools and programs to emerge and expand. Families who are unsatisfied with state schools could have their children receive any type of education they desire and stop paying taxes toward the current state schooling system. Those who are unable to afford private schools could receive funding through a scholarship program. Here are a few successful models that new schools could potentially learn from.
Peninsula School in Menlo Park, CA – A private, progressive school that offers a non-competitive, non-authoritarian learning environment.
Sudbury Valley School – An independent school ranging from pre-school to high school based out of Framingham, MA, that allows students to choose what they want to do every day. It is based on the belief that everyone has a natural curiosity to learn and that student’s will get the most out of their education by initiating their own activities and getting the support they need to do it. They have a compelling structure in which each student and teacher has one vote to make decisions about rules, staff, facilities, etc.
Charter Schools
Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are privately run. They are exempt from state rules and regulations, but must meet “accountability standards” that typically require the school to show increased student performance (usually based on state tests). While charter schools have received a good amount of criticism, they do provide some valuable insight. Part of their success is due to the fact that they are run like a business, not a government institution. This transfers to policies and systems that demand accountability. There often are more efficient use of resources, higher teacher salaries, higher teacher performance standards, and a benchmark system to evaluate the school’s overall performance. Some of these systems may help inform private schools as they begin to form.
The “Unschooling” Model
Another approach to education is to ditch the idea of schooling altogether and to support each child’s natural interest to learn. “Unschooling” is a growing subset of the homeschooling movement that is not based on any particular curriculum and does not follow any set structure. The underlying belief is that children are naturally curious and that they will learn as long as they are supported in pursuing their passions. It has been catching on in recent years, with some estimating that the unschooling population is growing by 10-15% every year.[2]
Advance Education to Include More Whole-Systems Thinking and Analysis of Current World Issues
We are living in momentous, challenging, and exciting times, yet very few classes focus on the current state of affairs. Students would benefit and become more engaged if their education reflected real world situations rather than abstract ideas and notions. You can get college credits through Gaia University and Wisdom University to study various subjects on the Thrive website and propose solutions to many of the problems we currently face.
Stage 2: Limit Government Control
Transition State Scholarship Program to a Private, Charitable Fund
With billions of dollars of taxpayer money returned to the people in Stage 2, more and more funds would be available for charitable contributions. Caring for others would no longer be handled (inadequately) by the state, but the responsibility of citizens. Given the current state of the world, it’s clear that the state, while officially responsible, actually fails in its role.
State schools would no longer exist and people would be free to pursue the type of education they desire. The state scholarship program would be phased out and privately run scholarship programs would kick in. For a breakdown of the numbers and how this could work, see Chris Cardiff’s article, What About the Poor?.
Stage 3: Voluntary Cooperation
Get and Keep Government Out of the Educational Process
The key in this stage is to keep government out of schools. There are already 8 million children in the U.S. who learn free of state control, so educational independence has already begun. In this stage, the possibilities are endless….Have fun! Learn and teach what you want! There could be schools focused on solving global crises, sustainability programs, teaching co-ops, internship programs, whole-systems curriculum, crafts, trades, arts, sciences, technology, homeschooling, “unschooling”, etc.
The early colonies actually serve as a model for a functioning education system that honors individual choice. Women, immigrants, African Americans and Native Americans were not honored within this system, but applied today, we could create equal rights for everyone.
Not withstanding the genocide upon which the colonies were established, former Director of Education Policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Matthew J. Brouillette, says “Early America was arguably the freest civil society that has ever existed. This freedom extended to education, which meant that parents were responsible for, and had complete control of, their children's schooling. There were no accrediting agencies, no regulatory boards, and no teacher certification requirements. Parents could choose whatever kind of school or education they wanted for their children, and no one was forced to pay for education they did not use or approve of.”
We can learn from this model. To read more about it, check out Brouillette’s article here.
[1] National Education Association, Diversity Toolkit: Class and Income: http://www.nea.org/tools/18836.htm.
[2] Victoria Clayton. A New Chapter in Education: Unschooling. October 6, 2006. MSNBC article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15029646.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Day One: Mamalahoe
(Splintered Paddle)
Compassion
Respect alike (the rights of) the great and humble.
If you forget to have compassion for the weaknesses, faults, and failures of others, then you risk becoming shortsighted, unfair, emotionally cold, or dead inside.
Empathize with the suffering of others without getting entangled in their problems.
Compassion or self and others allows you to learn from experience and continue on your journey with you self-esteem safely at helm.
Compassion
Respect alike (the rights of) the great and humble.
If you forget to have compassion for the weaknesses, faults, and failures of others, then you risk becoming shortsighted, unfair, emotionally cold, or dead inside.
Empathize with the suffering of others without getting entangled in their problems.
Compassion or self and others allows you to learn from experience and continue on your journey with you self-esteem safely at helm.
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