As First Lady Laura Bush arrived in Paris on the first leg of her tour abroad to champion literacy in adults and children everywhere I would have to guess she would’ve been quite disheartened to find out that in some school districts right here in the United States the idea of a profound literacy program is getting liberal lip-service.

In many school districts the idea of instituting and maintaining a solid and comprehensive literacy program seems to butt up against the liberal socio-political idea that self-esteem and having the children enjoy their learning experience is more important than requiring them to be proficient in the subjects they are supposed to be learning. In one Midwestern school district the literacy teacher, whose position was specifically created to elevate the students reading scores, was told that 20 minutes of reading was too much to expect from the children in her classroom and that she shouldn’t "push the reading” so much. Instead she was told to focus on making learning fun for the students, the literacy would be a by-product.

Here we have the problem in a nutshell, both ends playing against the middle.

Educators at the highest levels have cited report after report that America’s students, and Americans in particular, do not read nearly enough. They have noted year after year that reading scores on the whole have declined and when the comparison is levied against children of similar ages from foreign countries the results are even more depressing. If one were to search the country from sea to illiterate sea there couldn’t be found a report that says our children read too much. The same can be said of our society as a whole. I mean really, why shut the television off and put down the video game controller to read the ranting of such boring literary idiots as Edgar Allan Poe or Ernest Hemmingway?

Teachers from every demographic of our society are frustrated by the reading proficiency levels of their students. It seems that no matter how hard they try to engage the students, no matter how much they try to employ the idea of differentiation of instruction, no matter how much they cater to the "special needs” of the students the outcome is the same, reading proficiency is suffering in the United States, not to mention education in total. But to lay the blame for poor reading habits and poor educational results at the feet of the teachers is to place the blame in error. Teachers, with ever increasing demands within the classroom have their plates full and are doing their best. In fact, most often they are forced to contend with the equation of curriculum + discipline + resources = education without the support of the local administrators, and each of the elements can either be a positive or a negative.

Even politicians at all levels cite the importance of a comprehensive literacy campaign within the school. First Lady Laura Bush, being a former teacher and librarian, has chosen to champion literacy not only for children but for adults as well. Because of this she has been named the UN’s honorary ambassador for the United Nation’s Decade of Literacy. The initiative addresses the problem of illiteracy around the world including 860 million adults and 113 million children who can neither read nor write. Imagine her shock to hear the quotes of that principal from the Midwest who thought that 20 minutes of reading during a class period was too much of a strain on the students.

There are many reasons for the blight of illiteracy that has descended upon our country's youth, but the one that stands out quite blatantly is the ultra-liberal agenda of the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Together these two obstacles to our children’s success mask themselves as many excuses and many well-intentioned ideas. But whatever the excuse and whatever the educational theory the fact remains; students are not being required to read enough to become proficient.

The battle lines have been drawn and they have existed for quite some time. The idea that a child’s self-esteem is more important than requiring them to attain the educational elements needed for advancement has been prevalent in recent years. Children who have given no effort whatsoever to the educational process are being advanced socially because middle management educational administrators have embraced the pro-self-esteem liberal ideals being championed by the NEA and the AFT. They feel the stigma of being kept back or being placed in a special education class is much more hazardous to the student than being advanced without having completed the requirements for promotion. As this scenario plays out over the student’s educational tenure the tragedy is realized when upon graduation from college the new graduate, and new member of the US work force, comes to understand that their diploma actually reflects about an 8th grade education. Many may laugh at this scenario but it plays out year after year, decade after decade.

So, while the teachers plead for their administrators to support them in their educational endeavors, while the elected officials and upper echelon of the educational system alert us of the ongoing crisis of illiteracy in this nation, and while our school children continue to grow older but not wiser the pleadings of them all, both auditory and silent, falls on the deaf ears of those being manipulated by the liberal leanings of the NEA and the AFT.

Yes, self-esteem is a good thing but self-esteem has to be earned, not given to a child. If it is given without merit it has no value. If it has no value it eventually isn’t of importance anymore. And if it isn’t important it will soon fall by the wayside. Meanwhile, the youth of today won’t be able to read this tomorrow. All because of the prevailing liberal ideal that 20 minutes of reading is too much to ask of a middle school student during a class period. I wonder how much self-esteem that garners?

Frank Salvato is a political media consultant and the managing editor for The New Media Journal.us. He is a contributing writer for The Washington Dispatch, GOPUSA, OpinionEditorials, Men’s News Daily, Canada Free Press & AmericanDaily. His pieces are regularly featured in Townhall.com. He has appeared as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, The Kevin Matthews Radio Show (Chicago) and The Brad Messer Radio Show (San Antonio). His pieces have been recognized by the Japan Center for Conflict Prevention and are occasionally featured in The Washington Times and The London Morning Paper as well as other national and international publications.