"This is one of the most dangerous bills we've had before us," said Molly Spearman, executive director of the S.C. Association of School Administrators. "It's abandoning a covenant our founding fathers made to provide a public education for everyone."

"I think the founders of this country had it right in creating public schools to level the playing field for all children," she said. (St. Paul Superintendent Pat Harvey)

Nowhere is public education mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. "The Founders wanted most aspects of life managed by those who were closest to them, either by state or local government or by families, businesses, and other elements of civil society.” Read More: Cato Handbook for Congress


2. "Balanced Literacy” versus "Direct Instruction in Phonics”: It matters not that student progress has gone down in reading ever since schools of education began indoctrinating their teacher trainees in "whole language” reading methods, now called, "balanced literacy”. A recent development in Rockford Illinois exemplifies "Educracy’s” indifference to product versus process in the school system. It was more expedient to transfer a principal who bucked the system by espousing "direct instruction” methods in phonics; producing superior reading scores and proving the merits of this teaching practice, than fight the educational establishment’s endorsement of inferior methods of teaching; in this case, reading.

3. Textbooks: Much has been written about the inadequacy of textbooks due to publishers guidelines which "screen out topics and ideas that might be considered traditional or controversial or offensive.” Bulky, heavy texts which easily become outdated should be replaced with "modular” curriculums. Chapter length books and first source materials can and should be mixed and matched. Teachers can focus on the areas which they feel are most important. These books can be written by experts in the field and their opinions can be considered as an addendum to the information. Students wouldn’t be weighed down by full backpacks that can result in bodily injury, not to mention function as a deterrent to actually completing homework.

4. Vocational versus Academic track: By eliminating the Arts and other curriculum tracks, we have limited student access to what might be a chosen profession. They are given the subliminal message that these fields are less important and not a worthwhile undertaking. Yet in the real world, many non academic vocations pay very well and provide good benefits.

5. Liberal Professors are not fairly representing conservative viewpoints and are penalizing students for speaking out against liberal ideas. Today, many students are rebelling by becoming Conservatives. Students shouldn’t arrive at a belief in any particular persuasion until they have a satisfactory idea about what must be considered in every situation.

6. Mandatory Mental Health Testing is a frightening proposition considering that it serves to further an agenda in which people learn not to take responsibility for their individual actions and move on; but rather to obsess over their past and blame their environment and genetics for their decisions. What else can explain lawsuits against fast food enterprises for obesity and hot coffee? Making excuses will not result in achievement or accomplishment. Labeling people with disorders limits their choices and takes away individual responsibility for their actions. Making excuses won’t get a job done. Recently, a family sued a school district for assigning homework over summer break and spoiling what was supposed to be a mental break. School break was never about rest. It was to allow children to help with the responsibilities on the farm. Now it’s become a right? It’s hard to believe a school can be sued for doing their job. But mental health will become the excuse for every child who fails to learn.

Ayn Rand’s book, Atlas Shrugged, is great for clarifying the difference between producers and takers in society. No matter how many labels are thought up to describe what’s considered abnormal behavior, the bottom line is it is up to every individual to overcome adversity and obstacles and become productive respectable citizens. Otherwise, society will carry the burden of every person. I believe that is called Socialism and the last I heard, we were a Democratic Republic. Of course, those not properly educated in our history and constitution wouldn’t know the difference.

Academic Standards

7. Social Promotion continues, even under the auspices of NCLB. How can this be? John Chubb reports that, "NCLB requires that all public schools bring all students to "proficiency" within ten years but leaves it to the states to define proficiency. In recent years many states had set tough proficiency standards, but with their schools now threatened with federal sanctions, states are lowering their definitions of proficiency.

8. Teacher Training: There has been a question of whether or not schools of education adequately prepare teachers for the demands of the classroom. Whether or not any of the methodology or classroom management courses are useful is important and deserves attention. However, to base a teacher’s compensation solely on this type of coursework and number of years in the classroom is not fair and does nothing to ensure that students are getting a quality education. Merit pay should be based on the number of graduates, academic scores of students, and overall ranking of the school in which they work. Just as better quality food and merchandise commands more dollars, so should better quality education.

Poor performing schools should provide teachers with financial and other incentives to bring up the quality of education and pay teachers accordingly. Contracts between parents and teachers would require that parents put in the necessary time with their children to assure that homework is completed, and in a timely manner. Parents who do not comply will give up their rights over the child during the school year and these students would become wards of the state, for educational purposes. Discipline would be more manageable and wayward kids would be assigned mentors, to help them complete their education.

9. Lowering of Expectations: In many colleges, the emphasis has been on bringing in the educational dollars to maintain their institutions and less on requiring a certain standard of proficiency in those who receive a diploma. Many students graduate from college unable to present clear and logical arguments orally or in the written form.

10. Meaningless Diplomas: A degree of motivation should be given equal consideration to the level of education attained when a job candidate applies for a job. This is especially important since many businesses report that they have to remediate those hired so that they are able to fill in basic business forms, count back change, and make a good impression on clients. The unreliability of a diploma is further complicated by the fact that there are many fake degrees and certifications that can be purchased over the internet; which lend more suspicion to what are supposed to be reliable certificates of achievement.

Delivery System

11. School Choice versus Controlled School Choice: True choice in education gives parents complete control over where they send their children for school. This means that parents should not have to pay twice if they decide on private or independent education. Controlled School Choice mandates that parents pay taxes to receive a publicly funded education –be it good or bad. Parents have limited choices, within the public school system, for alternative education than the local school. There may be a charter school option, a magnet school option, or a school that is making adequate yearly progress in their educational goals, but that’s about the extent of any choice they are afforded. They may not necessarily be provided transportation, the school might be a significant distance from home and the neighborhood, and they may not be picked if the number of spots is limited for one of their choices. Competition for students would improve the quality of education in any situation. Entitlement of educational dollars removes incentives.

12. Internet Learning is a boon to anyone with the resources and initiative to take advantage of the opportunity. Any school teacher that suggests that the internet is an inferior source for research is not moving into the 21st century. The web is the most comprehensive source of information available and being able to navigate the web and separate the wheat from the chafe is something to encourage instead of employing antiquated methods of research using only books and encyclopedias from the local library. Accessing information instantly via a hyperlink is infinitely more efficient than hunting through volumes of stacks to acquire the same information and more suitable for the direction in which our world is moving. It looks as though we’ll have to drag the educational community kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

13. English Language Learners: We need a common language and that language is English. We are hindering the ability of immigrants to take advantages of a free, economically advantaged society if we aren’t encouraging them to learn our language and customs. Our form of government is the best in the world and aliens need to understand the importance of maintaining our way of life.

14. If we are to maintain a public school system, perhaps it would be more advantageous to do so through a sales tax rather than a property tax. The funding formulas for education would be less complicated and everyone would be responsible for the cost of an education, including illegal aliens and non-homeowners.

15. We must end the litigation to fund appropriate education because there is no research to date which proves conclusively that more money in the system will ensure that it makes it to the classroom. As a matter of fact, it’s likelier that school districts will use more money for administration than students. Instead of requiring families to utilize the public schools, which may or may not be the best option for the kids, money for cost of an alternative education should be available to those who don’t want a public education. Lawsuits which allege that the funding of education is inadequate to the task would never be an issue. The judiciary would not have an opportunity to legislate from the bench.

This is a starting point for enlightened discussion about all the issues that must be addressed in order to improve education in the United States. Whether or not the reader agrees with this analysis is not the point. The task ahead is to prepare future generations for the responsibility of maintaining this great republic …for which it stands…and in that, we are failing.