One reason public schools get away with educational failure, year after year, is because they are run by school officials who passionately believe in what they are doing. As the great English writer C. S. Lewis wrote, "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."
Public-school true believers often fall into this category - for over a hundred years, education "experts" have been tormenting our children with public schools, allegedly for the children's benefit. Like all true believers, these people believe that they know what is best for our children and society, and seek to enforce their beliefs on parents.
From the 1850s to the 1920s, public-school activists such as Horace Mann and John Dewey worked to create a public-school system like the one they admired in Prussia (Germany). Mann and Dewey considered public education a religion, with a holy mission to mold children and society. Simply teaching children to read, write, and do math was too commonplace a goal for them. Mann and Dewey wanted the schools to have total control over children's lives. This meant removing parents' influence over their children. Mann put it this way: "We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause."
Dewey also had a utopian vision for America and he wanted the common schools to achieve his vision. To create a socialist America, public schools had to mold generations of children into the habit of obedience. In his Pedagogic Creed of 1897, Dewey wrote, "Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order and the securing of the right social growth. . ."
Public Schools Expand Their Control Over Our Children By the early twentieth century, public schools had expanded their functions into areas undreamed of in the 1850s. Schools took on the role of social agencies, with nurses, social centers, playgrounds, school showers, kindergartens, and "Americanization" programs for immigrants. Public schools became a major agency for social control.
Unfortunately, today's public schools are fulfilling Mann's and Dewey's socialist vision with a vengeance. There is hardly any area of children's lives that school authorities don't push to control or manipulate. Politicians and public-school apologists in many states are now pushing programs that would make kindergarten compulsory. Public schools also now spend billions of dollars for psychological counseling, school-lunch programs, parent welfare-outreach programs, special-education classes, bilingual classes, early-childhood programs, drug and sex education classes, as well as programs for millions of "at-risk" or "special-needs" children.
This government-knows-best philosophy is the deepest reason why public schools get away with educational murder and can never be fixed. Many public-school apologists believe that your children's education must be dictated by local governments and school authorities. By implication, they believe that parents are an annoyance at best, and at worst a danger to their children's proper education. That is why public-school true believers will never voluntarily give up control over our children. They see themselves as noble idealists who know what is best for our children. That is why these "idealists" have contempt for parent's rights.
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children." Contact Information:
Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.
Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel.
NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
Homework. It doesn't have to be a daily battle of... Read More
A sure way to double the joys of parenthood is... Read More
We know that you want your little guy or gal... Read More
Vacations and trips are great family events, but how do... Read More
Over a number of years there have been issues raised... Read More
The cruel callous remarks made by our offspring can sometimes... Read More
I am crying tears of joy mixed with great sadness... Read More
Does this sound familiar? Have your kids not listened to... Read More
I'll never forget my first lesson in a glider.I'd been... Read More
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is making... Read More
The 'phone conversation had nothing at all to do with... Read More
"All that I am or ever hope to be, I... Read More
So you have just returned home from your third meeting... Read More
WHEN AN INJURY HAPPENS AT CAMP, HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED... Read More
Predicament:My son is 4 1/2 years old. His younger brother... Read More
Once the newness has worn off a little, you will... Read More
Every now and then I'll get a story sent to... Read More
Creating and making special memories with your child is very... Read More
My son, Dakota is now 7 yrs old. He is... Read More
I will never forget the day that my daughter's sixth... Read More
Have you made your usual New Year resolutions? You know... Read More
Many parental units are not "techies" and openly admit they... Read More
Home schooling. What is it? What does it mean to... Read More
Life is funny.My twenty-year-old daughter, Melanie, has a her new... Read More
Sometime the most effective training tool in rapidly accelerating the... Read More
professional maid services Bannockburn ...At the ADHD Information Library we are big believers that... Read More
Nothing touches the heartstrings of a parent more than the... Read More
Have you heard the song; "I Hope You Dance"? It... Read More
Have you ever sat and watch a child struggle with... Read More
You want your daughter to wear a dress to the... Read More
I am in pain. I've been in pain all day.... Read More
Think back to your own childhood. Chances are, some of... Read More
They Spur Members To Grow EmotionallyTatiana Tannenbaum grappled with a... Read More
Ever feel like you're out of the loop when it... Read More
The law of -ing.The law of -ing refers to a... Read More
To protect children's self-esteem or deflect complaints by parents, many... Read More
In June, elementary school children across North America cheered as... Read More
There's a new trend for party entertainment. It seems as... Read More
On one of her quarterly visits to see her grandson,... Read More
From the book Spider's Night on the BoomI've only begun... Read More
'Whose room is it anyway?'If you have a teenager, you're... Read More
For many adults, reading a book or newspaper seems effortless.... Read More
Discipline is a necessary part of parenting yet it makes... Read More
Though you can cover even very long distances by car... Read More
You have a chore to do around the house, and... Read More
"Where did he come up with that?" Kids often amaze... Read More
Having been a parent educator and a PBS consultant for... Read More
Do you want your child to cooperate with you more?Children... Read More
Q. My teenage son is turning 16 early next year... Read More
The teenage years are a crucial time in a child's... Read More
Parenting |