Posted on 02/18/2005 9:28:03 PM PST by Coleus
Educational statistics and news stories throughout the nation point to the dismal state of affairs in our public schools. The academic performance of the vast majority of junior and senior high school students today does not equal that of students 100 years ago. A near omnipresent popular culture awash in increasingly graphic sexual content and violent material, results of the rising tide of pornography and obscenity that floods our society, has seeped into almost every corner of our society. Even our schools have been tainted, so much so that a broad array of secular and religious thinkers and leaders are calling upon parents to remove their children from public schools.
As our popular culture has become increasingly sexualized, so, too, have media representations of children and adolescents and the world in which they live. During the past few years a number of television programs have sprung up around what the media seems to define as teen life, with school serving as one of the main settings.
Not surprisingly, given the sexual saturation of today's media, the typical portrayal of teens in this television genre—which has, through the years, included such programs as Beverly Hills 90210, Boston Public, Dawson's Creek, The OC, life as we know it, and One Tree Hill—seems designed to titillate adults, via caricatures of teens in what Brent Bozell, of the Parents Television Council, so aptly described as "teen sex-addict stereotypes" in an October 28, 2004, column. But, it is not only adults watching plot lines that all too often involve teens indulging in a variety of sexual situations, including sex with other teens, sex with adults, even teachers, and occasionally group sex. Teens are among the most faithful fans of these programs.
With these programs and scenarios in mind, it is interesting to consider some of the news stories that seem to pop up in clusters. Last year, we were flooded with news reports of children performing various sex acts in classrooms, in school restrooms and on school buses. We've learned about the trend towards teen and preteen hook-ups for sex with no strings, peer pressure and friends-with-benefits associations. We've seen homemade porn-style videos, created by teens, of adolescents engaging in group sex and homosexual behavior for the enjoyment of applauding teenage onlookers. We've also witnessed a surge in another type of news story.
Mary Kay Letourneau is an early, lurid example of this type of story—teacher student sex. She had two children by the boy she molested. The story made international news in 1997, when stories of this nature were still rare. However, scanning today's news, there are numerous examples of this type of abuse. So many, in fact, that they barely make national, let alone international, news.
On February 3, 2005, Jeremy Pawloski, of the Albuquerque Journal, reported that "the former Mesa Vista High School teacher arrested last week for having sex with a student married the pregnant 16-year-old on New Year's Day." A February 13, 2005, Associated Press headline in the Kansas City Star announced "Teacher-student sex cases continue to appear in Kansas." Tennessee is struggling with its third recent high profile teacher-student sex case. Texas, Nevada, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, Oregon are just a few of the many states to have news stories concerning teacher-student sex—and these are just the stories from the first part of February!
"It used to be unthinkable, but has become oddly routine," states a February 15, 2005, CBS report. Routine enough, it seems, for Congress to request a report from the U.S. Department of Education on educator sexual misconduct. Completed in 2004, the report revealed "that 9.6 percent of all students in grades 8 to 11 report contact and/or non-contact educator sexual misconduct that was unwanted." Unwanted, however, is a word to pay attention to, as often these teacher-student sexual unions are consensual, at least to the degree that a minor is able to consent.
Crime is a problem in public schools and much has been written about teacher's inability to maintain the level of discipline that was standard years ago. According to recent statistics prepared by the National Center For Education Statistics and released in the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004, in 2002 there were approximately 88,000 students between the ages of 12 and 18 that were victims of "serious violent crimes (including rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault)" at school.
Furthermore, according to the report, "annually, over the 5-year period from 1998 to 2002, teachers were the victims of approximately 234,000 total nonfatal crimes at school, including 144,000 thefts and 90,000 violent crimes (rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault)."
Yet, information in the 2004 report requested by Congress, Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature, as well as numerous news reports during the past few years, indicate that the numbers relating to school crimes may be too low, as school administrators strive to guard the reputations of their schools.
On page 11 of Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature, mention is made of "the difficulty of obtaining information on educator sexual misconduct" that the Seattle Times experienced while preparing a December 2003 series on the topic.
"When the Seattle Times asked the Bellevue School District for information about teachers and coaches accused of sexual misconduct, school officials and the state's most powerful union teamed up behind the scenes to try to hide the files. Bellevue school officials even let teachers purge their own records at union-organized "file parties" to prevent disclosure," according to the 147-page report. Furthermore, the report indicates that the official numbers of sex-related crimes may be low due to students' being hesitant to report such incidents.
Far more pervasive than actual crime, however, is yet another aspect of our current cultural climate that has settled into our public school systems. Taking their cues from the seemingly never-ending sexual revolution, which is the foundation upon which our popular culture firmly rests, school administrators have instituted a variety of educational and social policies that reflect a serious disconnect with the values and beliefs of the majority of Americans.
Zogby's 2004 poll on the topic of sex education found that the majority of parents believe children should be taught abstinence and the biological facts. 79% of parents responded that they strongly agreed that "the best choice is for sexual intercourse to be linked to love, intimacy and commitment" and "that these qualities are most to occur in a faithful marriage."
Yet, public school districts, such as those in Holyoke, Massachusetts, persist in giving condoms to 6th graders. In California, according to a December 3, 2004, World Net Daily report, "schools cannot inform parents if their children leave campus to receive certain confidential medical services that include abortion, AIDS treatment and psychological analysis, according to an opinion issued by the office of state Attorney General Bill Lockyer." These are just a couple of the policies that have made their way into public school systems throughout the nation.
Not only has a cultural climate that undermines the values and beliefs of most parents developed in the public school system, but, in addition, public schools are failing to educate children in the necessary scholastic subjects. The National Center For Educational Statistics reports of 8th graders that less than one third are able to write at a level deemed proficient, that 29% are reading at a proficient level, with proficiency in math being achieved by 23%, and proficiency in American History being reached by only 15% of students.
While it has been primarily religious leaders who have garnered the majority of media attention for calling upon parents to remove their children from public schools, such as in the case of the recent "exodus mandate" contemplated by Southern Baptists, secular thinkers are also speaking out in favor of leaving public schools behind. Because our country was built upon Judeo-Christian values, many who are not religious still hold basic, traditional values. Even secular parents are offended by 8th graders being told that "stripping and exotic dancing could be lucrative career moves for girls, offering as much as $250,000 or more per year, depending on their bust size" and that "for every two inches up there, you should get another $50,000 on your salary," as occurred in a Palo Alto middle school, according to a January 14, 2005, AP report on FoxNews.com.
Parents—religious and secular—are tired of this insanity. They are tired of the bizarre social engineering that disrespects their families and their values, and tired of the excuses given for substandard academic performance within the public schools. Homeschooling is now the fastest growing educational movement in the country.
Internet technology has made it easier than ever before for parents to take charge of their children's education. Recently, there has been a sharp increase in classes available via the computer specifically designed for homeschooling families. Through the homeschooling associations and collectives springing up all over the nation, there are numerous educational options and homeschooling support networks available to families. There are numerous low-cost or free programs, making home education a viable option for almost every family who desires it.
Scholastic performance statistics make it clear that more and more the public school system is failing to fulfill the purpose it was created for—namely, the education of our nation's youth in academic subjects. The administrative and educational policies of many public school districts make it clear that the decision makers are willing to ignore the values held by the majority of parents and to sacrifice the physical, psychological and sexual health of our nation's youth to appease those more concerned with advancing social agendas than with what is best for children. Perhaps the secular and religious thinkers and leaders are right, perhaps it is time for parents to remove their children—and thus, the per student government funding—from a tainted and failing system.
It doesn't work...pure and simple
I have to disagree. By the time I entered junior high it was clear to me that giving us students a solid working knowledge of the world was way down on the list. What was important however was helping us to clarify our values. So, while year after year seemed like review, we were encouraged to choose our own values (as long as they didn't resemble our parents').
On top of the that, if you send your child to a private school you expect her to work hard in order to justify the extra expense.
If you are making the genuine economic sacrifice necessary to either send your child to a private school or home school, but on top of that are still paying the property taxes (which in some parts of the country are quite steep) necessary to fund the public schools that you don't use, you are going to demand that she work hard. If she is going to goof off, she might as well as go to the local public school.
Many schools are less interested in teaching the old Three R's of reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic than the new Three R's of race, recycling and reproduction.
I was mostly educated in public schools, and did OK. However, in the 20+ years since my graduation, the public school system really has gone down the toilet.
I agree. We have chosen to homeschool our children from the beginning. My brother started his oldest in the government system. His son was told by his kindergarten teacher that he wasn't allowed to pray before he ate because God didn't give him his food, the school did. At the end of the year, my brother was told that my nephew was learning disabled and wouldn't be able to start first grade because he wasn't able to even begin to read. With my wife's help he learned to read in the first couple weeks of summer (working a short time each day). Needless to say, he didn't return to the system.
It all depends where you live. There are many fine public schools. Just not enough.
The troubled public schools could be fixed readily enough if the political will existed to do it. It doesn't. So parents flee out to a suburb or small town where the demographics ensure that the public schools are ok, or opt out.
So what was the problem? I would have given him the matchbook cover, and the stamp. Problem solved.
Classic public school solution!
"This chicken little nonsense is wearing thin with me."
Amen. There's too much broadbrushing of them all as bad.
Wonder if anyone else has noticed? With a couple of exceptions, all the references to "things gone wrong" reference schools in BLUE states, WA, NY, OR, CA etc.?
"so much time being a pseudo-cop"
In your opinion, is the above the fault of the school or the parents who send undiciplined children to you?
A: Yes, it is time.
Aren't you afraid you'll become obsolete?
They'll have to take my kids over my dead body. Homeschooling happily for over five years. God willing, my kids will never set foot in a school.
Historically, public school teachers send their children to private schools at twice the rate of the rest of the population.
I am afraid you have found the great Achille's Heel of homeschooling...
I believe someone with the "dreaded Education Degree" may be a bit more qualified to teach a child than their parent who murders the English language an average of 5 times per sentence, and who, at the very least, can never be accused of sending others scrambing for a dictionary when they speak.
Rocketman, I'm going to tell you something that I have almost never said to anyone, and be assured I have deliberated and I'm absolutely certain of this: You are making a grievous mistake.
Not necessarily. I know one teacher who frequently says "I should of went," and another one who asked me where Baltimore was. They both, of course, have education degrees.
I don't want that for my little girl. Though the public school for our neighborhood is considered one of the best in the state, she is enrolled in Catholic school now, and I am continuing to explore the possibility of home schooling as she gets older. I don't want her to be the kind of person public schools are designed to produce. I aleady have a couple of those on my conscience.
If you don't paint all teachers with such a broad brush, I will refrain from painting parents with that same utensil.
It goes both ways.
Who's painting ALL teachers with a broad brush?
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