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In American society, reading is a fundamental skill necessary for advancement. Individuals who cannot read have difficulty carrying out the most basic tasks, such as filling out a check, reading a prescription, passing a driver's test, reading a recipe, or using the Internet. |
School Reform News: Skills at Literacy Level 1 (February 2001) Almost one in four adult Americans has only Level 1 literacy skills
Government Standards: Will they Save the Schools or Destroy them ... Prisons often give citizens good value for their money. Harvard University economist Steven D. Levitt estimates that the average criminal does $53,900 worth of damage a year. Annual incarceration costs average about $30,000, leaving a net benefit of $23,900 per year per criminal behind bars. Increased school spending, to the tune of a 70% inflation-adjusted per pupil increase nationwide between 1970 and 1990, has had no effect on achievement.
Grandfather Education Report by MWHodges
How Much More Do We Have to Spend to Achieve a Totally Illiterate Society? "for the sake of the children"
Twenty-one ways "public schools" harm your children
R. C. Hoiles C 1957
R. C. Hoiles was the publisher of the Santa Ana Register, now the Orange County Register, the flagship of media giant, Freedom Communications. We are commemorating the 40th anniversary of Mr. Hoiles publication of his great vituperation against "gun-run schools." It has been edited for length, a process newspaperman Hoiles would understand.
Now, what are the things that government schools dare not teach?
- They dare not teach the spirit of the Constitution as set forth in the first official document of the United States, the Declaration of Independence. They dare not teach it because it says that all men, not just the majority, are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.The Declaration of Independence - EXPLAINED
A man isn't free to pursue happiness when the majority in any school district, state or nation can coerce him to pay for a school that he believes violates the principles upon which this government was formed.
- The school teachers dare not emphasize this part of the Declaration of Independence. They dare not explain the true meaning of this statement. If they were successful in explaining and teaching the true meaning of these ideologies, there would be no gun-run schools. The Heartland Institute California Teacher Union Attacks Citizen Control of Schools
- Again, they dare not teach that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just power from the consent of the governed. They have to completely repudiate the ideas of the American way of life. They have to teach the old-world philosophy of the divine right of governments, only now they call it the divine right of the majority rather than the divine right of kings. History a Mystery to American Youth A Harvard educator who wants to awaken America's young to the inspiring power of heroism in American history has found that schools and the culture instead give students a "sour and suspicious" view of their national heritage.
- They dare not teach in government schools the meaning of liberty. It is doubtful whether any teacher in gun-run schools dares define the kind of liberty the Founding Fathers mutually pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to support. If the government schools successfully taught the meaning of the liberty our Founding Fathers had in mind, there would be no government schools that starve the intellects of our children.
- The government schools dare not teach the meaning of the Golden Rule. If they were successful in getting their pupils to understand that they should not force other people to pay for something they did not want, then they could see that it was a violation of the Golden Rule to force others to pay for their schooling. Charter School Growth Slows As Opposition Intensifies
They, of course, dare not teach their pupils to believe that if it is wicked and a violation of the Golden Rule for one man to do a thing, it is still wicked and a violation of the Golden Rule if 49 per cent or 99 per cent of the people do the same thing. They, thus, dare not teach the youth that the ideal government, the only kind of government that can be of value to mankind, is one that is limited to the use of defensive force and never has a right, under any circumstances, to initiate force.
I want to continue suggesting things that tax-run schools dare not teach.
- They dare not teach the First Commandment: "Thou shalt have no other Gods before me" because they are bowing down and worshipping the will of the majority rather than the eternal laws of God that no man made and no man can unmake. Ten Commandments Issue Index
- They dare not teach "Thou shalt not covet," because they are violating the Coveting Commandment. Parents Fume Over School Referendum -- September 2001 Education ... CBG further alleges that: 1) Voters were not adequately informed about the property-tax hike or told that the school system's budget actually had a large cash reserve; 2) Voters and schoolchildren were unfairly exploited by scare tactics, and some students were so traumatized that they developed ulcers and other ailments requiring medical care; 3) Funds were transferred from one government account to another for the purpose of aiding the campaign; 4) School employees and public officials used their offices and public goods to promote the referendum for their own personal gain.
- They believe they do not need to teach well enough that people will voluntarily pay their salaries. They get their pay by violence rather than by rendering service well enough so that those who pay them believe they are benefited by their employment.
- They dare not teach discipline and self-reliance because they are not disciplining themselves enough to render such service that they can be paid voluntarily. The teachers take the shortcut and use a police club to get their money. That certainly is not discipline, nor is it self-reliance.Just the Facts: Sources and Uses of Public Education Dollars Total expenditures on U.S. K-12 public education and other related programs in the 1999-2000 school year were $381.9 billion, up an impressive $26.1 billion, HSLDA | Police Threaten Michigan Family with Arrest for Home ... When the mother countered that home schooling was legal, the officer responded, "Not in this county. Last year we arrested all kinds of home schoolers. Home school teachers are lousy." Intimating that the local judge was not friendly toward home schooling, the official added that an arrest warrant was sometimes issued for families who failed to put their children in public school. The police officer left after implying that she would seek such a warrant
- They dare not teach thrift and the harm that comes from getting into debt. They dare not do this because the government burdens every child and every person in the United States with a monstrous debt.
- They dare not teach respect for individual initiative because government schools are based on lack of respect for other people's initiative. They are based on the theory that "We've got the power and the individual is helpless and we're going to make him pay for anything our agents think is education." School Reform News: Parental Freedom in the States and Nation ( ... Monopoly situations provide little incentive for strong-willed, independent thinking. However, when competition exists, people of character rise to the occasion
- They dare not teach humility and meekness because the means used by government schools are the exact opposite of humility and meekness. Are believers in tax-run schools so sure they are right that they are willing to initiate force to make people support their ideas of education? They see themselves as so exalted that they have lost all humility and meekness. And remember, "He who exalts himself shall become abased."
- They dare not teach children to reason. They have to teach them not to recognize a contradiction or a dilemma. If the pupils were taught to reason, they would recognize the tyranny that is bound to follow making people pay for things and ideas they abhor.They dare not teach the harm that follows socialism, communism, collectivism and fascism for to do so would let pupils realize that aggressive force is part of socialism, communism, collectivism and fascism. Why Our Schools Teach Socialism -- September 2001 Education ... Chester M. Pierce, M.D., Professor of Education and Psychiatry at Harvard, had this to say: "Every child in America entering school at the age of five is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our Founding Fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It's up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well - by creating the international child of the future." ....Bureaucrats, politicians and educators regularly appear on television blaming either parents or lack of funds for the failure of our schools. Their prescription is always the same: more money and more government control. For well over 50 years, American voters have fallen for these fallacies. Victor Gollancz, a famous socialist publisher, explained why he believed that socialism would take over America: "Christians are not exactly bright, so it will be easy for socialism to lead them down the garden path through their ideals of brotherly love and 'social justice.'"
- They dare not teach that what man wants must be obtained on a voluntary basis. They dare not teach this because they get what they want on an involuntary basis.
- They dare not teach the difference between socialism and private ownership of property. They dare not explain that under socialism the only way a man can benefit is by injuring another, as in the case in compelling people to pay for schools they think will destroy the country.
- They dare not explain that in free enterprise, including free enterprise in education, the gain of one is the gain of all. Education Reform? The Devil's in the Details -- Phyllis Schlafly ... ESEA will fulfill Bill and Hillary Clinton's dream of national economic planning fed by a federalized workforce training system domiciled in the public schools. ESEA is the capstone of their plan to restructure our American system away from free enterprise, academic achievement in schools, and the freedom of individuals to select their future occupations.
- Tax-run schools dare not teach love and charity because they are using aggressive force. They seem to think that aggressive force is better than persuasion by love and charity. . HSLDA | Michigan District Harasses Home Schoolers Then, much to the Hendricks surprise, a police officer showed up on their doorstep on December 26, two months after their initial withdrawal from public school. The officer demanded to come into their home to examine and approve their curricula. When the family refused, he threatened the parents with 90 days in jail and indicated he would seek a warrant against them if necessary. He then left.
- They cannot teach patience because they are so impatient about getting what they seem to believe is an education that they dare not wait to persuade those who should employ them to pay their salaries.
- They cannot teach peace and goodwill because they are an example of the opposite of peace and goodwill. They are an example of initiating force, of threatening to get from others by aggressive force what they think they should get.
- They cannot teach that the government is a servant of individuals because they believe it should be supported by giving it a monopoly to use aggressive force to make people pay. They can only teach that it is a master of the individual. II:End Compulsory Education "Do you think nobody would willingly entrust his children to you or pay you for teaching them? Why do you have to extort your fees and collect your pupils by compulsion?"
- They cannot teach justice because their method of supporting the schools is based on injustice - arbitrary, initiated force.
- They cannot teach that each man is responsible for his own life because they deny that by using force to take part of man's energy against his will, and man cannot be responsible for his life unless he has the right to choose.
There is nothing more important for parents than their duty to see that their children are treated fairly and have an opportunity to learn from schools that can teach these great moral principles and axioms. It is not the money we're wasting in our tax-run schools that is so important, but it is that our children are not being taught the moral laws that tax-less schools can teach. Pro-Gay Curricula -- November 2001 Education Reporter, What Caused Columbine? -- June 1999 Phyllis Schlafly Report
It is because children can be taught what is right in tax-less schools and they cannot be so taught in tax-run schools that I am obliged to do what little I can to get parents to see that they are not doing their duty to their children by sending them to tax-run schools. If the Curriculum Has No Content, What's Left to Teach? "Want to scare yourself?" asks Goldblatt in his article in National Review Online. "Sit down with a half-dozen recent public high-school graduates and ask them what they believe."
What we need above everything else is more people devoting more time to seeing that the youth of the land are instilled with belief in the great moral laws, the Golden Rule, and the Declaration of Independence. Government schools cannot teach successfully the will to learn. The best way to teach anything is by example. But the superintendent and managers of the schools themselves are not enough interested in the will to learn to be willing to answer questions as they would before a court to determine whether what they are doing is in harmony with what they profess to believe. If there is anything a man of integrity should want to learn, it is whether what he is doing is in harmony and consistent with what he says.The National Education Association: Emphasis on the Ass. New Business Item 5, for example. This one calls on the NEA to provide "ongoing strategic information to members and affiliates that increase member knowledge of the ongoing attacks designed to destroy NEA and its affiliates, limit educators' freedom of speech and their right to political participation." This "strategic information" is to consist of "identification and history of individuals and organizations that support the attacks and sources of funds that support these attack efforts," "status reports on tactics used by attack groups at the local, state, and national levels," and "status reports on responses by NEA and its affiliates to deal with the attacks."Survey shows one fourth of Americans want to end Public Schooling
- Table: Revenues for Public Elementary and Secondary Schools
- Underground History of American Education
- Tune in, turn around, drop out
IJ Launches School Choice Offensive
Some 37 states have provisions in their constitutions that forbid public support of sectarian institutions. These provisions--called "Blaine Amendments"--date to the late nineteenth century, when religious bigots actively campaigned to prevent public funds from flowing to support Catholic schools in the same way public funds flowed to support the Protestant-instilled public schools. At that time, Catholic schools were viewed by the majority as "sectarian" while the Protestant public schools were not.
Since vouchers and tax credits are aid to students and not to schools, Blaine Amendments do not pose a problem in states where they have been interpreted narrowly as simply barring aid to religious schools. However, other states, including Washington, interpret their provisions broadly and exclude not only religious schools but also their students from public benefits otherwise made available to state citizens. The Institute points out these broad interpretations could block the implementation of school choice programs that have religious options unless the interpretations are challenged and ruled to be inconsistent with the U.S. Constitution.
Calculating NEA and AFT "Market Share" by State
The largest NEA-AFT combined "membership" totals lie mainly in the states with the largest numbers of K-12 staff, with Texas and Georgia being notable exceptions. More than 50 percent of NEA-AFT national "membership" strength comes from just eight states: California (10.9 percent of total U.S. members), New York (8.7 percent), Illinois (5.9 percent), Pennsylvania (5.8 percent), New Jersey (5.6 percent), Michigan (5.3 percent), Ohio (4.5 percent), and Florida (3.9 percent).
In a dozen states, the NEA-AFT share of potential membership exceeds 80 percent, with the shares in Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Massachusetts exceeding 90 percent. However, NEA-AFT share of potential membership is 25 percent or less in five states: Mississippi (11.5 percent), Texas (13.1 percent), South Carolina (13.5 percent), Georgia (20.1 percent), and Arkansas (25.0 percent). Notably, the two unions combined have managed to capture only a little over half (54.9 percent) of total K-12 staff across the U.S.
Conservative states and liberal states
Ranking of states, most conservative to least conservative, based on Senate voting records:
|
Rank |
Rating |
|
|
3 |
94 |
Texas |
|
11 |
87 | Mississippi |
| 14 | 80 | Ohio |
| 18 | 65 | South Carolina |
| 19 | 64 | Pennsylvania |
| 20 | 60 | Arkansas |
| 27 | 48 | Illinois |
| 31 | 37 | Georgia |
| 37 | 18 | Rhode Island |
| 38 | 17 | Florida |
| 42 | 9 | New York |
| 44 | 7 | California |
| 45 | 7 | Michigan |
| 47 | 6 | New Jersey |
| 50 | 4 | Massachusetts |
Ranking of states, most conservative to least conservative, based on House of Representatives voting records:
|
Rank |
Rating |
|
|
14 |
70 |
Georgia |
|
17 |
68 |
South Carolina |
|
18 |
67 |
Mississippi |
24 |
61 |
Florida |
|
28 |
55 |
Texas |
29 |
54 |
Ohio |
31 |
52 |
Pennsylvania |
32 |
47 |
Illinois |
33 |
44 |
Michigan |
|
35 |
43 |
Arkansas |
38 |
40 |
California |
41 |
35 |
New Jersey |
42 |
30 |
New York |
45 |
20 |
Rhode Island |
50 |
5 |
Massachusetts |
I searched in vain to find what is right with public schools.