Education in America

Educated men are as much superior to uneducated men as the living are to the dead.

-Aristotle, 384-322 B.C.

Background

"In order to fully understand how America's schools got off track, it is important to evaluate the road they've traveled. In the early days of American education, the three "Rs' of learning were often accompanied by a fourth: Religion. Religion was the backbone of the school system. And, interestingly enough, there was no conflict between church and state, because the state was not involved in the schools. In fact, government funded schools Ð'- such as those we have today Ð'- were virtually unheard of until the 1840's. Schools were market-driven, so parents were free to decide what kind of education best suited their child (Who Will Teach The Children?)."

The result of this academically focused curriculum resulted in an educated and independent populace, which ultimately led America to greatness.

"Americas greatness [has traditionally] stemmed from three unique factors:

1. The Bill of Rights, which managed to keep the U.S. government relatively small for its first hundred years.

2. A respect for voluntary association, allowing each individual to make his own decisions Ð'- rather than allowing politicians to force their beliefs and tastes upon the individual.

3. The free market, which brought us the greatest prosperity the world has ever known.

Unfortunately, all three of these factors have been diminished greatly over the

past hundred years or so. Today, America is coasting on its past success Ð'- and offers nothing that can't be found in many countries of the world (Browne 7)."

How did this happen?

Although there have been many factors that have "contributed to America's decline [the] most important by far is government schooling (Browne 7)."

"In 1818, the real push for public education began. And it all started in Boston, Massachusetts, when a committee found that 90 percent of the city's children attended school, public school advocates seized the opportunity to focus on the disadvantaged 10 percent. Ignoring both the fact that Boston had eight different charities providing primary education to the poor and the fact that the committee recommend[ed] that public primary schools NOT be established, advocates went on to wage a campaign for public schools. Public school advocates argued that if these institutions were not established, these children would surely become tomorrow's criminalsÐ'...

What the public school advocates sparked in Boston almost 170 years ago has grown into an all-consuming federal bureaucracy todayÐ'...

And what does this bureaucracy have to show for its 16 years of work: Although the Department of education has consumed over $328 billion, American education is worse off that it's ever been (Who Will Teach the Children)."

Based on the fact that the government now controls our public schools "why should we expect teachers [who are] employed by the government to show our children the importance of limiting government?

Why should we expect children forced by law to go to school to see the importance of voluntary association?

And finally, why should we expect teachers who work for a monopoly institution to teach our children how the free market works (Browne)?"

"The United States had become engaged in a war. Not one fought with guns and tanks, but one "fought using psychological methodsÐ'...[its] a different, more deadly war than any in which our country has ever been involved; a war about which the average American hasn't the foggiest ideaÐ'...

The reason Americans do not understand this war is because it has been fought in secret-in the schools of our nation, targeting our children who are captive in classrooms. The wagers of this war are using very sophisticated and effective tools: [they include]

Ð'* Hegelian Dialectic (common ground, consensus and compromise)

Ð'* Gradualism (two steps forward; one step backward)

Ð'* Semantic deception (redefining terms to get agreement without

Understanding) (Iserbyt xvii)."

The goal being to shift education from a focus on academics to a focus on values education. The purpose being:

Ð'* to use schools to change America from a free, individual nation to a socialist, global Ð''state,' just one of many socialist states which will be subservient to the United Nations Charter, not the United States Constitution

Ð'* to brainwash our children, starting at birth, to reject individualism in favor of

Collectivism

Ð'* to reject high academic standards in favor of OBE/ISO 1400/9000

Egalitarianism

Ð'* to reject truth and absolutes in favor of tolerance, situational ethics and

consensus

Ð'* to reject American values in favor of internationalist values (globalism)

Ð'* to reflect freedom to choose one's career in favor of the totalitarian K-12 school-to-work/[Outbased Education] OBE, aptly named Ð''limited learning for lifelong labor,' coordinated through United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Iserbyt xix)."

These facts have been detailed in government documents revealing the government's real purpose in education the nation's children.

The truth of the matter is that "Government can't reform education (Browne 7)." How can we expect those who created the problem to provide a solution?

What's happening to American education?

There is "irrefutable proof, in the education change agents' own words, of deliberate, malicious intent to achieve behavioral changes in students/parents/society, which have nothing to do with commonly understood educational objectives (Iserbyt xiv)." The purpose of the change agents