I was reading this article which talked about various states re-examining of how slavery was taught about in public schools.
As I read the article which talked about Cesar Chavez day, and various other curriculum-additions that activists have made in different states' education plans, I realized something, two things actually:
- Most of the things you, the rest of the world, find important to teach your kids, I could give a rats ass if my kids knew about. In fact, half the things you want to teach them are flat-out wrong (see there "Intelligent Design")
- Most of the things I would want my kids to know -- things like personal responsibility... that standing up for yourself against "the system" is not wrong, but something to be admired ... that the entire Bill of Rights is applicable to citizens, and not "every amendment except the Second" ... that forcing someone to swear an oath of allegiance before a non-existent deity to a piece of cloth is absolutely the most stupid thing ever ... are all things you absolutely want to shield your kids from.
The reality is that people simply can't agree on what to teach kids with public funds. It's as clear as can possibly be to anyone who is willing to open their eyes and see it.
So why do we continue to have public schools?
Remove the taxation, and let parents teach kids themselves. Or let them group together and pay someone to teach their kids what they want them to learn. Why don't we just get the government out of this equation entirely? We can't agree on what the public funds should be used to teach, so why not just stop using public funds entirely? You pay to teach your kids what you want them to learn. I'll pay to teach my kids what I want them to learn.
That sounds good to a point. What if I have an exceptionally gifted child and I am poor and live in a poor town? Our schools have no computers, The buildings are falling apart, the books are 20 years old, etc.
Find charities who are willing to help you. Find private schools who teach the things you want to teach who will offer financial aid.
You are correct, that there are way many people pushing special interest education. That limits the time to teach the broader concepts, and how they apply to real life. Doing away with public education will widen the gaps between rich and poor. Starting from the bottom of the economic ladder is hard enough without getting stuck with the cheapest teachers, or even worse: home schooled. Yes, home schooling works great if you have at least one parent who is dedicated, intelligent, and good at sharing information (there are a lot of really smart people who are terrible teachers). For the rest, home schooling would be a dismal failure. Next time you hit the local Walmart, take a look around, are these the people you want teaching the next generation of doctors?
The problem, Dan, is that one person's "education" is another person's "indoctrination".
No matter *what* you make the curriculum, there's going to be disagreement. We've got things like evolution -- which has been accepted science for quite some time -- being discarded in favor of pseudo-science mumbo-jumbo.
Even if you were to eliminate "politics" from the educational system -- something I'm not at all convinced you could do -- if we can't agree on what constitutes "the basics", then what's the point?
I don't necessarily have a problem with "widening the gap between rich and poor". This is not a Communist society where we are all meant to be dragged down to some lowest-common-denominator status.
No, I don't want the Wal-Mart masses teaching children, but let them band together if they want and build a school which matches *their* needs. There's a shitload of people in that income bracket who, if they all contributed a little bit (like, say, what they pay in school taxes now) could pay someone who IS kinda smart to teach their kids, and indoctrinate them with whatever horseshit ideas they want to, without using my money to do it.
I dunno. I've been "home schooling" the cats & dog for awhile now and I can't even teach them not to piss on the floor. God help any imaginary kids we imaginarily have. And by "we" I mean you and someone imaginary.
Also .. you Athiests should really get your shit together. the Catholics have schools all over the country "indoctrinating" their masses. C'mon now - can't you at least get a remedial course or two going down at the Y?
Education *is* indoctrination.
Learning, on the other hand, happens all the time.
Education is the best hope we have to increase all of our economic standing. I'm not saying there is a guarantee of wealth with a good education. But I feel the opportunity needs to be there. Walmart greeters don't have a ton of money to spend on the goods and services you provide. We all rise together.
As far what is taught, I think I'm with you on people trying to push their religon. Intelligent design? A moment of silence? Let's stick to non-religeous subjects. If you open the door to one relegion then you have to accomodate them all.