In the very true and forthright words of Education Secretary, Betsy DeVos: “Every American family needs to open The Nation’s Report Card this year and think about what it means for their child and for our country’s future. The results are, frankly, devastating.” She continued, “This country is in a student achievement crisis, and over the past decade it has continued to worsen, especially for our most vulnerable students,” she added.
The “game changing” Obama legacy initiative known as Common Core that was introduced by former Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, has failed every child subjected to the system. A study by NEAP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) over a 7 year period (2010-2017) showed that Common Core teaching methods produced significant negative effects on 4th graders’ reading achievement and 8th graders’ math achievement. The study also showed that the negative effects tend to increase over time!
While academic scores continue to drop precipitously, the kids in K-12 public schools are learning the benefits of transgenderism, oral and anal sex for pregnancy prevention, gender confusion is one staple on which you can rely, protesting elevates celebrity, victimhood is the road to success and blaming white men for your failure is better than working to improve your station in life. They are not learning math, science, reading, English, world history, geography and civics to an extent that will benefit them in their lives beyond high school.
While some people want to throw more money at our failing public schools to continue the practice of indoctrinating over educating, others are seeking choice for students and caring parents. Granted, charter schools and home schooling take money from the public schools coffer, but they do teach the tools that help our youth become productive members of our society. Students of alternate schools must actually learn, accomplish and verify their knowledge rather than simply attend classes to pass and graduate.
Both traditional public schools and charter schools are funded through state and local tax dollars and enjoy tax exempt donations. The traditional schools also receive funding from the federal government. Home schooling via voucher receives federal money and charitable donations through community service organizations. Charter schools and home schooling are therefore forced to economically provide the educational services. Public schools, as with most government agencies, rely on myriad administrative levels absorbing the funding before the much much needed dollars ever meet the classroom.
The goal of education should be the benefit to the children, not the physical plant from which that education in meted. The cost of education should, and must, be commensurate with the value received by each and every student and the immediate or adjacent economic surroundings must be irrelevant.
As the national debt grows through unchecked deficit spending on unnecessary pork laden special interest projects and election reversal, it shows only that government inefficiency, graft and corruption is destroying our country and the future of its citizens. Education must be restored and enhanced for equitable prosperity and longevity.