American Thinker: The Public Education nomenklatura boost their credibility by inventing for themselves a glorious pedigree implying that public schools (P.S.) have been around forever. They also claim that going to school longer will boost a young person’s lifetime income.
Wrong on both counts.
New York State, liberal and wealthy, passed its first P.S. law in 1874. Michigan, where I live, passed its first P.S. law in 1871. It wasn’t fully implemented until 1900.
The statement that those who get more schooling will be happier or earn more is based on selection bias. People who graduate from high school are smarter than, have better family support systems than, have more money than, and are more ambitious than dropouts. The same goes for college grads when compared to those who only finish high school. The smarter, moneyed, family-supported and ambitious kids will do better irrespective of whether they go to school or not.
Public schools and factories were developed at about the same time. The pattern adopted was that of an assembly line with parts – or, in the case of schools, subjects, being bolted on as the child moves on an assembly line, stations one, two, grades three, four. There is no recognition of differences of personalities or of the individual needs of the students. The lack of respect for privacy, the kids’ expectations of being told what to do, the regimenting and promotions based on politics rather than merit, destroys whatever joy children gain from learning and self-improvement. Coursework is unrelated to adult needs or to lifetime work. The public schools don’t work very well, are expensive, and can do profound damage. What to do?
Let’s look at other school models.
Good article, it also suggests why the schools stress on conformity has the negative result of filling prisons. The youthful energy will find a way to express itself in one way or another.
Good article. Unfortunately, society has been wrenched to the point where people are unwilling and/or unable to do two things; stay married and have one parent stay at home to provide a healthy environment for the kids to pull off a more beneficial education. John Taylor Gatto passed away this week. May his work continue.
@RosalindJ November 3, 2018 at 11:25 am
> Unfortunately, society has been wrenched to the point where people are unwilling and/or unable to do …
“General suffrage”: Why would a majority vote against their own self-interest?
Across America, “Public schools” were first established and run by parents in their own communities as very convenient extensions of their families. Most states seeing this eventually imposed legalities on the very idea that local families/communities could do this privately.
The very act of ‘legalizing public schools’ (and then managing them from a state level) meant that they HAD to be run politically.
Politics and education of children don’t mix.
Politicising public schools in this country is one of the WORST things we’ve ever done.
WTF is that article about? If you reject modern world and stop schooling at age 13 you can be “smart” and successful in your microcosm world of 50 square miles in PA? If you’re a natural genius and good at stealing other people’s ideas, you can become the wizard of invention? If you’re the child of inattentive parents who can’t keep up with you, you can criminally poison your neighbors water supply and make a Superfund site out of your home?
Public schools are a problem, but not a universal one and not one that fails under intense scrutiny. Almost all the issues that make the news are hyperbolic cases that involve nut-job teachers or administrators that senior city staff are too stupid to realize cost them credibility. Interestingly, most get fired behind the scenes anyway and that is rarely reported. I literally just went through a small-scale version of this with my son and geometry. Handled well by the school despite the initial “circle the wagons” mentality. When I showed them the teacher’s ridiculous curriculum of coloring (did I say it was geometry?), they got on board.
Just like everything in life – look at the individual instance/event/person and react accordingly.
Oh, and German 4th graders don’t “choose” what they what they want to do, they are tested and assigned. I’d be ditch-digger if they went by my 4th grade mentality. I’d say being a senior enlisted war vet managing a multi-million dollar energy plant puts that test early theory to rest. You are what you make yourself, not what people impose on you.
I do not think that going to school longer will boost a young person’s lifetime income… controversial thoughts come to my mind after reading this article and I want to say thank you to the author about the subject! And especially thanks for other schools models added. I am an educational consultant (check https://ukessay.com/assignment-help if you need any study help) and I see how modern children grow and develop. Everybody needs an individual approach, I guess, and what is good for one person, can be bad for another.