The Cho Factor, Part IX

Eliminating the Two-Headed Snake of The American Education System

So, what is the insidious two-headed snake that plays havoc with our children’s lives throughout their school years? I am referring to none other than (1) the government and (2) the National Education Association (NEA).

One time, loud and clear: The government should get out of the education business, and the NEA, arguably the most coercive and intimidating organization lobbying our shameless lawmakers in Washington, should be outlawed. These two entities form the foundation that makes it possible for unthinkable atrocities to go unchecked day in and day out in our schools. They are at the heart of the flawed American education system.

Let’s take them one at a time …

First, government. There is nothing in the Constitution that gives the government the right – let alone the duty – to educate anyone. Government is a contract between those who want their lives and property protected and those who want power.

The Founding Fathers’ original idea was that those who aspire to power were to be given limited power in exchange for protecting the lives and property of those who granted them that power. Never was it stated, or even implied, in the Constitution or in any other document, that government would have the right to plunder at will, violate the constitutional rights of its citizens, or engage in any other kind of activities not expressly spelled out in the Constitution.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan promised that if he were elected he would abolish the Department of Education. I believe Reagan’s intentions were sincere, but, like almost all politicians, he was corrupted by the system. Once elected, his advisors quickly “rehabilitated” his “misguided thinking.” As a result, not only is the Department of Education still in business, but government mischief has brought us one misleading education program after another, the latest and most misleading of all being George Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” scam.

In my view, public schools should cease to exist. John Stossel summed it up well in his 20/20 segment titled “Stupid in America” when he said:

“Competition brings accountability. Private schools may be ‘unmonitored’ by bureaucrats, but they face the most demanding kind of supervision our society provides: a market full of freely choosing individuals. Parents’ desire for a good education for their children is a much more powerful check on schools than any politician’s law or union rule.

“The people who want to control every young American’s education like to talk about accountability, but what they want is to make schools accountable to anointed bureaucrats who think they know what’s best for all of us. They evade real accountability – the kind of accountability where if a student or parent realizes a school isn’t doing its job, he can find another one.”

As for the NEA, the name itself is misleading. The NEA has nothing whatsoever to do with educating children. It is an organization dedicated to keeping the failed public school system in place and making it virtually impossible to fire any of its teacher members. It is the NEA that gives teachers the confidence to torment students and support school bullies.

 

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I completely agree that teachers are often the victimizers. When I was student teaching, I taught under a teacher (coach who didn’t love anyone on the team) who took a solid “B” student and turned him into a failure. It was awful. He taunted that kid every day – taking a bobby pin and pinning up his hair because it was too long, etc. When I looked up this boy’s history and found that he had done well until that year, I had a talk with him. I told him I knew he could get good grades, and he told me he didn’t bother because “no one cared.” I told him I cared – and he got an “A” on the next test. But I knew from my own days in school that some teachers shouldn’t be allowed near kids. I wore a pony tail, and every day when I walked into Algebra class, the teacher would say, “Here comes the horse’s a___.” Didn’t bother me – I knew my horse was smarter than him. But it would have destroyed a lot of girls. – M.C.

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Is it realistic to believe that we can get the government out of the education business and close down the NEA? I believe it is possible to achieve both goals, but it will take time. As the public school system continues to careen ever more out of control and the U.S. is forced to face up to its looming bankruptcy, libertarian activists could actually be successful in getting government not only out of the business of education but also out of such businesses as mail delivery and medical care.

If government relinquished its chokehold on our schools, the NEA would be stripped of most of its coercive powers. But don’t sell this ever-angry, appallingly militant group short. Its hierarchy could very well try to worm its way into private schools, which likely would result in an irreversible disaster for American education.

In any event, since tons of material on both of these subjects is available on the Internet, I’ll leave it at that, because I don’t want to get sidetracked. Instead, in the next installment of this series, I’m going to move on to other steps that I believe could be taken to slow the Cho incubation rate without regard to whether schools are private or public … without regard to whether teachers are forced to sell their services in the marketplace or remain chained to the NEA agenda.

Some of my proposals may sound radical to some readers, but that’s only because we live in an upside-down world. Regardless, I feel that the time has come for someone with a forum to be willing to stand up and speak the unspeakable. It’s sure to cost me a lot of subscribers … hopefully you won’t be among them. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, because I must warn you: I’m just getting warmed up.

Previous – Part VIII, Our Automaton Psyches

Next – Part X, Changing the Focus