Education Run Awry
Wanda Ulrey
There has always been a
major emphasis on quality education in the United States of America. Even before the Constitution and Declaration
of Independence were written, education of children was of vital importance to
most parents. The educational system had
standards to measure the content of student learning and how students were
taught to think and process.
The founding fathers
attended schools like Harvard and Yale.
These schools were initially set up to train ministers. The Bible was the standard book of
training. In the homes of younger
students, the Bible was used to teach reading.
The first settlers knew
the importance of citizens being able to read and think in order to keep
government from atrocities that had occurred in Great Britain. Early education was remarkable using Biblical
standards to educate citizens.
In our
nation today, mental exercises have deteriorated. Questions on the constitution no longer apply
in elementary education. Self-governance
has all but been eliminated in our high schools.
Abraham
Lincoln stated, “The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the
philosophy of the government in the next.”
America
has the most successful government in the world, but we are losing the republic
because of the current school system of today.
Many of the early founders were educated at Harvard which had two
mottoes: “for Christ and the Church” and
“for the glory of Christ”. Christ was
the foundation of learning. Yale was
another educational institution of that era and admonished, “Above all, have an
eye to the great end of all your studies which is to obtain the clearest
conceptions of Divine things and to lead you to a saving knowledge of God in
His Son, Jesus Christ.”
The Tenth
Amendment to the United States Constitution states: "The powers not
delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the
States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Since education is not mentioned in the
Constitution, it is one of those powers reserved to the states. Of course, the
United States Supreme Court can declare that something not mentioned in the
Constitution is so closely related to something that is mentioned in the
Constitution that the unmentioned power is a fundamental interest, which rises
to constitutional protection.
Even though each State
had the constitutional right to education students in that State, because of biblical
standards being removed by the court system, the push began toward a more
socialistic educational system.
Thus there is
currently a push toward a curriculum called “The Common Core State Standards
Initiative” (the Common Core), which is a state-led effort (highly supported by
the Federal Government) that establishes a single set of educational standards
for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and
mathematics.
Common Core is
intended to cover fewer topics in greater depth at each grade level. The standards require certain content for all
students. There is a system to track
information on all students involved, including personal data. The federal government has had great
influence over the program even though it was initiated by state governors and
education commissioners.
Not all states
have adopted the Common Core standards.
Texas has chosen not to adopt the standards. Many states adopted the program because it
was not necessary to get direct approval from legislators and the process was
not made public. Many parents and
teachers are only learning that it has been adopted in their states.
Based on the
standards of the Constitution and the founding fathers of this nation, public
education should be a promoter of America’s original culture and Christian
values while respecting other cultures.
Education is the right and responsibility of the parents, the taxpayers
and the educators who work in our schools.
Big government is a major impediment to quality education based on
Christian values for our young people.
Going back to the United States Constitution, since education is not
mentioned in the Constitution, it is one of those powers reserved to the
states. The education of our youth
should stay with the States and local school boards.
Rather than a common standard
curriculum, a public awareness program can educate parents on how students
succeed. Among these are student success
happens when parents are aware and involved in their children’s education. Parents should be educated and encouraged to
establish a schedule and routine for their children. They should regularly communicate with their
children’s teachers throughout the year.
As stated before,
Texas has rejected Common Core. I stand
by this decision and hope our legislators will continue to do the same. We have an opportunity to set a standard for
the rest of the States. Standards of
education should stay locally, even to one day, returning to biblical
standards.
Citizens need to
be educated in accountability for all.
It is not just our children who need education; it is a citizenry who
have handed over their Constitutional rights to someone else and believed a
lie. This nation is a republic, if we
can keep it.
Information
on the educational standards from founding fathers was taken from “Four
Centuries of American Education” by David Barton.
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