America’s 21st Century Alphabet of Axioms
The Correlation and Solutions to the Decline of American Education PART I
WHAT A STUPID TIME TO BE ALIVE!
Please take time to read the previous blog and/or listen to the previous podcast in order to understand the intent of this one. The challenge: I do feel too old to address the concerns of American education. But I am doing it!
What are my American alphabet axioms?
ABORTION
BORDERS
CHRISTIANS
DEBT
EDUCATION
FENTANYL
GIRLS
HOMELESSNESS
IRAN
JUDICIAL SYSTEM
KNOWLEDGE
LIES
MARIJUANA
NATIONAL ANTHEM
OPIOIDS
PHOBIC
QUID PRO QUO
RACISM
SOCIALISM
TEACHERS
UKRAINE
VIOLENCE
WOMAN
XENOPHOBIC
YOUTH
ZELENSKY
Before I address the impact of A-H in PART I, I am mindful that today is a historic one for education and the rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. Historic in the sense that the court followed the precepts of the constitution and struck down affirmative action and student load bailouts. The liberal conversation would have you believe that our systemic racist country has once again oppressed students of color in both decisions. Two of the best conservative summaries regarding today’s events were:
You cannot fight racism with racism.
America’s K-12 public schools need to be overhauled so that all students of any race will not only succeed but will not be dependent on the government for that success.
So let’s dive into my perceived axioms, how they affect our educational system and viable solutions.
Abortion
is a reactive approach to birth control. At one time abortion was espoused by this country’s leaders as only to be used in cases of incest, rape or health of the mother. Fast forward to a country that affords over 600,000 abortions per year in a time where birth control is readily available.
SOLUTION: It’s time to insure comprehensive sex education in an academic atmosphere of the country’s middle and secondary schools. Before you frantically shout at your screen in disagreement, this:
For one to truly care about reproductive rights, getting more schools to support comprehensive sex education should elicit just as much activism, advocacy and financial support as abortion policy and other reproductive health issues. While Republicans, Democrats, evangelical leaders and irreligious activists battle over the future of abortion in America, they should all be able to find common ground around the idea that we should be providing young people with the tools that will make them less likely to have an unplanned pregnancy in the first place — regardless of the circumstances and communities in which they are born. (Keli Goff, Los Angeles Times)
And this from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Committee on Adolescent Health Care: Studies have demonstrated that comprehensive sexuality education programs reduce the rates of sexual activity, sexual risk behaviors (eg, number of partners and unprotected intercourse), sexually transmitted infections, and adolescent pregnancy.
What a novel idea?! In a country where reproductive health clinics are on almost every corner and sex education is available in all schools, it is time to make abortion an archaic, brutal and outdated approach to birth control.
Borders
present a real problem to education since millions are allowed to enter this country without the government weighing the consequences. Fairus.org estimates that it currently costs public schools just over $78 billion to serve this burgeoning population based on data from 2020. Currently 5.1 million students or more than 10 percent of all students in American public schools — are designated as LEP (limited English proficiency). Despite this, only 370,000 teachers hold the proper certifications to adequately educate them, according to the U.S. Department of Education. It is estimated that at least 76,000 additional teachers are needed to properly educate this cohort over the next 5 years. Currently, more than 100,000 instructors are acting as LEP teachers despite lacking the proper certification.
SOLUTION: It is simple. Enforce the border laws which are already in place. Finding root causes, creating cheap labor and ignoring the chaos of our infrastructures only postpones the remedy. Show up at the ballot box and change the direction this country is headed.
Christians
are the most persecuted in the world but the subjugation of Christian children in America’s public schools is not a popular topic. According to GotQuestions.org, many parents are at odds with public school systems. These parents worry that government-run public schools are a stronghold for political correctness, secular humanism, so-called wokeism, and radical, leftist indoctrination that will undermine the Judeo-Christian values they wish to pass on to their children. Public schools are to serve children of all faiths or of no faith, and classrooms are to remain free of bias concerning matters of religion, but a growing number of Christian moms and dads believe public schools are becoming openly hostile to the values, beliefs, and doctrines expressed in Scripture.(gotquestions.org)
SOLUTION: No child should ever feel disenfranchised in America’s schools. The time is NOW for returning to the subjects which will prepare our children for real life and real world situations. Stop the funding of the ideologues and institutions who preach socialistic ideas, especially those generating from teachers’ colleges. Demand transparency in every classroom. Encourage parents to become an integral part of their children's education.
Debt
is the very definition of America’s schools. Where else can a country spend $192 billion on education and show such poor national testing results. Since public schools are funded by the government, deficit spending can only make public school funding more challenging each year. In 2022, the federal government spent 28.7% more than it collected. And then there is the elephant in the room: addressing the $1.5 Trillion in federal student loan debt. Today that elephant took up less space!
SOLUTION: The U.S. Supreme Court has turned debt responsibility back to students. However there must be a watchdog approach as the president vowed to “stop at nothing to finding other ways to deliver relief.” Here are some ideas Mr. President: stop the rising costs of post secondary education, encourage students to attend technical schools which cost less and take less time to finish. Our youth need to better understand the work/rewards correlation and contractual meaning of paying for an education. We are not a socialistic country…yet.
Education*
is failing. But not in every school.
SOLUTION: Find and research schools who are attracting students through their success. One such school is Liberty Common in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is a classically oriented K-12 charter-public school that just completed its 25th year. Students have performed either at or near the top as determined by various metrics. According to Headmaster Bob Schaffer, the school’s success spans the entire history of the school. *Please read the article about Liberty Common which is hyperlinked.
Fentanyl
as an illegal synthetic drug must be stopped. Remember the days of “Just Say No.” Well they are gone, probably forever.
SOLUTION: The U.S. government needs to take a stance against China and Mexico’s cartels as the chief purveyors of this death narcotic. Drug indictments, real prison consequences and making accountable the Chinese companies who foster the making of this substance must be put into place immediately. Stop the trade with any country willing to kill off our population. Ultimately this challenge can only be met by a new administration with a pro-active stance, using all resources available to stop the annihilation of our population.
Girls
can become boys and boys can become girls. The sexualization of our young children is corrupting the educational environment. What teacher wants to work in an atmosphere of scrambled pronouns, fad-like gender fluidity and the controversial “keeping of secrets” from their students’ parents? In a time when attracting teachers is challenging with low pay, artificial curriculum and disrespectful children, why would America’s schools want to make it any more unattractive to teach?
SOLUTION: Teachers are not psychologists or medical doctors. It’s time to remove the gender bender discussions and books from the classroom. Children must be treated by those who understand the dysphoria. Many of my gay high school students are now in straight relationships, some married and some with children. All students must take that sexuality journey from puberty to adulthood unabated.
I knew two things for sure as a high school senior: I would never become a teacher and I wanted nothing to do with my music training. I spent 46 years as a music educator. I am grateful no one came into my life and tried to tell me I was correct in my early assumptions. America’s classrooms were never designed to be a quick fix to gender reassignment or lifetime decisions. Nor should they be.
Homeless
Twenty-three percent of homeless students must repeat a grade compared to 1.5 percent of non-homeless students.
SOLUTION: Mayors who throw their hands up in despair and blame the federal government for the problems created by the mayors’ own policies must be voted out of office. Chronic homelessness is about mental health, jobs and finding affordable housing. Again, look to those states who have all but ended homelessness: North Dakota, Wyoming, and Mississippi. United to End Homelessness began its mission to end homelessness in the state of Mississippi by providing the homeless population with appropriate housing, a connection to community resources, while stabilizing clients during the transitional period.
Stay tuned for Part II. I do not intend these solutions to appear as a perfect quick fix. For the sake of brevity, I only express a portion of what might be the total answer to the problems facing our education system. The American government likes to throw money at problems and then ignorantly prattle when the problems continue to worsen. We desperately need non-partisan, unbiased problem solvers in our leadership positions. Where do we find such folk? These future leaders are honed in America’s classrooms. It appears the well is dry for such leadership. I assure you it is not. What is missing is an educational system which grows leaders, entrepreneurs and at the same time, encourages a moral compass.
Viable answers for the betterment of our public schools’ admin, teachers and students are published in Rescue the Teacher, Save the Child!