It's maddening trying to talk to parents about the government school system. Everyone will agree with you that it's rotten -- except for *their* children's school. "Our children love it!" Completely irresponsible.
I love how everybody gets their paanties in a twist about the LGBTQ nonsense and totally ignores the fact that the schools did nothing for them except train them to be tax donkeys to the Grahams and Harares and Trudeaus of the world. If the schools promised to drop critical race theory and step back from the trans movement, most parents would be fine with all the other crimes that happen in schools.
Amazing work here. You summarized the many problems in State schooling beautifully. Thank you.
Great article, I have always been opposed to our "education system," and I have found that it is essentially impossible to convince your average citizen that there is anything awry, it's a bridge too far.
Great article, I've been thinking about these issues for a while. It's really sad how America's children are set up for failure--so much for the social contract!
All the complaining about funding is ridiculous if you think about it. The subject of math, for example, really shouldn't require new textbooks...and we certainly shouldn't have been forced to use TI calculators for so long...
Yes. Circumventing and abandoning them is the only rational way out. You can do it immediately, alone and without anyone's permission. Stop complaining. Stop begging your kids' teachers, principals, and superintendent for sanity. Stop running for school board. Stop trying to wake up your neighbors. GET YOUR KIDS OUT. TODAY, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. Tomorrow is too late: https://www.publicschoolexit.com/
My vacation condo in Florida was flooded by Helene, and may be again by Milton. To salvage or not to salvage, that is the question. Some things cannot be salvaged and must be abandoned. Public education is one such.
I agree with your sentiment, but this is one of those "we need to" statements that isn't going to happen, at least not in terms of some political action. The way to actually get them out of your life is to pull your kids out. If enough people did this, there would be no need for any explicit removal.
The public schools (at their best) provide an oasis of predictability and structure for kids with chaotic home lives. At their best, they are also the primary mechanism of class mobility. Education shouldn't be a luxury reserved only for kids from functional families and responsible parents. I support public schools because many kids desperately need them. I know some of these kids personally. When things go sideways at home (again), school is their refuge.
My own kids are mostly homeschooled. Public schools have great resources for sports and theater, but the academics have been utterly worthless.
I agree, but then this brings up another problem - namely, the explosion of children with chaotic home lives. We seem to have devolved into a completely hedonistic society in which only the self is revered, abortion is celebrated, and the notion of caring for children has been removed from public discussion or even mention. Gone is June Cleaver, laughed away by the likes of Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga. I discuss this sickness in more detail (and Republicans' refusal to confront it) here: "The VP Debate was a Giant Lie of Omission": https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/the-vp-debate-was-a-giant-lie-of
Agreed. The idea that "the pursuit of pleasure is the proper aim of human life" is so widespread that many people have trouble grasping that any other moral system exists. But hedonism simply doesn't work. Never has, never will.
School choice is another con. Go to a different govt school. Their machine still churns. I pulled my kids FINALLY. Best decision ever. I have friends who “agree with me,” but “their kids had a great experience at public school and the dual credit allowed them to be prepared for college, where they are thriving.” 🤮
Do you ever actually clear up those “misconceptions”?
I stopped reading when you wanted to invoke communism as a framework to understand 17th century settlers. It reminds me of guys trying to say Ancient Rome was communist. Makes my skin itch.
Anyway. Simply stating they are “misconceptions” is not sufficient.
I guess if you keep reading mainstream history, you will regard the truth as misconception. Try this article, which consists mainly of the writings of people who were actually there, in their own words: A Lesson in Communism from our Two Earliest Colonies: https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/a-lesson-in-communism-from-our-two
No, the sources I cite, who were actually there and who wrote in detail about their situation, and whose writings I reproduce verbatim, have the answer.
It's maddening trying to talk to parents about the government school system. Everyone will agree with you that it's rotten -- except for *their* children's school. "Our children love it!" Completely irresponsible.
I love how everybody gets their paanties in a twist about the LGBTQ nonsense and totally ignores the fact that the schools did nothing for them except train them to be tax donkeys to the Grahams and Harares and Trudeaus of the world. If the schools promised to drop critical race theory and step back from the trans movement, most parents would be fine with all the other crimes that happen in schools.
Amazing work here. You summarized the many problems in State schooling beautifully. Thank you.
There IS a way to fix the public school system. It is called “Home schooling”.
Great article, I have always been opposed to our "education system," and I have found that it is essentially impossible to convince your average citizen that there is anything awry, it's a bridge too far.
I have always called it "compulsory schooling"
Great article, I've been thinking about these issues for a while. It's really sad how America's children are set up for failure--so much for the social contract!
All the complaining about funding is ridiculous if you think about it. The subject of math, for example, really shouldn't require new textbooks...and we certainly shouldn't have been forced to use TI calculators for so long...
Leave the public schools
Yes. Circumventing and abandoning them is the only rational way out. You can do it immediately, alone and without anyone's permission. Stop complaining. Stop begging your kids' teachers, principals, and superintendent for sanity. Stop running for school board. Stop trying to wake up your neighbors. GET YOUR KIDS OUT. TODAY, BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. Tomorrow is too late: https://www.publicschoolexit.com/
My vacation condo in Florida was flooded by Helene, and may be again by Milton. To salvage or not to salvage, that is the question. Some things cannot be salvaged and must be abandoned. Public education is one such.
Need to get rid of public schools, the NEA and any govt agency getting near our kids
I agree with your sentiment, but this is one of those "we need to" statements that isn't going to happen, at least not in terms of some political action. The way to actually get them out of your life is to pull your kids out. If enough people did this, there would be no need for any explicit removal.
Agreed
The public schools (at their best) provide an oasis of predictability and structure for kids with chaotic home lives. At their best, they are also the primary mechanism of class mobility. Education shouldn't be a luxury reserved only for kids from functional families and responsible parents. I support public schools because many kids desperately need them. I know some of these kids personally. When things go sideways at home (again), school is their refuge.
My own kids are mostly homeschooled. Public schools have great resources for sports and theater, but the academics have been utterly worthless.
I agree, but then this brings up another problem - namely, the explosion of children with chaotic home lives. We seem to have devolved into a completely hedonistic society in which only the self is revered, abortion is celebrated, and the notion of caring for children has been removed from public discussion or even mention. Gone is June Cleaver, laughed away by the likes of Marilyn Manson and Lady Gaga. I discuss this sickness in more detail (and Republicans' refusal to confront it) here: "The VP Debate was a Giant Lie of Omission": https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/the-vp-debate-was-a-giant-lie-of
Agreed. The idea that "the pursuit of pleasure is the proper aim of human life" is so widespread that many people have trouble grasping that any other moral system exists. But hedonism simply doesn't work. Never has, never will.
For those designing alternative schools, what are the best resources you would recommend? Many thanks for your good work.
This topic is almost too large to discuss, but you could start here: https://www.publicschoolexit.com/
For those designing alternative schools, what are the best resources you would recommend? Many thanks for your good work.
This topic is almost too large to discuss, but you could start here: https://www.publicschoolexit.com/
School choice anyone?
School choice includes homeschool and private.
School choice is another con. Go to a different govt school. Their machine still churns. I pulled my kids FINALLY. Best decision ever. I have friends who “agree with me,” but “their kids had a great experience at public school and the dual credit allowed them to be prepared for college, where they are thriving.” 🤮
Do you ever actually clear up those “misconceptions”?
I stopped reading when you wanted to invoke communism as a framework to understand 17th century settlers. It reminds me of guys trying to say Ancient Rome was communist. Makes my skin itch.
Anyway. Simply stating they are “misconceptions” is not sufficient.
I guess if you keep reading mainstream history, you will regard the truth as misconception. Try this article, which consists mainly of the writings of people who were actually there, in their own words: A Lesson in Communism from our Two Earliest Colonies: https://daveziffer.substack.com/p/a-lesson-in-communism-from-our-two
Ah. I see. You alone have the answer.
No thanks.
No, the sources I cite, who were actually there and who wrote in detail about their situation, and whose writings I reproduce verbatim, have the answer.
What kind of historian cites secondary sources and passes them off as primary?
Then they will be tossed out on their faces And left homeless on their a$$es Say no to the lgbtq Movement in schools.