Education or Indoctrination

One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve aged is there has been a massive change in America’s education system. Some of it has been for the better, but much of it is cause for concern. Reading, writing, mathematics, and the Bible were the foundation of the Colonial settlers and remained the same for many generations. The books from which the children learned were passed down almost as heirlooms of the family. The printing of new books was expensive.

Slowly paper production expanded, and the printing took less effort and cost. Newspapers and almanacs began to circulate. Even they were prized possessions to be passed along and read from cover to cover. If a newspaper was left behind by a traveler, the entire village read it before it became so worn and tattered that it was no longer practical to read.

In the past, students were taught Latin and Greek. The classic languages were important so they might be able to read from Bibles and from the many classic works of literature. But something has changed. Children today aren’t less bright than our forefathers and they have more time available to study as chores and work at home has lessened. Is it that we expect less from them? I do know that as public education has been removed from the control of local school boards, the Federal Government has imposed standards education that has changed what is being taught, no longer reflecting the community. The introduction of government approved curricula and the watering down of history, geography, art, and shop skills have created a void. There’s been a loss of understanding, a loss of morals, and a lack of respect for our country, life in general, and religion.

Tolerance can be a good thing, but when open-mindedness is advanced to the point of flat-headedness, everything becomes acceptable. When a school’s ruling body overrides a parent’s desire for their children and the school administrator feels the need force children to participate in a subject that the parent feels is offensive or morally objectionable, that smacks of Marxism. I have a major problem with the government’s control. When does the school’s decision supersede the parents’ rights? I thought things like this happened only in Communist countries where the government used the schools to indoctrinate the youth to a belief in their political system. Is that why the books from which our children learn have to have government approval? Control of our children’s lives is being wrested away from parents to be raised by the government’s national village.