Education in America –
A Failing Grade
By John W. Wallace
Candidate for Congress
New York’s 20th Congressional District
www.johnwallaceforcongress.com
I think we can all agree that a well-educated citizenry is vital to America’s security, economy,
freedom and future. Yet, despite the tens of billions of dollars the federal government spends on
education each year, our children continue to fall behind the rest of the world in basic academic
skills, particularly in those subjects crucial to participation in a world economy. President Jimmy
Carter created the federal Department of Education in 1979, made it part of his cabinet and it
became operational in 1980. Before the creation of this new federal Department of Education,
America had the finest education system in the world.
Twenty-five years ago the U.S. ranked first in the world in the number of young adults who had
high school diplomas and college degrees. Today we rank ninth and seventh, respectively, among
industrialized nations. Compared to Europe, Asia and Latin America, 15-year-olds in the United
States are below average in applying basic math skills to real-life tasks. The United States ranks
18th out of 24 industrialized nations in terms of relative effectiveness of its education system.
Knowledge in American and world history, geography, grammar, math, civics and literature are
all in decline in terms of academic understanding and achievement. Even as the American
education system continues to fall behind other developed countries in educational achievement,
the federal government’s role in education continues to grow at a staggering rate. It has become
too intrusive, too bureaucratic and it is the main reason our children are not learning the basic
skills needed to be successful in today’s world.
Our current education system is driven by money and mandates from the federal government
working hand-in-hand with the education establishment headquartered in the federal Department
of Education and manned by the National Education Association (NEA). These forces have
combined with psychologists, huge textbook publishers, the healthcare profession, government
bureaucrats, big corporations, pharmaceutical companies and sociologists to invade local school
boards, classrooms and private homes in the name of "fixing" education. This new education
restructuring is working wonders for everyone involved - except for the children of America and
their parents. As a result of these combined forces, today's education system and classrooms are a
very different place from only a few years ago. Every American should also understand that the
proposed solutions: higher pay, smaller classrooms and more money for schools are the specific
agenda of the National Education Association (NEA).
It has become very clear that America’s education system is not teaching our children. They can't
read or work simple math problems without a calculator. They can't spell, find their own country
on a map, know why July 4th is a national holiday, name the president of the United States or
quote a single founding father, but they are taught how to put a condom on a cucumber and that
any kind of sex is OK as long as it’s safe.
Literacy has always meant the ability to read and write; the ability to understand numbers, and the
capacity to appreciate factual material. The current system being pushed by the Department of
Education and the National Education Association is specifically designed to de-emphasize
academic knowledge and to dumb-down our children. Our current federally mandated system is
designed to teach politically correct beliefs about gender issues, diversity, multiculturalism, the
new world order and environmentalism. Some members of Congress even appear ready to sign
off on programs that would mandate a mental health examination of every child from pre-school
on through graduation, without the parents consent.
Many parents in America have already shown their desire to be free of federal control of their
children’s education by either enrolling their children in private schools or home schooling them.
Students enrolled in these alternatives have consistently performed better and tested higher than
those in government-run schools. I support the concept of School Choice for parents, funded
through tax credits, to make it easier for parents to send their children to the school of their
choice, or to home school them. I am committed to guaranteeing parity for home school diplomas
and advancing equal scholarship consideration for students entering college from a home school
environment.
Not only is the federal Department of Education unconstitutional, but it has been a colossal
failure and should be abolished. Nowhere in Article 1, Section 8, of the US Constitution (the
Powers of Congress), is Congress given the power to legislate or mandate educational policy for
the states. This very important power was retained by the states and for a very good reason.
Parents, along with their respective State and local governments, are the people best situated to
educate their children, not federal government and union bureaucrats in Washington trying to
push their political and social agenda on us. I will support any legislation giving educational
control back to parents, where it belongs.
- I support H.R. 1056 , the Family Education Freedom Act, introduced by Rep. Ron Paul,
which helps parents with the costs of schooling, This bill would allow parents a tax credit
of up to $5,000 (adjustable after 2007 for inflation) per student per year for the cost of
attendance at an elementary and/or secondary school of their choice. This includes
private, parochial, religious, and home schools.
- I support H.R. 1059, the Teacher Tax Cut Act of 2007, introduced by Rep. Ron Paul,
which gives full-time elementary and secondary teachers a $3,000 yearly tax credit, thus
easing their financial burden and encouraging good teachers to stay in the profession.
John Wallace is a self-employed businessman and also host a call-in blog talk radio show. He was a police officer for 30+ years, authored a book about a WWII Prisoner of War, and was a candidate for congress in NY’s 20th congressional district. He considers himself to be a mostly Conservative person who is concerned about the loss of our individual freedoms and liberties, as well as our nation’s sovereignty.
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, any copyrighted material herein is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For further information please refer to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
|
