Our schools have been in a state of constant reform for over a century. John Dewey published "The School and Society" in 1900. Public education went on steroids with massive IV money infusions in 1957 with the Sputnik scare. In 1968 the teachers organizations transmogrified from professional associations into trade unions. And in 1983 the commission empanelled by President Reagan issued their report, "A Nation at Risk."
President Reagan's commission delivered at least two famous phrases: the "rising tide of mediocrity" phrase and the "act of war" phrase. I quote,
(a) The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a people,
and
(2) If an unfriendly foreign power had attempted to impose on America the mediocre educational performance that exists today, we might well have viewed it as an act of war.
That was 1983. Thirty-four years later, the public schools are in much worse condition. At this point in our historical development, we can fairly say they have collapsed.
This collapse is not an "act of G-d". It does not arise from drought or flood or earthquake. There is no actual war or widespread starvation or social disruption. And there is no mysterious "Invisible Hand" (pace, Adam Smith) that works against us.
Rather, our public schools are the necessary consequence of policies and practices that have been knowingly and intentionally implemented by individuals known to us, mainly the education schools professoriate ("The Ayatollahs of Education") and the leadership of the teachers unions, to whom I refer collectively as "The Education Mafia". They have massive political power, they have been in charge of our schools for generations, and they are responsible. It's all on them.
And, they cannot be persuaded.
Friends, there are only two possibilities left to us. Either the Education Mafia remain in charge, and nothing happens until educational collapse leads to societal collapse, or we prise their death grip off the throat of public education.
The only important thing about Betsy DeVos is that she is not of the Education Mafia. All the rest of what you read about her, in the NY Times and the Washington Post, is irrelevant shit.
This collapse is not an "act of G-d". It does not arise from drought or flood or earthquake. There is no actual war or widespread starvation or social disruption. And there is no mysterious "Invisible Hand" (pace, Adam Smith) that works against us.
Rather, our public schools are the necessary consequence of policies and practices that have been knowingly and intentionally implemented by individuals known to us, mainly the education schools professoriate ("The Ayatollahs of Education") and the leadership of the teachers unions, to whom I refer collectively as "The Education Mafia". They have massive political power, they have been in charge of our schools for generations, and they are responsible. It's all on them.
And, they cannot be persuaded.
Friends, there are only two possibilities left to us. Either the Education Mafia remain in charge, and nothing happens until educational collapse leads to societal collapse, or we prise their death grip off the throat of public education.
The only important thing about Betsy DeVos is that she is not of the Education Mafia. All the rest of what you read about her, in the NY Times and the Washington Post, is irrelevant shit.
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