I've been thinking more about the History of American Education. While I wouldn't doubt that public education was begun with mixed motives (creating unity/conformity from diversity, making good workers, benefitting the poor, etc.), I think that the history of public education is highly flavored with reactions to a changing culture. Our family life has broke down considerably in the last 150 years. The collective ability to focus has been severely eroded by entertainment and leisure. The concept of discipline has been vilified. The traditional leadership of a. men and b. adults is openly scorned. While these changes have brought some good things, the cumulative effect has been to dump a lot of kids in the school system who are insecurely rooted in their families, accustomed to information presented in flashy 15 second soundbites, and burdened with "let the children lead" pressure. The public schools have scrambled to deal with these realities, but there is no way for them to fix these problems. It is neither within the appropriate place of government to address them, nor within its effective power, because they are matters of the heart.
We, the people of America and the parents of the next generation, have the responsibility to create stable homes, to provide meaningful work, and to bring our kids into the freedom of healthy submission. So, if I were running for president, that's what I'd angle for. ;-)
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Seems like we both have been too busy to blog. :) I just added another 1 Peter thingy... Keep posting your thoughts. They matter to people, and the challenges to what we believe are encouraging.
I am totally with you. But I don't think it's just the schools...its OUR CULTURE that is totally not family-friendly. The answer, at least to me, is the conclusion you drew. Giving our kids a stable, balanced and healthy home.
On another, although related note, we attended our homeschool co-op this morning. We meet every Thursday and all the kids have different classes. I'd been teaching art until today when I was just a parent helper. In the 7-9 grade rhythm/music class, there was a boy who was completely and utterly passively disrespectful. The teacher would ask him to do something kindly...be standing right in front of him, gently asking him to give her something, and he would just look at her and not move. No words, but absolutely no attempt to comply. This would go on for minutes with the teacher standing there...it was so awkward and awful and this was a 13 YEAR OLD! He would passively disregard anything she asked him to do. Wander away during a teaching time, refuse to follow instructions. I just kept thinking "Whaaaaa?" Who allows this behavior and why? It can happen anywhere. Public school, homeschool, private school. We have to teach character as parents in the home.
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