We are losing control of our own school, writer states
by Karen Schroeder, Advocates for Academic Freedom
Our founding fathers knew that an educated public was necessary to protect and preserve our republic. Therefore, they passed the Old Deluder Satan Law in 1647 which required towns to provide a school where the basics including the Bible be taught. Since then, progressive educational policy makers have been undermining that republic.
Preserving our republic is still possible if the root of the problem is understood, if energies are focused, and if reformers are determined to eradicate the cause. To date, the approach to educational reform has been like that of a neighbor whose yard is a bed of dandelions. He picks the flower heads and leaves the roots to grow deeper and stronger to produce multiple flowers next week.
The Department of Education disseminates federal educational funds to the states to assure that federal mandates such as Common Core Standards be implemented. Those standards define what is to be taught in every classroom across the United States. According to the Aspen Institute’s A New Civic Literacy: American Education and Global Interdependence, increased federal control of education is essential to provide policy experts unfettered access to school curricula and to programs for teacher preparation. According to A New Civic Literacy, this move is vital to “enhance the capacity of Americans to cope with interdependence” (a one-world order). These policies focus on changing the values and traditions of the American public—not on improving the academic achievement of America’s students.
Hundreds of policy papers by educational experts indicate that once the federal government gains sufficient control of schools, the next step is to increase UN involvement and to change the way schools are funded. Once the states no longer fund the educational system, citizens will have abdicated control over educational policies.
Those who have focused on charter schools as the solution seem unaware of ways the program is being exploited. Created in Minnesota in 1991, charter schools were intended to be privately funded and free from state laws and regulations. Consequently, foreign money has created Islamic charter schools. LaRaza has created schools which advocate a return of portions of the United States to Mexico. Once those schools are in place, private money typically dries up and is replaced by state and federal tax money which funds these anti-American schools.
Corruption, fraud, and embezzlement run rampant in the charter-school system. When tax payers become aware of these problems, will they rebel against the misuse of their tax dollars? If so, what will Federal Governmental Policy become regarding charter schools? A website called “Charter School Scandals” is a quick resource for research in this area. The Advocates for Academic Freedom website blog page has numerous articles that provide in-depth coverage of all issues presented in this article.
If Americans want to protect their right to choose an educational setting for their children, if Americans want to protect their republic, they must commit to the mantra: Remove the federal mandates and federal funding from education and reallocate those funds to the states.