The first
thing we have to do is to get the Federal government out of the education
business. It has turned into a politically correct indoctrination camp. It will cost Georgia $2 billion to get rid of
federal control over Georgia public schools and we will save money by not
taking their $2 billion. They should have absolutely no control over
education. This means the end of Common
Core and every other federal program.
The next
thing to do is to cut this $2 billion from the budget. I have a few suggestions.
We should
exempt our public schools from frivolous lawsuits from special interests like
atheists, NGOs, Muslims, Illegals, LGBTs and others. If that makes Coke leave
Atlanta, we have lots of soft drinks to choose from.
We should
exempt our public schools from being a tool to help the Governor attract
businesses to Georgia. The graduation rate is irrelevant to businesses. Specific
skills are critical. So, if those skills
are abundant and high performing schools are functioning, employers will come.
Public schools
should be focused on basic skills like reading, writing, math, real history,
real science and how things work in the US.
I suggest classical subjects and lots of extracurricular activities.
We need
to make students responsible for their own education. They need to become
proficient in common basic skills. They are each unique and have unique skills
and intrinsic interests. They need to prepare themselves to select occupations
that they will love.
We should
focus on neighborhood schools and go back to K-8 and stop spending most of our
education funds on new school buildings. The private school buildings I was
educated in were over 100 years old and my education was excellent.
100 years
ago, our population was very literate. The read the Bible every day. Most
students learned what they needed to learn by 8th grade. Still, there were students who were slow in
mastering academic skills. They were not
the ones who went off to college to become teachers, lawyers or doctors. In
farm families, these were the ones who remained on the farm and ended up being
very prosperous, smart farmers. They eventually
learned what they needed to learn. Today, we call them “school drop outs”.
The best
education occurs when the student really needs to or wants to know how to do
things.
My
grandfather was born in 1883. He
homeschooled and worked on the family farm.
At age 11 he got a job in a factory to earn money to pay a science
tutor. At age 16, he entered Barnes Medical College. He graduated with an MD at age 19 and was appointed
Professor of Internal Medicine. He completed his surgical residency at age 21.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leaders
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