FEDERALIZING EDUCATION–NO CHILD GETS AHEAD: Sam Blumenfeld over at the New American points out that all this progressive-style “testing” of our children in public schools hasn’t done a single thing to improve education. Of course it’s not just the progressives who love federalizing the curriculum; President George W. Bush and his brother, former Governor Jeb Bush (FL), were chief proponents of “No Child Left Behind” (known in my household as “No Child Gets Ahead (Because That Wouldn’t Be Fair!)) and its devastating effect on public school learning, forcing teachers to “teach to the test.” Observes Blumenfeld:
It’s hard to imagine that we can continue educating our school children to become dumbed-down socialists without this nation becoming eventually a socialist society. That’s why the kind of Congress we get in 2013 will determine whether or not we continue down this road to socialism or finally reverse course.
Anyone who has taught young people over the last 10-20 years or so (as I have–though admittedly my law students are the educational system’s “cream of the crop”) will acknowledge that there has been a massive, noticeable loss of critical thinking skills, creating an environment ripe for a socialist/communitarian state. The “dumbing down” of American children should be a much larger issue in this election.