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Health & Fitness

Government Education is a Myth

Democrats want to spend our children out of bad schools and Republicans want to privatize the process, but both approaches are wrong.

Republicans and talk show hosts across this country have done their best to demagogue public education with the derogatory handle of “government schools.”   Education is always an easy target of both political parties because it impacts so many people. Politicians can talk a lot about the subject, sound really smart and actually be doing nothing to solve the problem.

There is a misconception that education in this country is public. This myth has done more harm to the process of children learning than any politician or political party. While it is true that the funding for education comes in large part from public sources, the responsibility for education is inherently private. Too many parents have abdicated their responsibility to the institutions of education (public or private) simply because they have paid their school taxes or tuition.

Education public or private is simply a conduit to provide information to students so that they can become more productive citizens in our society. Parents must ensure regardless of the funding mechanism employed that their children learn and grow as people and students in our schools.

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Public education is a myth because it is a private responsibility of parents to be an active participant in the process. I worry much more about the children with inattentive parents and poor modeling than I do about the occasional bad teacher.  Teachers only have students for a limited time and it is difficult if not impossible to overcome a marginal home environment. Democrats want to spend our children out of bad schools and Republicans want to privatize the process — both approaches are wrong. 

Real improvement in education will come when we see families re-engaged with one another. The government can never replace the God-ordained responsibility of parents and you can’t force moral responsibility on the population either. Show me a family filled with love and a nurturing environment and I will show you a student who will learn regardless of the funding source of the educational institution. This fight should not be focused on “government schools” but should instead be centered on rebuilding the American family.

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"Government" education is a myth. Quality education begins and ends privately every morning and evening in homes all over this country. If we want better schools, we all need to work on being and building better parents.

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