On Education...

Education is a classic example of where the Federal government has usurped the powers of the States.  Constitutionally, the Feds have no authority over the education of our children.  The Feds do not have the power to regulate it, nor even demand it.  They do not have the authority to tax us in order to fund it (at any level).  They do not have the power to dictate what must be included in the curriculum, nor what cannot be included in the curriculum.  ALL of these powers are reserved, Constitutionally, to the States.

Reagan, who was generally considered by others to be a Conservative, actually let us down in this area.  After campaigning on the promise to abolish the Department of Education, he failed to do so.  The power of that department has, instead, been extended drastically to the point that the Department of Education reportedly now has its own armed enforcement division.

Even the Federal court system has no jurisdiction in these areas, beyond infringements upon the Constitutional rights of citizens on other various issues.  One such example would be the right to “equal protection under the law” as was infringed by having a supposedly “separate but equal” education system for black Americans, something challenged successfully during the civil rights era.

“But why…” one might ask, “Why is federal involvement a bad thing?  We all want a good educational system for our kids, right?”  Okay, the first and most obvious rebuttal would be, “Is that what we have?”  A centralized bureaucracy is seldom the best way to handle ANYthing, much less something so personal as the influence over the minds of our children.

The true irony is that we think of those who support increased federal funding for education as being “pro-education”…when exactly the opposite is true.  Federal funds for education come from…where?  From you!  But… The State is already taking tax money from you to pay for education, as is the local school district in most cases.  And… With each new level of bureaucracy, there are more expenses.  One of the few legitimate reasons for having even that state layer of involvement in funding is to equalize opportunities for poor school districts.  But… The more money we get from the Feds for education, the less money that actually gets spent on education.  Let’s do the math…

Let’s say, for example, that you send (through your taxes) $100 to the school district and they use $10 for administrative costs; $90 would actually go toward the educating of your child.  If you send $100 to the state, they might have $10 in administrative costs, so they would send $90 back to your school district which would have another $10 in costs, leaving $80 to educate your child.  When you send $100 to the Feds, they will take $10 for costs (or $20) and send $90 to the state, which will send $80 to the school district, which will take its part and spend the remaining $70 on educating your child.  The more money we get from the Feds, the more money they siphon off from the local area through taxes that never make their way back.

Now, how ridiculous is this practice!  Why would anyone be in favor of such a silly scheme?  The reason is simple:  control!  The money we send to Washington comes back with strings and mandates.  It is the Feds way of dictating every aspect of our educational process, despite the fact that education is not within the Constitutional powers of the federal government.

“So what!  Why is a federally-controlled educational system a bad thing?”  Apart from the fact that it is clearly unconstitutional, you mean?  There were schools (mostly religious schools) when our Founding Fathers framed the Constitution and yet they chose to leave control over education with the states, closer to home, closer to the direct control of the parents whose children were being taught.

The more insidious problem is that the power to control education is the power to control the minds of all future voters.  That presents a horrific conflict of interest for any government, but especially the federal government!  Indeed, communist nations have a very centralized form of education; it is an important part of indoctrinating their societies into accepting their form of government.  But in a free society, our educational system must also be free!  To whatever degree that education is controlled by the Feds, to that degree it will be distorted to embrace the federalist view of its masters.  (For a little enlightenment, search YouTube for “school children praise Obama” like the following:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp-ot_vChlU)

And there is a still more-important factor to consider.  Much to the disdain of liberals, progressives, socialists or whatever you choose to call those who seek control over the minds of our children, the education of our children is a basic parental right.  Education simply cannot be disconnected from our worldview, and the right of a parent to raise their child in the traditions of their own faith is a Constitutional right, under the freedom of religion (if no other).

What does religion have to do with education?  Quite a lot, actually…  Even now, it is the squeals of atheists and religious bigots that you are hearing in the background as they chant their mantra, “Dark ages… Dark ages… Dark ages…”  The dark ages were not caused by religion, per se’, but by power…with those in power (many of whom were religious leaders of the time), wishing to stay in power, denying what science had proven to be fact.  It is not “religious” leaders who are in power today, but rather…it is tenured professors and politicians who are more than eager to deny fact in order to maintain a godless educational system.

The problem today is the declaration of things to be “fact” that simply are not proven as such (…global warming, evolution, big bang, etc.).  “Why, every respectable scientist believes…whatever…”  In the days of Columbus, every respectable captain feared they might sail off the edge of a flat earth, but that one very religious man felt led of God to prove them wrong.  Many of us who are both spiritual and intellectual consider the teaching of evolution, big bang, global warming, and other theories as “fact” to be false science.  It is just intellectually dishonest to call any “theory” a “fact”.  It is a theory, nothing more…and, often, one of any number of competing theories.

We also consider detestable the theft of innocence and the raping of our elementary school children’s minds through sex education (or worse), especially in light of public school’s apparent inability to teach the fundamentals like Math or Reading or accurate history.  We who are of faith recognize that religion played a major role in the settling and founding of this nation, a fact of history which is increasingly stripped from our schools’ versions of history, as demanded by the atheists who are apparently threatened by that reality.  Again, the dark ages resulted from the denial of reality, not from religion.

If “separation of church and state” is such an issue for some, then perhaps they should insist instead that the state get out of the education business which, frankly, has historically been a function of the church.  And…go figure…the church is STILL doing a far better job of educating our children than the state, and with a fraction of the resources.  Private/religious schools have given us a model of excellence to follow.  Why impose federal mediocrity upon successful  educational models?  Can it be for any reason other than control…and control to what end?