Who Controls Public Schools?

I am a retired school teacher of 33 years, so I have some experience. Eight of my children are school teachers, from grade school to college levels and they are good teachers. However, they cannot stem the headlong rush to mediocrity that seems to be going on in Public Schools. As I look at the statistics I am appalled. The average Wisconsin graduating student only reads at the 8th grade level; their knowledge of core American history and our Founding Fathers beliefs, which led to our Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights, and Constitution; and our moral foundations, such as truthfulness and family values are all sadly lacking. And Wisconsin is far ahead of many states!

Who is responsible for this sad state of affairs? Is it the teachers? Yes and no. As I watched the recent demonstrations in Madison, WI over the Governors Budget Repair Bill it became clear to me that teachers who do not practice truthfulness cannot teach it to their pupils. Am I talking about the politics of the issues? No! I'm talking about teachers who deserted their teaching posts, even causing some schools to close for the day and then took sick leave days to cover their absence. There were even doctors available who would issue "sick slips" to those who requested them - and many did. How will they explain to their pupils that cheating is wrong when their actions are displayed on national TV? I'm talking about teachers who carried very visible signs calling Governor Walker "Hitler", or "Nazi" and many other untrue slanders. How will they teach their pupils the value of civil discourse to solve your issues? No, they are teaching instead the rule of the mob as I saw one Republican Representative get surrounded by an angry mob having to be rescued by another Democrat Representative, or as a Fox News reporter was pushed and punched for merely reporting what he was seeing. How will these teachers ever teach the rule of law and proper order to their pupils? They are obviously not teaching our Republican form of government which led to our great nation but the Democracy form which led to the French Revolution.

I asked the question, are the teachers responsible? I answered yes and no because teachers have restrictions placed on them by society that also contribute to this breakdown of society. When you are restricted from saying the homosexual lifestyle is wrong or that divorce is destructive how can the value of strong families be taught. The truth is often half a class room of pupils come from 'broken' or single parent homes and some of the others come from dysfunctional homes as well. They do not have the support of a mother and father so, the teacher has to try and make up for this deficiency even though they really cannot. Drug and alcohol misuse and addiction, gangs and sexual fornication are all family problems that should be handled by the father and mother. Taxpayers pay exorbitant amounts for administrators and counselors who are supposed to help but they often do not, leaving the teacher with a problem they cannot control and us with added tax burden. Then there is the added pressure of government which says the teachings of Christ Jesus must never be heard in the school. The Ten Commandments are banned from public view even though they are the foundation of all our laws. Prayer in school is worse than cursing even though prayer to Almighty God is the only salve that can heal the wounds of Public Education. As President Washington declared in his first inaugural address -

"... it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes, "

Another source of blame is the American church which has allowed itself to be pushed out of the public arena, even though if one were read sermons from the time of our founding, they would quickly see that the Church was conspicuous in its involvement in political discourse. They do not teach the morality of the family because half their congregation are divorced and they might be offended. Few ever hear sermons preached against sin such as Charles Finney or Jonathan Edwards preached. They alone control the weapon of prayer that might be used to change the Public School situation but do not wield it.


What is the likely outcome of these problems for Public Education? We have allowed the foundational principles which could help to be outlawed from the schools and those few parents who see the problem and want to change it for their children are left with the alternative to home school because their correct understanding of the role religion and morality play in education will not be allowed in the Public School, even though they are forced to pay their taxes to support it. A failed system that has the power of government behind it will always gain support through force. The only hope left to families that care for their children will be to home school them and so pass on to them the values they know work to, " consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes".