Education and Government

I believe there is a direct relationship between education and government, more specifically, quality education and good government.  The better educated the people are in a democracy, the better government they will have.  Teachers are not there for students, directly, but to mold them to be good citizens.  That is, education is there for society, to keep it strong and vibrant.  Being students' friends, building self-esteem, and all that other rigmarole that has invaded education ("Follow the money.") over the past three or four decades has been deleterious, in direct contradistinction of education's purpose.

Here is a good essay on the topic:  http://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/current

I sometimes disagree with ideas coming from Hillsdale.  Occasionally it seems the place, both on campus and in its literature, contradicts its own values, that is, tolerance for opposing views.  But this is a good essay, well worth the ten minutes it takes to read it.

The views of the author on education are those I've expounded for, what, 30 years or more, to little avail.  What the essay calls "core," not at all to be associated with "Common Core," is what I've termed, again and again, the rigors required for a quality education.  Instead of this "core," trendy things from Outcomes-Based Education and Values Clarification to the current Common Core have taken precedence, to the detriment of quality education.  And the trend things are backed by money, "follow the money."

The essay's comparison of government--then and now, right and wrong--is spot on.  Imagine the idiocy (and I mean that) of Obama's interview a couple of weeks ago when he said that government is sometimes too big to get anything done correctly.  He was, of course, trying to explain away the ObamaCare signup snafu.  Perhaps he wasn't even aware of what he was saying, in a larger context.  But of course it's too big.  Consider, as the essay does, modern laws that are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of pages long. Have you ever tried to deal with the IRS or the VA or even the state DMV, to actually talk to someone who can give a definitive answer?  And more than two weeks later, my Medicare application hasn't been approved.  (I was told "five days.")  I could make a snide/sarcastic comment here, but I will refrain from it.

Reforming education and government doesn't necessarily require something new or even "doing something."  It could be as simple as not doing anything, that is, returning to what worked and worked well in the past.  (Of course, as my letter in the newspaper earlier in the week noted, "Follow the money."  Who stands to make money, a lot of it, by pushing reform, reform, reform.  That will explain a lot.)