THE REASON FOR THE COLLAPSE OF AMERICAN EDUCATION
The magnitude of the collapse of the American educational system has extended beyond the general awareness of even those most concerned with the well-being of children and society at large. A major reason for this lack of awareness stems from the institutionalizing of education, which we now take for granted and consider natural; however, the institutionalized care of people—an inherent part of the Western culture—is not the natural way to live or the way to educate people.
Education up until very recent times supported the propagation and preservation of the species. Children received training in how to support the existence of family and tribe. Fishing villages taught boys how to fish, and related information and activities necessary to make fishing successful. Girls received training in how to convert the products of fishing into the nurturing of the race, and also in related information and activities to help sustain the community. Farmers taught boys how to farm, and related information and activities necessary to make farming successful. Girls received training in how to convert the products of farming into the nurturing of the race, and also in related information and activities to help sustain the community. Every one in the family, tribe, and village knew what the youth were taught and how they responded to their teaching. However, with the institutionalized care of education the average person no longer knows what children are taught. Those who belong to institutions of various sorts make evaluations of the educational institutions and offer conclusions and recommendations in accordance with their own institutionalized training. This process cannot get at the root cause of educational issues. Meanwhile, parents, and members of the extended family have little awareness of, and even less control of, what their children are taught.
Education has become an abstraction with no relevancy to the life of the student. The mantra of today, “go to school, get an education, get a job, make some money, and be somebody” serves as the primary motivation for students, and a very poor one at that, at least for males. Male enrollment in universities continues to drop, male truancy in New York City schools is at an all-time high, and grade school boys receive the drug Ritalin in order to enable them to cope with an un-natural environment.
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) indicates that a test given to high school graduates 55 years ago when given to college seniors five years ago resulted in lower scores by the college seniors. The NAS itself an institution, has no idea of the fundamental cause of this decline in academic performance.
The famous educator John Taylor Gatto author of Dumbing Us Down, writes, “In the growth of human society, families came first, communities came second, and only much later came the institutions set up by the community to serve it.” He correctly states….”that the United States has become a nation of institutions.” He states further, “By redirecting the focus of our lives from families and communities to institutions and networks, we, in effect, anoint a machine king.”
People have an aversion to having a machine serve as king. They inherently resist subordinating their activities to machines and institutions, but the cubist training and environment in which they were raised and live in molds them into accepting it. Western man created institutions and to him they seem normal (but they are not natural) and he does not see the adverse effects they have on his life.
Institutions are the outgrowth of Western man delegating to the state the care of society while he goes about studying and acquiring matters material. This practice began 2,500 years ago when the Greeks formed city-states and is now nearing its apogee at which time humankind will be completely subordinated to government and institutions.
Western governments and institutions take man out of his natural physical environment and in the process alter his mental process and value structure to focus on what man has made rather than on what God has created. There is no relevancy to these studies other than to train him to do a task for which he will be paid so that he can eat. There is no sense of community and purpose. His education becomes an exercise in recitations.
Throwing money into these sterile institutions in the hopes of raising the academic performance of its members produces futile results. The Washington, DC school system serves as an example. In the early 1990’s it had the highest per pupil expenditure for education, the lowest pupil/teacher ratio in the nation, the sixth highest paid teachers in the nation, and a per capita aid for education that surpasses the national average by 250%. The results of these expenditures were that on time graduation rate ranked 49th in the nation, math proficiency for 2nd and 8th graders ranked last in the nation, and reading proficiency for 4th graders ranked last in the nation. More money spent on education had no noticeable effect on academic performance in the DC school system.
A factor that does have an effect on academic performance is having fathers at home. Children who have fathers at home have half the drop out rate of those who don’t, they have half the unwed motherhood rate, and they have increased academic performance. Positive values and a positive environment come from the family.
Many authorities and organizations recognize the importance of family. People like Dr. James Dobson and John Taylor Gatto continually espouse the importance of family. Why are they not successful in strengthening the family within their own sphere of influence?
Mr. Gatto wrote his book in 1992 and has indicated that he has received correspondence from 14 million people from all over the world. With that kind of support why hasn’t he seen progress in the strengthening of the family and the weakening of institutions? Why after decades of activity has Dr. Dobson’s organization which boasts millions of subscribers seen the influence of family fall within the Christian community as well as elsewhere?
Neither Mr. Gato nor Dr. Dobson place any value on manhood. Man does not receive one mention in Mr. Gato’s book nor does man receive mention in Dr. Dobson’s newsletters. Both of these men reflect the Western mindset, they believe they can have family without man being the head of it. It cannot happen. Every one of the institutions that Western man has crated has a head to it—a top authority. There can be no institution without a singular authority. If man does not have authority in the home there can be no family. Consequently all matters relating to the well-being of people have been taken over by institutions. That’s why Johnny can’t read and Mary can’t count.
E.G.
Education up until very recent times supported the propagation and preservation of the species. Children received training in how to support the existence of family and tribe. Fishing villages taught boys how to fish, and related information and activities necessary to make fishing successful. Girls received training in how to convert the products of fishing into the nurturing of the race, and also in related information and activities to help sustain the community. Farmers taught boys how to farm, and related information and activities necessary to make farming successful. Girls received training in how to convert the products of farming into the nurturing of the race, and also in related information and activities to help sustain the community. Every one in the family, tribe, and village knew what the youth were taught and how they responded to their teaching. However, with the institutionalized care of education the average person no longer knows what children are taught. Those who belong to institutions of various sorts make evaluations of the educational institutions and offer conclusions and recommendations in accordance with their own institutionalized training. This process cannot get at the root cause of educational issues. Meanwhile, parents, and members of the extended family have little awareness of, and even less control of, what their children are taught.
Education has become an abstraction with no relevancy to the life of the student. The mantra of today, “go to school, get an education, get a job, make some money, and be somebody” serves as the primary motivation for students, and a very poor one at that, at least for males. Male enrollment in universities continues to drop, male truancy in New York City schools is at an all-time high, and grade school boys receive the drug Ritalin in order to enable them to cope with an un-natural environment.
The National Association of Scholars (NAS) indicates that a test given to high school graduates 55 years ago when given to college seniors five years ago resulted in lower scores by the college seniors. The NAS itself an institution, has no idea of the fundamental cause of this decline in academic performance.
The famous educator John Taylor Gatto author of Dumbing Us Down, writes, “In the growth of human society, families came first, communities came second, and only much later came the institutions set up by the community to serve it.” He correctly states….”that the United States has become a nation of institutions.” He states further, “By redirecting the focus of our lives from families and communities to institutions and networks, we, in effect, anoint a machine king.”
People have an aversion to having a machine serve as king. They inherently resist subordinating their activities to machines and institutions, but the cubist training and environment in which they were raised and live in molds them into accepting it. Western man created institutions and to him they seem normal (but they are not natural) and he does not see the adverse effects they have on his life.
Institutions are the outgrowth of Western man delegating to the state the care of society while he goes about studying and acquiring matters material. This practice began 2,500 years ago when the Greeks formed city-states and is now nearing its apogee at which time humankind will be completely subordinated to government and institutions.
Western governments and institutions take man out of his natural physical environment and in the process alter his mental process and value structure to focus on what man has made rather than on what God has created. There is no relevancy to these studies other than to train him to do a task for which he will be paid so that he can eat. There is no sense of community and purpose. His education becomes an exercise in recitations.
Throwing money into these sterile institutions in the hopes of raising the academic performance of its members produces futile results. The Washington, DC school system serves as an example. In the early 1990’s it had the highest per pupil expenditure for education, the lowest pupil/teacher ratio in the nation, the sixth highest paid teachers in the nation, and a per capita aid for education that surpasses the national average by 250%. The results of these expenditures were that on time graduation rate ranked 49th in the nation, math proficiency for 2nd and 8th graders ranked last in the nation, and reading proficiency for 4th graders ranked last in the nation. More money spent on education had no noticeable effect on academic performance in the DC school system.
A factor that does have an effect on academic performance is having fathers at home. Children who have fathers at home have half the drop out rate of those who don’t, they have half the unwed motherhood rate, and they have increased academic performance. Positive values and a positive environment come from the family.
Many authorities and organizations recognize the importance of family. People like Dr. James Dobson and John Taylor Gatto continually espouse the importance of family. Why are they not successful in strengthening the family within their own sphere of influence?
Mr. Gatto wrote his book in 1992 and has indicated that he has received correspondence from 14 million people from all over the world. With that kind of support why hasn’t he seen progress in the strengthening of the family and the weakening of institutions? Why after decades of activity has Dr. Dobson’s organization which boasts millions of subscribers seen the influence of family fall within the Christian community as well as elsewhere?
Neither Mr. Gato nor Dr. Dobson place any value on manhood. Man does not receive one mention in Mr. Gato’s book nor does man receive mention in Dr. Dobson’s newsletters. Both of these men reflect the Western mindset, they believe they can have family without man being the head of it. It cannot happen. Every one of the institutions that Western man has crated has a head to it—a top authority. There can be no institution without a singular authority. If man does not have authority in the home there can be no family. Consequently all matters relating to the well-being of people have been taken over by institutions. That’s why Johnny can’t read and Mary can’t count.
E.G.
posted by Elder George at
4:22 PM
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