SHORT COMMUNICATION 254
Parents-Politicians-Bureaucracy
By
Roger Behra
The conglomeration of parents, politicians, and bureaucracy has absolutely ruined the once very envious public schools throughout America. During the past six months considerable survey information has been revealed in the media about the dysfunction and depressing condition of America’s public education systems in its elementary and high schools. It has become a national nightmare. The situation is like a very large animal that has been severely wounded and sprawled on the ground gasping for air and has little chance of recovering because of the factors involved. It’s going to take a monumental change of event to reverse the situation and find a remedy.
The start of the educational collapse really stated with the decline in student classroom discipline around the mid-1970’s at the same time the same time the American government gained control of the school systems, and that led to great bureaucracy that very quickly followed.
There are so many ignorant and incompetent parents nowadays, and they are greatly a factor in the present dysfunctional school systems. It’s so obvious in the way they bring up their children: inconsistent and haphazard self-discipline; no or weak spiritual development; little or no politeness; weak respect for authority.
Their children don’t know who put them on earth (God), why they are here, what they must do with their earthly lives, and where they are going (back to God) when their earthly life ends, and who they will be accountable to (God) for all their thoughts, words, deeds, and lack of self-discipline. This lack of understanding is brought right into the classroom. You can guess what that leads to; a great joy ride with friends instead of consistent, serious, and self-disciplined application. The fact, that in 65% of American homes no Christian living goes on, it is no coincidence that it carries on out of the home also. It is a clear and absolute fact.
Politicians got involved when America’s schools needed the help of government dollars, and to a large degree, that put the crown on the educational dysfunction. The government has increasingly mandated too many unattainable goals, rules, and regulations, and continues now to throw good money after bad. The recently mandated no child left behind is a good modern example of their clueless involvement. No child left behinds is adverse to better progress and is a magnificent failure.
Bureaucracy became involved because the government has been telling the schools it wanted detailed records of how the money is being spent, and that has been in addition to the normal amount of record keeping. Teachers are overloaded with record keeping as result, and that cuts way down on subject planning. It stifles the whole program more so. The good teachers leave out of frustration.
Public school decision makers have known for a long time the existing mode of operation isn’t working, and that private schools beat them badly at the education game. The dream of once again having orderly, well-run, productive, and world envying schools is a daily nightmare. Parents, colleges, employers, and the U.S. military are screaming: fix our public schools-America has been severely wounded.
R. B.
4-9-11