Failing education, our Misunderstanding

Americas education system is over, Truth is no longer necessary, and what is necessary, is simply not Truth. Skills are not developed, strengths are not encouraged. Just complete the assignment and get your grade. Fascinating really how we end up in this bizarre reality. In a attempt to make the lives of children better, they learn to saddle themselves with debt, fill out Federal Student Aid paperwork, and write essays but is that really “Educated”? Have we learned anything really in the past 30 years? Many would say the education system is actually broken, nothing makes sense, or its all communist. I would argue the fundamental proposition of what makes education is what is flawed, students aren’t learning why history CAN be important, only that they must learn it. What about history is important, does it attempt to instill a value? Does the memories of great men and women inspire akin to a role model? Children place role models in the living and breathing, not a time long gone. Many would even say its not about instilling values, unfortunately when you cut the Church out from the curriculum, ya the school takes on that duty. Are our teachers equipped to take on that burden? No they aren’t and it shows, there is no room for discipline either, and current trends suggest parents aren’t taking up the slack in either regard. Does that mean we’ve failed as a country, as a system(society), to understand the delineated roles in raising Americas future, yes, yes it does. Complete, total, and fundamental failure, let me elaborate.

Defining learning

Now I could go into an entire modeling exercise on defining learning but I’ll sum it up best I can. To learn is to equip, to enable capacity, and encourage talent. We learn to prepare our minds for future challenges equipped for adversities. We enable ourselves to address adversity to the best of our capacity. Lastly we find talent and raise it to be higher than ourselves. Not in todays America though, no, students are numbers on a spreadsheet, a grade to send home to parents, a standardized test metric. All the things that when taken at face value abhor us to our core, we’ve dehumanized our children and hope the system can make them succeed, if not, well, then take it up with the school board, the superintendent, give more money, anything but actually ask the right question. What are they learning and why.

The failure of parenthood

If parents do not take on the role of discipline, ought the school? Does a child learn how to push themselves, when they can throw in the towel at the slightest challenge? If no responsibility is levied on consequences, is there fear of disobedience? Do we teach our children criminality when the only punishment for violence is to tell them to go away?
Certainly parents have a part to play but when the school is not granted authority over their charges, you make some problematic issues arise.

Only two paths remain

So you are left with only two choices, either treat them as adults in their formative years and take on parental authority, meting out justice and discipline eliminating the role of the parent in the equation (EVERYONE READING THIS KNOWS HOW THAT WILL PLAY OUT). Or do the parents take on the responsibility to ensure THEIR children succeed with skills and knowledge that will ensure capable, productive adults? Which way America?