When I critique education in America, some may misunderstand my perspective. I’m not enamored with a system that is directed from the government, be it state or federal. I believe God gave educational responsibility to parents first, and only secondarily to whomever they entrust their children. Entrusting them to the government is not Biblically appropriate, in my view.
First, civil government’s primary responsibility is to protect and defend citizens. There is nothing in the Scriptures endorsing government control of education, no matter how hard you look.
Second, there is nothing in the U.S. Constitution giving authority to the federal government to get involved in education, yet it has waded into this morass and made it even worse.
States, if their constitutions mention it, have the authority to oversee education, but I argue that it’s still a bad idea. Early Americans were concerned about putting the state in charge simply because they realized it could then dictate what every student should learn. All it takes is an ideological agenda in the state, and education becomes political—from only one side. To a large extent, that is what has already occurred.
Added to this misery is the role of teachers’ unions such as the National Education Association. They do their best to indoctrinate [all you have to do is examine the annual resolutions of that organization to see its cultural and political bent] and to protect teachers. Now, some teachers need protection, but it has turned into a tenure situation that rewards longevity over quality. And when anyone tries to fix the system, the reverberations can be felt nationwide:
Critique the way education is run and you may be accused of hating education, along with a few other things:
Sometimes, the teachers organize a resistance by getting the students to do the protesting for them:
Of course, I don’t teach at that level. I’m in a university, and we all know that higher education is where real learning takes place:
Don’t get me wrong; I believe in education. I’d just like to see more of it actually occur.