What in the world is wrong with our schools? I will admit that I am in no position to judge our current educational system. What I hear though is that most of our current High School graduates can barely if at all read comprehensively. Math skills are also deficient. I don’t know if civics and history are even taught any more.
There appears to be a lack of understanding of how our governments are supposed to work. There also appears to be an abundance of reliance upon government agencies to provide for our welfare, a lack of the desire to succeed by our own merits. How did this happen?
The establishment of schools was one of the top priorities of the early American colonists. On the average schools were established within one year of the start of each colony. The earliest of the schools were started between 1626 and 1638. Most having free tuition supported by taxation. Almost all of the schools, provided education to native Indian children for free. Reading writing and arithmetic were the main subjects.
My impression is that teaching of needed technical skills to prosper in our society have given way to social engineering.
In the schools I attended in the 1960’s, the available curriculum included typing, world history, American history, cooking, shop, Spanish, French, English literature, basic, science, book keeping, chemistry, physics, civics, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and social studies. I can’t remember how many tests I took on the U.S. Constitution and government.
How many of these are still taught today I can only guess.
From what I understand, the math and general knowledge levels of American children has been steadily dropping over the years. I believe based upon my own experiences that the problem is not just one of the emphasis on social engineering over technical skills. Family involvement is absolutely essential for academic success.
In the 70’s I was very much into sailing. We owned a 27 foot sloop that sailed on a fresh water lake every week end. We also occasionally charted boats off the Georgia and Florida coasts. One of my unrealized dreams was to cash it in get a bigger boat and cruise the world’s oceans. Investigating the documented stories of families that did just that I discovered something interesting. The children of these families generally excelled academically. The parents were involved. The numbers of scholarships to Ivy League schools gave evidence of the value of parental involvement in education.
A few years back we had a yard crew that came in once a week to help us with the maintenance of a four acre yard. The crew consisted of a mother and her two teenage boys. She home schooled her two sons. During the time that we have known them, the boys have won several state wide scholastic competitions and one has secured to 100% scholar ship to the Harvard Engineering School.
There is a story of a single minority illiterate mother forcing her son to study and do his home work. He was belligerent as he wanted to go hang out but she was adamant. The boy eventually became a world renowned neurosurgeon. He even put his hat for the candidacy of U.S. President.
I still remember the nights with me crying when I wanted to go out and play but my parents insisted on the memorization of my multiplication tables. We were not very well off. Our only car was 16 years old when we bought it. My bike was second hand. But we were in the same economic situation as everyone else in our north-side Italian neighborhood. Both my parents worked. My grandmother was our baby sitter. But my parents were involved. My mom was our Cub Scout den mother.
Things changed over time but it is always good to get a good start. I am probably the only person who has ever flunked out of two universities and then graduated from one of them on the deans honor list. Perseverance. Of course attitude change and four years in the military didn’t hurt either.
What’s wrong with our schools? Too much social engineering, worrying about pronouns and not about math and history. Not nearly enough parental involvement.
— Written by Wembley
Who is Wembley?
Wembley is the nom de plume for an older gentleman who loves history and politics, writes often, but is technology challenged. He wants so much for people to read what he writes. After many arguments over the subject, he doesn’t want to build a following or even have his own substack… even though he has much to say. He absolutely insists that I publish it for him.
So, he will write and I will publish. This is just a short essay he did and the first of many.
The older generations have so much to teach us.
I totally agree with Mr. Wembley. Common sense isn't so common.
Wembley’s life sounds much like my own. Especially where post secondary education is concerned. My parents berated me about homework, knowing my multiplication tables, and American history. Most important, though, was reading scripture and being involved in our church.
All of these values have been lost in most homes. High school graduates can’t even give you the correct change when you use cash instead of plastic to purchase an item. History? ROFLMAO - Do they even know when the first settlers landed at Plymouth Beach? I doubt it. Family History is rarely in their minds, let alone that of our Nation or the World.
Parents need to become more involved. Stop letting these corrupt educators and online platforms condition our children into a life of slavery. Hat off to Mr Wembley. He shares a story every parent, child and American citizen needs to hear.