I am very much in support of public education and lament each time I encounter anyone, especially those of the younger generation who are seriously challenged in simple mathematics calculations, etc.  However, I am very anti the indoctrination that much of our primary, secondary, and higher education has become.  There is ample blame to be shared for this condition including the function of parents in the home, the church, educators, and the students themselves.

Educational endeavors such as “Common Core” and years ago the introduction of “new math” and the continual attempts to ‘rewrite’ history and make it more palatable to the leftist ideological views is disturbing and detrimental.  I have no issue with teaching conflicting opinions on a historical subject and allowing the students and their parents to investigate and determine what they believe.  I have no problem with teaching the theory of evolution in school so long as there is equal time given to Creationism and the biblical view.  Before you argue, “Separation of Church and State” might I suggest that Science is or should be open to opposing views and allowed to examine empirical data to reach a conclusion and that transcends your desire to keep all things religious or biblical out of the public arena.

Recently, we encountered another incident where a young person was completely incapable of performing simple mathematics regarding money and giving change and totally devoid of any cognitive comprehension of the process.  The bill came for the meal and it was $16.18.  My wife handed the server two dimes and a $20.00 bill and the server said, “I don’t need the dimes, I’ll bring you your change.”  My wife informed her that was exactly the point in giving the two dimes or twenty cents.  She wanted to receive, in change, 4 one-dollar bills, and two pennies rather than 3 one-dollar bills and 82 cents in coins.  After several more protests from the server, she took the money and returned with $3.82 in change.  She had kept the two dimes and did what she wanted to do at the beginning.  My wife spent several minutes attempting to educate the young lady as to her error and why she gave the twenty cents additional.  Finally, the young lady said, she understood the twenty cents but could not comprehend how that changed anything regarding the bill and change for the $20 bill.  My wife, finally said, “Just give me 4 one-dollar bills and two pennies, please.”  The server huffed but complied and my wife said, “Talk it over with your supervisor if you need to but do what I asked.”  I told my wife that the supervisor, who was about the same age as the server would probably not comprehend it either, so it was an exercise in futility.  This is not a unique situation and one that I encounter far too often for comfort.  Strip those young minds of computers and expect them to use cognitive reason and logic or “common sense” and you have a total disaster on your hands.  That is a problem!

Why is it a problem?  Because, that is the generation that will be leading this nation in just a few years and if they are that challenged in the use of common life functions, how does that bode for the nation?  Most of those also are completely ignorant of historical facts and know little to nothing of our Constitution, System of Government, or the Electoral Process.  They operate in a world where whims rule, emotions drive their bus and regurgitate the rhetoric they have been taught in schools.  We are living in a time where most of the university professors, many of the public-school teachers are products of an educational system that is anti-God, liberal if not socialist in their ideological views, and incapable of demonstrating the use of reason and logic in problem-solving.  We have created a system where the attempt is to make everyone feel warm and fuzzy, making everything average by lowering the standards to accommodate the underachievers or those with lower abilities rather than inspiring everyone to climb higher.  We have created a system where there is little to no reward for achievement and no penalty for failure or lack of involvement and investment in the process.

I blame the educational system for the product being presented.  No, I do not lump every teach in that basket but those of you who are good teachers you know the problem and share my lament.  I blame the parents for abdicating their role and responsibility in shaping and developing their children’s education and learning.  Back in my day, (yes, I’m waxing nostalgic) parents, for the most part, wanted or demanded to know what we were doing educationally and did not leave the shaping of our beliefs and core values to the educators.  I also blame the church for shirking its biblical and moral duty to instill in the hearts of the young, core principles and provide a moral foundation that will guide them through the troubled waters of life.  When churches adopted the idea that it was taboo to speak of matters deemed political their silence opened the door for the indoctrination of our children ideologically to our detriment.  NO, I am not suggesting that the pastor and church spend every Sunday on politics but that they teach basic moral values and principles, the benefit of education and knowledge, and fearlessly highlight those political policies and ideologies that are foreign to the teachings of Scripture.  Who should we obey, God or man?

Lastly, I blame the students for this condition but it is not solely their fault.  We have allowed them to become slothful and they have learned a worldview that preaches ‘entitlement’, ‘fairness’, and ‘equality’ without addressing the reward of dreaming, daring, and doing.  In life the adage, “nothing ventured, nothing gained” is applicable and when I see a young person motivated and fully invested in the pursuit of knowledge, my heart leaps because I have hope for that generation.  My oldest grandson is a highly motivated young man and when he finished high-school he had earned over 40 hours of college credit through his AP Courses.  His brother, next in age, has seen the rewards of his investment and has become motivated to achieve as well.  Their parents are highly invested in their learning and the development of their core values and that is an incredibly huge factor in what is happening with those children.  I know many people who have a high school diploma and cannot read or write cognitively.  I know people with college degrees who have about as much ‘common sense’ as a plow mule and are incapable of functioning outside their limited educational discipline.

Education is important and as I learned in college, the greatest tool I could develop was the ability to reason and research.  I knew, and many of my professors instilled in my mind that college was not to ‘teach me everything’ but enable me to ask the right question and know where to look for the right answers.  I developed a basic foundation and from that foundation, I have spent the last forty plus years building knowledge and learning wisdom in the application of that knowledge.  I was taught, at home, to think and developed a core system of beliefs that would enable and embolden me to question and even challenge ideological rhetoric that was not supported by empirical data and facts.  I had professors who totally disagreed with my position but acknowledge respect for me because I used REASON and backed up my arguments with data.  I did not change them nor they me, but we enjoyed a journey into a realm of learning that many of my fellow students were oblivious even existed.

This is another of the many reasons I will VOTE NO on the Liberal Leftist Socialist Agenda of the Democrats in November.   I pray that you will examine where we are, what is happening, and awaken enough to see what needs to be done rather than allowing your bias and emotions to rule your decisions.

God bless you and God bless America!