A video of Dumb and Dumber co-star Jeff Daniels ranting
about why America is no longer the greatest country in the world is
going viral. Watch it here.
In it, Daniels says that the United States ranks low in every important category, including education, yet ranks high in the number of people in jail and the number of people with ridiculous religious views (this part is implied). This is a very interesting take on how people are starting to view America and got me thinking. Has America ever been #1 in the categories Daniels lists off? Specifically, has America ever been top of the charts for education? If so, when was that and what has changed since then?
In it, Daniels says that the United States ranks low in every important category, including education, yet ranks high in the number of people in jail and the number of people with ridiculous religious views (this part is implied). This is a very interesting take on how people are starting to view America and got me thinking. Has America ever been #1 in the categories Daniels lists off? Specifically, has America ever been top of the charts for education? If so, when was that and what has changed since then?
According to HistoryNet.com,
The United States was #1 in education just after WWII and into the 1950's to
1970's. They claim this boost to #1 came
as a result of the GI Bill as soldiers returned from war ready to better
themselves and start careers. A decline
in our education rank began after the 1970's and we are now ranked #18 out of
36 industrialized countries. The article
claims complacency as the reason for our decline. Complacency or not, I think they missed a key
factor. There must be something
significant that changed during the 70's and 80's that launched the decline. I found that factor.
It was in 1979 that the Federal Government seized control
over education with the creation of the Department of Education based in
Washington D.C. aimed at controlling the minimum standards for education across
all 50 states. Since their creation, we
have dropped in the rankings year over year to the despicable level we are at
now.
Was it a good thing to centralize education to Washington
D.C.? Does centralizing education make
all things equal for everyone? Does it
increase the value of education and make people smarter? Did it keep us at number one?
What happens when countries nationalize industries and
organizations and try to make every one equal?
Does it make everyone equally rich, or equally poor? I suggest that it makes everyone equally
poor. Consider the Soviet Union, China,
Cuba, and North Vietnam. Do you think of
wealth and prosperity when you think of those nations that have tried to make
all things equal and control education and production at a national level? I don't.
I think of poverty and mediocrity.
The same principle applies to education. Does taking control at a federal level and
trying to make all education equal make people equally smart, or equally
"less smart" (trying to be politically correct)? The study posted by HistoryNet.com
seems to show the true results that occur when things are taken over by the
Federal Government. Things decline
rather than thrive.
It is time to dismantle the Department of Education and give
control back to the states. Don't let
theoretical arguments sway you. Look at
history. Look at the facts. We were number one in education until we
created the Department of Education, and now we are 18th out of 36. What additional facts do you need?
The Federal Government is not the answer to our problems...
it IS the problem. Their solution for nationalized education is dumb and dumber.
I cannot argue that you may be on to something. I am also a pain in the A$$ and never accept one thing has a reason. No doubt it could be a reason, but I don't think you could prove causation over correlation. When I began reading your post, something more immediate jumped out at me...the end of WWII and the fact that we were the only modern industrialzed nation that was not obliterated by the war. How long do you suppose that the other (European) countries took to rebuild their infrastructures and economies before they could focus on intellectual pursuits? How much more "free" did these same nations become after the war? Yes they are socialist, but I would bet more "free" than pre-war. I would put that my money on their education systems playing catch-up for 20-30 years. I am also very suspect of any simple answer to fix our system from people that are not in education. If you want my input, politicians at the state level are not educators and are out of touch with real problems in the classroom. Why are they qualfied to "fix" us. Part of the problem is the fact that millions of non-educators keep "fixing" us over and over and over and over.
ReplyDelete...and yes, I caught the irony of my grammar mistakes :-0 Still hard using just one hand!
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