Whats wrong with our society?

That was the question at the peak of EVERY discussion this weekend. It didn’t matter what the actual subject matter was, in nearly every case, the last question asked came round to “whats wrong with us” or  “whats wrong with our world”. 

One of the conversations was dealing with the educational aspects of this country.  I am, as most of my readers know, hard core about the ills that have been dealt out by the current educational system.  In one discussion I had with a couple with kids in school currently, I was informed that what I have thought was a bad situation is much much, so very much worse.  Back in the earlier part of this century, I pretty much blew a fuse over a term: ‘no child left behind’.  It took my life partner several days to cool me down enough that I wasn’t ready to go “killin’ what needs a’killin’ ”  Then Oblammy-o-boy took a swing at it and created “common core”.

That ‘core’ came from the bottom of a trash heap from what was described to me this weekend.  These children are being taught NOTHING.  Absolutely nothing of value. The core is reading and math.  Thats it!  And the math is some “new math” that none of us, not one of us adults can make heads nor tails of.  They have taken the most basic of math functions and twisted it and applied rules to it that completely obscure logic.  Yes, the kids can type, and use social media, and other internet things, but they are not taught writing skills, the two kids in question (3rd grade and sophmore) DO NOT KNOW CURSIVE WRITING!!!!!! The 3rd grader was asking her dad ‘whos Abe Lincoln?’ Which lead to ‘so whats a president?’

Reading (just enough to function)

Math (twisted up to discourage wanting to know more)

That!

Is!

It!

No histories, no sciences, nothing but functional, and barely so, skills to get along.  

I won’t go much further on it here except to say that discussion of pulling these kid out of the school system and beginning homeschooling was broached more than once.  The fact that this school system is a “blue ribbon” school only means, to me, that they are able to train the kids to hit a specific score on aptitude tests so they can keep their funding high.  That thought sent the conversations into other realms of greed and graft, and returned to that question at the beginning of the post.

And I dont have an answer.  

But I do have a small contribution towards a solution.

If you have kids, in school, public schools are the worst, but many private schools are following course; pull them out.  If the parents are working two jobs to make ends meet assess why that is.  If its to support the kids in school, one of the parents needs to quit and start doing what a parent should and support the kids AT HOME.  Homeschooling is not hard, it is only that we have been ‘taught’ that it is.  It doesnt take that long to string search for homeschooling info, groups, support structure, legal aspects, and even legal support groups.  The books can be pricey, but some groups do “buys” and spread the cost out among many helping ease that burden. 

The advantage(s) to this should be obvious.  Closer relationships with our children, they won’t be brainwashed by the state and made into a barely functional dependent cradle to grave, and of course, they will be stronger for having a properly built foundation of knowledge and principles, not some rotten core barely eligible for compost duty.

If ANY of my readers are curious on this, the email link there on the right hand bar does work.  I can help in direction at the very least, and suggest texts, and other things.  Fair warning, I am no expert, nor legal eagle so any advice I suggest is just opinion.  You use it at your risk and discretion. (But my opinion, from evidence shown, screams to take our kids back.)