I used to think you were rather overboard on your condemnation of the government school system. After all, my brother, sister, and I were all educated in public school, and none of us turned out to be drones that believe everything those from the government say. In fact, we all have a healthy skepticism of the government, inherited from our parents, and probably more developed than our parents'.

Then I thought perhaps it was just that the government indoctrination wasn't as strong when and where I went to school (NW IN, graduated in 1984). But no, although I think the problem is worse now, it did exist back then.

Eventually, thinking back on growing up though, I realized that though I attended public school, most of my education, and the most important parts of all of our (mine and my siblings) educations, were given at home. For me, I can say that for all practical purposes, I was mostly home- and self- schooled. I learned to read from my mother before I attended school, at a time when most children did not even learn their alphabet until they started kindergarten. I was also taking music lessons - accordion, because we didn't have room in the house for a piano - by the time I started school. That was because I started trying to teach myself on my grandmother's piano. Throughout school, I usually taught myself from my books, with my mom's help, from my school books and books from the library ahead of the teacher's lessons. It was a good thing - it saved me from many of the experimental teaching methods they were using at the time which caused many of my classmates no end of problems.

I could go on, but the point is, my parents couldn't really afford private school for us. And the few private schools that existed in our area weren't of much better quality than the public schools anyway. In fact, when kids transferred back from the private schools to our public high school, they usually struggled, so surprisingly, it seemed that our public high school was probably of better quality - though that wasn't necessarily saying much. But my parents did what they could to make up the gap, and to instill values, instead of allowing the public school to do that.

In other words, they acted like parents, instead of allowing the school to become our parents.

The biggest problem today is that the school systems have made it harder and harder for parents to do that. Back when I went through school, it was a lot easier for parents to take more control of what their children learned. Now, schools wield way too much control, and parents need to get that control back.

I ended up flipping off the radio during this segment yesterday. How dare you sit there and say I don't care enough for my children, and am imply that I am somehow neglecting or abusing them sending them to public school. Sorry, we are a single income family, barely making paycheck to paycheck in this economy. We just cannot afford the home schooling curriculum or to send 2 children to private school. It is mine and my husbands responsibility to raise him and make sure he doesn't fall for the propaganda the schools spew. I am involved in and outside of school in most all aspects of their lives. Don't you act so high and mighty, schools only can do so much. Parents are childrens primary teachers and I believe I am NOT raising a couple mediocre, brainless, government servants, because I don't rely on the school to raise my children.

Thank you for encouraging me to keep my son in a private school from K-4 through 4th. He is light-years ahead of the typical government trained child.

Neal..you wrote: "the goal of "public education" was only to educate our children to the point that they would be good employees and government subjects. Nothing more. The evidence of the failure of our government schools is everywhere."

Au contraire...the government schools have been an ABSOLUTE SUCCESS in producing mindless citizens who are good government workers and easily manipulated citizenry!

I, too, am sending my children to public school in a matter of weeks. My son will be in third grade and my daughter will start Kinder. I graduated from the public school system 20 years ago and have two degrees, a successful career, family, and home. my husband (yes, we are married) and I will not allow our children to become the "mediocre" citizens you feel constantly come out of public schools. I appreciate the fact that private schools may be better than public, BUT, it is not only the schools that count in the equation. Proper parenting, firm boundaries, and lots of interest in our children's activities in school and out are what will make my children proud, productive, successful citizens; no matter where their education comes from.

I truly hope that you do not teach English or Grammer at your public school.

Yeah, Neal.
Go visit Kent's School/classroom. I double-dog dare you, and I will vote Libertarian in the next election if you do.

Go on, you big lunk. Don't be a sissy!

If you wanna know how dumb this country has become, you should have watched Who wants to be a millionaire? last night.
Not one intellectual question.

Most public schools in the urban South are horrible. They are actually funded much better than rural Southern public schools which perform much better. My ol' Daddy used to say "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."

People who cant think, plan, and execute anything more complicated than a party or vacation for themselves, need government to do it for them.

America and Americans will continue doing routinely do what the rest of the world says can't be done as long as we think and act for ourselves as a way of life.

Adam's "animating contest of freedom," is what gives the average American the ability to think, adapt, solve problems and overcome adversity so well.

It's why Rommel ruefully quipped he'd never seen anybody who knew less or learned faster than the Americans.

We can survive a lousy education system, especially with books and knowledge so cheap and easy to find these days, as long as we don't lose that level of thinking, or the freedom that makes it natural.

I'm Christian, but I don't have a problem with teaching evolution in schools. The problem with creationism is that it's unprovable (probably by the design). Evolution, being a theory in science, allows itself to be actively analyzed in a scientific way. Even if it turns out incorrect, the process of analyzing the theory can lead to other discoveries. And that's where my problem begins.

Antichristian bigots on the left see evolution as a means of taking Christianity down a few pegs, so they actually fight to ban things like teaching the flaws of the theory of evolution. It's taught as a fact: rigid and uncompromising. Those who question it are ridiculed. The theory has become the very antithesis of science, and its proponents are often worse than those pushing environmental junk science because to accept its flaws (in their mind) means you are supporting creationism.

Perhaps there's a 3, and unknown, theory out there that's scientific in nature and fills in the massive potholes in evolutionary theory. Due to the fanatical zealots on the evolution front, that theory would also be stomped out!

I have a motto: Fear science when science fears debate.

I can see a lot of value in the concept of evolution, and perhaps it is right, but unless its proponents drop this militant, intolerant, anti-science approach to the theory I will always question it.

Yes, my kids are heading to a Brookwood school today; I'm not gonna tell you that it thrills me, but it is what it is. Here's the thing though, Neal (and everyone else)... I've reallized something about this circumstance: My children won't be a part of the heard of sheeple because they have me for a father. I refuse to let them get stuck with a mindset of cradle-to-grave dependancy from big Bro. I do pay attention to their needs, and their mother and I (yes, we're still married) are all over the teachers about their role as educators - not babysitters.
So maybe we are not alone. Face it... the public school system is simply massive and most of us send our kids there. It needs a lot of work; I'd be trilled seeing it converted to a privatized system but that's not happening overnight - or at all at this rate.
So I'll choose to make the best of the situation and can sleep at night knowing that for those of us who pay attention enough, things will work out. And hey... the case may be that one day my kids will look back and see some of the silliness that took place in their young education, and be glad that they had the bennifit of my prodding and annoyances about not settling and not giving over to letting everyone else dictate their path.

Just thinking out loud.

this is a question that you "parents" may be able to answer.......

how many days do your kids actually spend in the classroom????

365-104(weekends)- nat'l days off-holidays-???-?????-???=???

this is serious stuff....the teachers get paid for alot of days they don't teach(is the word teach legitiment here?)

but the education quality doesn't justify it.

When I started middle school, a "welcome" letter to the parents arrived in the mail. My parents counted 11 spelling and 9 grammatical errors in a two-page letter that went out over the principal's signature. My father turned up at school (and also at a board of ed meeting). My father's words were thus: "This letter went out over the principal's signature. There are numerous errors in spelling and grammar. This clearly indicates that the principal either doesn't know or doesn't care. Either way, that's a pretty sad statement to make about the public school system." My education continued in private schools. Not only was the education far superior, but it cost 20% less per fanny.

Neal,
Where did you place in the Class of 1967 at Texas A&M? In the top,in the middle,at the bottom?

I'm 28, I graduated from public school ten years ago. I left high school able to do algebra and geometry. I was able to read and write well. I learned our country's history. Has gov't school gotten that much worse in ten years? My kids are toddlers now, so this will be a big deal to me soon.

I'll add a caveat, I knew my teachers were liberals, I learned reverse discrimination (nonsense!) But my education was good overall. What's changed?!?!

Oh shoot... I said change... my bad.

Too bad they didn't teach you not to be a bigot.

Don't kid yourself. My husband and I also went to public schools and we turned out fine. Were there better alternatives? Probably, but not "better" enough at that time to warrant the extra cost.

However, schools have gotten a lot worse (i.e., less education, much more indoctrination) than they used to be. So cries of "Hypocrite!" are false, as circumstances have drastically changed.

As for me, my children will NEVER step foot in a govt school. We are educating them ourselves.

If you don't like your public schools, move to East Cobb. It's a Republican stronghold, but everybody there loves and supports their public schools. That's what makes them great.

As to Boortz. Let's see. He went to public schools all the way through high school. He went to Texas A&M, a state-supported public university. He sent his daughter to public schools.

Now that he's rich and decides he doesn't like paying taxes to support the public schools he mooched off of when he was poor, he says public schools are terrible.

What a hypocrite.

Neal. Given the (under)achievement gap between white/asian and non-white students, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the affirmative action built in to the health care bill. For example:

On page 879-880, the bill states that the Secretary of Health and Human Services "shall make grants to, or enter into contracts with, eligible entities . . . to operate a professional training program in the field of family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, or geriatrics, to provide financial assistance and traineeships and fellowships to those students, interns, residents or physicians who plan to work in or teach in the field of family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, or geriatrics."

The current bill as written provides financial incentives to those training programs and medical facilities who increase minority representation, not those who hire the best qualified applicant.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/racial_preferences_in_the_demo_1.html

I suppose in the idiotic South, it is taken as gospel that public schools are horrible. In New England, however, public schools are excellent. Thats because we're not a region of anti-tax rednecks who refuse to fund our public schools adequately.

Yes Jim, like you I see my child getting an overdose of "green" education but it is heartening that in my state private schools are seeing an increase in enrollment (as, I'm sure are the home schools). What now concerns me is sending my impressionable (almost)12th grader to college. Even those we hold dear, Duke, Chapel Hill, Wake Forest are decidedly left. His father can't understand why I prefer Hillsdale College to Duke University.

And then he or she can learn about how ancient humans had to run and hide from dinosaurs. And they'll take field trips to "creation science" museums.

And the all-white student population will gain your child an appreciation for getting along with and working well with people of different backgrounds.

I still have to make sure that my child isn't getting an overdose of "environmental" propaganda.

'Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too'

---Judge Elihu Smails