NHEG-Magazine-November-December

www.NewHeightsEducation.org
www.NewHeightsEducation.org
The History and
Results of our
Disastrous Public
School System, Part II
All across the nation, students are being
prodded like cattle into classrooms, and
the one-size-fits-all approach is failing
them.
By Justin Spears
Monday, May 27, 2019
There is a popular saying that “the proof is in the pudding.” In the first part of this article set, my colleague Mike Margeson
spelled out the historical roots of the American schooling system. He clearly laid out the blueprint that men like Horace Mann
used to build a system that does anything but “educates.” Factor in that trillions of dollars have been spent on schooling, and
it makes it even harder to justify.
A Broken System
Yet we continue to hear the “Red for Ed” crowd scream for more funding. Here in the state of Indiana, the superintendent of
public education is leading an assault on the state legislature for a meager 2 percent increase in state funding. Many educators
are characterizing this as a decrease in funding! In no other walk of life would we continue to pour so many resources into a
failed system. If you had any doubt about this after reading Part One, let me present you with some facts.
In what was one of many fiery speaking engagements, the late John Taylor Gatto delivered a line that has resonated with me
as I have studied the effects the public schooling system has on children. In this particular speech, Gatto was recounting the
story of Jaime Escalante, the educator who successfully taught calculus at Garfield High School in Los Angeles yet was forced
to resign.
As he finishes describing the trials and fate of Escalante, Gatto explains that above racism and other forms of bigotry is the
embedded idea that what really occurred was a deliberate attempt to stop genuine learning. Earlier in the speech, Gatto laid
out a compelling case of how and why schooling is meant to keep citizens ignorant. This success at an inner city school was not
going to be tolerated by the establishment. He implored his listeners to understand the real problem and to quit “fencing with
shadows.”
Flushing Money Down the Drain
So what does this mean? Throughout history, compulsory schooling has consistently been viewed as not only progressive but
also in need of reform. The most common method of reform has been to throw piles of money at the problem. According to
the Department of Education’s (DOE) website, the DOE spent an estimated $69.4 billion in 2017. Compare that to the initial $2.9
billion ($23 billion adjusted for inflation) budgeted under the Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965.
To put this into context, education spending as a percent of gross domestic product has gone from 2.6 percent in the 1950s
to 6.1 percent as recently as 2010. This is just a look at federal spending; each state also allocates a portion of their budget to
education, with California leading the way at over $72 million. Finally, we have seen a tremendous amount of private capital
injected to help reform schools. Institutions such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have invested billions of dollars in
education. All this spending must be yielding better results, right? Let’s take a look.
90 90 NHEG | GENiUS Magazine MAGAZINE | November | www.geniusmag.com
- December
Contrary to what those in public education will tell you, the system is flush with cash, which generates very few positive
results. Take New York as an example. The state was front and center in the reform battle during President Obama’s Race to
Leading up to the controversial dash for cash, the city had been experiencing an education overhaul, including battles over
charters and a knock-down fight with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Board of Education chief, Joel Klein, and
the powerful unions. The state was seeing an infusion of Wall Street cash backing charters, which were being throttled by state
Democrats and union bosses.
November - December 2019 | NHEG Magazine 91