Grow Up And Be A Bunny
American schools are training students to become docile members of a totalitarian state, writes Constitutional lawyer John W. Whitehead at Rutherford.org:
School officials at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Va.--ironically enough, the much-vaunted home of Thomas Jefferson--ordered the destruction of an eight-page edition of their student newspaper which had already been printed and was awaiting distribution. Why? Because school officials feared that an editorial questioning whether student-athletes need gym class might upset PE teachers. The newspaper, dubiously named The Revolution, was subsequently reprinted minus the editorial.In Norfolk, Va., two teachers at Norview High School were placed on administrative leave for distributing "unauthorized" materials to their 12th grade government students. The materials, a one-page handout and a video, advised the students about how to deal with police if stopped. Specifically, the materials explain how legal rights apply to police searches of vehicles, homes or individuals and how people can cite those rights during encounters with police.
These two situations barely scratch the surface regarding the hostile nature of today's public school environment, at least in terms of individuality and freedom. For the nearly 50 million students who are attending elementary and secondary public schools, their time in school will be marked by overreaching zero tolerance policies, heightened security and surveillance and a greater emphasis on conformity and behavior-controlling drugs--all either aimed at or resulting in the destruction of privacy and freedom. In fact, as director Cevin Soling documents in his insightful, award-winning documentary The War on Kids (2009), available at www.thewaronkids.com, the moment young people walk into school, they find themselves under constant surveillance: they are photographed, fingerprinted, scanned, x-rayed, sniffed and snooped on. Between metal detectors at the entrances, drug-sniffing dogs in the hallways and surveillance cameras in the classrooms and elsewhere, America's schools have come to resemble prison-like complexes. Add to this the fact that young people today are immersed in a drug culture--one manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry--almost from the moment they are born, and you have the makings of a perfect citizenry for the Orwellian society in which we now live: one that can be easily cowed, controlled, and directed.
In this way, with the government's power rapidly increasing while that of the individual is subject to all manner of restrictions, the public schools are a perfect microcosm of what is happening across the nation. And while the notion of free speech remains enshrined in the First Amendment of our Constitution, censorship--once considered taboo in our freedom-loving culture--is no longer a dirty word. Instead, it is what responsible adults must now do in order to ensure that no one is offended or made to feel inferior.
Yet not too long ago, no one would have thought twice about teachers actually teaching the Bill of Rights or students exercising their free speech rights in a written editorial. Today, such acts are looked upon as radical--even revolutionary. Unfortunately, by teaching such a sinister conformity, school officials are raising up a generation of compliant, unquestioning citizens who will march in lockstep with whatever their government dictates.
The problem with harassing the masses into conformity is they wont care to defend to country if it is ever attacked.
And a brainless mass of people after awhile is kida like throwing bullets in a fire - you never know in which direction they will finally explode
lujlp at June 24, 2010 8:12 AM
Not necessarily "whatever their government dictates." It can be, and often is, "whatever their local, narrow-minded school board dictates." And I think that's even more frightening.
Steve H at June 24, 2010 8:24 AM
We printed and distributed an underground humor newspaper when I was in high school, apparently before things got this bad. The only time we got in trouble was when I was caught soliciting funds for printing costs in the lunch room, and all I got was a warning. We found out years later we almost got shut down for a shocking expose on favoritism in the drama club (which bordered on accusing a teacher of having a sexual relationship with a student, to be candid), but our English teacher stuck up for us.
I was always a proponent of public school education, but it looks like I'll be saving up for private school for my daughter.
Josh at June 24, 2010 10:12 AM
This is the purpose of public education. It certainly isn't to educate, or teach kids to apply reason to reach their own conclusions.
MarkD at June 24, 2010 10:30 AM
Great article. We should be especially concerned about the teachers who were placed on leave for teaching 12th grade government students about their Constitutional rights.
CB at June 24, 2010 1:06 PM
"school officials are raising up a generation of compliant, unquestioning citizens who will march in lockstep with whatever their government dictates."
Well, that's pretty much what we were complaining about when I went to school back in The Before Times, too. Sounds like not much has changed, really.
Pricklypear at June 24, 2010 3:02 PM
>>I was always a proponent of public school education, but it looks like I'll be saving up for private school for my daughter.
I realize many parents cannot for a variety of reasons home school. However, plenty of evidence shows that if you want the best education for your kids, that is the way to go for many people. Even compared to good private schools.
Back in the Midwest, a home-schooling mother told me the following story.
In that state, the legal requirement for home-schooled kids is they must all take the same standard progress test the public school kids take.
THE SCHOOLS GET EXTRA MONEY IF THE SCORES ARE HIGHER.
And, the home schooled kids are included in with the local school kids.
They had a school board meeting, and teacher after teacher got up to whine about "those kids" being included in with the school kids, and costing them money.
Finally, the president of the local home-schooling association got the floor and said, "Before you discuss this any more, please be aware the home-schooled kids in this district average at the 95th percentile."
That was the end of that discussion.
One reason not to home-school, and there are several reasons besides economics, is the personalities involved. My eldest daughter did not get along well with her own daughter, they quarrel a lot. She wanted to home-school, but her husband said that was not a good idea due to the chronic conflict. The girl is doing well in a private school.
Being a long-term observer of home-schooling, it looks like the best home-schooling programs are where the local association arranges at least a day a week so the kids can get together, for sports or science activities, etc.
irlandes at June 24, 2010 7:03 PM
From article: America's schools have come to resemble prison-like complexes.
I've known this for around 20 years, ever since I first heard the prison term "lockdown" used in reference to securing a school in an emergency. Add the high barbed wire you see around a lot of school physical plants, and that's exactly what the entire complex resembles outwardly. A medium-security prison.
So it's really no surprise to me that there is now the same resemblance inwardly as well. The mental and spiritual tranquilizing of millions of government school students is of a piece with the continuing pussification of American society in general.
cpabroker at June 24, 2010 8:09 PM
Has anyone heard the story about Wilder Publications? They publish a book that includes the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation, and is marketed to schools to use as a textbook. It includes the following disclaimer:
"This book is a product of its time and does not reflect the same values as it would if it were written today. Parents might wish to discuss with their children how views on race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and interpersonal relations have changed since this book was written before allowing them to read this classic work."
Pirate Jo at June 25, 2010 7:46 AM
Given the current state of the educational system, it is noteworthy that these "new, improved" schools seem to suit girls just fine, thanks, while it is the boys who are taking the brunt of the abuse, and who are understandably (but tragically) bailing out of a system that treats THEM as the problem, and which therefore seeks to control them -- and has set them up for failure.
A few years ago, when my kids were in high school and attending academic awards nights, at least two-thirds of the winners were girls. I asked the principal if he thought this presented a potential problem. The reply? "No." The explanation? None.
Jay R at June 25, 2010 11:39 AM
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