By Bob Beanblossom
26 October 2016
It seems to me that we have forgotten the intent of education. The core idea of free primary and secondary education and of post-secondary education, where universities were bastions of legitimate freedom of inquiry and expression, were for two purposes, both of which seem to be lost today:
1. To develop good American citizens–with the cooperative efforts of the family, the community, and the churches: Citizens who were honest and hard working–who loved their country and carried their share of the load; Americans who were ready when the call to arms came, and who were able when the call to Space came.2. To produce, again with the cooperation of the family, the diverse skill sets that allowed individuals to become productive workers in a society protected by the government, not ruled by it: laborers, artisans, engineers, farmers, scientists, statesmen, and so on.
In my generation the degree became the goal instead of education. An overabundance of these paper tigers flooded the workplace with top-heavy aspirants with worthless degrees who have been taught that productive labor is beneath them
Until we make work a good 4-letter word again, return to an educational system that meets the original intent, and quit paying people not to work, we will see no improvement. This, of course, is part and parcel of the anti-religion (Christian and Jew, of course) movement that teaches our children that the American Work Ethic with all its historically proven benefits is bad, and relativistic Me-ism where I do and say what pleases me, and expect Government to take care of me.