| Education (a.k.a not nearly as good as the other topics) There are many motives for educating our children. On a national level education is important because we need to be intellectually competitive with other countries to both protect our national security and to be commercially successful. On a personal level we want our children to obtain the highest level of success that they are capable of. And most importantly (and least politically correctly), it is quite annoying to be constantly surrounded by stupid people. At present, the government doesn�t seem to be doing a very good job of running the educational system. Luckily, many children are fortunate enough to attend fine public schools or are able to afford private schools. Unfortunately many children in this country attend schools that hardly even deserve to bear the name. We have gotten to a point in this country where teachers are, for the most part, people who had neither the intelligence nor the drive to obtain a high level of education. As every year passes the average vocabulary of this nation�s students drops. Facts and concepts that were once considered essential for survival are today considered elective material. If the number of intelligent people in this country keeps declining at such a pace where will we be 20 years down the road? Living off those with natural talent can only take a society so far. George W. Bush has some interesting ideas on educational reform. He favors a voucher system in which parents can choose which school they would like to send their children to. He seems to want to make education a for profit business (where would you rather go�. ITT Tech or Harvard.) He plans to take government funding away from schools that repeatedly fail to meet certain standards because we all know that the less money a school has the better it performs (insert sarcasm here.) In all fairness he plans to relocate that money into vouchers to send children to private schools where they can learn math, English, and the Apostle�s Creed. In his plan Mr. Bush is in favor of extreme state and local control of the American school system. He feels that the federal government should be involved in little else besides making sure people can read and teaching them �character.� Because if anyone should tell people how to behave on matters of morality and civic pride, it would have to be the federal government. He plans to encourage this by having a �zero tolerance� policy for those who disrupt class so it would be easier to remove unsavory characters from school (perhaps he has confused corporal with capitol punishment.) He also favors national funding of the involvement of church groups and charities in public schools. Which, though unconstitutional, would probably make people nicer� to people who share their beliefs. Vice President Gore feels that we need to strengthen public schools. He feels that a voucher system will only weaken our public school system. He does endorse charter schools. The idea of a charter school is semi-controversial, though as long as the children learn what is needed and religion is not involved I can�t see a problem with them. In step with his E-excitement E-Gore hopes to eventually have internet access in every classroom. Though the internet is of little use if you can�t read. He also integrates his love of technology with his love of parental involvement in a child�s schooling by supporting technology that would allow working parents to keep track of their child�s progress online or on television. This would, in theory, thwart the effective (and self tested) routine of mail interception used by underachievers throughout history. The largest flaw involved in this technology would be the average parent�s dependence on their child for net help. Oh yes� and expressing interest in your child�s education online when you come home form work after they are asleep doesn�t really seem like it would make much of a difference to the child�s education. Though I assume it couldn�t hurt. Gore realizes that large class sizes and worn out school buildings are two problems that have caused people to become upset with the public school system. He seems committed to solving these problems. If he is elected only time will tell if he is up to the challenge of making public schools in this country exceptional. In 1954, as a result of cold war fever, congress added the phrase �under god� to the pledge of allegiance. Though previously reserved only for special occasions, after the change, it was implemented as a daily event in public schools as a form of propaganda. The phrase �under god� was used to instill the idea, in the mind of schoolchildren, that the US was better than the communists because we had god and they were godless. At that moment the pledge of allegiance became a prayer and an oath. In school I observed my right not to say the pledge, though I was forced to stand with my hands behind my back out of respect. I was treated and felt awkwardly because of this decision. After 7th grade no one really cared or noticed. Though when I was younger it was something that made me feel badly about myself and my beliefs. When I hear George W. Bush putting god and his morality into school it scares me. He doesn�t seem too religious on the outside and he seems to be pandering to his party. Though in considering his father�s open contempt for atheists, like myself, I feel my guard should be up. The elder George Bush went so far as to say that atheists were not citizens and could never be patriotic and intolerance is often passed from generation to generation. So, in protection of the religious rights of the people, I would vote for Gore based on educational ideas. Even though he too seems to mention god a bit too much in the school system. The trend toward legislating morality constantly shocks me. A required ethics class or community service project seems reasonable to graduate from high school, but religious involvement seems rather unnecessary. Also both candidates are for parental involvement. If a parent is going to be involved with a child�s schooling they will be. Al or George can�t do anything about a personal matter like that. All they can do is try and make sure that all children have every educational opportunity the government can provide. Aside from the religious and moral reasons for my choice, I also agree that a voucher system would be detrimental to our public school system. I was forced to go to a catholic school for a few years because of the wretched state of the public school in my town. The problem was not that I had to pay to go to school without government vouchers. The problem was the school system in my town. We need to fix the public schools of this country rather than give up on them. Though my normal newsletter length is not filled this one is over because I am turning into a socialist as I type. I always promised myself that if I went to college I would never do something so clich� |