Education
Ron Paul works towards the elimination of the Department of Education.
On November 14, 2008 he said in a New York Times / Freakonomics interview:
“First, the Constitution does not authorize the Department of Education, and the founders never envisioned the federal government dictating those education policies.
Second, it is a huge bureaucracy that squanders our money. We send billions of dollars to Washington and get back less than we sent. The money would be much better off left in states and local communities rather than being squandered in Washington.
Finally, I think that the smallest level of government possible best performs education. Teachers, parents, and local community leaders should be making decisions about exactly how our children should be taught, not Washington bureaucrats. The Department of Education has given us No Child Left Behind, massive unfunded mandates, indoctrination, and in come cases, forced medication of our children with psychotropic drugs. We should get rid of all of that and get those choices back in the hands of the people.”
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While I would agree that the federal government has not done a good job with regard to education. Leaving the job up to the states would create a gross inequality, especially in states that have a high population of retirees, who would more than likely vote down any educational ballots.
I’m on your side buddy with almost everything else, except this. Kids don’t have a choice. So, when a parent doesn’t want to be involved, or just simply isn’t there, the child suffers. If they neglect their children, which I see quite a bit, those children lose.
It has to be standardized, and improved. The system has been the same for centuries. Change is needed….actual change.
I agree there is no provision in the consitution, and I’m on the fence about whether or not there should be, but the massive lack of college educated kids, and even the high school dropout rate is staggering.
We no longer live in a society where a high school diploma will allow one to be innovative and spur the economy. Yes, there are outliers and rare opportunities, but for the most part, college is now a necessity. Children not graduating from high school is just shocking.
Personal responsibilty people! Bring it back!
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Those are good points, and I wonder what Ron Paul’s response would be. I think that by far the biggest factor in a good education is the teacher, and I wouldn’t mind at all if a lot of the money going other ways (welfare, military, subsidies, etc.) now were put into paying teachers more, as long as there were some kind of system (not based on pathetic standardized tests) for eliminating the bad ones. Other than for that (I realize it would be substantial), though, I don’t think there needs to be a whole lot of school funding. A bad teacher in a modernized classroom with new textbooks gives a bad education, and I don’t think there is any way around that. If anything is a good investment of government money, I think it is paying teachers more.
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No Child Left Behind is atrocious. My daughter went to a school under this terrible plan for 2 years. She now goes to a private school. The difference in homework, class size, and general attitude of the school were completely different. If I hadn’t personally pushed my child to excel at reading and math she wouldn’t have been able to assimilate into the private school well at all. Not only that, but the other kids picked on my daughter because she was too advanced. Which discouraged her to perform well or even behave well.
Standardizing school programs nationally is a mistake. It eliminates competition between schools which eliminates the cultivation of educational programs that exceed “the norm”. I don’t want my daughter to be held back by national standards. I want her to know success through her drive and ability.
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