As we all know, the state of education in this country has been in serious for quite some time.
Let’s talk about some of the crazy being sold by the federalization of our schools.
An no, Connecticut is not off the hook. Look what kind of crazy is being sold in Pennsylvania.
There is a reason our founding fathers did not write “education” into the Constitution in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, which is the list of things Congress has the power to do. No Child Left Behind is one of the many examples.
The truth is that before the Department of Education, local districts and states did a much better job teaching our children. The more money and regulations the federal government has thrown at education, the worse and more expensive it has become.
The more it fails, the more we water down the testing scores. After all, what could be a better way to cover a big government failure.
Don’t get me wrong. I have profound for educators and the necessary function they serve in society. That is the reason I trust local educators, school boards, and ultimately, towns to make their own decisions. Since local communities and parents care more about their children the federal government cares about their children, it is easier and more likely to keep education on task at a local level.
The result of a transition to more federal intervention should be obvious. Does your child or a child you know understand and exhibit mastery of double digit multiplication by the fifth grade?
Does that same child recognize the basic structural components of a sentence? Can he or she tell you what a past participle or an infinitive is?
This is not a problem of money. The Federal Reserve can create all of the money Congress asks for. What they cannot create within a mildly extreme amount they can always mandate the towns to spend. Unfortunately, education is so bad that high school and even college graduates do not know that the tenth amendment to the US Constitution says. It does not allow Congress to mandate anything in education. The text is as follows –
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Now, go to Article 1, Section 8, and show me “education”. Before you say “general welfare clause”, general welfare has to directly and equally benefit everybody. Otherwise, it is specific welfare.
Were education truly functional in the US, we would have all read Article 1, Section 9, which tells Congress what it can’t do. In particular, let’s focus on the second to last item in that section –
“No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law”
Does the White House paying Armstrong Williams to promote the failed No Child Left Behind Act seem Constitutional to you? Can you find this power delegated to the executive branch in Article 2 of the Constitution? Did Congress pass a law to authorize that $240,000?
Thanks to federalized education, no one noticed. Just like McDonald’s University doesn’t teach managers to question company policy, why would federally controlled and mandated schools actually teach you about the Constitution?
If you have not seen the Constitution Classes, please do so. These are key to understanding your rights and how to defend them.
