| Unfortunately, public schools, even in the "best" | | | | protect them. That's why public schools will never |
| neighborhoods, can harm our kids in many ways. | | | | improve and will always waste children's precious time. |
| Here's a list of 15 ways public schools can hurt children | | | | 9. Many public schools subject children to drugs, bullies, |
| (and parents): | | | | violence, and values many parents disapprove of. |
| 1. Public schools cripple millions of children's ability to | | | | 10. Public schools pressure many parents who have |
| read by using the "whole-language" instruction method | | | | bright, normal children to give their kids potentially |
| (now called "balanced reading instruction" by many | | | | dangerous mind-altering drugs to make the bored kids |
| public schools). | | | | "behave" in class. Over four million allegedly "unruly" |
| 2. Many public schools spend almost 50 percent of the | | | | kids line up for Ritalin every day in public schools |
| school day on non-academic subjects that waste | | | | across America. Methylphenidate (sold as Ritalin) and |
| children's precious time. The rest of their time is spent | | | | cocaine are both listed in "Schedule II" of the U.S. Drug |
| on classes such as sex-education, personal safety, | | | | Enforcement Agency's Controlled Substances Act |
| consumer affairs, AIDS education, | | | | (CSA). |
| save-the-environment, family life, study halls, | | | | 11. Public schools are compulsory. They therefore |
| multiculturalism, homeroom, electives, counseling, or | | | | violate parents' natural and constitutional right to control |
| sports activities. | | | | the education of their children. Public school authorities, |
| 3. Public schools teach "new" or "fuzzy" math | | | | whose salaries we pay with our taxes, force parents |
| (sometimes called by different names). These | | | | to hand over their children to government employees |
| instruction methods can cripple children's ability to learn | | | | called teachers and to schools that give an inferior |
| basic arithmetic. Students who fear math are less likely | | | | education. |
| to pursue good careers like computer science and | | | | 12. Public schools can destroy children's love of learning |
| engineering that depend on a love of and competence | | | | and self-confidence as learners. This can cripple |
| with math. | | | | children's ambitions and desire to go to college. This in |
| 4. These schools force children to read dumbed-down | | | | turn, can force these children to end up with |
| textbooks in English, History, and many other subjects. | | | | low-paying jobs for the rest of their lives if and when |
| The textbooks are often geared to the slowest | | | | they graduate high school. |
| learners in the class and water-down the subject | | | | 13. Public schools force millions of Christian parents to |
| matter. Dumbed-down classes based on | | | | hand over their children to public schools which are |
| dumbed-down public-school textbooks therefore | | | | decidedly anti-Christian. For example, many social |
| waste children's precious time. This is especially true | | | | studies textbooks used in public schools have |
| for children who are quick learners, who must endure | | | | censored out references to such words as 'family,' |
| 12 years of excruciating boredom in public school | | | | 'marriage,' 'religion,' 'fidelity,' etc. Many textbooks today |
| classes. | | | | refer to a family simply as people choosing to live |
| 5. Public schools force children to study subjects they | | | | together. |
| might hate, can't learn, will never use in their lives, or | | | | 14. Public schools force children to witness sometimes |
| which bore them. For example, many public schools | | | | shocking or obnoxious sexual material in sex-education |
| force students to study a foreign language. Children | | | | classes, without parents' knowledge or consent. |
| learn better when they study subjects that interest | | | | 15. The public-school near monopoly and |
| them. | | | | compulsory-attendance laws cripple parents right and |
| 6. Author John Gatto, in his book "Dumbing Us Down" | | | | ability to choose a quality, low-cost school in an |
| said that a child eager to learn can learn to read, write, | | | | education free-market that has been squashed by the |
| and do basic arithmetic in about 100 hours. Yet our | | | | public-school monopoly. |
| public schools keep children locked up for 12 years, yet | | | | Parents should consider taking their kids out of public |
| can barely teach millions of kids to read. | | | | school permanently. Parents can take advantage of |
| 7. Public schools force parents to pay heavy school | | | | quality, low-cost education alternatives available to |
| taxes for an inferior, often mind-numbing education for | | | | them right now, such as the new Internet private |
| their children. | | | | schools that have low tuition costs. |
| 8. Public schools are a government-controlled | | | | Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of |
| near-monopoly. Bad schools don't close down | | | | "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie |
| because compulsory taxes prop them up. Incompetent | | | | To Parents and Betray Our Children." |
| or mediocre teachers aren't fired because tenure laws | | | | Article Copyrighted © 2005 by Joel Turtel. |