“Good Citizens Begin in the Classroom.”

An educated citizen is a productive citizen not just for the Republic but to the world at large. We continue to struggle with the hard truth that our youth are ill-prepared to lead America in the 21st century and beyond. We debate that our children are failing because of the:

• Music
• Television
• Drugs
• Clothes
• Video Games
• Lack of parental support

Although they may play a part they are not the sole reason for the youth and adolescents academic and social impotents. There are several reasons why are public schools are failing and thereby turning our youth into unproductive citizens.

There is a lack of accountability. Very rarely is the public education system held accountable for the undereducated students it produces. A great number of public schools have the ability to completely ignore parents and anyone else they do not receive funding from. And when a school is rifled with ineffective teachers and administrators what happens? Zero! Nothing! There is a void in the concept of student and parental satisfaction and neither realizes that they are being scammed until the student cannot enter college or the workforce. Fact, since 1960, the amount spent per pupil has more than tripled after dollars have been adjusted for inflation and yet the education of our children is subjected to quit possibly the most dismal academics in the world.

Despite higher-than-average per-pupil expenditures, public educated students in the U.S. are so far behind public-educated students in other countries that I believe that it is a crime against humanity. According to the Department of Education, public schools receive an average of $9,969.00 per pupil; twice the average amount spent per student at private and charter schools. Some areas, like the District of Columbia, spend in excess of $12,000.00 per public school educated pupil. So, where is the money going to? Does anybody know or perhaps more importantly--does anybody care? Those who run schools have no personal risk and no incentive to cut costs or increase revenues. In fact, when a school does poorly or spends all of its money, more often than not that school receives even more funding. Without a healthy jolt of public outrage, the funds are almost guaranteed to be wasted--again.

Fact of the matter, public schools are not required to answer to parents, but they are lock-and-step to the will of politicians and school boards, all of who have their own political agendas. I am not exaggerating when I say that these agendas have weakened the foundation of the entire public school system. Good teachers are frequently forced to deal with so called brilliant education plans thought up by state judiciaries, legislatures, and bureaucracies.

The taxpayers are then expected to pay the bill to incorporate the plans. For this reason alone, a separation of school and state is needed. By removing the interference of politicians and giving the power to the parents and teachers, the true essence of accountability will become a reality.

Unlike a pair of sweats, there is no one size fits all prescription for education and yet that is exactly what most students receive from a public school education. What is also discouraging is that gifted students often taking the same classes as students who require extra help. In rural areas for example, very rarely AP courses or other academic options will be available for students to excel and thus, creating a dropout rate of gifted students three times more than students who require additional academic enrichment. Effective teachers aren't given a chance to expand on innovative academic endeavors because they are forced to follow the plans that have been laid out before them. In the end, it is the children and our society that suffers from the one size fits all teaching style.

The No Child Left Behind Act was created to repair our horrific public schools, but in fact, it may have done more to damage the system and may take more than a decade to fix. Under this law, extreme emphasis is placed on test scores and punitive action. What's worse is that school districts have been forced to train students for NCLB tests versus offering them an expanded education they’ll need to survive and thrive in an ever changing society. And while the House Education Committee refers to the act as 'unfair', there is virtually no evidence that NCLB has done anything effective since its inception, and therefore must be eliminated post haste.

Conversely, if we continue to fail to address America’s broken education system then the final chapter in the demise of a first-rate public school education for youth and adolescents will be assured, and the philosophy of an “educated citizen is a productive citizen” will be no more than empty and baseless rhetoric.



Anthony P. Johnson