Education

Silence from the education “professionals” speaks volumes

By John Biver

One of my favorite writers, Laurie Higgins, heads up the Division of School Advocacy at the Illinois Family Institute. Some of her best writing isn’t even for publication – but is contained in letters and emails to those who work to undermine traditional values and imagine that left-wing inspired political utopia is possible. Laurie is hard-hitting and to the point.

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No holds barred education reform

By John Biver

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity to meet with the representative of an Illinois business group to discuss the perennial issue of school reform. His review of the problem mostly tracked with my own – low academic performance, high costs, and an unmovable bureaucracy. It’s a decades old tale – the only thing lacking is the political will to force the kinds of changes that will produce the schools taxpayers and children deserve.

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Politics, education, and the choice of ignorance

By John Biver

If you’re like me, you sense fewer Americans than ever understand what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they authored the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Our education system – both K12 and colleges – are clearly a part of the problem.

Excerpts from two recent op eds. First up is – “Dumb and Dumber, By Choice” by Dan Kennedy from October 23, 2009.

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In Brief: the 2008 GOP National Platform – Education

By John Biver

The next chapter in the National Platform is on Education – here is the title and the section headings:

Education Means a More Competitive America

Principles for Elementary and Secondary Education

Early Childhood Education

Giving Students the Best Teachers

Asserting Family Rights in Schooling

Reviewing the Federal Role in Primary and Secondary Education

Maintaining our Commitment to IDEA

Higher Education

Meeting College Costs

Innovation Will Lead to Lifelong Learning

Community Colleges Continue to Play a Crucial Role

Special Challenges in Higher Education

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We need school reform debated with the same intensity as health care reform

By John Biver

We live in two worlds simultaneously. In one world, citizens are apathetic about the poor quality of the government-run school system, while in the other world, they are up in arms regarding the proposed government take-over of health care. In one world, most people acknowledge that our government-run schools are seriously underperforming, in the other world – few are able to resist the temptation to pretend their community’s schools are different.

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Reforming education and health care so citizens are in charge

By John Biver

“Let’s Put Parents Back in Charge!” is the title of a great little paperback book by Joe Bast and Herbert Walberg published by the Heartland Institute a few years ago. The book is a steal at $4.50, but you can download a free version of it at the Heartland website. It’s a must read for anyone wanting a succinct, yet rather thorough explanation of the key to genuine school reform.

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Why you should buy and read Glenn Beck’s book “Common Sense” (Part 2)

By John Biver

“Then he decided to act.” That’s the third sentence in the author’s note on the opening pages of Glenn Beck’s new book “Common Sense.” He’s writing there about British citizen Thomas Paine, who had moved to the colonies in the early 1770s, worked hard for two years, and watched as “his fellow colonists grew tired of British oppression.”

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Amateurs, professionals, teacher unions and strikes

By John Biver

Last year writer and scholar Thomas Sowell had this to say about “Amateurs Outdoing Professionals”:

“When amateurs outperform professionals, there is something wrong with that profession. If ordinary people, with no medical training, could perform surgery in their kitchens with steak knives, and get results that were better than those of surgeons in hospital operating rooms, the whole medical profession would be discredited.

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