In the first leaflet written and distributed by the Nazi resistance group Die Weisse Rose (the White Rose), Hans Scholl writes,
For better or for worse, our leadership reflects the values and character of our citizenry. While I am frequently upset with the blatant disregard for our nation’s founding principles by our governing officials (not to mention the immorality), I also realize that is due primarily to the fact that most Americans do not clearly understand them. We not only tolerate these infringements into our personal liberties, we frequently vote for them and campaign vigorously for them.
Take, for example, the No Child Left Behind Act. This far reaching bill brings the power of the federal government right into my local school district. I see the fingerprints of it in the school newsletters I receive, and my children do not even attend public school. Nowhere in the Constitution is such power granted over education. But the majority of the debate I hear is about funding. The problem with this law is not that it is an unfunded mandate, but that it undermines the fundamental principle of local self-government which our founding fathers risked their lives to set into practice.
But what do the American people say? The survey data is a little mixed, but telling. Most favor increasing federal spending on education and are at least somewhat willing to raise taxes to do so. There is broad support for accountability through standardized tests (although we also believe this shouldn’t be the sole measure of student success). And most believe that No Child Left Behind will improve education.
Most concerning, however, is the fact that a full 70% of respondents said they do not know enough about the act to form an opinion. We have chosen ignorance. Neither the issue of education nor of the impact of increased federal intrusion into our daily lives and the upbringing of our children is important enough to take the time to research the issue.
As a people, we have become ignorant and complacent. And we are gradually reaping the benefits of what we have sown.
Related Tags: education, NCLB, government, liberty, No Child Left Behind
Principled Discovery is a place to stop and discuss news and information related to faith, family and particularly education. Pour yourself a cup of tea and join the conversation! 
The whole time I was reading this quote, I thought of this quote:
“Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. ~ Benjamin Franklin
Yes, it is a concept our founding fathers well understood.
But hopefully you don’t mind a few quotes from the resistance. Its members were beheaded in February.
You couldn’t be more spot on..
and I might add that the citizenry tolerates all of this because the school system has taught them to.
Adolph Hitler said , “Let me control the textbooks and I will control the state.”
Definitely. It is a bit of a cycle, really. Actually, the relationship between school and government is one of the topics in my homeschool preparation materials that I found most interesting.
How we are educated affects our government, because it affects how we think and what kind of responsibility we are willing to take.
And the government definitely has an affect on education.
Education is the main battleground for the control of the nation, both what is traditionally viewed as education (through schools) and the public conversation.
I was so focused on my research topic that this post is very refreshing. Perhaps I’m reading into what you said a little bit (I tend to over-generalize in my mind) but I totally agree that the federal control of education is what is really messing it up. If the gov’t didn’t take our money to fund it’s schools, our wallets would be heavy enough to allow us to pick any school of our choice.
Thanks for the input by the way.
Pete, you didn’t misunderstand or overgeneralize at all. That is exactly what I was trying to point out. Good luck with your research topic. I sort of miss that. I’m regretting not completing my master’s back when I had several thousand dollars in taxpayer money sitting in an account for educational purposes.
(I participated in an Americorps project and one of the perks is money for education…it never worked out, though. Life got in the middle somewhere.)