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["Lynda" <lurine AT softcom.net>]

The more modern history of the public school system has more to do with 
socialism and consumerism than it does with education.  One of the main 
architects of the modern system was Frederick W. Taylor and his "social 
efficiency" movement.  He who provided the Soviet Union, Fascist Italy and 
Nazi Germany with their operating philosophy.

The driving forces behind pushing "social efficiency" were Andrew Carnegie, 
J.P. Morgan, Henry Ford and John D. Rockefeller.

John D. Rockefeller -- "In our dreams, people yield themselves with perfect 
docility to our molding hands.  The present education conventions of 
intellectual and character education fade from their minds and unhampered by 
tradition we work our own good will upon a grateful and responsive folk.  We 
shall not try to make these people or any of their children into men of 
learning or philosophers, or men of science.  We have not to raise up from 
them authors, educators, poets or men of letters, great artists, painters, 
musicians, nor lawyers, doctors, statesmen, politicians, creatures of whome 
we have ample supply.  The task is simple.  We will organize children and 
teach them in an perfect way the things their fathers and mothers are doing 
in an imperfect way."

Edward Roth -- "plans are underway to replace family, community and church 
with propaganda, mass-media and education.  People are only little plastic 
lumps of dough"

H.H. Cadard -- "standardized testing would cause the lower classes to 
confront their biological inferiority, sort of like wearing a dunce cap.  In 
time that owuld discourage reproduction of the ants on the anthill"

So we jump ahead and we have Carter, of the good intentions and lack of any 
ability to foresee outcomes, who saddles us with the Department of Education 
and the goal of homogenizing education, with creating the idea of a national 
AND international single plan for educating all children.

Now, believe it or not, Bushy Sr. was a great believer in what Carter set up 
and put those lofty dreams into action.  Which brings us to Bush Sr. and the 
final bricks in the wall, [go ahead, hum a few bars <g>] so to speak.  In 
1989, he signed the "Educate America Act" and convened the Governor's 
Conference on Education which he had led by then Governor Bill Clinton.  The 
objective to revamp the education plans to systems governance.  Bush then 
led the United Nations World Conference on Education for All with the goal 
of achieving worldwide consensus on education policy.  From that came the 
National Education Goals panel which Bush had Clinton lead also.  Clinton 
gets in the White House and continues *their* dream of goals and gets 8 of 
the National Education Goals signed into law as Goals 2000 in 1994 along 
with the School to Work Act.  You might be more familiar with this under the 
name "Outcome Based Education" which might sound real familiar to anyone who 
has worked with No Child Left Behind which is the final morphed status of 
the original 1989 goals.

And, compliments of all these goals, we get the National Skills Standards 
Board which shall "identify broad occupatonal clusters and create a system 
of standards, assessment and certification for each cluster."

So, what have all those goals and testing gotten the American public? 
Internaionally, in 4th grade, U.S. students rank 12th and behind such 
progressive countries as Slovenia, Hungary and the Czech Republic!  In 8th 
grade, 28th and behind countries such as Thailand, Russia, the Czech 
Republic, the Slovak Republic, Bulgaria and Slovenia.  And, the school 
system really excels when it comes to 12th grade.  Why, the U.S. is ahead of 
absolutely no one except Cyprus and South Africa.

Do tell me exactly what a great job the U.S. public schools are doing and 
why you think they can do a better job than even the most illiterate of 
parents!  High school graduates can't even make change without the cash 
register telling what to do!  Honor Students have to take remedial English 
and math classes and can't get into any advanced science classes!

Stanford, Harvard and the rest of the Ivy League universities actively 
recruit homeschoolers because they know the kids know how to study and are 
goal oriented.  The dropout rate in college for homeschooled students is 
almost zero!  They go to college, not because they think they have to but 
because they *want* to!

Lynda