Why Public Schools Are Unnecessary.

For the first 150 years, most presidents home-schooled their children at the White House, he said. 

“Where did they come up that public education and bigger education bureaucracies was the rule in America? Parents educated their children, because it’s their responsibility to educate their children.”

“Yes the government can help,” Mr. Santorum added.  “But the idea that the federal government should be running schools, frankly much less that the state government should be running schools, is anachronistic. It goes back to the time of industrialization of America when people came off the farms where they did home-school or have the little neighborhood school, and into these big factories, so we built equal factories called public schools. And while those factories as we all know in Ohio and Pennsylvania have fundamentally changed, the factory school has not.” 

-For the full article from The New York Times, click here.

Presidential Candidate Rick Santorum is correct, of course.  The federal government should not be running our public schools (which is why they don't), and neither should the state governments.  So, if not the government, than who?  The teachers?  Hah! Those liberal pussies aren't fit to run a classroom, much less the whole building.  Let's break it down and look at the pros and cons of public schooling:

From A Biblical Perspective, It's Okay To Pay Teacher's Less Money.

How can someone be speaking in front of a Christmas Tree

looking as sour as this guy?  Did someone just remind him that

he's a state senator from Alabama?

 

This is Alabama State Senator Shadrack McGill (R) and no, I did not take that from a Dungeons and Dragons character sheet.  That is seriously his name.  And I have a bit of a kerfuffle with Slim Shady-rack here in regards to one of his recent stances towards Alabama teachers.  Admittedly I did not, up until now, know that Alabama had teachers, but that doesn't mean that I'm unwilling to stand up for them when the time comes.   

According to ThinkProgress, McGill voted against raising the annual salary of teachers not because they were undeserving, but because "It's a Biblical principle."  First of all, what an asshole.  Second of all, for all of the talk the Republican Conservatives drum up about following the Constitution, they sure don't know much about it.  What the fuck ever happened to the separation between church and state, guys?

LePage Rage.

Note: Every picture of Governor LePage is followed by an actual, word for word quote.  Link is at the bottom.

"I would say intelligence, uh, the more education you have

the more knowledge you have the better person you are and I 

believe yes and yes." -When asked if he believed Creationism

should be taught in Maine schools, May 2010.

It should be of no surprise to anyone paying attention to American politics that the incumbent governor of Maine, Paul LePage, is a twit.  He won with 38.3% of the vote in 2010 because the election had numerous runners, including three independents and a democrat.  Had the latter dropped out, independent candidate Eliot Cutler would have received more than 50% of the vote.  To give you a sense of how much better of a person Cutler is than LePage, he didn't run a single negative campaign ad during the election season.  Not one.    

But we got stuck with the man that literally looks like how all big-business republicans are portrayed.  Some say the appeal of LePage is that he is blunt and straightforward - characteristics that most politicians unfortunately lack.  Those that do not support the governor, myself included, argue that his bluntness is an understatement.  He behaves more like a mob boss than a state leader.  He is supposed to represent the state of Maine and, as such, the people of Maine.  Instead, he is an embarrassment to us, and really to all of New England.  Like an unedited, walking conservative-republican talking points memo, LePage does everything in his power to tear down unions, education, labor laws, human rights, the environment, the president, and liberals.  Don't believe me?  Fuck it, let's take a good look at some examples, all of which will be rated according to the "Dick Scale."  The Dick Scale is a measure of how much of a dick an individual is, or how "dickish" his/her's actions are.  My scale is simple, ranging from 1-5, 1 being that the person/action isn't dickish, and 5 being a person/action that is clearly such a dick, words can barely describe it.

America's New Goal - Failing.

"Today's word is: Under-appreciated."

As frequent readers know, I have a bit of a bias towards educators in America.  How could I not?  For some strange reason, I'm studying to be a high school teacher myself (don't worry, parents, the stuff you find on this blog will be left at the door of my classroom).

Despite the ass-reaming Wisconsin teachers received at the hands of their state legislature, I have not changed majors.  Despite the continuing cuts to education at both the state and federal level, I have not changed majors.  No, no, don't praise me.  I'm no hero.  I'm clearly just a glutton for punishment.  Why do I, personally, stay in?  I'll quote one of the professors at my college - "You can either be on the front lines of the fight, or you can watch from the sidelines as teachers become more and more ostracized with each passing year."