Equal Poverty For All: A Miserable Goal for Education

Yvette and I got to do one of our favorite things over the weekend. We attended a homeschool conference in Moore, Oklahoma where we showed Schoolhouse Rocked and spoke on a few panels. More importantly, we got to connect with homeschooling families. We always leave these conferences encouraged and energized.

We were once again struck by how many NEW homeschooling families were there. One of the most important things that COVID-19 did was open millions of parents’ eyes to how desperately public schools were failing. And many parents chose to bring their children home for good!

By What Measure?

But is the public school system actually failing? From the consumer perspective – that of the student, parent, and taxpayer – it’s clear we are not getting what we desire. Students are provided with poor academic outcomes. Parents have their authority undermined and their trust betrayed. The American taxpayer watches as every year school spending increases while school safety declines, test scores decline, and the anti-Christian, anti-family, and anti-American values being taught in the classroom result in moral decline, political unrest, and cultural chaos.

From the perspective of the founders and the architects of the system it should be understood that government schools are a raving success. The worldview and values taught in the classroom are adopted by the majority of the students and the system produces millions of mostly compliant workers who will continue to pay taxes and won’t overthrow their leaders. Further, they will continue to feed the system with fresh generations of disciples to repeat the process.

View the Gen 2 Survey, by Dr. Brian Ray, NHERI (2015)

I often say, “public schools are the world’s most effective evangelistic organizations.” The vast majority of disciples who pass through the system come out dedicated, unquestioning adherents to the religious worldview of the schools – regardless of the religious upbringing they receive at home or church.

“The model for utopia…equal poverty for all”
John Dewey

In order to understand the true aim of the public school system and what they are succeeding at, let’s look at what the father of progressive education, John Dewey, had to say.

Here are a few excerpts from the excellent book, Crimes of the Educators (2014) by Sam Blumenfeld and Alex Newman.

“John Dewey (1885-1952) is generally lauded as the father of progressive education” (p. 1).

“Dewey stated that the only way to undermine the capitalist system was to get rid of the emphasis primary schools placed on the development of high literacy and independent intelligence” (p. 1).

“Destroying the brainpower of a nation is an act of war against that nation” (p. 4).

“Dewey admitted that the reading program he was proposing would not be as effective as the traditional method” (p. 7).

“The plea for the predominance of learning to read in early school-life because of the great importance attached to literature seems to me a perversion” The Primary-Education Fetich by John Dewey (p. 8).

“The model for utopia…equal poverty for all” (p. 9).

Co-author of Crimes of the Educators, Alex Newman, is a regular guest on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast and a speaker for the Homegrown Generation Family Expo. You can hear more from him on this topic here.

(Hat tip to Dr. Douglas J. Pietersma for sharing these quotes.)

As homeschooling parents we have the perfect opportunity to fight back. We have the privilege of training our kids’ hearts and minds in truth, day by day. In the words of Deuteronomy 6:5-7, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Meeke Addison, co-host of Airing the Addisons on American Family Radio, recently joined Yvette Hampton on the Schoolhouse Rocked Podcast to talk about how to train our children for the cultural battle that they will inevitably face. She explains why we need to keep a close eye on politics, pop culture, and the church; and how to equip our kids to effectively engage in and transform culture.

We pray that the Schoolhouse Rocked Ministry is a blessing to you and your family. Here are a few ways to be involved in this important mission…