The public school system in America has become a dismal failure. But education in many other times and cultures has been quite successful. The ancient Greeks, whose civilization was at its height around 500 B.C., founded Western civilization as we know it. The Athenian Greeks invented or perfected logic, drama, science, philosophy, astronomy, mathematics, literature, and much more. Yet ancient Greece had no compulsory schools.
Other than requiring two years of military training for young men that began at age eighteen, Athens let parents educate their children as they saw fit. Parents either taught their children at home or sent them to voluntary schools where teachers and philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle gave lectures to all who wanted to learn. These great teacher-philosophers did not need a license to teach, nor did they have tenure.
The ancient Athenians had a free-market education system. The thought of compulsory, state-run schools and compulsory licensing would have been repulsive to them. The Athenians respected a parents' natural right to direct the education of their children.
In contrast, Sparta, Athens's mortal enemy, created the first truly state-run, compulsory education system on record. Individual Spartans lived and died for the state, and had to serve the state from birth until sixty years of age. Their society was a brutal military dictatorship in which male children literally belonged to the city, not to their parents.
The Spartan military government took boys from their homes and parents at the age of seven and forced them to live in military-style barracks for the rest of their lives. Spartan men were life-long soldiers whose highest duty was to obey the commands of their leaders.
It is no coincidence that Sparta had compulsory, state-run education. If a society believes that children belong not to parents, but to the state, then the state must control children's education by compulsion.
Are our public schools any different than the brutal Spartan society in the way they treat parents and children? Today, school compulsory-attendance laws force parents to hand over their children to government employees called teachers for eight to twelve years.
In effect, our local and state governments claim that they, like the Spartans, own our children's minds and bodies for twelve years. Parents who refuse to hand over their children to the public schools can be and have been locked in jail for disobeying the compulsory-attendance laws.
In this respect, our public schools today are just as brutal as the Spartans. The difference is only in degree. Where the Spartans stole children from their parents to serve a lifetime in their military, our local governments create laws that let them, in effect, legally kidnap our children to serve twelve years in their education boot camps called public schools. The brutality of the principal is the same. Like the Spartans, our public-school officials think they own our children, and have contempt for parents' rights.
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children." Contact Information: Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Phone: 718-447-7348. Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel. NOTE: You may post this Article on an Ezine, newsletter, or other website only if you include Joel Turtel's complete contact information, and set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
limousine Ackley .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareHere is something that you might want to keep if... Read More
"Hugging is healthy: it helps the body's immunity system, it... Read More
Reading is the most important skill that a child must... Read More
The initial state of happiness about an own child is... Read More
There are few thoughts as terrifying as the abduction of... Read More
Who lives in your house? Are they driving you "crazy?"... Read More
One fantastic way to get your children involved in what... Read More
Teens can freely access the Internet from computers at school,... Read More
Is there a fathering instinct?Celebrated child development expert Erik Erikson... Read More
The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all... Read More
You are in the final round of your favorite game... Read More
There are many useful jogger stroller accessories out on the... Read More
Moms and dads, are there times you think that parenting... Read More
Parents are in a unique position to "monitor" their children's... Read More
Many parents struggle to know which foods are healthy for... Read More
Imagine having no television for an entire season. Such was... Read More
Parental Alienation Syndrome was probably first identified and codified by... Read More
It's the first day of the summer holiday. Five year-old... Read More
The 'phone conversation had nothing at all to do with... Read More
We all wish that our children should not smoke or... Read More
How would you like to have more time? Of course... Read More
How in the world do you get your child to... Read More
Home-schooling removes children from public school. That alone makes home-schooling... Read More
Public-school teaching is structured in such a way that it... Read More
An apology is a sign of strength, not weakness. Sometimes... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare Alexander ..Oh Please, Don't Say Maybe!!!!Are you often a participant in... Read More
Should a parent give a child a tangible reward when... Read More
"If a kid asks where rain comes from, I think... Read More
Isn't it ironic that a country whose constitution allows for... Read More
Baby names are as diverse as the people to whom... Read More
Emotional OverloadMany single parents say they deal with a variety... Read More
Q. We are getting to the stage with our kids... Read More
More and more parents are expressing their concerns about how... Read More
Is there a fathering instinct?Celebrated child development expert Erik Erikson... Read More
Sitterphobe "I never have a second to myself," this mother... Read More
Becoming a stepmother can undoubtedly be one of the most... Read More
Kids today no longer live the kind of privileged lives... Read More
One of the most important aspects of parenting, is ensuring... Read More
It is extraordinary times that we find ourselves in. Change... Read More
Dear MomOn this day set aside to honour "Mother's" let... Read More
There are two methods for teaching children to read; whole... Read More
Cardiovascular endurance is one of the five health-related components of... Read More
Self-reliance and potential are two very important values that I'd... Read More
The popularity of EEG Biofeedback Training continues to grow both... Read More
Seven-year old Michael was on a school trip to a... Read More
The back-to-school shopping is done. Brand new pencils, colored markers,... Read More
The First Reason: For one thing, child development experts are... Read More
Incest is sexual activity, ranging from fondling to intercourse, between... Read More
A friend phoned her neighbor, complaining about the wafts of... Read More
My son recently had his third birthday party and it... Read More
Parenting |