It's true, the public education system has failed us.

[kentuck]

I am listening to the call-in show on C-SPAN and the stupidity is so obvious it hurts.

We can teach civics in the public classrooms or on the Rush Limbaugh Show. Which would you prefer?

I hate to say it but the majority of the stupidity seems to originate in the South. I grimace because so many of the callers, especially males, are so arrogant and confident in their stupidity.

One older gentleman, being charitable, called in to say that taxes should be cut in half and we need to cut out all these government programs. He wasn't asked but I would bet that he was on Social Security and Medicare and probably was getting other government assistance?

Our schools have failed us. We see the evidence all around us.

[bongbong]

1. Part of the plan

As Karl Rove let slip in a 2000 interview, if you get "too much" education you vote Democratic.

[MichiganVote]

2. I've read that you can lead a horse to water........

Must be about the only thing schools are not responsible for these days is hemorrhoid itch but that will prolly' change in the next 24 hours.

[Drale]

3. You can not teach

Those who refuse to learn

[sinkingfeeling]

4. No, not entirely. What has taken over is the media propaganda and the

change in message within the churches.

[KharmaTrain]

5. In Too Many Ways...

You are spot on about the lack of knowledge of how government works. It's not only in wingnut world but sadly in our sandbox as well. It's a symptom of the quick gratification, self indulgent country the U.S. has become. Our short attention span corporate media and the 24/7 news cycle have added to it. People become instant "experts" on any and all issues and speculation has replaced information. It's a problem of critical thinking...and something that goes way beyond the failures of the educational system.

[GoneOffShore]

6. And I would agree and add that we have failed the public education system.

As a whole, people ignore local school board elections. They do so at their peril because that's when the loons get in.

And the loons have an agenda - Creationism, religion, a fake history.

[GeorgeGist]

7. The Educational Legacy of Ronald Reagan

Once elected (governor), Mr. Reagan set the educational tone for his administration by:

a. calling for an end to free tuition for state college and university students,

b. annually demanding 20% across-the-board cuts in higher education funding,

c. repeatedly slashing construction funds for state campuses

d. engineering the firing of Clark Kerr, the popular President of the University of California, and

e. declaring that the state "should not subsidize intellectual curiosity"
--------------------------------------------
As governor and president he demagogically fanned discontent with public education, then made political hay of it. As governor and president he bashed educators and slashed education spending while professing to valued it. And as governor and president he left the nation's educators dispirited and demoralized.

http://www.newfoundations.com/Clabaugh/CuttingEdge/Reagan.html

[ieoeja]

8. f. slashed federal income taxes paid for in part by eliminating grants to state and local government

This put the squeeze on those entities whose primary income source is property and sales taxes as opposed to income taxes. All of this led to a growing disparity between schools in wealthier regions and those in poverty stricken areas. The poorer regions have greater need of public education, but have less money.

[jeff47]

9. No, we failed the public education system

We used to have one of the best public education systems in the world.

Then we let the Republicans destroy it.