High School Senior Refutes Santorum on Public Education LTTE

[RamboLiberal]

The Founding Fathers and Constitutional framers of the United States valued and advocated public education, contrary to Sen. Rick Santorum's assertion, as reported in the July 6 article "Santorum's Book Urges More Moms Stay Home." In his book "It Takes a Family: Conservatism and the Common Good," Sen. Santorum comments that "schools are not mentioned in the Constitution" and incorrectly adds that "America's founders agreed that education would be best accomplished by the family and voluntary associations rather than the state."

A critical piece of legislation enacted at the time our nation was founded highlights Sen. Santorum's inaccuracy. The Land Ordinance of 1785, drafted just prior to the Constitution, called for the establishment of public education in the Northwest Territory, land bound by the Mississippi River, the Ohio River and the Great Lakes. It provided that townships be split into 36 plots of land and stipulated that "there shall be reserved the lot No. 16, of every township, for the maintenance of public schools within the said township ..." The Ordinance of 1785 was written by Thomas Jefferson, a prominent Founding Father and drafter of the Declaration of Independence.

Another Founding Father and key delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin, was a prominent advocate of public education. In 1749, he met with influential Philadelphians to promote his "Publick School of Philadelphia" (now the University of Pennsylvania). The public college existed under the government of Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council whose presidents included Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Mifflin, another Convention delegate.

Franklin ties to public school date back to his enrollment at the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in America with continuous existence. Other attendees include Founding Father and signers of the Declaration of Independence John Hancock, Samuel Adams, Robert Treat Paine and William Hooper.

To assert that the Founding Fathers of this country did not believe in public education is to simply ignore history, and to justify extreme political and social positions by misstating the actions and beliefs of the Founding Fathers only highlights the need for improving and supporting our public education system.

BENJAMIN LEVINE
Squirrel Hill

The writer is a senior at Taylor Allderdice High School. (Pittsburgh)

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05206/543122.stm

[ugarte]

1. What a smart kid

and what a stupid senator.

[Kenergy]

2. Very good LTTE n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

3. self delete, see other reply

[Kber]

4. The real reason extremists don't support the public school system

is that it leads to smart-ass letters like this one based on FACTS, HISTORY, RESEARCH and other mortal sins. (sarcasm off now)

[bunkerbuster1]

5. I'd not heard that

but I dug and fund the original document, and damned if it doesn't provide for public education.

Here's a link:
http://www.cadcon.com/land_ordinance_of_1785.htm

Excellent ammo for the next time some dickhead tells me there was no provision for public education when our nation was founded.

[bballny]

6. Santorum

is a dumbshit and the perfect example of the RW knuckleheads. It is said that he is the dumbest person in Congress.