This Writer On American Education

Abused.  Betrayed.  Forsaken.

This Writer On American Education

by Alfred Lehmberg

This bitter writer (me) should be as baffled as most regarding the state of our American public education system—it aims and desires or goals—especially in light of the fact that he arduously satisfied the requirements for teaching professionally within it, yet... yet was wholly ignored for a serious position of any stripe within it. This is despite a long certified record of exceptional performance, awards and decorations, tip-top academic accomplishment, and absolutely superb references. This is despite a much ballyhooed and allegedly critical shortage of trained personnel in the public education sector! It's clear he's not wanted.

Forgetting for a moment that it might be argued the writer had brought it upon himself, even considering the authoritarian  is ever the enemy of the authoritative (*) what is the mechanism of this irony?

This writer thinks he might know. Fresh off a 23 year professional military career where he had functioned splendidly (*1) as a member of a team in an organization that had to work—emphasize had to work!—he was oil in water as regards the public education community. Why?

Forget this writer's provoked and responsible interest in twitchy social issues, better cited historical revisionist positions, and UFOs with all their associated subjects and ancillaries.  Forget this writer's rational support for unpopular positions, difficult causes, and cleaner ideals. These are not germane to the discussion at hand...

The reason this writer has not found a job in public education is that he is all too well aware that—contrary to a military system—the public education system, and by evolving design, does NOT, quite simply, have to work! Moreover, the power people engaged in it are busily prosecuting their dictated social imperative to discourage critical thinking and intelligent leaders—to facilitate the production of docile "employees" for a landed class—for as little as is humanly, and even inhumanly, possible!

Public education as it is practiced presently is a likely sham and an evil hypocrisy, this writer continues to discover. It does its part to fill the Nation's prisons, it celebrates only bland mediocrity, and it vigorously discourages creative individuality. Its work is to disempower the individual, corrode our personal autonomy, and produce, ideally, an ignorant but malleable American citizenry with artless souls as dry as old chalk dust in a decaying classroom alluded to.

This writer has the number of the public education system, and it is a number that stands contrary to every valid educational ideal presently getting lip service (only!) in our American culture today.  It doesn't have to work, reader! That's what prisons and their associated slums and ghettos are for! Moreover, "polite landed society" is loath to spend coveted dollars producing a creative and intelligent society more difficult to betray, mislead, and otherwise manipulate or conveniently control, eh?

The perspective of our public education system includes the jealous maintenance of an old guard's status quo, the continued resuscitation of outmoded ideals benefiting the few, and the production of the lowest of low common denominators. It lacks art, has no music, prosecutes the homogenization of individual souls, and is the abject shame of an entire first world...

It's just the way "we" want it, apparently.

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*...And worse, the bluster and fervid prosecutions of the authoritarian makes the calm reasoning of the authoritative appear to be the weaker of the two.  This is not the case, and it is that which provides the former's fervid bluster.  On the level field the authoritative handily trumps the bloated authoritarian.  It's "not working" compared with "well functioning."  The authoritative fails when it becomes authoritarian.

*1 ...As can be shown in at least annual performance evaluations covering combat and "peacetime" activities.