Each new thread our state government braids between the Department of Workforce Services and the education system in our state just makes it harder and harder for Utah to sever the cord being created by societal central planners. For decades, society’s central planners have wanted national database tracking from cradle-to-grave to provide for big business to have their optimum input: a well-trained workforce. Exhibit A is Marc Tucker’s letter to Hillary Clinton in 1992. Tucker and his organization have been funded by Bill Gates who as we know, funded Common Core’s creation with the CCSSO and NGA.
People no longer look to history for warnings. If they did, they might notice the dangerous parallels we are following that led to darker times in history. Soon enough, unfortunately, people will remember the phrase, “history repeats itself.”
I’m not an economist or an historian. But if anyone takes the time to study it out a little, it’s easy to see the vast framework marrying government to business (ie. Fascism) in the lucrative education industry. From the White House Learning Registry, to CEDS (Common Education Data Standards), to SLDS (Statewide Longitudinal Database Systems), everything is pretty much in place to control exactly what our children are taught, tested on, and rewarded for, and to create behavioral profiles to know just what they’re suited for…according to the central planners.
Business, which has been clamoring for a seat at the trillion dollar school table, is asked by government to step in and save the day. “Please Big Business, tell our schools what you need and we’ll make sure it’s taught so you have a properly trained workforce. We’ll ensure that no child is left behind. You just provide the list of skills and computer adaptive software they need and we’ll pay you to teach them. Don’t you worry about school boards or parents. They don’t know what’s best for their own children and with the convenience of compulsory education, your common training for the youth will become ubiquitous. We will create the greatest generation of workers the world has ever seen. (Oh, and we’ll also set up the regulations to control you for our great strategic vision.)”
Anyone that studies what’s happening around the country can put this picture together without much effort, if they are willing to see it.
Now I’m NOT saying all these people involved with Prosperity 2020, the Salt Lake Chamber, or at the Utah Office of Education, are Fascists. I’m saying they are moving us toward Fascist education, wittingly or not. I’m also saying that once everything is firmly in place it’s a quick trip from governmental control point A to point B and so on. I am sure most of these good folks are just obsessed with the economy and making sure kids get jobs after graduating from high school or college. That’s certainly how most politicians get their re-election talking points!
This email from the Salt Lake Chamber instigated this article showing this connection I’m talking about.
It’s all about career training. Learn this, master this skill, take this test, etc… All pointed toward a common goal, rather than a diversity of personal goals.
C.S. Lewis said, “If education is beaten by training, civilization dies.”
Is there a role for business in education? Certainly. It just shouldn’t be setting the focus. For the rest of the story on business and family involvement in education, please check out this article by Autumn Cook on Agency Based Education’s website, called, Aligning Education with the Needs of the Family.
Classical Education, the Counter
What is the counter to workforce training education? It’s often called classical education. You can Google plenty of resources on it, but here’s a wonderful short essay by Terrance Moore called, “A Classical Education for Modern Times.” That can serve as one example. In short, one might say it is an education foundation for the mind and heart instead of training a person in skills for the workforce.
A well-trained person may always have a job based on their skill set. As long as their industry continues to exist.
A well-trained mind can learn just about any skill, and can problem solve by seeing and creating opportunities. They become the ones who run the businesses and employ the skilled laborers. There’s a reason the elite and powerful in this country send their children to expensive private schools instead of putting them in the Common Core public schools they create for the masses.
Classical education is making a strong surge, particularly among home schoolers who have given up on public education in an effort to protect their children or make sure they get the education that is right for them. Freedom WORKS for helping every child get the education that is right for them.
I hope school board members and business owners will focus on meeting the unique and diverse needs of each individual child, as seen and encouraged by their own families, rather than on the labor pool they want right now. Doing so, will in fact, solve both problems, in unexpected and magnificent ways.