Let’s start at the beginning.
The Founding Fathers did not mention the word “education” in the Constitution. They left it as a state responsibility. However, the Founding Fathers did not ignore education. They drafted and approved the Northwest Ordinances of 1785 and 1787. These documents assured that new states would enter the United States on an equal footing with existing states. The Northwest Ordinance of 1785 declared that new towns would consist of 36 plots. One plot—#16, in the center of town—was to be set aside for a public school. Nothing was said about setting aside a plot for religious schools or private schools. Those were left to private discretion. (To learn more on this topic, read Derek Black’s Schoolhouse Burning; Black is a professor of law.)
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 forever banned slavery in the new states. And it included this provision: “Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”
Those today who seek to divert public funding to religious and private schools are repudiating the intentions of the Foundding Fathers.
The following tweets seem closer to understanding the wishes of the Founding Fathers than do the legislators of Arizona, Ohio, and other states that are using public funds to subsidize religious and private schools.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Adequately funded public education is essential in a participatory democratic system. As a teacher I always felt a sense of responsibility to this mission. Public education is a collective responsibility to our young people and our country. As our society becomes more complex with more opportunities to mislead and spread misinformation, this collective mission remains one of the most important responsibilities of educators. Public schools prepare young people for the future, and that future includes being prepared to serve the nation as an informed citizen.
Thank you! That is so well said.
That is exactly why our General Assembly provided in our Pennsylvania state Constitution these words known as our education clause:
“The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
In our “fair funding lawsuit” an expert witness testified that the words “thorough and efficient” meant “thorough and effective” so that our citizens could participate in our democracy in a meaningful and productive manner as well educated citizens. That is why I argue that public education requires “participatory processes” based on our principles of democracy, including school boards elected by the people.
We live in a Democracy. Public education is the pillar of our Democracy. Democracy is imperative to a well functioning public school system. The welfare of our children and the welfare of all of us depends on that.
Funny, the School District of Philadelphia is the only district in Pennsylvania without an elected school board. It is appointed by the Mayor. Or shall I say, “Not so funny.”
I am a graduate of the Philadelphia Public Schools from which I obtained a good education, many years ago when Pennsylvania invested in its public schools before today’s reckless privatization policies.
BTW many cities seem to end up with appointed boards of education when the community becomes Black and Brown majority.
NJ also uses the phrase “thorough and efficient.” I wish someone would explain what constitutes a “thorough” K-12 education. The “efficient” part is also perplexing but could be a way to justify keeping costs down.
Beautifully said, RT!
If the People rule, then the People must be wise
Our Enlightenment Forerunners had the insight to see the critical flaw in all historical failures at democratic government, to wit, or not — If the People rule, then the People must be wise.
The consequence is that equally distributed education and information are not just commodities you buy so you and yours can get ahead of them and theirs — they are essential to the intelligent functioning of government and the public interest.
That is why we are supposed to have universal free public education. That is why we used to have a government operated postal service that enabled the free-flow of information at a nominal fee, not whatever price the market would bear.
YES!!!
Imagine the chaos in public schools if teachers had to teach about each religious denomination and sect in the United States.
Still, most if not all of the MAGA zombies are probably members of an evangelical protestant sect. Some zombies already are demanding that only only their religion should be involved in running the country.
Politico Headline: Most Republicans Support Declaring the United States a Christian Nation
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/09/21/most-republicans-support-declaring-the-united-states-a-christian-nation-00057736
One loud voice shows what too many MAGA zombies are thinking:
Lauren Boebert is part of a dangerous religious movement that threatens democracy, experts say – “It’s time for us to position ourselves and rise up and take our place in Christ and influence this nation as we were called to do,” Boebert told a Woodland Park crowd in September
“Those ideals threaten the rights of non-Christian — and typically non-white — Americans but also endanger the foundation of the country’s democratic process, those experts say. The far-right Western Slope congresswoman represents a high-profile and incendiary voice in the movement, which is infiltrating virtually every level of American government and its judiciary.”
https://www.denverpost.com/2022/09/14/lauren-boebert-christian-nationalist-republican-colorado/
But according to PEW, only 25.4% of Americans are evangelicals. There are also more than 100 complete Bible translations into English have been written.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/religious-landscape-study/
Which Christian translation will the MAGA zombies approve of (the one they quote probably) and which Christian sect? I don’t think many Catholics (20.8%) are going to approve of stepping aside to let the evangelicals rule the country. A former friend of mine that was reborn (in his 50s) as a fundamentalist evangelical claimed that their translation of the Bible was the only one that God approved and supported. That God guided the hand/s of those that translated God’s word into the only correct one.
If the MAGA zombies get their way, I think we will see more than just a civil war. That war will also pit each religion against the others.
The Founding Fathers did not want a Christian nation. They made that clear in the Constitution. If they did, they would have said so.
Many of the founding fathers were suspicious of the motives of religious groups. They supported religious freedom for all without endorsing any state religion.
“Meanwhile, in the text of the Constitution, religion was deliberately kept at arm’s length from the state. In radical departures from the era’s norms, there would be no religious tests for federal officeholders, no establishment of any national religion and no congressional interference with individual citizens’ free exercise of their own faith.
This was no accident. Despite their respect for religion and their belief in the divine origins of human rights, many of the Founding Fathers worried that religion would corrupt the state and, conversely, that the state would corrupt religion.”https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/02/living/america-christian-nation/index.html
The Founders knew that Europe had been torn apart by religious wars. They did not want that strife here.
Practicing religion is a personal right, but it is polarizing and divisive in politics. The comingling of religion and politics is a trap that has ensnared us. So many of these religious activists have acquired so much money they are steering us into bad decisions like sending unaccountable public funds to religious schools. ’60 Minutes’ just had a story on LDS, aka, The Mormons, that operate like a crime family. They hide untaxed money in off shore accounts. They have millions of dollars of investments in secular real estate and businesses. As a religion, they get little scrutiny from the government. It is shockingly shameful.
“If not all”
Does that include John Eastman and Michael Flynn?
About 50% of Catholic bishops prefer Fox for their news.
“If not all”
Does that include Rep. Paul Gosar and Nick Fuentes?
In the news now, Talking Points Memo’s article about Gosar’s hiring of Fuente’s fellow Groyper, Wade Searles. The article describes the extremist right wing plan to return to 12th century Catholicism. Salon (5-13-2022) wrote the article, ” ‘Traditional Catholics’ and White Nationalist ‘Groupers’ Forge a Far-Right Youth Movement.”
Tribalists will never accept what is evident.
“If not all,” does that include Steve Bannon, Laura Ingraham and Clarence and Ginni Thomas?
retired teacher: It is good to hear that you are a graduate of Philadelphia’s public schools and received a good education. I taught in Philadelphia’s public schools and served as an AP and principal for 34 years in our high schools. I began teaching in 1975 and retired in 2009. I loved my life in our schools and it was a Great school district until the state took over our schools and created the School Reform Commission. The purpose was to privatize and profitize our public schools. The “parade of Broadies” destroyed our District as they served the Broad academy and those who wish to profit from our schools. Back then all we argued about was which schools and programs should we create for our students and whose program was more important. And of course, teacher, student and parent rights.
I now work with the Alliance for Philadelphia Public Schools (APPS) as an advocate for public education. We need to rebuild our public schools and rebuild a collegial culture with a collective vision and a common mission to serve our community and meet the needs of our students and our communities.
Thanks for your commnents, Rich
APPS should scan the results of an internet search of Pennsylvania Catholic Conference and school choice. Credit for the initiation and passage of school choice legislation in Indiana and Florida is given to politicized, right wing Catholics.
Thank you, Rich!
Public schools require a positive vision and investment. The commodification of education is a disaster. It is a plan to transfer public dollars into private pockets and exploit and diminish public education. How can schools improve when they constantly lose funds due to charter drain, and they count on parasitic “Broadies” for direction?
This is the nucleus of everything. Keep spreading the word. Thank you.
We need stronger voices from everyone regarding what’s happening in TN. Disgraced speaker of the house, Cameron Sexton is proposing the state reject all federal education funding. I’ve been wondering why TN Gov Bill Lee is stockpiling $$ (TN has a $3billion surplus).
“House Speaker Cameron Sexton continues to muse about rejecting $2 billion in federal funding for education. After revealing the idea in February, he proposed a task force to make a feasibility recommendation by Dec. 1 this year.
“Our state can afford not to take federal education dollars,” Rep. Sexton told Hamilton County Republican Women Tuesday. “We would have total control of what we teach in the schools.”
Tennessee would be the first state ever to reject the money, and Rep. Sexton suggested that Tennessee has been first a lot lately, and other states have been following.”
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2023/5/16/469116/House-Speaker-Sexton-Says-Tennessee.aspx
The state commissioner in Oklahoma also wants to reject federal funding of education.
This is an absolute fact.
I’m an educator in the state of Oklahoma and finding a more regressive/destructive group of state politicians (Republican/Democratic alike)—
one would be hard pressed to find.
No one can be allowed to have total control over of what we each in our schools. That is a scary thought. May I take the liberty to present to this fine group of advocates what I said in a brief to the Secretary of Education of Pennsylvania and repeated to his hearing officer just this past Wednesday, in a teacher tenure defense of a Philadelphia schoolteacher at Constitution High School no less!
Tinker, 393 U.S. 503, at 512.
How ‘wonderful’ that Indiana is giving second and third grade students a chance to redo their flunked IREAD-3 test. This is part of an update sent out on May 19th from the Indiana Department of Education. [I’d HATE to be a student going to school today.] I’d also hate to be a teacher.
REMINDER: Summer 2023 IREAD-3 Retest Window Opens Monday, May 22
Students in grades three and above who still require a passing score for IREAD-3 should participate in the summer retest window, open Monday, May 22, through Friday, June 30. Schools are encouraged to work with parents when scheduling the retest for students. Corporation Test Coordinators (CTCs) must ensure that all Test Administrators (TAs) have the appropriate materials the day of testing, including the IREAD-3 Test Administrator’s Manual (TAM) and Secure Segment 1 Script for all students. TAs must use the IREAD-3 Read Aloud Scripts for fixed-form paper-and-pencil assessments for any students whose formal plan requires a human reader and paper test. These scripts are available in the CTC’s Secure Inbox in the Test Information Distribution Engine (TIDE). Review the IREAD-3 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) prior to administration and contact IDOE’s Office of Student Assessment with any questions.
REMINDER: Literacy Remediation and Support for Students Who Did Not Pass IREAD-3
IDOE strongly encourages corporations to consider summer remediation programs for grade two and grade three students who did not pass IREAD-3 during the spring administration. Students who did not pass IREAD-3 this spring should receive additional support on foundational reading skills and reading comprehension to ensure lifelong access to other content prior to consideration for Good Cause Exemptions. Please review this memo for remediation guidance, Good Cause Exemption (GCE) considerations, and science of reading resources. Contact IDOE’s Literacy Center with any questions
Regarding Old World Religious Wars …
Diane and All,
One of the people I follow on Mastodon posts a running montage of images from European history, photos of artworks, engravings, vignettes, etc. from museums and other collections.
I don’t know if the link will work, but here’s a typical pic off the top —
• https://mathstodon.xyz/@jdmccafferty@mastodon.online/110406075533367748
The striking thing is almost every third picture illustrates a gory event from the Old World Religious Wars. Posthumous executions were a popular style of retribution — some dude or dudess gets disinterred and burned or hanged or drawn and quartered in their coffin for some offense against the current religious regime they are charged with committing during the last one.
The Founding Fathers were well aware of the religious wars in Europe. They did not want to have them in the new nation. Their vision is very clear in the constitution: a nation where every person is free to practice their religion, and where no religion imposes its tenets on others. They did not want to declare that the new nation was “a Christian nation,” as religious zealots do today. They would have been appalled that the Supreme Court has a majority that imposes religious tenets in everyone.
Hi Diane, Could you see if a long comment I just posted is in the spam trap?
TIA, Jon
It was.