Education should be Mandated in the United States of America

Happy to think with you today, We can agree that Individualism was a big part of the thinking of the Founding Fathers. However, Technology, Science, And our understanding of reality has improved enough to where we know individuals can only thrive under the right conditions. Keeping the balance of power between individuals and the collective is extremely important, But as far as the issue we have come together to discuss goes, A basic education is the foundation for both society and the individual. Education in some form absolutely must be mandated. I will put out an idea or two, Talk of your points, And return the torch to you. 1. Children must be protected from their Parents. If we stop mandated education, What we are really doing is allowing children to be belongings, Or the indoctrinated pets of their parents forever. Religious parents indoctrinate children to believe all that they do. You can take Islam and child soldiers of Africa as examples. What if these children were given an education that taught them to think critically and analyze even their deepest held beliefs? Children do not belong to their parents. They are not slaves. It is part of the reason I am against homeschooling. There are plenty of parents who do it well, But their own biases too often slip in. A parent's role is to help bring up their children in the best manner. It is a ridiculous notion that parents will be able to teach every subject as well as a qualified teacher in each field. It is ridiculous to think that an individual knows best how to teach lessons, Not the people who have gone through the research in these fields. One can argue that the school system can be improved, But not that each individual parent is capable of teaching as well as educators. I am a musician and string teacher for over a decade. No private individual without a decade of training could pray to understand how to teach like I can. 2. The Public School System In the US, Our public school systems are largely underfunded. Many of the schools have sections that are actually dangerous for the children. If we are going to have public schools, We should be obligated to fund them. Republicans and Democrats both are actively failing at this role. The way the current system is set up, Property taxes in each area fund the schools there. This is a problem. All rich people move to the same districts, And all poor people are left with underfunded schools. If you have been to a rich area's school and a poor area's, This difference is easily noted. Poor children are the ones who truly pay this difference. Public School, Or education in general, Is supposed to be the great equalizer. No matter who your parents are, You can get an education and if you try hard enough you will have at least a chance to make a great life for yourself. The education system is failing poor children to give them anywhere near the same opportunity. Naturally, Rich parents will be able to pay for better education for their children through various means, But that does not mean public schools should add to that disparity. We can all agree that the public school system in the USA is garbage, But the solution is not to throw it out of the window and allow children no opportunities to succeed simply because some children do not grab those opportunities full-heartedly. In the future you present, We allow children to fail. We allow parents to chose that they do not get an education. Literacy rates decline, Children lose their futures, The work force of the US deteriorates in proficiency, Et cetera. All to prove a slight improvement in education for the ones who are allowed to attend. This does not guarantee that they put their all into it. The focus should be on improving education, Not removing the mandate. Parents who don't think education is necessary for their children are likely the reason the mandate has to exist at all. If your beliefs and worldview that you teach your children can't withstand the rigors of a public education, Then it is far too frail to exist in the first place. Individuals can only be themselves once they understand all that exists within our society. The should be subjected to experiences of as many subjects as possible so they can find what they love. A simple existence in one town will not teach them all the world has to offer. We can agree that the mandate requires too much time. The many years of public education is not necessary. I can take a student from beginner to professional in just a handful of years. The system should be amended and improved. That doesn't change that education should absolutely be mandated with the current state of the world. Now for some of your points. 1. "The public school system was never meant to be the main source of education in America. " et al The public school system is still the option for poor families. It provides both an education and free childcare. If their children were not in public school, They would be either at home possibly alone, Or the parents would have to pay for childcare. Private schools and homeschooling are still options. Parenting is still an option. The mandate of certain number of hours matters little if you do homeschooling and they pass the proper tests. Educators should be able to say what is and is not taught in schools. Homeopathy, Astrology, Creationism, Religion, Et cetera has no place in schools. 2. "Government Worshippers/Indoctrinations" I'll need a specific example of how education forces people to worship government. It is true that the more educated one gets the more left-leaning they tend to be, For a variety of reasons. We can go into economics arguments if you'd like on specific topics, But that would seem to be a distraction from the topic at hand. Slavery was a problem that was allowed to exist by the forefathers of the US and by concurrent generations of government until it was quashed by the people, Not by government specifically, Though government was the trigger, And the government can be blamed in large part for allowing it to begin with, Or for not addressing it sooner. No one I've heard gives government all the credit for this. Racism is the same, And it's still a problem that can't be solved by government, But by education and self-realization that racism is a ridiculous notion. The Great Depression could be said to have been caused in part by the government and solved in part by the government. I have no idea how you think the school systems force people to think the government deserves full credit for these things. Classes I've been in have denigrated our government. Not to the extent it should be perhaps, But it nonetheless never put me in a position where I was in love with government. 3. "Socialist Dreams" Education is good for this as well. Socialism has not worked in the past. Education can show this. Further economic education can suggest that a mixed economy works better than pure capitalism or pure socialism. In reality, Pure capitalism and pure socialism have both never been tried. But that again is more of an economic discussion than a discussion involving an education mandate. 4. Government Knows Best It isn't just "The Government" that decides these kind of things. It's the department of education. It's a collection, Ideally, Of real educators. What we have now is a partisan system where the president decides the leader of this. It's absurd. Betsy DeVos has no business being in lead of this with her nonexistent and in fact contradictory credentials. It's no wonder the education system is broken. The department should be a collection of educators voted on by educators. Parents deserve no faith in being able to "know what is best for their children. " Their children are not their toys. Any random parent should be trusted no more than a random government official to "know what is best" for them. I apologize if this insults you. I believe it to be the case for myself. If you know what is best, Then you should take what educators say and be incredibly involved in your child's education. Contextualize for them. Tell them your opinions. Let them be the judge. This is parenting. There will always be parents who are not looking out for their child's best interest. Without the mandate, What opportunity does life hold for these children? Their parents will keep them uneducated, And they will remain in their house as slaves. As most children are to their parents. Children do not know what is best for them. On this we agree. Parents largely do not know, And some do not care. Believe not in the public education system or the government, But in the educators. My priority as an instructor is to teach your children to think for themselves and I put them first always. To conclude this round, The system you propose is worlds worse for society as a whole and would lead to the downfall of America as an educated nation in a world that will progress without us. It would lead to children even more ignorant than they are now with no opportunity to be had, Which is innately worse than opportunity they had and failed at. Failing when given an opportunity can be a fire that fuels your next opportunity. Parents and Governments can not be expected to know better than educators how to educate. Our system can be improved through a variety of means, But failing to give children an opportunity to be educated, Or allowing parents to opt out of education their children, Is to encourage slavery and to discourage individualism by not showing these children what the world has to offer and not teaching them alternative, Potentially better ways to explore the world around them. The mandate must exist so parents aren't allowed to indoctrinate their children in such a way as to give the child no escape. They have plenty of opportunity to convince their child outside of school time as it stands now. The balance is kept. May your thoughts be clear, -Thoht.