Alternatives to Public Schooling Should Not be made Illegal.

Re-addressing Common Core According to Government data, only 1 out of 50 prospective STEM Majors who begin undergraduate courses with Pre-Calculus or lower will earn a bachelor’s degree in a STEM area. To add to that, students who get no higher than Algebra II in high school will have a 40% chance of getting a college degree. [1] James Milgram, professor of mathematics at Stanford University, and co-author of a study done by the Pioneer Institute (A well-respected, independent research organization) on Common Core, noted that “with the exception of a few standards in trigonometry, the math standards end after Algebra II. ” [2] So, if 1 out of 50 people who have experience in Pre-Calculus or lower will earn a bachelor’s degree in the STEM area, and only 40% of people with their highest experience in Algebra II will get a college degree at all, then by implementing a standard which denies children from getting anything higher than Algebra II will be lowering standards for the entire nation. Even worse, by eliminating alternatives to Common Core standards, there will be no opportunities at all to succeed academically without doing so illegally, which will decrease the effectiveness of our education by a massive percentage, and deny the educational freedom that our citizens are entitled to. Re-addressing the persecution of Christians From Nero to the Edict of Milan, Christians have experienced 129 years of extreme persecution in Rome. According to the Roman Historian Tacitus: “Besides being put to death they [the Christians] were made to serve as objects of amusement; they were clad in the hides of beast and torn to death by dogs; others were crucified, others set on fire to serve to illuminate the night when daylight failed. Nero had thrown open his grounds for the display, and was putting on a show in the circus, where he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or drove about in his chariot. All this gave rise to a feeling of pity, even toward men whose guilt merited the most exemplary punishment; for it was felt that they were being destroyed not for the public good but to satisfy the cruelty of an individual. ” [3] Addressing your claim on the Middle Ages, remember that it was the government that controlled the “church”. When I talk about persecution of Christians in the Middle Ages, I’m talking about the persecution of Christians, not specifically the persecution of the “church”. To note specifically, remember the persecution of the Cathars in the 1200s, where over a million Christians died from persecution of the government-controlled Catholic church [4]. Again, the martyrdom of Martin Luther and William Tyndale, the persecution of evangelical Christians as ‘heretics’ during the 15th, 16th, and 17th Century. You can’t say that Christians weren’t persecuted because the ‘church’ was influenced by the government. Rebuttals. ———— “I'll accept the premise God gave us responsibility. I'm a Christian, after all. But, Adam and Eve is mythology. It's a creation myth, to be taken figuratively and not literally. Science proves that it is not an accurate origin of our species. ” — That is a non sequitur argument. You accept my premise, that’s what matters. You have not provided a source nor evidence for Adam and Eve being mythology, so it is accepted as true until you can provide evidence that “science proves that it is not an accurate origin of our species”. “However the second point here, citation 2, is rather suspicious. Chiefly because it appears to be some random audio file that some random person uploaded. I could upload any claim I want and it wouldn't be evidence. ” —Like how you’re doing now. Look to ‘Re-addressing Common Core’ for a reenforcement of my points. “As a history student of many years, I can tell you the persecution of the early church is more myth than material. The Romans were highly pluralistic, and the idea they brutally repressed Christians … is a myth created later to put a face on the ideal of martyrdom. ” “…society was controlled by the Church [in the Middle Ages]. ” —I address this in ‘Re-addressing the Persecution of Christians’. “If we believe everyone deserves the same chance (a tenant of the American dream), then we have to make sure everyone has an even start. Right away, an urban Black youth has a worse chance of everything. A suburban white youth has a better chance of success. By standardizing government control over education, we can allot fair amounts of money, balance the student populations, devise special programs, and work out a means to correct this balance in society. ” —There are two ways we can look at this. First, we have to remember that by standardizing government control over education, because of the Common Core Standards, it will actually lower the standards, and though it will be specifically standardized, it will deny people who want to work for higher education, the right to do so. In fact, it will force standards to be lowered instead of allowing it to be raised. Second, you have to remember that you’re talking about and how it relates to the argument. What you’re putting forward as a solution to your claim (not a problem, no evidence has been presented), is something that can be done without abolishing alternatives to public schooling. You can standardize your schools without abolishing alternatives to public schooling. Therefore your argument is non sequitur. “Across private schools, what is taught is not standardized…” —You must remember that public schools have the same risk as private schools to being false. Remember Nazi Germany? Public schools there were teaching anti-semitism. Your argument against private schools apply to public schools, and therefore is not valid. Going to have to make small points because I’m running out of characters. “Now why should we tolerate our children being taught what is false? And further, why should the government recognize such improper 'education' as holding any validity? ” —You’re making an argument for alternatives to public schooling. We as homeschoolers and private schoolers recognize that many things taught in the public schools, such as global warming and how FDR “fixed” the Great Depression, as false. Why should we tolerate our children being taught what is false? It’s an argument against forced public schooling, not for. “I'm sure white supremacists could found a school and teach that the shape of a nose somehow determines intelligence. ” —I’m sure they could. Where and when in history did white supremacists control a school system? It’s on the top of my head… Oh yes! Nazi Germany! But was it private schooling? No. It was public schooling. In fact, I’m sure that if there had been private schools legalized in Germany at the time, there wouldn’t have been as many people indoctrinated by said white supremacists. This goes back to my point that we have a moral obligation to allow alternative forms of education to prevent the indoctrination of our children. I therefore conclude a systematic rebuttal of my opponent’s argument. Thank you, —TheYummyCod Sources: 1. STEM in Postsecondary Education, 2012, NCES 2013152 (see, especially, Tables 2, 4, 7, and 12). 2. . http://pioneerinstitute.org... 3. Henry Bettenson and Chris Maunder, eds. , Documents of the Christian Church, 3rd. ed. (Oxford UP, 1999), p. 2. 4. . http://necrometrics.com...