In a three-part essay titled “Our Killing Schools,” The Redneck Intellectual, C. Bradley Thompson, provides a philosophical explanation that goes to the root cause of school shootings—Progressive education. In the final essay of the series, Thompson writes, The crisis of America’s teenage boys is a philosophic crisis. The cognitive consequence of Progressive education—if not the…
In a three-part essay titled “Our Killing Schools,” The Redneck Intellectual, C. Bradley Thompson, addresses the school shootings that have stunned, angered, and confused Americans. Thompson goes beyond the typical explanations—video games, rap music, the absence of God in the classroom—for these senseless acts of violence. He provides a philosophical explanation that goes to the…
According to Politico, the budget passed by the Texas Legislature in the recent session establishes new metrics for evaluating school success rates that shift focus away from “performance statistics,” such as standardized test scores, and toward “success statistics,” like graduation rates, enrollment rates in post-secondary education like college or vocational school, and estimated income of…
Education in America is a virtual monopoly of the government. As such, it is a highly politicized topic and controversy surrounds nearly every discussion about education. From funding to curriculum, from test scores to text books, there is little agreement between politicians, educators, taxpayers, and parents about how the nation’s schools should be operated and the…
The curriculum in government schools is chosen and dictated by government officials. The textbooks used in government schools are chosen by government officials. The ideas taught in government schools, and the vast majority of Texas schoolchildren attend government schools, are determined by government officials. Parents who disagree with those ideas often have no viable alternatives…
When legislators convene in Austin next week, reducing the tax burden on property owners will be near the top of the to-do list. But no matter what schemes that lawmakers concoct, we can be certain that fundamental reform won’t occur. Government schools in Texas are funded primarily through property taxes. State officials will be faced…
Though the 2019 legislative session will not convene until January, legislators have already filed hundreds of bills for consideration. One of those bills was filed by Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, and proposes a constitutional amendment requiring the state to fund at least 50 percent of the cost of government schools. The purported purpose of…
The Houston Chronicle reports that local politicians, educators, philanthropists, and business organizations have been discussing a plan for a new non-profit organization to take over several struggling schools in the Houston Independent School District (HISD). The effort is an attempt to stave off state sanctions over the chronic low performance at four HISD schools. According…
A recent report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation suggests that property taxes for education could be cut in half in as little as eleven years. The proposal calls for a combination of reducing the growth in spending and increasing other taxes (such as the state sales tax). But increasing other taxes simply shifts the…
This is an excerpt from Individual Rights and Government Wrongs. After passage of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Barack Obama’s first economic stimulus), which earmarked more than $100 billion for public education, the White House website listed President Obama’s goals for improving America’s government schools. “Providing a high-quality education for all children,” the site…
With the 2019 legislative session less than a year away, we are already hearing the opening salvos of another debate over funding government schools. Invariably, the article, blog post, or editorial calls for more money for this program or that. The funding of government schools has been a contentious political issue for decades. As has…
In the 1970s, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) developed a program to allow students to transfer to a school outside of their neighborhood. The goal was to integrate the district’s schools. A recent article in the Houston Chronicle provides an interesting lesson about school choice and the motives of the media. According to the…