Tea Party activism echoes past the 912 DC event with The Morristown Tea Party hosted movement program on School Choice.

9/29/09 School Choice Program

Offered as an informational discussion series topic on September 29, 2009, the program featured a video from John Stossel along with presentations from local school choice proponents. The program identified the failures in public schools, the school choice solution and the issue in the 2009 NJ Assembly elections.

The main principle behind school choice is about moving the control over education from government to parents through a variety of financial techniques such as vouchers and charter school alternatives.

School Failures Are Not A Local Issue

School choice activist Dan Haggerty points out that everyone needs to look beyond their own local school system for a measurement of school success such as in New Jersey. He argues American schools produce citizens unable to understand issues that impact society.

Dan alludes to the problem in 2008 elections. “You saw during the recent election where some of the people answered questions about politics, about local governance, about the world; they had no idea what the answers were. This is tragic. This effects our whole society.”

Newark Schools Highest Cost In World Producing Students Unprepared

In the State of New Jersey Dan looks at the Newark school system in this light and at the impact on the individual’s life success.

“The schools in Newark take in more money than any education system in the world. $28,000 per student to educate a student in Newark. And they don’t get educated. They get social promotion.”

Dan Haggerty School Choice Activist Expresses Dangers of Failed Schools

For those making it through the system, Dan describes the disastrous consequences.

“And these kids are put out after high school with a substandard education. They think they think they’ve been educated to operate in the real world.”

“The first encounter they have with a job interview; what a shock. They can barely write English, they can barely read English even though its their native language. They’re not going to either get that job or if they do get the job they are not going to function in it. So can you imagine why kids in this area develop a sense of rage about that?”

How to Make Changes To Move to School Choice?

Israel Teitelbaum, co-founded Parents for Free Choice in Education and activist in New Jersey education, provided a positive view of progress in school choice for New Jersey and how audience members can help.

“One way to begin is to point ourselves to the new media. We can all reach out through email, Facebook, Twitter, blogosphere, talk radio. We can get the message out to the world and our friends will pass it on and on and on and it goes at lightening speed today …”

Israel Teitelbaum Outlines Individuals and Political Candidates Actions

Israel points to the opportunity for school choice in the 2009 New Jersey elections. Over 40 NJ Assembly candidates have joined together on bringing school choice to New Jersey. He introduced Barry Funt, the main organizer of the candidates, who later gave an unscheduled talk on the effort. [See related article "NJ Citizens For Assembly Unite To Take Back NJ With Common Sense Pledge"]

Stupid In America

The meeting featured John Stossel’s landmark 20/20 television documentation “Stupid in America”. The documentary opens the hidden issues of parents losing control over education and the damage government run education causes for young lives. It shows how teacher union leadership opposes choices for parents.

John Stossel 20/20 Stupid In America Presentation

The Morristown Tea Party event was recorded on video to include the full length of the presenters’ talks and the audience questions.

The Morristown Tea Party Complete School Choice Event Videos

President Obama’s announced curriculum insertion into the 2009- 2010 school system on 9/8/2009 created opposition and wait and see support.

Breitbart reports “Obama’s planned address to students has prompted a surprising push-back from some quarters over what the White House sees as an important but innocuous topic.”

Some may see with the newly untested, unproven President Obama, any speech and curriculum suggestions as premature. What have you done that merits this injection? Prove yourself first! Respect is earned and winning an election is not enough to earn it.

Some go as far as fears of Nazi Germany’s educational motivations. That entailed delivering curriculum to schools like what is occurring on 9/8. Yet the Federal Department Of Education finds it hard to imagine how insertion of curriculum from a national level could create any commotion. The question with Government is always how much is too far and with Congress no longer policing the Administrative branch, these fears are worth attention. Apparently Government went too far as Department of Ed had to file edges off its curriculum content.

Others just have had enough with President Obama’s daily in your face self-promotional agenda and see this another extension of it. If anything, folks are sick of the “All My Obama”  soap reruns over and over.

The Call For Hope for Students In A Failed Government Run School System

The refined message is designed to motivate students who, in the view of Obama and his administration, have lost hope and feel isolated as the President claims about himself.

Perhaps what parents are really upset about is the dismal failure the Government Run Schools in the US have for so many children and young adults.

Failure of Government Run Schools is not an indictment of public school teachers mind you as in every organization of this size there are the good, the bad and the ugly, mostly good in this case stuck like parents and students in a failed system. Student failures are a consequence of the system; the public system; the Government Run School System. Public is just a misleading a word implying it has to be Government run.

Parents have witnessed indignities of seeing curriculum, text books, patriot rituals, religious freedoms and activities affronted by removing parental control. Moreover they have seen their own children’s lives and futures destroyed by the system. Many poor parents, unable to see the causes of failure and if they do certainly powerless to do anything about them. They surely have lost hope.

The US Department of Education Mapping America’s Educational Progress 2008 shows in year 2006 the Government Run Schools totaled 98,905. Government Run Schools making adequate progress was at 70% or 64,546. Government Run Schools in need of improvement 10,676 and 2,302 Governement Run schools a disastrous wasteful place for any young person to spend their days preparing for a future. Lucky ones are in the adequate progressing schools.

And we spend a lot for a few States that have horrible inner city school failures destroying hope.

Top Per Student Spending 2005

A Government Run School system is prey to all types of political groups. They masquerade as teacher unions, particularly the leaders, environmentalists and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Not that they are good or bad, but that they have a Government system to attack, influence and control for their own interests. Not good for students, parents and teachers.

Consider the American Federation of Teachers Randi Weingarten President comment in the Brietbart report

“The bottom line is we need the president of the United States of America to use his bully pulpit to talk to kids about the importance of education and to help inspire kids”- Randi Weingarten President American Federation of Teachers

Are we suggesting the students can overcome the Government Run School System failings with a motivational speech from anyone? Does Randi Weingarten see the Government Run School system a place a student merely needs to be self-motivated after being inspired by political figures to succeed?

Motivational speech may go like this:  “We know your school sucks and is ‘adequate’ at best, you have a good chance to drop out, the teacher may have no control in the classroom because we took away that power as well as your parent’s power and we do not know where the money goes to provide you with the best, but chin up and you can still make something out of it – look at me a popular political personality – have hope.”

Take Back the Schools

The American School System is lacking one key item. This is the ingenuity and productivity of the American People. Innovative solutions, unattainable in a stodgy manipulated Government System, need to occur to correct the international declining position our best students have as well as putting a stop to the destruction of young lives trapped in the system.

American people work well with choices. To have choice, you need to have power. Our Constitution provides that power. However forfeited that power in the schooling.

Educational choice is taken away as taxes and given to a politically motivated Government Run System to make the choices. That is everyone’s choice: parents, students and teachers.

The reverse is to attach the funds we raise as a community to the children. This gives parents their Constitutional power of choice to select the schooling that they find best for their children.  This lets educators and teachers innovate and deliver education parents want and reflects changes in communities. With 98,905 schools, there is more than enough to meeting multiple needs rather than try to make one system fits all approach with a record of wrecking too many lives.

To understand how this works follow this John Stossel 20/20 presentation

Its not just people uneasy about the President addressing students even if he is unproven. Its about the Government Run System and how much Government we can take in education and a speech and curriculum from the President may be just the more parents cannot take and many teachers are in a wait and see mode. Students are just the playing piece.

Get Informed and Unite With Group for Free School Choice

It may seem impossible to turn the monstrous implanted Government Run School System around. You can if you take action even if you children have long grown, to help their children and protect freedom. Here are some places to start.

• Alliance for School Choice
• Alliance for Free Choice in Education

Good resource: Parent’s Guide to Education Reform