Over the last election cycles, conservatives have realized the fact that the we are losing our once solid majority. I would argue that John McCain and Mitt Romney are hardly our strongest voices. Regardless, America seems to be turning more to the left or at least liberal ideas are becoming more accepted. The question of why, cannot be answered by a poll or a study. The answer can be answered in one word, education.
For years education has been a issue dominated by the liberal left. They claim they are on the side of teachers and students. They claim that they want to build up our public schools, in contrast to those mean Republicans who want to turn everything to private schools. Sadly, we have just let the stereotyping proceed without objection. The liberals have established a stronghold on academia in most of our universities and schools. They have taken over the curriculum's and centralized control in Washington. The end result of these actions is that our children for generations have been taught liberal theories and ideology. These children have grown up and are now voting. We see the fruit of our liberal education system. For too long the education system has been ignored. That needs to change.
Conservatives have a real vision for our education system. It starts with giving the control of our education system back to the states and local school boards. I think it's funny that liberals abhor what they call "trickle down economics", yet their education policies are "trickle down education". It makes no sense to send our tax dollars to Washington when we can keep those dollars here locally. Government works best when it is closest to the people.
This decentralization approach will not only give the power back to the people, it will also save millions of your hard earned dollars. Imagine the money we could save by eliminating the Department of Education. Imagine all the savings we could gain by eliminating the overhead of the Washington bureaucracy. That sounds good doesn't it? Not only does localization give more freedom to you the parents and students, it will save millions of dollars. In these times of deficits and debt, this is not only a moral solution, but a economical one as well.
Then the states need to let the majority of the education decisions be made by local schools boards.I would much rather have the parents making the decisions at the local level then a bureaucrat in Washington or Raleigh. That leads to the next thing that needs to change. Parents need to be more involved in their children's education. We as parents should not hand our children off to the state and expect them to do our job. We should not only be able to choose where we send our child to school, but we should also make sure we have a say in what they are taught. One of the great problems is that parents have been sidelined. The state has replaced the parents and sadly the parents have let it happen. We as citizens need to demand more of ourselves. If we abdicate our parental and social responsibilities, the government will fill the void, and we know what the end of that is.
The strategy has to be broad. We need conservatives in Washington who will not be swayed by the powerful education lobby. The Department of Education needs to be abolished. Once that is done then we will need Governors and State legislators who will give the necessary power to the school boards. Then we will need conservatives elected to our local school board. Local school boards can then let the parents have a say in the curriculum. Local school boards can eliminate the waste of too much bureaucracy and make sure the money gets to the teachers, their assistants, and the classrooms. This process will take time, which is why today this strategy needs to be enacted now. Our future as a nation depends on it. It is not too late. Conservatives must get back in the fight on our own terms on education. The strategy is simple.
1. Localization.
2. Less money to bureaucrats, more money to teachers and classrooms.
3. More parental involvement in curriculum and standards.
4. Accountability through school choice.
5. Schools should teach, not indoctrinate.
The platform is simple and effective. The task is great, but anything worth doing always is. If we want to turn the tide, we need to get back to the forgotten battlefield.
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