Personal whys continued

In the winter of 2009 I began to read a lot about the state of our nation's economy and politics with an eye to understanding this place we stand in history. I learned a lot, better defined my personal beliefs in these areas, and started to see our nation through a new lens. No longer do I believe that the US is a country that can always "land on its feet" when tested; instead I question whether we as a nation will be able to survive the next ten years.

I do not trust the political systems in place or the ways in which they are tampering with our lives. In addition, the political class's insistence to take away our freedoms little by little makes me want to run...or fight. However, I believe we as a nation are already like the frog in the pot of warm water; it's only a matter of time before we're boiling and it's too late.

I spent the last year at times alarmed and at times encouraged by the "average citizen" (including me) seeming to wake up, at least somewhat, to what the political class is inflicting upon us. Maybe, just maybe, we can put out the fires under the pot.

In the course of this year of exploration of our point in history I began to read more about the public education system in the US, mostly about how it is designed in such a way to assembly line progress, to standardize education, and has largely failed in the last 20-30 years to make the improvements the political class has hailed. In addition, I have heard 2nd hand - not just in media outlets - about freshman reading at a 4th grade level, students over-medicated for ADHD, teachers having to balance needs of 28 students in a classroom, including several "special needs." A high school teacher having to teach reading skills?? How is one teacher supposed to do all that? Why would they want to? There have to be better ways of helping our children have a basic foundational knowledge of life and going beyond basic life skills to higher order thinking and creative problem solving.