Grosse Pointe Schools One (Last?) TIme

We realize that we are running the risk of kicking the proverbial dead horse in returning to one subject for the third time in five days, but feel that we must just the same. As clarity can only help the understanding of a point, we sincerely hope to bring some clarity to the picture today.

Our original intention way back last Thursday, August 17th, was not to criticize or lambaste the citizens of Grosse Pointe Woods or those who live in the district of and participate in the Grosse Pointe Public Schools. That it came out that way is our fault; the headline was certainly inflammatory and we confess we meant it that way. We are trying to attract readers and sensationalism tends to accomplish that. It was a shoot from the lip headline, done in the heat of the moment, and we regret it. It was unfair to the people of the Grosse Pointes, and of Grosse Pointe Woods in particular. We hope that they will accept our sincere apology.

Who we were after last week were the people whom our favorite education writer, Dr. Richard Mitchell, called 'educationists'. Our favorite quote of his is that, in order to really educate yourself, you should: "Seek out the best, wondering minds, and go and sit with them. Remember while you do that, our children sit with facilitators." If with that you understand what he means, then you understand what is wrong with modern American education (generally).

Educationists are, if we understand Mitchell correctly, those who deal in propaganda rather than propagation. The difference is important. Another of our favorite writers, Mr. C. S. Lewis, explains that the difference is that propagation involves instilling within the next generation the understanding of and respect for the truths of the past, while propaganda is merely the conditioning of the pupil for he knows not what, for whatever purposes the propagandist deems important.

It has been our experience that public educators in general (yes, we know there are exceptions) are great propagandists. A great part of their propaganda lies in their supposed care for the pupil. They are for the children; education is all about the children; the children are the focus of education. It all sounds very good...until we come top realize that, again quite often but admittedly not entirely, that what they really want to do with the children they claim to love so much is not to teach them to think for themselves but to convince them to accept certain presuppositions about what society ought to be like, according to their agenda.

Consequently, when we read quotes about property values going down under Schools of Choice legislation we immediately thought of how the educationists always, always, claim to put the child first (for the purposes of what they consider good rather than for what is truly good for the child) and thought we had a chance to make a point about their hypocrisy. We made a hasty generalization in not knowing for sure whether the Grosse Pointe Schools were educators or educationists. Once again, we apologize and regret the presumption.

We still stand by our general thoughts about public education. We still prefer private to public education, in part so that parents can indeed see more directly what happens in the schools where their children are. But we do not want to besmirch anyone wrongly. We hope this explanation helps to clear the air.