Prudence is the ability to explore options before making an ethical decision, and the
decision of going to a school requires prudence. Mr. Reynolds has written a book to help students and parents explore options about school. I shall investigate Reynold's excellent text by contrasting a healthy theory of education with the unhealthy state of education in America today. The question is whether most schools are islands of shallowness?
The final cause of a school should be “happiness,” “mastery, autonomy, and purpose” (p. 45). Sadly, the results of today's K-12+college education include “indebtedness, lost opportunities, and wasted years” (99). Thus, because many schools bring about debt and “wasted years” (99), many schools are islands of shallowness.
The material cause of a school is to allow students “to spend time with talented, hard working adults” who are skilled with logic, physics and Biblical exegesis (82). Sadly, students who attend school today must listen to administrators and diversity officers. “The public school system [is] run more for the convenience of the staff and bureaucrats than for the benefit of parents or kids” (77). As a result, “the smarter kids are often held back by classes designed not to leave the slower kids behind” (86). Thus, because many schools are “run for the convenience of the staff” (77), many schools are islands of shallowness.
The formal causes of a school should be disciplined, caring and modern. Sadly, schools are “expensive islands of frivolity” that are “vicious” and “clueless” (xi, xii). “Frivolity” is defined as “the fact or habit of trifling; a lack of seriousness” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, 1966, p. 913). Reynolds points out that the slower kids who failed at logic, physics and Biblical exegesis find jobs in most schools as administrators and diversity officers who resent threats to their authority and are negligent about clear ways to lower tuition prices, such as downsizing the administration positions and dismissing diversity officers. Hence, there is a “widespread mental deficiency among America’s K-12 educators” (viii). Thus, because many schools are “vicious” and lack seriousness (xi), many schools are islands of shallowness.
The principal agent of a school should be parents who want their children to become happy citizens who make sacrifices for the common good of our the federal republic. Sadly, administrators and diversity officers are now in charge of the schools and their goal “seems to be to ensure that students never have to have an uncomfortable idea,” such as “sacrifice” (xiii, ix). As a result, parents have been replaced by “Kafkaesque bureaucrats” who tend to be, according to Franz Kafka, “restrictive,” “fearful” and cowardly (Franz Kafka [1883-1924], Office Writings, 2009, 59). Thus, because many schools are staff that are “restrictive” and “fearful” (59), many schools are islands of shallowness.
The K-12 schools should prepare a student for college. Sadly, “poor K-12 preparation [means] that many high school graduates are unprepared not only for college, but even for community college” (xv). Moreover, students who successfully completed two years of college remained unprepared for college. “45 percent of students did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning during the first two years” (42). As a result, colleges are serving as substitute high schools yet continue to increase their tuition. “The increase of higher education costs is the need to provide remedial education for many high school graduates who never managed to learn the things they were supposed to have learned before they arrived at college” (64) In my personal experience as a college instructor I regularly meet college students who are not familiar with the eight parts of speech, the two parts of a proposition and the three parts of an argument. As a result, it is difficult for me to teach logic, physics and Biblical exegesis to high school and college students. Reynolds writes, “Todays schools aren’t even successfully teaching the basics" (68). Thus, because many schools serve as substitute high schools providing “remedial education” (64), many schools are islands of shallowness.
Every school should assist students to become happy citizens who make sacrifices for the common good of our the federal republic. Sadly, schools bring about students with a “millstone weight of student-loan debt” (45) who are “a drag on the economy as a whole” (52). If 40% of college graduates are paying off student loans rather than “buying first houses and first cars and moving up to something fancier every few years,” (18) then the economic health of the our federal republic is harmed. As a result, schools are a not “producing the value it once did” (25, 65). Thus, because many schools leave students with a “millstone weight of student-loan debit” (45), many schools are islands of shallowness.
Every school should be an instrumental agent that is “flexible,” (86) “cheap” (26) and “adaptable” (95). Sadly, colleges have “costs approaching $60,000 a year for many private schools” (23), $40,000 out-of-state costs at many state schools, and “$30,000 for in-state students” (86). As a result, college is an instrumental agent that is “one size fits all” (ix), extravagant, and rigid. Reynolds writes, The “rigidities are legion” (84). Thus, because many schools have “costs approaching $60,000 a year” (23), many schools are islands of shallowness.
Glenn Reynolds is a trustworthy counseling agent in relation to school, since he is a lawyer who has focused on issues in education for many years. His first piece of advice is: “Don't go into debt” (39). Avoid debt and building credit are the best ways to gain financial independence. Further, Reynolds writes, “The higher education bubble isn't bursting because of a shortage of money. It is bursting because of a shortage of value” (58). If students are not learning logic, physics and Biblical exegesis in school in order to become happy citizens in a federal republic, then parents and students will stop going to the schools. “Already, a smaller percentage of high school students are choosing to go to college than just a few years ago” (37). Further, “College enrollments are declining, with 2012 enrollment a half-million below that of 2011” (58). Further, “law-school applications have plummeted to pre-1985 levels” (34). Thus, because many schools have “a shortage of value” (58), many schools are islands of shallowness.
Reynolds makes three interesting observations about higher education: isolation, faculty competition, and regret. First, a student will discover “an administration that isolates itself from students and faculty behind keypads and security doors” (xii). I personally remember needing to talk to someone about my W-2 form at a college and I had to walk down two dark hallways, then go through three locked doorways, then enter a small room with big shelves and a lady sitting at a desk next to the shelves. It was awful. Second, colleges have a “Moneyball-style competition for faculty” (11). Graduate students are rated and scaled just like baseball players based on diversity requirements and multicultural vocabulary. Lastly, many graduates “would happily give back” (14) the degree they purchased, since the degree has become a millstone of debt. 40% of college graduates regret spending time and money on a college degree. Thus, because many schools have “isolated” staff (xii), hire faculty based on diversity scores, and leave 40% of the student feeling regret, many schools are islands of shallowness.
The history of schools in America includes Horace Mann (1796-1859) who homeschooled his three sons and introduced the Industrial model to public schools while serving on the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. As a result, schools are “basically an assembly line” (8). Each year students “advance to the next stage (grade), where the next group of assembly workers (teachers) performs the standardized tasks (curricula) to advance the product (students) to the next assembly stage (grade)” (77). Thus, American schools are based on 150 year old “models that served the 19th century purposes well” (83, 1). Thus, because many schools are “basically an assembly line” (8) without mental diversity, many schools are islands of shallowness.
Every American school has administrators and diversity officers which are analogous to a crop that has locusts. “Diversity bureaucrats” are like “administrative locusts taking over the higher education system” (30, 87). Just as locusts steal the fruit of a farmer’s crops, so to administrators and diversity officers steal money from parents and students. Sadly, a school has become a “warehouse” for the “associate vice chancellor for faculty equity” and the “vice chancellor for equity, diversity, and inclusion” (28). As a result, American schools are existing “in a bubble that is not only financial but also intellectual” (29). From my personal point of view, ‘equity’ is brought about by the virtue of prudence, ‘diversity’ finds consensus in physics, and ‘inclusion’ is discovered in the Sacred Scriptures. St. Paul writes (Rom 11:12) “greater riches will their full inclusion bring.” The Lord wants everyone included in His grace. Further, a second analogy shows how unqualified the schools have become. According to Mark Geragos, the public school system in Los Angeles, California “is a criminal cartel that needs to be put out of business” (CBSLA news 20150813). Thus, the public school students need both pesticides (prayers) and law enforcement (angels) to become happy citizens in a federal republic. Thus, because many schools have numerous administrators acting like “locusts” eating the tuition money, and because many schools ignore St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, many schools are islands of shallowness.
The natural motive for parents to send their children to school is the wish to have their children gain “mastery, autonomy, and purpose” (99) by learning from “talented, hard working adults” (82). Sadly, the natural motive has been frustrated. Schools have become bubbles for administrators and diversity officers “who benefit from keeping teens infantilized” (72). If a high school student learned how to be logical and prudent, then he would quickly get a real view of American schools as comfortable “warehouses” (87) for administrators and diversity officers. As a result, high school students today usually attend a “teenage jail” (99) where they fail logic, lack prudence, and “value appearance over achievement and rule breaking over responsibility” (71). That’s why students go to parties and worry excessively about their health and reputations. Reynolds writes, “voluntarily putting your kid in such a situation looks a bit like parental malpractice” (ix). Thus, because many schools “keep teens infantilized” and immature, many schools are islands of shallowness.
Every diploma should be a sign that a graduate “has a basic ability to show up on time, to follow instructions and to deal with others in close quarters without committing serious felonies” (18). Sadly, high school and college diplomas no longer signify the good qualities listed above. Reynolds writes, “We have a problem that a lot of students graduated without learning what they need” (48). Hence, a school is not “producing the value it once did” (55, xiv, 65). Thus, because many schools are graduating students who are not “learning what they need” (48), many schools are islands of shallowness.
The feelings involved with school should be a love of learning, a disgust with sloth and the courage to learn new axioms, equations and languages. Sadly, underneath the “comfort” (68) of administrators and diversity officers there is fear. “Much of the higher education bubble is driven not by hope or ambition but by fear” (45). Parents fear that a college degree will not necessarily help their children move out of their homes. Further, parents who pay the full tuition fear that they are being used by the college to cover the families who pay half the tuition. Further, students have the constant fear of graduating from college “with debts of $100,000 or more” ( 25). And JPMorgan Chase bank is afraid to lend loans to students and “is exiting the field” (33). What about the “minor nobility” (23) on school campuses, the administrators and diversity officers? They fear reality and detect every day how their jobs are empty and vain (100). Thus, because many schools have parents, students, faculty and administrators feeling fearful and threatened, many schools are islands of shallowness.
Every school should be a place for students to learn the basics of logic, physics and Biblical exegesis. Sadly, statistics show how schools have become comfortable warehouses for administrators and diversity officers. “Between 1950 and 2009, the number of K-12 public school students increased by 96 percent. During the same period,… the ranks of administrators and other staff [diversity officers] grew by 702 percent – more than seven times the increase in students” (72). Thus, because many schools have had a 702% increase of administrators since 1950, many schools are islands of administration and shallowness.
To review, many schools are islands of shallowness, because “the smarter kids are held back” (86), educators have “mental deficiencies” (viii), campuses are “restrictive” (59) and highly censored, schools focus on “remedial education” (64), schools offer a “millstone weight of student-loan debt” (45), tuition is “$60,000 a year” (23), there is a “shortage of value” (58), “administration and faculty are isolated” (xii), schools are “basically an assembly line” (8), schools are “warehouses” of diversity (28), administrators are like “locusts” in the fields of schools (87), schools keep “teens infantilized” (72), every school is a “bubble” of “fear” (45), and schools are islands of administration.
The above deliberation allows me to make a free choice. I have decided that I prefer the material cause and the motive. I shall now make the following enthymeme. Many schools are islands of shallowness, because “schools are run for the convenience of the staff” (77), and schools are “warehouses” (87) for administrators and diversity officers.
The good news is that the author provides good advice for ways to become educated and to become happy citizens who make sacrifices for the common good of our the federal republic. There are seven options that are worth investigating. First, homeschooling is a good options, because, according to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “it's not just for scary religious people anymore” (77, Season 3, Ep. 2, “Dead Man's Party”). Second, private schools are a good investment, because students can learn grammar and Biblical exegesis. I remember teaching at the Univ. of San Francisco and a professor from U. C. Berkeley was my office mate told me that “the Catholic USF had more freedom that U. C. Berkeley.” I said, “I know.” Third, charter schools are a wonderful option, because they have the potential to be flexible and adaptable (86) and are started by people who understand the problems of inflated costs at many schools.
Fourth, online schools are a good possibility, because courses on edX, Khan Academy, and Coursera are legitimate and allow students to earn certificates showing “mastery and autonomy” (85). Fifth, apprentice programs are valuable, because students need to move away from “teenage jails” (99) and move toward “real work, outside school, with real adults” (71). Sixth, community colleges are good option, because, according to Derek Thompson, an A.A. degree brings about a higher return on investment that a B.A. degree (“Going to College,” Atlantic, 20121005). And seventh, less prestigious state schools are worth looking into, because they are “oriented toward student success in a less party-oriented atmosphere” (47). A seventh option that I recommend is studying the “Virtue Tree” with the Dominican Sisters in Ann Arbor, Michigan (https://tinyurl.com/2yv5ftnp).
Final remarks. The Lord worked as a teacher for three years and He was regularly disturbed by the deceit and fear of Pharisees, Herodians and Sadducess, none of whom built public schools (Mk 12: 13).
© By Theodore Faulders, November 15, 2015.