Classroom Monitor

The Hallowed Ivy Covered Walls

The College Scam

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Is Your College A Liberal Madrasa?

          The United States of the 21st Century is fortunate to have some of the best colleges and universities in the history of the world.  Year after year, these institutions graduate first rate scholars in every field of study who then move on to successful careers, making contributions that benefit all of us.  Unfortunately, there are also some institutions of higher learning that scam their students into paying up to $40,000 a year in tuition to attend what amounts to a liberal indoctrination camp.  It is understandable that these students would be discouraged (make that outraged) when they emerge from these madrasa-like enclaves without having improved upon their high school reading and writing skills, without learning history and science and without learning how to be creative and think for themselves.  Oh, but they’re experts in such subjects as Diversity and Social Justice, Marxist Concepts of Racism and Queer Musicology, all actual courses at major universities!  The moment of truth comes when these hapless students discover that the diploma they received isn’t worth the paper it was printed on and that, after all the money they invested, they can’t find a job.

The Hallowed Ivy Covered Walls
The Hallowed Ivy Covered Walls

Pay Back Your Debt

          We sympathize with the graduates of these colleges and universities, many of whom are now camping out on Wall Street and in other cities throughout the country demanding that their student loan debts be forgiven.  Make no mistake, we firmly believe that an education loan obligation, like any loan that an individual has legally agreed to pay back, must be met without government assistance.  Nonetheless, it is entirely appropriate for these students to return to the ivy covered halls of their alma mater and demand a refund.  Considering the outrageous fees levied by some of these universities, those which have not lived up to their obligation and delivered what they promised should return a portion of the tuition to these students.  Rather than blame everyone else for this debacle, we encourage all students who are now protesting their student loans due to these scams to hold their college or university accountable and seek recompense.

A Privilege Not a Right 

          There was a time when going to college was a privilege for those who worked hard in high school, had the intelligence and drive to get through the rigors of higher education and had a requirement to get special training for a specific vocation.  Now, it seems, college is a right due everyone whether or not they have earned it.  In 1959 approximately 45% of high school graduates enrolled in college.  By 2009 that number had jumped to 70%.  Of course, the colleges and universities capitalized on all of this by dumbing down the entrance requirements and pumping up the tuition fees.  To cite statistics for just one year, costs were up 8.3% in the Fall of 2011, when the rest of the country was in an economic freefall, without any corresponding increase in benefits for the students.  Obviously, all of this cheapens the value of a college degree for everyone and now college graduates almost have to get an advanced degree to be competitive in the job market.

Not Everyone Needs to Go to College 

          Many high school students would do better in the long run if they entered the work force directly after graduation, especially if they have shown no aptitude for studying while in school.  In fact, faced with this prospect, they may be more inclined to apply themselves and take advantage of the free education they are provided in high school.  Vocational school would be a much better fit for someone planning to enter the skilled labor force and for many others the two year curriculum at a community college is all that is needed to prepare them for the work force without busting the budget.  Parents should think twice before incurring significant debt for themselves and their children just to send them off to college for four, five or six years of partying, pontificating and procrastinating.  It may not be worth it when all you get for your trouble is a child who eventually moves back home as a brain washed, liberal automaton who has forsaken all your values!

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Celebrating the Life of George Washington

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February 22, 2011:  The 279th Anniversary of Washington’s Birth

          George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732, which makes this the 279th anniversary of his birth.  As the Father of Our Country, Washington deserves to have his birthday set aside as a special day for all freedom loving Americans to celebrate and to reflect on the tremendous impact this man had not only on this country, but the entire world.

          Washington was a surveyor, soldier and planter who went on to become the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, which he led to victory over the British in the Revolutionary War.  He presided over the writing of the U.S. Constitution in 1887 and served as the young nation’s first president from 1789 to 1797.  George Washington was married to Martha Custis in 1759, a successful union that lasted 42 years until his death in 1799 at the age of 67.  Their home at Mount Vernon has been preserved for posterity and has been maintained without government support by the Mount Vernon Ladies’Association since 1858.

          Sadly, students in public schools today are not given the same opportunity to learn about George Washington as children were in years past.  Instead, they are subjected to ‘the new curriculum’ with a political agenda and a liberal focus.  At one time, portraits of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were displayed in every classroom in the country.  These have now largely been replaced by posters of Che Guevara, Malcolm X and similar characters revered by the liberals who have taken over our public schools.  School textbooks now barely provide 10 percent of the coverage that was given to Washington’s life and his many contributions to our nation just a few short years ago.

          We must make it a point to keep the history alive and pass on to future generations information about the incredible nature of George Washington’s courage and character, as well as the incalculable contributions he made to our country and our way of life.  Make it a point to visit your local public schools and inspect the classrooms.  As a taxpaying citizen, it is your right to do so.  Ask the teachers and principals why the portraits of Lincoln and Washington are no longer displayed.  Check out the curriculum of your child’s class and ask for more coverage of great Americans like George Washington if you deem it insufficient.  You can make a difference by getting involved in your local public schools and by supporting the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association!

Visit the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association at the following link:

http://www.mountvernon.org/

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California Screamin’

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California Screamin’         

          As California prepares to bid farewell to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the obvious question that comes to mind is ‘will anyone miss the governator?’  The only possibility that I can think of would be the union bosses who have had him on a short leash for the past seven years.  Talk about a girlie man!  What a bust for the once hopeful conservatives in the state who actually believed the former muscle man would take on the ‘forces of evil’ which have brought the state to its knees over the past several decades. 

          Bucking the trend in all other areas of the country except New York, Democrats swept all statewide offices in the 2010 California midterm elections.  The union owned California Democrat Party is not only now in control of the governorship and all statewide offices, but also both houses of the legislature and both senate seats.  They now literally own the state with all its blemishes and all its problems, which means that they will be accountable to the electorate if they do not bring the state back from the brink of self inflicted bankruptcy. 

          With Republicans now in control of the House of Representatives in Washington, DC, the likelihood of a federal bail out is remote, a development which will focus the attention of the world on the responsibility of California’s liberal Democrats  for the mess the state is in.  While the rest of the country begins the long overdue recovery from a near depression caused by high spending liberals who have now largely been turned out, California will continue to lose jobs, businesses and high income citizens who pay the lion’s share of taxes.  It is difficult to see how the current line up of democrats in the state could possibly turn this around.  Their policies are simply not designed to rescue a flailing economy, reform an education system that is failing at every level from K through 16, and prevent sanctuary cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles from going the way of third world countries.  Oh, for the halcyon (see WOW) days of Ronald Reagan, S. I. Hayakawa and Max Rafferty! 

Note: 

S.I. Hayakawa was an English professor and semanticist at San Francisco State University who served as a conservative Republican Senator from California from 1977 to 1983.  Yes, you read that correctly.  He was a professor and he was from San Francisco and he was a conservative!

Max Rafferty was the Superintendent of Public Instruction for California from 1963 to 1971.  He was a conservative who presided over the golden years of education in California.

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