For several years now, I’ve only ever heard people mocking common core. I’ve seen dozens of examples of how warped math education is in that system.

In a Facebook conversation, I pointed out that American public schools rank 24th in the world in science and reading, and 38th in the world in math.  Public education is a rat hole for money and is harmful to children.

I was a amused to see a local school board member pipe up in response, and pin her hopes for moving up in the rankings on common core.

There’s a lot to comment on there, so I’ll try to be brief.

1. I certainly wouldn’t trust the same people who have driven our education system into the dirt to devise the solution.

2. Common core is a joke, and will only take us further down in the rankings.

3. If, as she says, you don’t have the know-how to teach your children, why would you send them to the same system that failed you?

4. Home schooling can be done for free, so money isn’t an issue.

5.  I sympathize with single parents and people who are genuinely lacking in time to spend with their kids. Churches should step in to help in these situations wherever possible. But, many people who think they need two incomes need to reduce their spending and raise their children properly.

Scripture says that we should teach our children as we lie down as we sit at home and as we walk along the road (Deuteronomy 6). Nowhere is government given the job of educating children and when it educates children, it is usurping jurisdiction from its rightful owners. And it’s clear why governments would want to educate the citizens, as they have a vested interest in the docility of the population within its borders. But just like everything else government does, it does poorly and expensively.

The days are numbered for public school. Technology is going to drastically change education in the next decade or two. Public education will die a slow death as new competitors arise and drastically outperform it.