Reading, Writing and…ObamaCare: The New Age of Scholastics

Children_ObamaJugend_ObamacareAs a basketball enthusiast, President Obama should know one of the cardinal rules of playing the game.  Keep your eye on the ball!  If you take your eye off the ball, your opponent can pass it off or they can move around you quickly, thus taking the ball to the hoop and inevitably scoring.

In the most recent play coming out of the President’s and “Team ObamaCare” huddle, they have taken their eye of the ball of education and are leading high school students into the loser’s column.

In an education ranking, where the United States is being compared to other nations, the U.S is 17th .  America falls behind countries including Finland, South Korea, Japan, Britain, Canada and Germany.  When our country is falling behind, at such a high level, it seems odd our President would ask students in Los Angeles, California to concentrate on learning how to “sell ObamaCare”, rather than having them focus on their education.  But then, does our President truly ascribe to the need of our students being educated and able to make a substantial living for themselves?  Of course not, that would cause an uneven playing field.  If students are focused on their education and taught historic truths, there is always the chance these students will no longer be swayed by Obama’s charisma and secularism, but actually think for themselves. When students are allowed to think for themselves, you will have dissension in the ranks.  We can’t have that now, can we?

As a nation, we must protect our high school students from falling into the dream of some people, where individuals no longer think for themselves and espouse the rhetoric of the government.  As Hitler stated, “What luck for the rulers that men do not think”.

When did America begin thinking it was productive and morally right, to use our formidable students to propagandize ideas and systems being produced by the government?  Training our students to teach their parents and other family members about the benefits of ObamaCare is an absolute misuse of funds and distracts our students from their purpose of attending school.  Our classrooms should not be incubators for government policies.  Classrooms are places of opportunity to share ideas and thoughts, based on study and individual beliefs.  Government policies and the training of students to “push” these policies, is not an element of a free and healthy educational environment.

It is difficult to discern to whom the anger for this ObamaCare idea should be hurdled at in greater proportions.  Should we rise up and rage against the machine we call the Federal Government?  They are the ones who believe this is a purposeful use of California state grant money; to promote their socialistic healthcare ideas.  In addition to taking a socialist worldview, they believe reaching out and indoctrinating our younger members of society, is a more effective way of pushing through programs, which they know are not wanted by the more experienced and knowledgeable members of our communities.

Maybe we should be angered at the state of California for being so shortsighted in allowing grant money to be used in this fashion.  The greed of our elected and appointed officials seems to spread like a cancer when they are granted money, which they continually misuse while supporting the actions of education unions.

Yet, the ultimate decision to promote ObamaCare, by way of students, is a decision by the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).  Therefore, they should be the recipients of our ultimate disdain and anger.  Should any of us expect more from the school district who gave new cars to two graduating seniors this past school year, for perfect attendance? LAUSD lost approximately $156 million in funding in the 2012-2013 school year, due to absences.  If the district is concerned enough about their student’s education, to hand out awards for attendance, why would they take away from that education to train them to sell ObamaCare?  I guess money really does talk.

The grant available to LAUSD is $990,000, paid out based on performance.  Outsiders would deduce, students will be asked to focus on speaking with and educating adults in their circle of influence, to a great degree.  Potentially, being directed to focus more on ObamaCare, than doing their homework.  Anytime performance influences a specific reward, a concentrated effort is needed to reach the full pay out of benefits.

Underachieving public education is putting our nation’s security and future at risk.  With so much at stake, it is ghastly that the President and his advisors are so willing to continue jeopardizing our student’s futures, by asking them to take their focus off the basics of education and put it on governmental programs, which they have no business being involved.

The Council on Foreign Relations, chaired by Joel I. Klein, former head of New York City public schools and Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, showed in a recent report, due to the decline of education in the U.S., America is jeopardizing our national security and lessening our “ability to compete in a high-skill global marketplace”.

The findings of the report, as reported in Forbes online, showed:

  1. The U.S. invests more in K-12 public education than many other developed countries, though our students are not as prepared as other developed countries to compete globally.
  2. The percentage of American students who fail to graduate high school in four years is more than 25 percent.  This number climbs to almost 40 percent among Hispanic and African-American students.
  3. Only 25% of our students test at proficiency levels or better in civics.  (This was measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.)
  4. Eight out of ten Americans speak only English.  This is a detriment to the growing global economy, based on the Report.
  5. According to a recent ACT testing report, only 22 percent of American high school students reached the “college ready” standards in their core subjects.   Seniors planning on attending college only had 43% of students meet the college-ready standards.  Numbers were lower for Hispanic and African-American students.
  6. U.S. employers cannot find qualified applicants for today’s work force.
  7. 75% of American citizens, ages 17-24, cannot pass military entrance exams.  This is due to lack of physical fitness, criminal records or individuals lack critical skills required for working in modern warfare scenarios.  This includes locating countries on maps where the U.S. military is actively serving, such as Afghanistan.

Our country is in dire need of quality attention to our educational system.  It is imperative we spend time focusing on educating our students thoroughly, in subjects which will increase their abilities to function in a higher-level world.  Taking time out of their school day or study time, to focus on training these students to educate their families about ObamaCare, will only contribute to the demise of our nation.

This is how Democracies fall.  When we allow the government to begin distracting our youth and interrupting their education, the entire foundation of our country begins to weaken.

Whether you are a supporter of public education, charter education, homeschooling or any other available line of education, the idea of a school district being lured, by money, to transform students into vessels of the government, should make your blood boil.

Tina Drake

Arizona PolitiChick Tina Drake has been teaching and mentoring Junior High and High School students, in churches where she has been active, since her time as a college student, over twenty-five years ago. Tina believes politics and religion can, and should, be discussed together. She says she is a lifelong follower of Christ and believer in the true significance of God's power in each and everyone's life and she believes in the absolute need for God and Christ to be honored and included in the decisions made for our country. Tina continues to mentor students in this age group, along with her husband, multiple times each week. She believes that encouraging people, especially students, to see the need for a relationship with God and Jesus Christ in their everyday life, is an absolute need in her life. Tina volunteers weekly in her children's school, allowing her to witness how today's students are learning and developing in their social, educational, political and spiritual beliefs. Witnessing how students experience life, during the timeframe of Junior High through College, is immensely important to Tina. She believes this age group needs to be mentored, so they will have the tools with which to navigate today's societal pressures to live life without God, rather than with Him. Tina has also been a teacher to women in churches, teaching small groups, as well as speaking to large groups on a variety of spiritual topics. In addition to Spiritual Formation, Tina has been actively following and discussing the many facets of politics. Tina is a graduate of the University of Arizona, having earned a degree in Communication and a minor in Political Science. After college, she worked in the field of Advertising and Marketing, specializing in Media Buying and Planning, as well as directing entire Marketing and Sales departments. She has been a writer for PolitiChicks.com since 2012 and says she enjoys the opportunity to encourage Americans to live out their faith in Jesus Christ, while they stand firm on the principles set forth by our forefathers in their political beliefs.

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