Dylan Rittershaus
Mr. Binkley
English Composition 101
1/20/2015
The Government Sanctioned Downfall of Education
The present state of education in the United States appears dismal. Every student that attends high school in this country can probably recall at least one instance where their parents have babbled about how school nowadays seems loads easier than back when they attended, but this issue does not need to be debated. Tons of evidence supports this claim. The US spends more money on education than any other country in the developed world. In 2011, it spent $809.6 billion dollars annually which marks a whopping five times more than Japan, who ranks number two in education spending. That same year the US placed 9th in the world for Science scores and 10th for test scores, while Japan placed 3rd in Science and 4th in Math. Upon seeing these statistics, the question that arises is why the country that spends the most on education does not test the highest. To answer this question, one must uncover what programs this money gets funneled into and what these programs entail, as well as review the government’s current principles about education. This research all points to one common conclusion. The education programs implemented by the government and teaching practices thereof result in less intelligent students. To an untrained eye, this notion would seem absurd. Why would a government intentionally dumb down its populace? The answer proves quite simple really. It’s all about control. If a country raises a generation of intellectuals, these individuals will grow up to be free thinkers, make educated decisions, and stand up to legislation that they deem unconstitutional. On the other hand, if a country raises a generation of complacent students, these people will go on in life just accepting what the government does. After all, the government deserves the trust of its populace no matter what it does, right? Actually, the answer is much on the contrary. If the government does not receive any regulation from its civilian population, they then can do whatever they please without any opposition. This rational sends chills down the spine of anyone that understands its severity. Control of the population is the ultimate goal and no other way yields more control than social programming, and what better way to program a population than through years of educating the youth. Stalin used this same strategy between 1928 and 1937. He used education to promote communism. Children would be taught in a way that requires the success of a group as a whole. This meant that all students needed to be equal and no student would be considered better or worse than another student. This is how Russia achieved such feats of labor throughout this period because everyone was taught to work as a group and not excel above anyone else. This yielded in a generation of non-intellectuals that got used as pawns to promote their dictators goals. This parallel shows that social programming through education works; thus, it only makes sense that the United States would engage such programs to promote what its government desires. Programs such as No Child Left Behind, Common Core, and Standardized testing result in the dumbing down of the United States. Public Law 107 – 110, more commonly known as “No child left behind” became a United States law in 2001 when President implemented it. The Act requires states to develop assessments in basic skills. In order to obtain federal school funding, states must give these assessments to every student in each select grade level. The Act doesn’t result in a national achievement standard. Each individual state develops its own standards and tests its students with them. At first glance, this seems like a great idea. Test all students to a set standard. Every student must meet these standards in order for the school to receive its federal funding. One student doesn’t meet the standards, and the school doesn’t get its