Tongues of Kali / Martyn Bennet (1998)

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Take a few minutes to read two short documents at the end of this post. If you do, you’ll know 98% more than most voters about the education platforms of the two parties in 2024: The Republican Party Platform on education and The Democrat Party Platform on education.

What are the standout differences in these two oppositions? Even a quick reading of the two documents reveals one party attempts to create greater access to public education while the other party seeks alternatives to public education. For example, one party wants to expand the ages that public education begins in a child’s life to Pre-K.

The other party wants to offer private alternatives to public education that teach practical skills rather than politicize children. 

But the documents below are there for you to read and determine how you feel about them. I think much is revealed about the basic ideas regarding education of the two parties. 

The opposition between the two platforms on education. The Republicans see the great problem as the content of public education taught in a standardized way across the nation. Controlled in Washington DC by a 5,000 person Department of Education.

The RNC platform on education is most likely tied much closer to the candidate Donald Trump than the DNC platform tied to Harris. Trump is a known and the likelihood that the education platform is tied to his beliefs can be viewed in the content of the documents and many concerns that conservatives have had about the education system today.

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The Democrat Platform on education has nothing to do with the content within it but everything to do with giving every child the right to access this content. Many conservatives or Republicans (perhaps independents) would say the right to access this content of brainwashing ideology.

Today there is little doubt the Democrats hold control over the public school system in America. All the way through elementary, middle, high school, college and graduate schools. In their platform they propose expanding this control to a year earlier in a child’s life.

A large part of their platform is to promote pre-K schools and pay for these so a mother can go back to work. A good idea (since I have relatives in this situation today) but also – to many out there – many feel that it is just an opportunity for the government to get a hold of the mind of one’s child a year earlier. A year earlier to work its brainwashing ideas on to the child. A tough call that weighs a mother’s need for income against costs of day care. In effect, federalizing the day care businesses today. A huge relief to so many mothers out there (like relatives of mine). 

But worrisome for parents trying to find alternatives to government controlled public education. Here, the offer to get into the matrix of public education a year earlier than before for millions of children. A very critical year in the forming of their minds. It makes sense that the government wants to get our children a year earlier at this critical year. By doing this, they free up time in a mother’s life to continue a career perhaps. Yet give up their child to government programming – as many feel – a year earlier. 

The Republican platform hardly mentions any of the concerns of the Democrat Platform 2024 on access to public education. More than anything, it is about the content of public education. Besides, education directives for the nation should not come from the Department of Education in DC but rather from the various states. 

The Republican platform asks for the end of the Department of Education and returning education – like abortion – to state jurisdiction.

Nothing about the content of education is mentioned in the Democrat Platform. They fail to acknowledge the parents out there who have confronted local school boards over what the schools are teaching today. Not only what local schools are teaching but the great universities of the nation. All of this well-documented on all the news channels. The Democrat Platform on education stays as far away from the content of public education as it can. The Republican Platform on education centers on content of public education more than anything else. And, returning public education to the states and getting rid of the Department of Education.

Everyone has their opinions after reading the two documents above: the Democrat and Republican 2024 Party platforms on Education. They say much more than ideas about education but opposing views of the world today. The Republicans claim the Democrats have created an indoctrination system into political ideas into the public school system. Public schools cannot serve as sources of creating public servants, officials, bureaucrats. There has to be direction towards private industry in schools. There is little of this direction today. 

The opposition is between the two party platforms, the two ideas of education in the platforms. Yeah, I know you can’t take what a politician says to the bank. But sometimes, party platforms can be revealing. Especially, the two education platforms for the upcoming election.

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