I don’t ordinarily use this blog to voice my general political opinions, but sometimes I have to when politics affects our kids. This is one of those times.
It is beyond denial that we have long had an illegal immigration problem. However, that problem was mitigated by a number of actions taken by President Trump. The problem was reduced and held in check. That changed within the blink of an eye when Joe Biden became president. He is recorded for posterity inviting people from other countries to illegally enter our country—with his blessing and with his aid. Of course they came, and are continuing to come, creating a multi-level crisis. This was by choice.
Why should you care?
How does this affect our kids? Did you know that according to the U.S. Customs
and Border Protection website, in the Fiscal Year-to-Date, almost 100,000 minors have entered our country? (The federal government’s fiscal year runs from October 1 of one calendar year through September 30 of the next.) To see how this has impacted your state, go to the Office of Refugee Resettlement website page titled “Unaccompanied Children Released to Sponsors by State.” See the panoply of aid provided to minors at the Office of Refugee Resettlement page.
Of course, these provisions are supposed to be applied to those who are designated as refugees and asylees. There is another category identified as “Certain Minors with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.” Somehow, I believe, this is going to be stretched to include all those who enter illegally.
“Science says” kids don’t need to wear masks
I can’t help but wonder if this is the impetus for Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.7 million-member American Federation of Teachers, stating that they are “going to try” to open schools this fall for in-person learning and that all will have to wear masks. Of course, this masking decision supposedly came from the CDC, but we have already seen that the CDC takes marching orders from the teachers unions. Leo Terrell said, “. . . this is to keep the public school teachers home and a draw a full paycheck. This is what bothers me tremendously. The kids lost… a year of education last year. They’re going to lose another year because the public school teachers and the unions don’t want to go back to school.”
If Leo Terrell is right, we have to wonder why teachers are so eager to either subject everyone to masks again, or to not be in class with the kids they are supposed to love so much. Could it be that they are anticipating an influx of the 100,000+ kids, most not speaking or understanding English and are unlikely to be at grade-level in their education? And, just maybe, are COVID-19 positive?
Assuming my theory is true, our kids are going to pay a heavy price in their education and personal health to assimilate the illegal minors into our society. And you are going to pay for it in taxes.
So, what are your options? Many parents are beginning to complain to school boards about things like CRT. And that’s been effective in some instances. But for a problem that starts with the federal government, I’m going to suggest another path for you to consider. Take your kids out of public school, and elect representatives and senators who will vote for school choice.
You can spend your money more wisely than the government
Let me explain how this might work for you. The government spends approximately $15,000 per student annually for education. That doesn’t include the recent infusion of over $3,900 per student in the CARES Act and other legislation. But let’s just stick to the $15,000 to use as a comparison. Dr. Keri D. Ingraham, Director and Fellow of Discovery Institute’s American Center for Transforming Education, said recently:
The U.S. outspends nearly every other country in the world on its K-12 education system, and in constant dollars spending has tripled since the 1970s.
But what has all of that money bought us? Not a lot. Education performance has flatlined. Our kids don’t read as well as they should, they often can’t write cogent sentences, and as for mathematics and science, the results are dismal. Among other developed nations, U.S. students pitifully place 26th overall. When it comes to performance by subject, our students fall 17th in reading, 23rd in science, and 33rd in math.
Tuition varies from locality to locality, but generally you’ll find annual tuition for K-8th grade at a Catholic or Lutheran school is about $6,000 to $7,000. That’s for your first child. Often the cost is reduced for the second and third child. The cost may vary depending if you are a member of the church or not. Of course, the education itself really costs more than you pay, but often that is absorbed by the congregation with which the school is affiliated.
If you had school choice that would permit you to move the government’s $15,000 to one of those parochial schools, you could help the congregation by paying most or all of the true cost. And if you saw to it that the school choice legislation permitted it, you could put the extra in a savings account to help pay for the parochial high school education as well. More on how to pursue such legislation and the pitfalls next time.