America was founded on certain values, pertaining to life, liberty, and happiness. One of the signs of a successful person is their education, and the sign of a successful nation are the education of the nation.
So is America a successful nation in promoting wisdom and learning and advancing in the pursuits of the mind? Well according to the NLI Institute, 54% of adults in the U.S. have a literacy level below 6th grade, 21% of adults are completely illiterate, and 44% of American adults do not finish one book in a whole year. National math scores have been on a steady decline for more than a decade, as well as the U.S being ranked 28th out of 37 OECD member countries in math.
Does this look like a successful education system to you? America is the 2nd most wealthy country in the world (on average per adult), and we have some of the worst scores and literacy rankings. How does this make any sense? How did this happen? To find these answers we will have to deep dive into the history, and special people that made the American education system what it is today.
Starting back at the founding of our country, education was important, but not very accessible. Some people hired teachers to come to their house to teach certain subjects, while others were all crammed into the classic one room schoolhouse. Reading was a big subject, and students mostly read fables and the Bible. They also studied arithmetic and history. While this style of education was simple, it was also effective.
Because of the inaccessibility of education, those without it were many, and so therefore the common man was not very educated in manners of formal education. Those who did receive it however, were extremely skilled in the manners of formal education proving the effectiveness of it.
EBSCO states, “In 1852, Massachusetts enacted the first compulsory education legislation in the nation. The act required that children ages 8 through 14 attend school for a minimum of three months out of the year, and of those three months, six weeks were required to be consecutive. Violation of this act was punishable by fine. Nevertheless, exceptions were made for certain children, including those who were deemed mentally or physically unable to attend. Other states soon followed suit, and by 1885, sixteen states had passed compulsory attendance legislation. It would not be until 1918, however, that all states would have such educational requirements as part of their state law.
In addition to compulsory attendance legislation, the 1850s witnessed another educational milestone: the formation of the National Teachers Association in 1857. Founded by a small group of educators in Philadelphia, this group evolved into what is today known as the National Educators Association, the largest association of its kind in the world.” So as America grew, so did the pursuit of a public education system to make education accessible for all.
Then comes the beginning of the 20th century. A very particular person whom I would like to introduce to this story is about to enter. You may recognize his name, John D. Rockefeller. John Rockefeller was very well known for his business and industrial ventures but his endeavors in education are what we are going to examine now.
In 1902 Rockefeller was responsible for the creation of the General Education Board (GEB). At first glance this seems like a well meaning track of action, but under a microscope we find something darker. With Rockefeller’s new control, the GEB had a huge role in the standardization of curriculum across the nation. While it looks to be a matter of efficiency and effectiveness, it plays the part of benefitting the industrial lords, forming obedient workers, instead of free thinking individuals. “The emphasis on conformity stifled creativity and critical thinking, limiting the potential for independent thought and innovation.”
Now to the common person this might not sound bad or dangerous. But one must understand that when individual thought and free thinking is erased, and prohibited, that is when a country is no longer free but enslaved to those who wield the power over the mind. “As Rockefeller put it, ‘I don’t want a nation of thinkers, I want a nation of workers.’ Even more compelling are the words of Frederick T Gates, business advisor to Rockefeller: ‘We shall not try to make these people or any of their children into philosophers or men of learning or of science. We are not to raise up among them authors, orators, poets, or men of letters. We shall not search for embryo great artists, painters, musicians….’”
I do not think this is a good foundation for the American education system, not only is it unbiblical and immoral, but it isn’t designed for the greater good of America and our posterity. Now you may be wondering “Why does it matter if they control the school system to make workers if we can get jobs and live normal lives?”. The answer is that without being able to think for yourself, you are completely dependent on those who support you, and in this case those whom you would be dependent on do not have your interest at heart, but there’s. When one lacks the ability to think for himself, he is the ultimate slave. “Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.” (Orwell 1984).
The second reason is the control of history. George Orwell said in 1984, “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Whenever a group or organization has power over the history of the world, they can change and shape it however they want, and those who are ignorant of the real history, are doomed to repeat their mistakes. “Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.” (Orwell 1984).
When you control the mind you control all of reality. Orwell also states “Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.” Everything’s existence was begotten from a thought, which led to more thoughts, and more, until you get the birth of every invention and every man-made accomplishment of all time, and it started with a single thought which in turn provoked action. Even the existence of the universe started from a thought, which God spoke into existence. Are you beginning to see the ultimate power of the mind and thoughts?
This is why it is so important to be able to think for yourself, and use discernment in everything you do. So, you still may ask what the take away is for people like us, what can we do to help our society and the future generations from being sucked into a reality that is controlled by someone else? Well some like to claim that all hope is lost but that is not the case.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” has never been truer and there is a lot we can do. Like I mentioned earlier, everything you see around you started from a thought, which lead to action. So the first step is to think, which I hope you have been doing throughout this, and the next is action.
You do not have to commit some crazy act of heroism or do anything radical to begin the shift towards a society that honors God and protects its citizens. So what you can do is talk about important topics like this one with all your family and friends, and soon enough you will see a shift happening in your personal circle which will bleed out into others. Another course of action for parents is homeschooling your kids, and taking initiative in fulfilling your ultimate responsibility of equipping your posterity for what is ahead.
With these two courses of action you will see just how big of a difference one thought makes, and that one thought that changes the world and course of history could be your own.
So as I close today I want to encourage everyone to look at yourself, and ask yourself if you are going to let your actions promote laziness, corruption, evil, or are you going to stand up for your country and for Christ?
Works Cited
https://www.thenationalliteracyinstitute.com/2024-2025-literacy-statisticshttps://medium.com/@sofialherani/the-dark-truth-of-the-educational-system-shaped-by-john-d-rockefeller-77bf1b0167dd
https://nces.ed.gov/timss/results23/index.asp#/math/intlcompare
https://www.education.ne.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Education_in_the_1800s.pdf
https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/history-public-education-us
https://medium.com/teachers-on-fire/designed-to-fail-6-a-history-of-american-education-d299885f397b
https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/Education-after-World-War-II
Orwell, George. 1984. Signet Classics, 1950.
ESV Study Bible. Crossway, 2008.