Today’s entry: Hi Brian - Your analytical, statistical, critical thinking approach to topics is refreshing. The stats and facts you bring to a conversation make your opinions and conclusions important for your listeners to consider. The stats and facts are also 'real news' not easily available to most consumers. I believe your work is real journalism... most likely what our forefathers had in mind to protect under the first amendment. I'm a conservative and value independent and critical thought, self-reliance and the smallest and most effective government possible. I'm not into conspiracies.... frankly, because I think governmental organizations aren't competent enough to manage a 'conspiracy' through multiple years, layers, leaders, etc. With that backdrop and context, my question is, are there any similarities in purpose, scope, messaging, etc. between the US Indian Boarding Schools of the 1800's and the current US Department of Education? It's my understanding US Indian Boarding Schools sought to eliminate (assimilate) Native American culture and beliefs through 'education'. And the latter, the Department of Education, seeks to eliminate (standardize) local cultural and religious beliefs through 'education'. Thank you any consideration you give to my question.
Bottom Line: Thank you for listening, the kind words and the question – it's a good one. While I’ve extensively covered education issues over the years, including the impact of the Department of Education’s impact since its incarnation in 1980, I’ve never addressed the Indian Boarding Schools. It’s a compelling comparison because as we’re well aware, history has a way of repeating itself. So, about what was known as the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative. Here’s a quick breakout of the history of that program.
Between 1819 and 1969, the federal government operated a total of 408 boarding schools across what are now 37 states (some were US territories at the time the schools were established). This included Florida which had a boarding school established somewhere around 1820, or about 25 years prior to becoming a state. New boarding schools were established as recently as 1886 in our state. The stated purpose from the federal government of these boarding schools was assimilation to the country’s established culture. As such, Christian missionaries took the lead in running these boarding schools and sought to coerce children at these schools drop their native beliefs, including religion in lieu of the those “educating” in these schools. Somewhat ironically the most recent Investigative Report on these boarding schools and their impact was just completed in May by the US Department of the Interior. It had long been known that these boarding schools had been rife with abuses, in addition to various forms of attempted indoctrination. One of the summary statements from the most recent report speaks volumes about what transpired... Students were subjected to... rampant physical, sexual and emotional abuse. But these were schools after all so there was an education agenda which was carried out.
With the idea in mind that the curriculum should be geared towards long-term outcomes, school days often consisted of half of the day in the classroom, with half of the day working in vocational training. The thought was that natives were generally good with their hands, working on the land and trade, therefore that should be a key focus of these schools. You can see how stereotyping could essentially lead to a potential underclass for all natives in these schools – aside from the forced value system and potential for abuses. Now, in comparing the Indian Boarding Schools, to the US Department of Education, there are some interesting similarities along with one very big difference.
The US Department of Education’s mission statement reads... To promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. Based on the actual results, the apple has fallen far from the mission tree. As I first covered in 2018... Entering 1980, the first full year of operations for The Department of Education, the average education outcome for Americans was 2nd in the world (with only Australians ahead of us). Religious holidays, references and prayers were acceptable. Over the next twenty years, entering the 2000’s, we experienced a 300% increase in diagnosed depression. This while the United States slid to 17th from 2nd in education outcomes. It also coincided with a lack of faith. According to the Pew Research Center only 6% of Americans didn’t identify with any religion or faith in 1980. Today that’s up to 14.4% But even the 240% increase doesn’t tell the whole story. Over 26% of those under the age of 35 don’t believe in God. The proliferation of faithlessness connects directly to the rise in mental health issues in society which connects directly to the timetable of the onset school shootings – starting with Columbine in 1999. That was the first generation raised in the current, faithless public-school system under The Department of Education. In the case of the Indian boarding schools there was a bastardized form of Christianity forced onto the Natives. Under the Department of Education, it’s been the forced federal removal of any semblance of religion.
It’s a damning record for the US Department of Education as students have become far less globally competitive and have experienced a rapid rise in mental health issues manifesting in worse outcomes including less safe schools which corresponds to a rise in atheism with the timeline of the removal of any opportunity for recognition of faith in our public schools. The comparison you’ve drawn between the two is especially instructive in this regard. The federal government running education programs hasn’t gone well for the students on the receiving end of their initiatives. The situations are considerably different between the Indian Boarding Schools and the public education establishment under the US Department of Education, however the results for all involved have been worse. It’s also illustrative of why it’s so important that we make good decisions at the state and local level controlling what we can control to attempt to ensure the generally eroding education outcomes nationally don’t happen here at home. The engagement, and commonly rejection, of the status quo, with the recent school board elections across Florida was especially encouraging.
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