American public education has been declining since 1837.  I think that we can all agree that society is on a decline.  Not much history is taught in school.

According to the National Assessment of Education in 2010 only 20% of American 4th graders master United States History.  It gets worse.  By graduation, only 12% of America’s students know the history of their country.  They have learned little about the founding principles of liberty.  “I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration….”  John Adams said this to his wife, Abigail, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  Even if students pass history tests, what do they really know about the history of America?  Do they know that Abraham Lincoln enforced the Fugitive Slave Act during his presidency?  How much do they know about the Magna Carta signed by King John of England in 1215 and how it influenced our country and the Constitution?  The Magna Carta gave people power and made the King subject to the law.  They are taught to worry about climate change and that humans are responsible for it.  Horace Mann’s (the father of American public education) belief that the Bible should be taught to maintain morals has been basically ignored.  Students are indoctrinated with the idea that Earth is about 5 billion years old.  Graduates are rarely taught another view, that Earth is not more than 10,000 years old based on Biblical records.  Sad indeed, that graduates, even the most gifted, are graduating with huge gaps in their education.