the next President of the United States

[Jason Harvestdancer]

Free public education is supposed to take care of that.  But education doesn't supply any ideology.

If you're an optimist and naive.

Those who control the education control the content of the education.  There is way too much temptation for politicians to stay out of the curriculum of a mandatory and taxpayer funded school.  Plus said school uses tax money that people might have (but can no longer thanks to the public school) spend on a private school, and it crowds out any charity schools.  Oh no, that is a setup for politicians to produce a populace that is only educated in what politicians think matters, and not any sort of actual education.

Do you think it is a mystery that people are taught about a two party system, and then graduate and only ever vote two party?

[Baruch]

If you're an optimist and naive.

Those who control the education control the content of the education.  There is way too much temptation for politicians to stay out of the curriculum of a mandatory and taxpayer funded school.  Plus said school uses tax money that people might have (but can no longer thanks to the public school) spend on a private school, and it crowds out any charity schools.  Oh no, that is a setup for politicians to produce a populace that is only educated in what politicians think matters, and not any sort of actual education.

Do you think it is a mystery that people are taught about a two party system, and then graduate and only ever vote two party?

I am too old to be naive, and too cynical to be an optimist.  But you knew that.  My comment was partly tongue in cheek.  Well, being anti-State is a losing proposition ... but I agree that it should take a light hand to education, that is why local school boards are in charge in the US, not a centralized system like they have in Japan.  The Japanese value social integrity more highly than the US does.  By all means, if you can afford education independent of the political authorities, do so.  Even at my state supported college (which later achieved a greater independence, because the state legislature was too stingy on the budget) we didn't get much indoctrination, though we certainly got it in public school.  My college actually had a pro-Vietnam war demonstration.  The current snowflakes would have been beaten up and expelled from my school.  The cost of more independence from the legislature was ... we were allowed to charge out-of-state tuition on in-state students.  Fortunately this happened after I graduated ;-)

But really, proper ideological public school should be run like the Hitler Youth or Komsomol.  Boy Scouts was saved from this, because it is religiously sponsored.  They are allowed to do what they want, as long as they aren't subversive.  States understandably don't care for subversion.  While I would support killing the Dept of Education at the Federal level, and at the State level ... I  don't care as much now that my daughter is beyond public school, and won't be having any children.  While I appreciate parochial school (and am a teacher myself, but to adults) .. the Internet is my biggest educator now.

[Cavebear]

If you're an optimist and naive.

Those who control the education control the content of the education.  There is way too much temptation for politicians to stay out of the curriculum of a mandatory and taxpayer funded school.  Plus said school uses tax money that people might have (but can no longer thanks to the public school) spend on a private school, and it crowds out any charity schools.  Oh no, that is a setup for politicians to produce a populace that is only educated in what politicians think matters, and not any sort of actual education.

Indeed, I agree with you.  To the extent that "control the education control the content of the education".  The decision is whether to give control to a secular and relatively neutral government or to those with serious non-factual and basically religious agendas. 

I favor a neutral education strongly based on actual science, real international knowledge, and meaningful standardized tests.

And by "standardized tests" I don't mean who can cite the cubit length of Noah's Ark or explain how the Earth might be 6,000 years old.  I mean, that school graduates should be able to explain (however briefly and even barely) the causes of WWII, the Cold War, the differences among several major world religions, general world exploration, and a basic understanding of their language.  They should be able to read a paragraph and then summarize it.  They should be able to identify the parts of their government.  That's enough for me.

Not a complicated test, just something to show that they are dim-wiitted idiots. 

Let those who can't, fail to get a high school degree.  I want to identify those who fail and re-teach them for all our benefit. 

Those who fail THAT can become telemarketers.  Oh wait, they already do.  LOL!

[Jason Harvestdancer]

When you say "a secular and relatively neutral government", you make it clear that you are only concerned about religious mis-education and not statist mis-education.  Both are worthy of concern.

The schools teach us we have a two party system.  Then when students graduate they see no better choice than awful candidate A and awful candidate B, wish they could do something better, and finally decide between a turd sandwich or a giant douche.  They are thoroughly educated in the religion of the state.  Any actual education done comes after that, and as someone who lives in LA County I can tell you that there is damn little actual education after that in many schools.

[Absurd Atheist]

I still support Bill Gates for President.

[Baruch]

I still support Bill Gates for President.

You only say that, because Cortana told you to ;-)

[Baruch]

New bio on Barak ... Hillary and Donald aren't the only grifters ...

http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/06/02/obama-a-hollow-man-filled-with-ruling-class-ideas/

[Cavebear]

When you say "a secular and relatively neutral government", you make it clear that you are only concerned about religious mis-education and not statist mis-education.  Both are worthy of concern.

The schools teach us we have a two party system.  Then when students graduate they see no better choice than awful candidate A and awful candidate B, wish they could do something better, and finally decide between a turd sandwich or a giant douche.  They are thoroughly educated in the religion of the state.  Any actual education done comes after that, and as someone who lives in LA County I can tell you that there is damn little actual education after that in many schools.

Candidates A and B are seldom equal.  There is always one better than the other.  I agree that you might think you like neither, but that's what 3rd parties are for.  Sometimes 3rd parties become 1st parties.

Not lately, but that is because of Gerrymandering.