Benjamin Rush

America, my name is Benjamin Rush and I have returned to share my wisdom in regards to American education. For those who do not know me, I was born in 1745 in Byberry, Pennsylvania. I received a formal education, was a pioneer in promoting new theories about the medical field, and even wrote the first textbook on mental illness wherein I coined the term “Insane In the Membrane”. Just kidding, but I could have done it. I was a founding father whose signature lies on the Declaration of Independence, I pushed for abolition of slavery, and I advocated for free public education for the American people. The public education cause is what I will be, as the contemporary youth call it, “blogging” about here.

In my highly professional opinion, the public school system should first and foremost serve to promote an active and efficient democratic population. Schools should engrain a sense of national pride in their students so they may grow up to be both educated and fully committed to aid in the development and success of their country. The school system, much like the government, must be in constant development to adjust with the demands of the public at large. The lessons taught in schools must be flexible so that they may adapt, and old methods brought over from our predecessors should be forgotten due to their irrelevance. Among these irrelevant lessons are dead languages such as Latin or Greek that no longer serve a function, and if taught will take up time that could be spent on subjects such as science that could actively advance the progress of the nation.

In my era only males received a full education, while the women were taught primarily to help teach their children. However, I have been made aware that this is not the case in the present day. Now that women play a more important role in the democratic process they must receive an education to equal the responsibility of voting and playing a role in the political machine. Obviously the students must learn how to read and write in the English language, and as they progress through the grades they will begin to learn more advanced and specific areas of the sciences, mathematics, and history. These fields of study will help produce educated and more informed citizens, which is what our country truly needs to succeed.

While I appreciate the control our schools hold over our students, and the lack of choice we give them in order to make them more obedient, there are some aspects of the current system that leave me malcontent. For one, our schools do not work hard enough to give the students activities in their free time that strengthen their patriotism and eagerness to be an active citizen. Secondly, the public schools do not supply the students with enough Christian morales. I am shocked and appalled that the students are only forced to say God once in their Pledge of Allegiance. Though some states have a state pledge students recite that also include God, I find this lack of religious presence to be a major disappointment. Our students deserve better.