Fwd: The government schools' biggest failure: it's not what you think

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From: Tom Woods <woods@mises.org>

March 22, 2016 View this email in your browser The Biggest Failure of Government Education Everything about formal schooling these days teaches passivity. Even the endpoint is passive: get your piece of paper and then, upon graduation, wait by the telephone for someone to tell you you're needed. What is this, 1957? Yes, it's a tough economy -- if you're acting like it's 1957. But in the Internet age, earning possibilities are everywhere, and the startup funds necessary are minimal. And yet, after having kids in their system for 13 years, the government's schools have done absolutely zero to alert students to these possibilities, or to any way of living their lives other than going into six-figure debt studying sociology for four years. At no time have the students even heard this simple piece of advice: succeeding in the marketplace is all about finding something your fellow man needs, and providing it to him at a good price. Much less have they been coached in how to identify their niche. Remember that the next time there's a local bond issue to increase the school budget. Ask: how many students graduated from your schools with their own businesses? The very idea of creating your own opportunities, of spotting under-served niches or unexploited profit opportunities, is like a foreign language to most high school graduates. And of course, that's not to mention the not particularly subtle bias that runs through traditional classroom instruction. You won't be hearing about Frederic Bastiat or Ludwig von Mises in the ideological prisons known more popularly as public schools. I had a great discussion of all of this today with Zachary Slayback, author of The End of School: Reclaiming Education from the Classroom. Listen:   http://www.tomwoods.com/623 As you know, I've had a bit of a hand in trying to solve some of these problems. First, there's my adult enrichment program, with on-the-go courses teaching history and economics the way we should have learned it:   http://www.LibertyClassroom.com Although plenty of homeschoolers use Liberty Classroom, the program I'm involved with that's most geared to homeschoolers is the Ron Paul Curriculum, for which I created over 400 videos on history and government. Your students won't just get accurate information -- though that of course is a big selling point. They'll also learn practical skills they can put to use in making a living. In particular, the Ron Paul Curriculum's business courses explain how to start a home business -- not a topic a student is likely to encounter at the local high school. Plus, join through my link, and you get Liberty Classroom (plus other bonuses) for free:   http://www.RonPaulHomeschool.com If all goes well, Ron Paul's bodyguard will be tomorrow's guest -- and man, does he have stories. Tom Woods Copyright © 2016 Tom Woods, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at tomwoods.com Our mailing address is: Tom Woods PO Box 67201 Topeka, KS 66667