Freedom is Never Free

 Posted on a local classroom wall by a student.

I contend the hard work of freedom starts with community support of its schools, not fireworks.

I remember a Fourth of July fireworks display I watched with a friend. As each cleverly engineered communist Chinese pyrotechnic display shook our bodies and dazzled us bursting overhead, my friend would mumble, “Wow, that was a dozen school textbooks up in smoke.” Or “Incredible, that was a new computer.” “Unbelievable! I think I just saw a whole chemistry lab disappear.”

I laughed; I have no kids. She left Gogebic County searching for better funded schools.  

Later, after retiring, I decided to substitute teach out of a sense of duty and curiosity. It was certainly not because of the pay. Throughout the schools of Ironwood, Bessemer, and Wakefield I found them all underfunded. Duct taped books, inoperable computers, insufficient modern teaching aids, no libraries or librarians, and overworked, stressed, and underpaid (but dedicated) teachers.

Here I transition to the critical need for an educated public.

This is a science analogy applied to national defense. Recently the Muslim nation of Azerbaijan attacked Christian Armenia. Azerbaijan purchased Turkish and Israeli drones. These drones are packed with sophisticated detection and identification technology. The traditional tanks, armored personnel carriers, air defense, artillery, and tough Armenian Soldiers were systematically destroyed. The war was over in six weeks. Drones can and are now deployed with sensors and artificial intelligence which can independently identify enemy troops and kill them. This is no longer mano-mano conflicts but drones vs man. It will eventually be drones vs drones. The countries with the best tech, created by its educated people and operated by its soldier citizens, will dominate the battlefield.

Freedom from “Fear”, in this case fear of our adversaries, is one we currently do not have to suffer. Our Department of Defense is committed to technological superiority.

Freedom from fear of destroying our earth’s carbon cycle is our biggest threat. We cannot expect our kids to make well-educated decisions about the earth without education in earth science.

If we elders had had only a month of Earth Science Education*, or even just one hour of science education devoted to climate change, every responsible citizen would vote for politicians who recognize the need for effective and progressive action to counter the threat of climate change. If a politician claimed climate change is a hoax, they would be laughed off the stage and labeled a moron.

We can best celebrate our freedom, won by our ancestors’ foresight and fortitude, by ensuring we fund our schools to be the best in all aspects of education.

Where are we today? The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) found the scores of our fourth graders dropped THREE POINTS. Furthermore “inquiry-based” activities, which are considered the best teaching method and essential to all decision making, are used by only 30% of teachers. (I would like to note some local teachers have embraced this technique with great results.)

People compete today in the marketplace of ideas.  This marketplace exists in only one physical place, the space between our ears. Education makes this place productive and competitive.

Freedom is never free.  We should be investing our wealth in our K-12 schools. We should not be spending our wealth on Communist Chinese fireworks.  Of the 227 million dollars we blow on fireworks, 218 million dollars go to the communists.

When you are asked for a fireworks donation, I suggest you politely reply, “Sorry, I bought my kid a book printed in the USA. In our family, this is how we celebrate freedom.”  We could devote money for both fireworks and education, but the fact is, we are not.

A good start to understanding earth science: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_system_science

Freedom, from what? Search Franklin Roosevelt’s four freedoms speech.

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