Summary

The provided text discusses the decline of the American educational system from its peak in the 1800s to early 1900s, the subsequent shift in focus and values, and the author's perspective on the need for practical life skills and business acumen in modern education.

Abstract

The article "A Street Lawyer’s Street Smarts #1" reflects on the historical trajectory of American education, noting its high standing in the 1800s and early 1900s, with a strong emphasis on the "Three R's," moral-ethical values, and the "Success Experience." The author laments the significant decline in educational standards and the loss of these core principles by the 1950s and 1960s, attributing this to the influence of certain businessmen-politicians who sought to alter the system. The text suggests that contemporary education fails to equip students with the practical skills necessary for success in a capitalistic society, as evidenced by the need for re-education in the business world. The author advocates for a return to teaching foundational skills, ethical values, and principles of success, and suggests that trade schools may offer a more effective alternative to traditional high school and college education.

Opinions

The author believes that the current educational system has deviated significantly from its past excellence, particularly in the areas of literacy, ethical instruction, and practical business skills.
There is a strong opinion that the changes made to the educational system around 1900-1925 were unnecessary and detrimental.
The author posits that trade schools are a superior option for young people, as they provide practical skills and understanding of business operations at a lower cost and in less time than traditional education.
The article emphasizes the importance of the "Three R's," reading, writing, and arithmetic, as foundational skills that have been inadequately taught in recent times.
The author holds that the "Moral-Ethical Creed of Life," once a cornerstone of education, has been entirely removed from the current system, to the detriment of students.
"The Success Experience," which taught students how to succeed in a capitalistic society, is also noted to have been eliminated from modern curricula.
The author express

A Street Lawyer’s Street Smarts #1

“How to Get the Most Out of the Best You Have to Offer.” In American Business, We are the Backbone of America

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In my study of Constitutional law, a lot of things have become apparent to me that wouldn’t be apparent by other means. I know of only one way to say this: we’ve lost a whole lot in our educational system in the U.S.

The 1800’s and Early 1900's

But back in the 1800’s, and until the early 1900’s, America had the greatest educational system in the world. We were rated top of the list. It has been said, and I think with a great deal of merit: “Children knew more about our nation, business, and our Constitution during this time, than most lawyers do today.” You did not meet many illiterate people during this time period, at least not in the developing cities where education was prevalent.

Things Changed About 1900-1925

But about 1900-1925 this all began changing. Four large groups of very influential ‘businessmen-politicians’ decided they wanted to change things that really didn’t need changing at all. This may be where the saying was born: “Don’t try to fix what ain’t broke.” But by the 1950’s or early 1960’s, our educational system began to really ‘bottom out.’

At this time, any comparison between what our education system used to be like, and the current one, was purely coincidental. What was compulsory in earlier times was now almost forbidden — due to our changing political climate and thinking in America.

I now think that trade schools are a much better option for young people than general high school and college education is. At least here, they learn something about dealing with people, the need to keep track of money, and how to function in some needed trade or craft. And they don’t spend nearly as much time or money going to trade school as they would in college.

During the earlier time-period, education began in the home, and parents took an active role in making certain their children were being rightly educated.

Then in school, education was focused on three major areas:

(I) ‘The Three R’s’ — readin’, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic, as it’s called.

The level at which children read was very high, and their writing ability followed close behind. And this was accented by their knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting and a good understanding of how businesses flourished.

(II) ‘The Moral-Ethical Creed of Life.’

This was actually what in later years became ‘the boy scout creed’, once we stopped using them. You can’t help wonder if kids are smarter than adults in some ways. We should ‘learn from our kids,’ as is said.

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It was strongly taught that we must be a moral, ethical, trustworthy, conscientious people if we really wanted to succeed in life. This creed consisted of 12 strongly-taught values, including being (1) trustworthy, (2) loyal, (3) helpful, (4) friendly, (5) courteous, (6) kind, (7) obedient, (8) cheerful, (9) thrifty, (10) brave, (11) clean, and (12) reverent.

Children were not only taught these, but they were monitored as they put them into practice. It wasn’t just a mind thing but a heart thing.

(III) ‘The Success Experience.’

Our founders knew we were creating a new way of doing business here. It is called the capitalistic system, and not socialism, communism, and other forms of society. And our founders knew our young people must be educated in ‘how to succeed in our new free-enterprise system.’ So they were taught how to succeed and stay on top of life. They must know how to do business, often starting their own businesses, and they were trained in this.

This is what I had to learn in the school of ‘hard knocks’ in just having to go out and figure out how to ‘practice law.’ I was never taught these things in school either.

Today, if you read publications or watch the news, you know that our education system is very troubled today, and children are not getting the education they need. Many can’t even read or write very well when they graduate from high school. And larger companies say they must most often re-educate people they hire so they know how to function in the business world. Many employees don’t like this because they feel they’re being imposed upon, continuing their education, just after spending a long time in school.

There are some charter schools and religious schools that we know are doing a better job in various areas, and children receive a better education. But they are often more costly, and many families can’t afford them, and they are hard to get into. But in general, our public form of education is lacking in many ways and this is reported regularly in many publications, and even some newspapers.

Here’s a very general bottom-line of our educational system today:

(I) ‘The Three R’s’ are still being taught, although reports say inadequately.(II) ‘The Moral-Ethical Creed of Life’ has been removed and no longer exists.(III) ‘The Success Experience’ has been removed and no longer exists.

What I’m going to pursue in these series of messages is how our world works, in a practical sense. I don’t plan to share anything about education. We have lots of people doing that. I just plan to talk about some things our education system is NOT teaching — things that help us live life to the fullest. I like to say that my vision is to help reveal ‘how to get the most out of the best we have to offer.’