Faster horses
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A School Principal
This is from a column that Dennis
Prager wrote, and I wish that a few school principals would lay down a
similar directive.
High School principal
We watched Dennis Prager of Colorado,
along with Sara Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple of weeks ago, what
a dynamic, down to earth speaker. Even though Palin and Brokaw were
also guest speakers they did little but nod and agree with him. This
is the guy that should be running for President in 2012!
A Speech Every American High School
Principal Should Give - By Dennis Prager
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored
to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some
important changes coming to our school.
I am making these changes because I am
convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education
in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against
our country.
First, this school will no longer
honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup
is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your
origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your
ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only
identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is
your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your
humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about
is American.
This is an American public school, and
American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you
wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school,
you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and
non-American nationality-based celebrations.
They undermine the motto of America ,
one of its three central values -- e pluribus Unum, "from many, one."
And this school will be guided by America 's values. This includes all
after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students
based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion,
sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society
divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on interests
and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined
ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy
preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to
get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport
you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you
do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular
activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on
ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of
yourself really interests you.
Second, I am uninterested in whether
English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language
is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently
as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for
over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school.
It is one of the indispensable reasons
this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if
you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I
would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to
successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other
languages here - it is deplorable that most Americans speak only
English - but if you want classes taught in your native language
rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third, because I regard learning as a
sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's
elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your
teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more
formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people
have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal
dress code at this school.
Fourth, no obscene language will be
tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in
the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using
the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words
banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as
"Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another
black, or "bitch", even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It
is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among
the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and
the degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth, we will end all self-esteem
programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way
-- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago
-- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one
valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the
school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No
more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or
terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more
semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard
sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no
more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are
not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will
have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not
consider him or herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an
American.
Now, please stand and join me in the
Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not
know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.
Pass this along if you agree, if not
delete. For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For
those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.
This is from a column that Dennis
Prager wrote, and I wish that a few school principals would lay down a
similar directive.
High School principal
We watched Dennis Prager of Colorado,
along with Sara Palin and Tom Brokaw on TV a couple of weeks ago, what
a dynamic, down to earth speaker. Even though Palin and Brokaw were
also guest speakers they did little but nod and agree with him. This
is the guy that should be running for President in 2012!
A Speech Every American High School
Principal Should Give - By Dennis Prager
To the students and faculty of our high school:
I am your new principal, and honored
to be so. There is no greater calling than to teach young people.
I would like to apprise you of some
important changes coming to our school.
I am making these changes because I am
convinced that most of the ideas that have dominated public education
in America have worked against you, against your teachers and against
our country.
First, this school will no longer
honor race or ethnicity. I could not care less if your racial makeup
is black, brown, red, yellow or white. I could not care less if your
origins are African, Latin American, Asian or European, or if your
ancestors arrived here on the Mayflower or on slave ships. The only
identity I care about, the only one this school will recognize, is
your individual identity -- your character, your scholarship, your
humanity. And the only national identity this school will care about
is American.
This is an American public school, and
American public schools were created to make better Americans. If you
wish to affirm an ethnic, racial or religious identity through school,
you will have to go elsewhere. We will end all ethnicity, race and
non-American nationality-based celebrations.
They undermine the motto of America ,
one of its three central values -- e pluribus Unum, "from many, one."
And this school will be guided by America 's values. This includes all
after-school clubs. I will not authorize clubs that divide students
based on any identities. This includes race, language, religion,
sexual orientation or whatever else may become in vogue in a society
divided by political correctness.
Your clubs will be based on interests
and passions, not blood, ethnic, racial or other physically defined
ties. Those clubs just cultivate narcissism -- an unhealthy
preoccupation with the self -- while the purpose of education is to
get you to think beyond yourself. So we will have clubs that transport
you to the wonders and glories of art, music, astronomy, languages you
do not already speak, carpentry and more. If the only extracurricular
activities you can imagine being interested in are those based on
ethnic, racial or sexual identity, that means that little outside of
yourself really interests you.
Second, I am uninterested in whether
English is your native language. My only interest in terms of language
is that you leave this school speaking and writing English as fluently
as possible. The English language has united America 's citizens for
over 200 years, and it will unite us at this school.
It is one of the indispensable reasons
this country of immigrants has always come to be one country. And if
you leave this school without excellent English language skills, I
would be remiss in my duty to ensure that you will be prepared to
successfully compete in the American job market. We will learn other
languages here - it is deplorable that most Americans speak only
English - but if you want classes taught in your native language
rather than in English, this is not your school.
Third, because I regard learning as a
sacred endeavor, everything in this school will reflect learning's
elevated status. This means, among other things, that you and your
teachers will dress accordingly. Many people in our society dress more
formally for Hollywood events than for church or school. These people
have their priorities backward. Therefore, there will be a formal
dress code at this school.
Fourth, no obscene language will be
tolerated anywhere on this school's property -- whether in class, in
the hallways or at athletic events. If you can't speak without using
the f-word, you can't speak. By obscene language I mean the words
banned by the Federal Communications Commission, plus epithets such as
"Nigger," even when used by one black student to address another
black, or "bitch", even when addressed by a girl to a girlfriend. It
is my intent that by the time you leave this school, you will be among
the few your age to instinctively distinguish between the elevated and
the degraded, the holy and the obscene.
Fifth, we will end all self-esteem
programs. In this school, self-esteem will be attained in only one way
-- the way people attained it until decided otherwise a generation ago
-- by earning it. One immediate consequence is that there will be one
valedictorian, not eight.
Sixth, and last, I am reorienting the
school toward academics and away from politics and propaganda. No
more time will be devoted to scaring you about smoking and caffeine, or
terrifying you about sexual harassment or global warming. No more
semesters will be devoted to condom wearing and teaching you to regard
sexual relations as only or primarily a health issue. There will be no
more attempts to convince you that you are a victim because you are
not white, or not male, or not heterosexual or not Christian. We will
have failed if any one of you graduates this school and does not
consider him or herself inordinately lucky -- to be alive and to be an
American.
Now, please stand and join me in the
Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of our country. As many of you do not
know the words, your teachers will hand them out to you.
Pass this along if you agree, if not
delete. For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For
those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.