"Of all our institutions, public education is the most important. Everything depends on it. The present and the future. We must see that the morality and political ideas of the rising generation no longer depend on the news of the day or the circumstances of the moment." And..."I have indeed two great measures at heart, without which no republic can maintain itself in strength: 1. That of general education, to enable every man to judge for himself what will secure or endanger his freedom. 2. To divide every county into hundreds, of such size that all the children of each will be within reach of a central school in it."...."I think by far the most important bill in our whole code, is that for the diffusion of knowledge among the people. No other sure foundation can be devised for the preservation of freedom and happiness..". Are these high ideals as to the role of public education expressions of our public officials...not a chance!!!. They are not capable of such. These were the views expressed 200 years ago, in the 1800's, by Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas Jefferson.

As initially conceived by President Thomas Jefferson, the function of providing all citizens with an education was to insure that all citizens within our Democracy were adequately prepared to participate in our political system. For it is the citizen who decides all issues by electing their representatives at all levels of government. A Democracy will ultimately fail, he thought, if the country is controlled by an educated elite, an oligarchy, with narrow self-serving interests. By providing an education to all citizens, at public expense, diversity in the choice of elected officials as well as a broad based decision making process on issues affecting citizens would be better assured.

The Data are consistent: When a Racial Classification Scheme is used, Locally, at the State Level, or Nationally, there are statistically significant differences in performance levels among the racial groups; where due to individual differences in motivation, interest, and ability, these differences must be nurtured; where attributable to the artificiality of the Racial Classification Scheme, these differences will continue so long as a Racial Classification Scheme is in use, exerting a centripetal influence that impedes individual attainment.

Further, the comparatively higher proportion of African American full-time faculty and students at Maryland's Historically Black Colleges/Universities, in context with the consistently lower SAT scores of entering freshman at these institutions, as well as significantly lower National GRE and MCAT Scores for Black/Black American College/University graduates, indicates that the College's/University's mission, in recruiting and hiring full-time faculty and in attracting and recruiting students, is to maintain the artificial and educationally pernicious historic racial character of the College/University; perpetuating a system of higher education that is inherently unsound and educationally less enriching; a system of higher education that has been outlawed by Brown v. Board of Education, 347 US 483 (1954) and US v Fordice 505 US 717 (1992).

We are currently experiencing a serious crisis in public education generally, but particularly within inner city schools. Children complete 12 years of education at public expense and graduate from the system without adequate reading and mathematic skills, little or no knowledge of science, literature, geography or history. They have little or no self-control, self-respect or respect for others or the property of others. In short, 12 years of public education has failed to provide them with the skills necessary for responsible citizenship within our Democracy.

Why is public education, particularly at the primary and secondary levels, such a dismal failure? In the main because of the failure of parents/guardians, students, and public officials to recognize the fundamental importance of education in our society, the lack of standards for academic achievement and behavior, and a shift of control for such to school administrators.

There needs to be:

• a national recognition that the fundamental role of education is to produce citizens that cherish their own individuality, rights and responsibilities in our democracy and have a respect for the individuality, rights and responsibilities of others;
  That for a civilized democracy:
  • it is not a privilege for a citizen to be healthy;
  • it is not a privilege to be safe in your environment;
  • it is not a privilege to have food, clothing, and shelter;
  • it is not a privilege to be gainfully employed and self sufficient; and,
  • it is not a privilege to pursue your talents and interests through an educational system. These are all fundamental needs for life, liberty and happiness that our social system should ensure to all of our citizens.
• a recognition by parents/guardians of their primary role for the education of their children or those under their care;
• national curricula guidelines and testing for both primary and secondary schools;
  The basic curriculum, at all grade levels, should include:
  • English Language Studies, History, and Geography,
  • Mathematics and Science,
  • Art and Music, and
  • at least one hour of Physical Exercise.
• classroom teachers with a College/University Major in the area(s) in which they are teaching where the classroom teacher has final responsibility, based on academic achievement and behavior of students, for their academic programs;
• performance level testing after each grade and promotion to the next grade level subject area based on, at least, a 70% score; and,
• special schools within each community, for students with behavioral problems, with the same curriculum but with a far more structured and controlled environment.

If our political system, in the long term, is to succeed and flourish, the products of our primary and secondary school system must be educated and responsible citizens NOT semi-literate hooligans, all of our publicly supported educational institutions must reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of our society, and admission and graduation from our publicly supported Colleges/Universities must be based on merit NOT "race" or "ethnicity".