Remember the scene the Legally Blond-2 movie? When the congresswoman says to the Blond:

“It doesn’t matter what you are going to say. It will be your word against mine. I built my reputation for 20 years. They believe what we say - what we want them to believe. They do not care; you can’t make them care!”

The Blonde answered: “Watch me!” as she turned to take the challenge to the streets and to congress. The movie ended with congress passing the bill about animals that no one would have cared to pass had the Blond not taken to the cause.

The movie dramatized pointedly our relationship as citizen to our political system. Is very easy to blame our governments for the poor state of our educational system.

WHY is the supposed richest country in the world continues to lag in education behind countries like Singapore and Finland in our Mathematics and Sciences?

Why does California, the state that provides 1/6^th of the total economy of 50 states have its public school rank in the last bottom 5 of the 50 state country?

An economic author said in his book:

The 19th century belonged to England;

The 20^th century belong to North America;

The 21^st century belongs to Asia.

It doesn’t take a rocket science mind to imagine how our children’s future will rank with that of the Chinese and Indians in a decade or two, if our educational system doesn’t improve.

It is very easy to blame our government for not making education any of its highest priorities.

This educational negligence will continue at the highest level:

- for as long as the citizens remain complacent;

- for as long as we believe what the politicians tell us;

- for as long as we do not care;

- for as long as we do not care enough;

- for as long as we as parents abdicate our primary role in our children’s education;

- for as long as we leave the education of our children in the hands of the government;

Our children deserve better than this.

We can start to do a better job:

- by taking back the primary responsibility of our children’s education in our hands;

- by heeding the late president FDR, who sad “ As not what the government can do for you for. But ask for what you can do for the government.”

- by starting to ask NOT what the government can do for us and our children but;

- by starting to ask what can we start to do better for our children’s education.

Does this mean:

- we can continue to be complacent about the complacency in Washington regarding our country’s education system?

- we can ignore the gargantuan waste in government bureaucracy?

- we can ignore the humongous debts the government is continuing to pile on our children and grandchildren’s future?

- we can ignore the conflict between the promise of SSS to our Senior and the Raid on the Security of our Children’s Future?

- We can continue to accept the words of the politicians regarding our state and national budgets?

- We can continue to ignore the wastefulness and incompetence in government and believe their word there is not enough money to make education and the future of our children a priority in the budget?

- We can continue to accept the lack of reform in our educational system?

NO! it does not mean we can ignore the conflicting agendas in Washington, the lack of political will power on the part of people we elected into office.

No! It does not mean we can continue to be complacent. We cannot afford to be.

It means we as citizens need to start getting actively engage in the political process again. We need to start making sure the people we elected into office are serving the future of our country by protecting the future of our children and preserving their best interest.

It means we should start making our voices heard by our politicians. We need to start communicating to them that when it comes to the Education of our children, we do not expect them and we do not allow them to make a partisan issue of this this national and family concerns.

It means we are responsible for the failure of our K-12 school system to improve where it is lagging and to provide where it is lacking or wanting. We are responsible to the extent we do not do our part to bring for the reform/improvement that is long overdue in our school system. Many reforms will take years or decades in the its coming forth and implementation.

What do we as parents do in the meantime?

A good place to start is to go back to what the congresswomen said in the move: “People believe what we tell them. Nobody Cares! You cannot make them care!”

Are we going to allow the words of politicians as the impremature to the how our educational system should continue to stand?

We MUST have a firm position or answer for any congressman /woman and/or senator who displays this same kind of attitude and thinking:

“The parents, or grandparents do not care. My constituents do not care. These people never cared. They do not know how to care. They cannot care. They believe what we tell them. They believe that we want them to believe. Besides, what do the kids or children know. “

It should be about time we tell them we do not believe their words. We tell them that we know there is enough money to take care of our children’s future. All it takes is for them to cast aside their partisan politics and believe in our children again, for them to make the necessary and appropriate actions to:

- to fix the school system that’s broken;

- to rebuild our school system to befit the great, powerful country that we are;

- to make our children’s future th topmost priority in all state and federal programs;

- to ensure that the 21^st century remains with America.

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What small and concretes steps can we do as individual or group to contribute to the solution to our poor and deteriorating education system in our country?

Leave us your comment, your 2 cents worth and follow us to Part – 2 of Legally Blond. There is no correct or right answers or suggestions to this issue. Just talking about and sharing this problem is part of the solution as we see it. We hope everyone can share in the discussions. Everyone is welcome to share his/her thoughts.