Beverly Eakman Endorses FreedomProject Education
Written by: Beverly K. Eakman
As public schooling becomes increasingly tainted with watered-down, politicized misinformation, and the cost of substantive private-school options soars above the $22,000-a-year mark, the online classical classroom, FreedomProject Education (http://www.fpeusa.org/), could not have come along at a better time. This is a concept whose time is now. Public schools may be accredited, but accreditation is a government label that can no longer be trusted as a seal of authenticity, except possibly in the sense that the education offered meets government’s only standard: political correctness, an ironic replication of Josef Stalin’s “political reliability.”
The fact is, a classical education does not exist in today’s public schools, and sometimes not in private ones, either. Students rarely learn rhetoric or logic, for example; they are given only selected, trendy pieces of literature (if they read at all). They do not write frequent, thoughtful essays. They do not know the difference between dry wit, farce and satire. Even the basics of comprehension, math and grammar are not taught, as teachers who have never gone beyond the usual offerings of university teacher-preparation are rife with psychology, but not proven methodology so they can actually teach. FPE locates those educators who have reached beyond the fabricated offerings of typical “teacher-ed” programs. It seeks teachers with depth and a track record of presenting solid curricula based in the tradition of the nation’s Founders. FPE instructors must prove they are able to transmit their lessons in a manner comprehensible to young people who may not have had exposure to a proper education, and therefore often are not accustomed to what a substantive, cognitive and classical education entails. I heartily recommend FPE. Parents (and, for that matter, students) must start voting with their feet—or in this case, their hands, by signing up for online courses. It’s not only in keeping with our high-tech age, but as pupils continue to sign on to the concept, public education will finally implode, as it should have years ago, but for the teachers’ unions and the bloated bureaucracies that keep it going regardless of the unacceptable results. Despite public schools’ accommodation of every harebrained curricular fad that comes along, they seem to be forever under fire and (tellingly) rarely allow parents to preview materials. FPE, on the other hand, is up front about its curriculum, and provides a product you can trust.
