CapitolBuzz has some Santorum excerpts.
Let's take a look:
"By asking the right question, we can see that when it comes to socialization, mass education is really the aberration, not homeschooling. Never before in human history have a majority of children spent at least half their waking hours in the presence of 25 to 35 unrelated children of exactly the same age (and usually the same socio-economic status), with only one adult to keep order and provide basic mentoring. Never before and never again after their years of mass education will any person live and work in such a radically narrow, age-segregated environment. It’s amazing that so many kids turn out to be fairly normal, considering the weird socialization they get in public schools." (It Takes a Family, 386)
How exactly is this incorrect? Homeschooling was the norm until the modern era to be sure. Even in the early days of the Republic, the "one room schoolhouse" was the norm. That mixed kids of all different ages together and in small numbers. After you graduated from High School, were you ever that segregated as described? College may have been close but not nearly as segregated as earlier years. That was one of the things I noticed most about entering the workforce. Let's move on...
"But unlike abortion today, in most states even the slaveholder did not have the unlimited right to kill his slave." ((It Takes a Family, 241)
I'm not certain that's true but let's assume it is. His arguement is not that slavery is ok, or that it's not as bad as abortion. He's saying that enslavement of a human being can be rectified. Killing them cannot.
"The elementary error of relativism becomes clear when we look at multiculturalism. Sometime in the 1980s, universities began to champion the importance of “diversity” as a central educational value." (It Takes a Family, 406)
CapitolBuzz is either deliberately misinterpreting what he said here or is simply an ignoramus. The key word above is "central". Diversity in and of itself may be a good (you can make an arguement for it) but it should not be central to schooling. LEARNING and ACHIEVEMENT should be central to schooling. However, "diversity" is easier to do than either learning or achievement.
"Another corporate good citizen cooperating with parents to keep kids from inappropriate content has been Wal-Mart." (It Takes a Family, 332)
Wal-Mart, has decided it will not carry materials it deems indecent. Why exactly, is this a problem?
"In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don’t need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do… And for some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home." (It Takes a Family, 94)
Sorry, but I agree. We, as a nation, have put work ahead of family. Many women who advocate "choices" for women don't want them to choose to stay home. There are a good many who choose to work because they have the "I wants". There used to be a time when people put their kids first and their family needs first.
"Many women have told me, and surveys have shown, that they find it easier, more “professionally” gratifying, and certainly more socially affirming, to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children. Think about that for a moment…Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders." (It Takes a Family, 95)
This is a bit histrionic but not false. Many women do prefer to work outside the home than to work inside it. I think this has much to do with women in the workforce before marriage. They are comforatable there and it's a known entity. Not so with motherhood. Staying home with the kids is difficult, unpaid and often a thankless job. However, there are massive benefits. Who gets to see their first step? Mommy or the Daycare Lady? Who gets to see them learn and do? Who shapes their world?
"The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong." (It Takes a Family, 138)
Again, he is largely correct. Low-skilled people would do better to learn a trade than go to college. There is a serious lack of skilled tradesmen that probably correlates with the increase in the push for universal college education.
I think Santorum is one of those lightening rods that people on the left cannot read a single word he writes or hear a single word he speaks without going absolutely nuts and assuming the worst of intentions.
Let's take a look:
"By asking the right question, we can see that when it comes to socialization, mass education is really the aberration, not homeschooling. Never before in human history have a majority of children spent at least half their waking hours in the presence of 25 to 35 unrelated children of exactly the same age (and usually the same socio-economic status), with only one adult to keep order and provide basic mentoring. Never before and never again after their years of mass education will any person live and work in such a radically narrow, age-segregated environment. It’s amazing that so many kids turn out to be fairly normal, considering the weird socialization they get in public schools." (It Takes a Family, 386)
How exactly is this incorrect? Homeschooling was the norm until the modern era to be sure. Even in the early days of the Republic, the "one room schoolhouse" was the norm. That mixed kids of all different ages together and in small numbers. After you graduated from High School, were you ever that segregated as described? College may have been close but not nearly as segregated as earlier years. That was one of the things I noticed most about entering the workforce. Let's move on...
"But unlike abortion today, in most states even the slaveholder did not have the unlimited right to kill his slave." ((It Takes a Family, 241)
I'm not certain that's true but let's assume it is. His arguement is not that slavery is ok, or that it's not as bad as abortion. He's saying that enslavement of a human being can be rectified. Killing them cannot.
"The elementary error of relativism becomes clear when we look at multiculturalism. Sometime in the 1980s, universities began to champion the importance of “diversity” as a central educational value." (It Takes a Family, 406)
CapitolBuzz is either deliberately misinterpreting what he said here or is simply an ignoramus. The key word above is "central". Diversity in and of itself may be a good (you can make an arguement for it) but it should not be central to schooling. LEARNING and ACHIEVEMENT should be central to schooling. However, "diversity" is easier to do than either learning or achievement.
"Another corporate good citizen cooperating with parents to keep kids from inappropriate content has been Wal-Mart." (It Takes a Family, 332)
Wal-Mart, has decided it will not carry materials it deems indecent. Why exactly, is this a problem?
"In far too many families with young children, both parents are working, when, if they really took an honest look at the budget, they might confess that both of them really don’t need to, or at least may not need to work as much as they do… And for some parents, the purported need to provide things for their children simply provides a convenient rationalization for pursuing a gratifying career outside the home." (It Takes a Family, 94)
Sorry, but I agree. We, as a nation, have put work ahead of family. Many women who advocate "choices" for women don't want them to choose to stay home. There are a good many who choose to work because they have the "I wants". There used to be a time when people put their kids first and their family needs first.
"Many women have told me, and surveys have shown, that they find it easier, more “professionally” gratifying, and certainly more socially affirming, to work outside the home than to give up their careers to take care of their children. Think about that for a moment…Here, we can thank the influence of radical feminism, one of the core philosophies of the village elders." (It Takes a Family, 95)
This is a bit histrionic but not false. Many women do prefer to work outside the home than to work inside it. I think this has much to do with women in the workforce before marriage. They are comforatable there and it's a known entity. Not so with motherhood. Staying home with the kids is difficult, unpaid and often a thankless job. However, there are massive benefits. Who gets to see their first step? Mommy or the Daycare Lady? Who gets to see them learn and do? Who shapes their world?
"The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong." (It Takes a Family, 138)
Again, he is largely correct. Low-skilled people would do better to learn a trade than go to college. There is a serious lack of skilled tradesmen that probably correlates with the increase in the push for universal college education.
I think Santorum is one of those lightening rods that people on the left cannot read a single word he writes or hear a single word he speaks without going absolutely nuts and assuming the worst of intentions.
Comments