Contention: State of Education 

Failing schools excuse low achievement by pointing to emotional intelligence, but those outcomes are even worse. Rates of depression and mental illness have skyrocketed. Academics and emotional intelligence go together because if students can’t read, write, or do math, they feel bad about themselves. Unless students dedicate themselves to something meaningful, they fall victim to distractions and destructive behavior.

Bad Messaging (Excuses): Schools pretend that emotional suffering is inevitable because then they can't get blamed for it. When children fail, it's "just part of life". Parents play the primary role, but schools shouldn’t make things worse. Children with absent parents need guidance. Children spend most of their time in school, and they pick up bad habits from other students unless we set high standards. 

Failing schools don’t teach a content-rich curriculum because “computers already do that for us”. Students act out in frustration because they don’t know enough to do anything. The failure gets rebranded as "activism" and "feel-good" busywork. Discipline is called “religious” because schools don't want the responsibility. The administrators, teachers, and counselors are as much victims as the students. The “new professionals” are told it’s a trend, like let's see what happens. They’re given a new vocabulary to redefine failure. Self-destructive behavior is “letting off steam”. Anxiety is a medical condition that requires Big Pharma. Self-obsession is “self-expression”, but it also requires Big Pharma.

Bad Outcomes: Bad outcomes are hidden from public view by changing the criteria. Schools look better when 100% of students graduate, and 0% of students commit crime. The secret to their success is to remove graduation requirements, and to stop arresting students for crime. Corporate influence is evident by how social issues are encouraged, and how skills are replaced with technical training.