Public Schools Month
For more than 85 years, the Free and Accepted Masons of
California have been sponsoring Public Schools Month in April. This year’s
theme is “Public Schools: Keeping our Nation Standing Strong.”
The purpose is to encourage communities to set aside a
special time to discuss public schools. Ever since 1920, the goal of the Masons
in promoting this month has been to enlist the support of the general public in
the cause of public education.
Many Americans are astonished to learn that the American
public schools system is still considered the world’s best, despite a host of
financial and social problems.
Frosty Troy, a prominent journalist and media commentator,
argued that “America is bombarded by exaggerated, distorted, or just plain
false reporting and propaganda when it comes to public education.” He pointed
out that “More than five million public school students are dirt poor.
Nearly two million are latchkey children. More than half a
million attend from penal institutions. Another million are drug or alcohol
disabled ... One in two students come from a single parent home, one in three
is a minority, one in four is poor, one in eight is physically or emotionally
handicapped, one in 12 speaks little or no English.
“And yet we focus on test scores and want everyone to be
above average,” he says.
He ended one article by admonishing that when it comes to
public education, “Pride and militant opposition to critics is obligatory”
because so much is at stake. We must support our schools and our students and
do all we can to help, he says.
That’s exactly where the Masons and Public Schools Month
enter the picture. It is the perfect opportunity for members of the community
to see firsthand what goes on in local classrooms, and let them draw their own
conclusions.
So take a few minutes and visit a local school this month.
If it’s been a while since your last
visit, you’ll be amazed by the vitality of the dedicated, hard-working
professionals who serve our children every day.