Freedom of what?

From CNN:

The original amendment to the Constitution is the cornerstone of the way of life in the United States, promising citizens the freedoms of religion, speech, press and assembly.

Yet, when told of the exact text of the First Amendment, more than one in three high school students said it goes "too far" in the rights it guarantees. Only half of the students said newspapers should be allowed to publish freely without government approval of stories.

When asked whether people should be allowed to express unpopular views, 97 percent of teachers and 99 percent of school principals said yes. Only 83 percent of students did.

Three in four students said flag burning is illegal. It's not. About half the students said the government can restrict any indecent material on the Internet. It can't.

Disturbing, no?

Here's why this is the case.

The study suggests that students embrace First Amendment freedoms if they are taught about them and given a chance to practice them, but schools don't make the matter a priority.

Students who take part in school media activities, such as student newspapers or TV production, are much more likely to support expression of unpopular views, for example.

About nine in 10 principals said it is important for all students to learn some journalism skills, but most administrators say a lack of money limits their media offerings.

More than one in five schools offer no student media opportunities; of the high schools that do not offer student newspapers, 40 percent have eliminated them in the last five years.

I should like to point out what I thought a certain program originally meant.

See, when I was first told about this "No Child Left Behind" program, it was in passing. I thought it was the presidents way of trying to get education standards in America to compare to that of Japan and China. Keep in mind that Japan and China only release and publish the grades and scores of their elite students. The ones that don't make the cut are pretty much left on their own and out of the media. I thought that tax dollars were going to schools that didn't meant the insanely high academic bar set by standardized tests. If a school was doing poorly, the government would cut them a check and help them get on their feet.

Turns out what I thought the program was wrong.

A girl on Gaia said her father is a teacher, and because of the lack of job security, they've moved around more times than a military child would. She explained to me what the program really is.

Basically, if a school system sucks, the government will step in and replace the teachers and what material is being taught.

Sound familiar? It should seeing how my college is pretty much experiencing the same thing.

It should not be a surprise to anyone living outside of our country, but this report should wake up several people back to reality. The American educational system sucks. It is in shambles that are in need of some repairs from both the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Trading Spaces teams.

Does anyone want to do anything about it? Yes.

Does anyone actually do anything about it? You tell me.