MAY DAY, MAY DAY

by Ted Flint

Each year communists and socialists, the world over celebrate May Day to commemorate International Workers’ Rights. But those rights were borne out of bloody riots and bombings in Chicago’s Haymarket Square in 1886. Every first of May leftists march and demonstrate to show their solidarity with workers and to celebrate the beginning of the 8-hour workday.

If you have children in public school, you should know what the National Education Association has planned for your local school this May 1. According to a report in the Washington Examiner, a group called Midwest Academy will be training activists to engage educators and students in anti-ICE protests across the nation. Is that what we’re sending our children to school to learn? Another tactic employed by these fellow travelers is” walk-ins.” These so-called walk-ins will begin as rallies outside of schools during which organizers will demand “no work, no school and no shopping.” No shopping? All Marxists despise Capitalism.

What about the safety of children and other participants? What if some nutcases were to be among the “protesters” and gain access to a school? We know from experience what mayhem could ensue and the danger that could pose to children and staff. It is not clear from the documents produced by the organizers whether the protests will continue once demonstrators enter campuses. Did you sign up your children for any of this?

According to the Examiner report, over the last six years, the NEA has coughed up approximately $1.4 million dollars of taxpayer money to Midwest Academy. A group called Defending Education was warning in February about organizations linked to Antifa distributing radical materials to students calling for “political revolution.”

Leftists dominate the educational establishment. It is another chance for them to spend other people’s money with few if any consequences. Many of our nation’s public schools are failing our children. A high percentage of students, especially here in New York, are not at grade level in Math and English. According to data from the State Education Department, among public school students in grades 3-8, only 53% were deemed “proficient” in English Language Arts. The grade wasn’t much better for math students - 57%, made the grade for the 2024-25 school year. And for those abysmal results, we’re paying big money. The SED’s budget is around $40 billion, nearly equal to New York City Department of Education’s $42.8 billion budget. Meanwhile, spending per pupil is estimated to be a whopping $36,293, even as New York public school students continue to under-perform.

Obviously, taxpayers are not getting a very good return on their investment. But instead of focusing on the three “R’s” and preparing our young people to be responsible adults and contributing members to society, the public-school cartel is busy encouraging groups such as Midwest Academy and others to brainwash our children into becoming good little communists.

Proper education is indispensable to our constitutional republic. Our educational establishment needs an overhaul. It is rife with collectivists and those bent on social engineering. In his remaining three years in office let’s hope President Trump is successful in fulfilling another of his campaign promises: to abolish the federal Department of Education. That would be a step in the right direction.