Handicapping Our Kids to Make Them Equal

“The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren’t only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General (Harrison Bergeron, Kurt Vonnegut).”

Actually, contrary to the quote above the year is 2013 and we are on our way to 2081, thanks to the unceasing work of socialist liberals. French President Francois Hollande (becoming the young person’s superhero) wants all French schools to nip homework in the bud. French families are stressed to the max. They need time for relaxing dinners with good wine and family conversations.

Oh, wait! That’s not the reason why Hollande wants to put an end to homework. The President wants to end homework in order to give every French child an equal opportunity to succeed. According to France 24 News, Hollande told an audience at The Sorbonne, “An education program is, by definition, a societal program. Work should be done at school, rather than at home.”

Why, you ask? The President went on to say that it is unfair for students to have parents who help them with their school work, because they will gain an advantage over those students whose parents are not involved. Therefore students should spend more time in school doing assignments. French students are already in school longer than many other nations. But that’s OK, because the longer students stay in government run schools the less they are at home and at risk of parental involvement.

France’s social liberals recommend the elimination of homework “as a way to equal the playing field for all children.” Hollande is correct; children whose parents do not help with homework are at a serious educational disadvantage, So, yeah, why should you help your kid to succeed when I don’t help mine? What kind of parents are you? Give everyone the opportunity to be mediocre. Liberty for everyone, Viva La France! And bring it here to the good ole’ USA.

Alright, seriously, a child’s success begins very early in life, not just because of what happens in school. Parents who are involved with their children, who talk with them, read to them and even more importantly bring them to a life of biblical faith, are giving their children great advantages. Loving, involved parents are a blessing. And the presence of two parents, a mother and father, doubles that advantage. But the liberal logic of statism is that only the government has the answers to inequities.

By adding more hours to the school day, France is on its way to making all children wards of the state. This has been done by statists ranging from Plato to Lenin and to a lesser degree, advocated by American educational philosopher, John Dewey. But all this approach does is undermine and weaken the family. And subverting the family is ultimately deadly to society, unless you want a society run by the United States Handicapper General’s office. You really should read the short story “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. I’m sure you can find it online.