Take Back Education:
Educational Reconquista

Contact JME Right Now!

Public education in the United States has suffered a gradual decline over the last half century. Teachers are working longer hours trying to play in a game where the academic goalposts always move. Students are studying round the clock competing in a game that appears to have a pre-determined outcome. Parents are struggling to keep up with the ever-changing curricula that appear to be more concerned with ideology than achievement. So why is public education stuck in the muck of mediocrity? 

Those crafting education policy have made a conscious effort to reject the very ideas that spawned American innovation. Rather than embrace the individual talents of each student, trust the abilities of each teacher, and tap into the rugged individualism that is part of our DNA, out-of-touch academics have adopted policies that are rooted in conformity. This conformist catastrophe - which is evident in the way the U.S. public education teaches, learns, and tests - is evident in four areas:

1. Achievement Killing Standards Based Grading
2. Removal of Classical Education from the Classroom
3. Cultural Pessimism
4. Equity versus Equality

These policies have purposefully weakened public education to advance a form of radical egalitarianism that forces everyone to obtain the same outcome, whether it is deserved or not. This has handcuffed teachers, punished students, and frustrated parents. So what can you do?

JME's Take Back Education Project is here to give you a voice! Mr. Murray is a nationally respected commentator and lawyer who has pledged to advocate for those stakeholders in the system that are routinely steamrolled by policies that place ideology over individuals. 

Teachers, Students, Parents, and Administrators - now is the time to act. Join our email list, like our Facebook Page, participate in virtual meetings, learn how to advocate for a classical education that respect merit and prepares students of today to become citizens of tomorrow.  

Together we can Take Back Education!

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What can JME do to help you?

Achievement Killing Standards Based Grading

Combating Achievement Killing Standards Based Grading is a key component to Taking Back Education. Wherever Achievement Killing Standards Based Grading is implemented, talented teachers leave, great students suffer, and parents watch as academic growth disappears.

Western education is built on individualism, innovation, (healthy)  competition, empathy, and growth. Achievement Killing Standards Based Grading seeks to tear down Western education and replace it with a grading system that penalizes merit and rewards mediocrity. This cannot stand.

Traditional grading is not broken, but merely in need of an upgrade. JME will help you create a grading policy that respects competition and work ethic, but also allows for mitigating factors. Grading must be meaningful and encompass all aspects of education, including citizenship.

JME knows about Achievement Killing Standards Based Grading and we can help you avoid entering in to that minefield. Here is a small sampling of what JME can do for you:
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• Aid in the creating of a grading system that balances emotional and academic needs;
• Train teachers how to properly grade using the traditional system and;
• Aid in the creation of a grading system that allows for mitigating factors while maintaining a meritocracy.

Rediscovering Classical Education

Modern education theory has failed the education system. Where modern education utilizes standards to track student mastery of specialized subjects, such a theory ignores the elephant in the room - students are not proficient in the "tools of learning" necessary to "master" the standards.

​Classical education makes sure students are proficient in the the tools of learning - grammar, logic, rhetoric - and then has students apply those skills to each subject matter. 

Grammar is essential because it is the foundation of our communication. Such learning must be accomplished through a language-based study that spurs the mind. Equally as important is content grammar.

Grammar allows students to start to explore logic and reach logical conclusions. Once this is accomplished, students must be able to effectively communicate their knowledge in both the written and oral form. 

Classical education's structured approach allows students to make connections between the past and the present, while encouraging them to make predictions about the future. Classical education is the bedrock of Western civilization and has provided the key to academic success. 

Here is a small sampling of what JME can do for you:

• Train teachers on how to incorporate the classical system in a classroom geared towards modern education; and 
• Provide a foundation in which education is not just re-centered, but becomes student-centered. 

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Cultural Pessimism 

Before Critical Race Theory there was Critical Theory. Followers of Critical Theory have defined it as "destructive criticism of all the main elements of Western culture." Many of those who have created history curricula and taught history teachers have subscribed to such a theory. This has caused the politicization of historical study.

Any study of history must be objective and devoid of any political ideology. Moreover, a people must be proud of their past and connected to the culture it spawned. This does not mean we are only praise the past while turning a blind eye to its sin; it means we must teach history in a proper context. 

For example, while slavery is the original sin of the West, the West was not alone in its participation in this immoral practice. The West, however, was the first civilization to actively call for the abolition of slavery and to outlaw it across the board (while other civilizations willfully engaged in the slave trade). This is the context that is missing in curricula that is driven by the promulgation of ideology in lieu of the pursuit of truth. 

JME knows about the politics of history. Rather than teach students what to think, JME is about teaching students how to think. Here is a small sampling of what JME can do for you:

• Create a curriculum focused on the objective study of history;
• Provide lessons that go beyond the standards and spur critical thinking;
• Train teachers to be culturally sensitive while being historically accurate; and
• Train all stakeholders on how to have tough conversations in the classroom setting.

Equity v. Equality:
Beyond the
​Buzz Words

​Every student deserves equality of opportunity and equality of rights. Such opportunity is what motivates us; it inspires us to work hard, reach goals, and succeed. It is the promise of achievement.

Over the last few decades, however, the political construct of equity has invaded school systems throughout the nation. Unlike equality, equity promises equality of outcome. This promise rejects the notion of rugged individualism in favor of collective achievement. Where equality is rooted in philosophy of key Western thinkers, like John Locke, equity is rooted in the philosophies of Karl Marx and Thomas Dewey. 

Though it seems like heresy to challenge equity, it is something that must be done. The idea that equality — the belief that if given the opportunity to succeed, individuals can rise or fall based upon their own merit — was (and should be) the foundation of education. Equity — the belief that those in power must pick winners and losers based upon socially just criteria - does more harm than good.

​JME knows about the equity vs equality debate and can help you create policies, incentives, and strategies that open the door of opportunity. Here is a small sampling of what JME can do for you:

• Explain the law as it pertains to equality and equity (not legal advice, but a recitation of legal principles);
• Train teachers to provide opportunities for students that allow students to create their own outcome; 
• Train teachers/students to use outcomes to shape their future; and
• Train all stakeholders that it is ok to fail (so long as the lesson is learned).