Cradle of Unreason

One By One

The Power of One

A Review by Jean Carpenter

In 1994 a small college in Michigan celebrated its 150th anniversary. Age is not its claim to fame, since Harvard is more than twice as old. Nor is it the only private school entirely privately funded. It has, however, led the way in standing up and shaking its fist at the government -- not just ignoring it, hoping it would go away. Its story is told by its president, George Roche, in his book One By One.

The administration was shocked to receive a letter from the federal government, from the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, addressing Hillsdale College as a "recipient institution" and demanding submission of information listing the sexual and ethnic makeup of the school. Hillsdale had thrown open its doors to all without regard to either race or gender from the very beginning; but the problem was with the word "recipient." The school had never received a penny from the government.

Hillsdale is a small private liberal arts college. It has resisted regulation by a vast federal bureaucracy. It had to resist because its academic integrity and freedom were at stake. This story should alert Americans to be ready to fight again for our independence. The reach of raw government power has been extended into every store, office, farm, school, and church -- to every corner of America. This is a meddlesome, officious force, far beyond any governmental power intended by our Founding Fathers. Brave men, indeed, fought and died to free us from such arbitrary power, and tried to prevent its ever occurring again by "binding the government down with the chains of the Constitution"-- to quote Jefferson. Our fundamental liberty is, again, very much at stake. Hillsdale's battle is a battle which should concern all Americans.

Under what bureaucratic reasoning could Hillsdale be called a "recipient"? It turned out that some of its students had government loans or grants.

This is the story of how individuals make a difference. One small school has made a difference -- and in doing so has not been diminished, but become stronger and better.

We live in interesting times, maybe even perilous times, but we are at a turning point.

Yet enough liberty remains to us so that we have as much freedom as anyone in the world. In many another country, the things I have been saying in these pages would get me lined up against the wall and shot. It is our business and our duty to preserve and expand this freedom for those who follow.
-- One By One, p. 38

We still have freedom to speak. We -- you and I -- control great resources, moral and intellectual as well as physical. We can be guided by a long tradition of what free men and women can do. If we do not fight for our freedom, who will? The best reason in the world is our children. What will happen to them if we fail in our responsibilities? What will happen to them if we don't use the full resources we have to put things right?

One chapter is devoted to "confusion in the classroom." After detailing at some length the shortcomings of the education our children receive in the 12 to 16 years they spend in school, he makes these observations ...

... the public school system is doing exactly what it is intended and designed to do. It is turning out exactly the mass-produced, uneducated, "socialized" product it wants to turn out.

... Its business is to condition them for social change. By its own lights, the system is doing very well.

... using the schools for social engineering has been the heart of ÒeducationistÓ theory since the turn of this century.... The educationist elite, the bureaucrats, the teachers unions, are all fairly open about their efforts for radical "change." They may disguise their language, so as not to arouse resistance by the unsuspecting majority. ... We can allow that their intentions are good. They believe that they are serving a grand new vision for mankind as fervently as I believe that they have forgotten what paves the road to hell. ...
-- ibid., pp. 65, 66

Barely one-half of our public high school seniors can tell whether 87 percent of 10 is more than 10, equal to 10, or less than 10. É . Certainly high schoolers who cannot understand simple percentages will be no match for tax-happy politicians.
-- ibid., p. 150

A truly classical education has not been available in the public schools in this country for almost a century. We have all suffered -- each generation more than the one before it. And while technology has boomed, we have lost sight of what it truly means to live in freedom.

Even so, One By One is full of optimism, readily giving reason for hope. There are those who are finding ways to make a difference, like Steve Mariotti, a NYC public schoolteacher. He is also president of his own do-it-yourself organization called the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He teaches hopelessly disadvantaged youngsters -- the physically handicapped, and those from the inner city -- to run their own businesses. He has helped more than eighty to get started. One did $30,000 in business in one year. While none are big business, the most important thing is that these youngsters have learned to link rewards to their efforts and to take charge of their lives. As their school grades have risen, their aggression has diminished, their ability to look to the long term has developed, and the drop-out rate has decreased. Most surprising is the drop in teenage pregnancy. These girls have learned they have other options besides having a baby in order to collect welfare.

"We have found," said Mariotti, "that the primary cause of teenage pregnancy in the inner city is economic ignorance ... there is nothing that forces you to look further into the future and set goals for yourself than starting a small business."
-- ( ibid., p. 198)

Some are rescuing kids with the game of chess. Chess teaches them concentration, patience, and thinking ahead. Non-profit programs send them to summer chess camps. These kids, too, do better in school and in life.

Anyone who is discouraged, or despairs about our situation, needs to read One by One. It is truly one of the most exciting books available. You wonÕt put it down until youÕve read the last page.