Three things that came to the fore recently: the Charlie Kirk assassination, the miserable test scores of our high school seniors, and a poll showing almost forty percent of Americans prefer Socialism over Capitalism. Linking the three might not seem obvious, but hear me out.

Politics and economics, like nature, abhor a vacuum. If something important is lacking, someone will fill it. College campuses were once devoted to open debate of virtually everything. Adherence to the Socratic Method underlay the great universities of the world. Yet when Charlie Kirk came on the scene, he found that many of the great questions of the day, some of which were deciding our elections, were no longer discussed on campuses. Immigration, economics, abortion, law and order, equality vs. equity, whatever was no longer up for discussion.

Ruling out challenges to the prevailing consensus in our great institutions of learning resulted in faculties and administrations, especially in the humanities, of a single persuasion. This situation prevailed when Kirk tried to fill this void. Willing to debate the issues of the day on any campus, he faced threats, derision, and being shouted down when he tried to ask and answer questions.

Charlie Kirk wasn’t some rabble-rouser; he was just the opposite. He listened and tried to answer each question. As one can gather from this blog, I had many disagreements with Kirk’s positions, but I still wanted to hear what he had to say. At another time, this interaction was the way we progressed. Free exchange broadened our knowledge and understanding.

So, how is it in a land that supposedly values free speech, Charlie Kirk was a novelty who paid for his ideas with his life? Is our educational system at all levels designed to mold young minds or help them reach their full potential?

After spending ever more money and setting up the Department of Education at the natioal level, 45% of our seniors fail to meet the basic math standard. A third can’t read at the standard level. In a world where change is occurring at an increasingly rapid pace, how are we preparing our children for a life of learning?