Ron Paul launches his own school
Although Ron Paul has left Congress, he will likely remain an influential voice: the libertarian-leaning Texas Republican has launched his own homeschooling curriculum for students, which he hopes will be “revolutionary” in restoring limited government.
“We cannot expect a federal government controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our liberties,” Paul said during his farewell speech to Congress last November. Months later, he has launched his own online school to provide students with the education that he believes the government will never teach them.
The K-12 curriculum, which can be found at RonPaulCurriculum.com, provides free education through the fifth grade, after which it charges parents for courses. The program’s aim is to provide “education in liberty like no other”. Topics include Austrian economics, the basics of Western Civilization and Western liberty, American history, the US Constitution, and starting a home-based business. Students will also receive practical training for the modern age, including instructions on how to start a successful YouTube channel.
Economist and historian Gary North, who is serving as Ron Paul’s director of curriculum development, said in an introductory video that the program will “teach the Biblical principle of self-government and personal responsibility”. It will also teach students about the history of liberty, threats to liberty and the ‘hijacking’ of the US Constitution.
“Students will be exposed to thinkers they would never encounter in a government school. They will know history and economics better than anyone their age,” writes libertarian blogger Llewellyn Rockwell, Jr., in an editorial for The Daily Bell.
Rockwell, who has known Paul for 37 years, said that the former Texas congressman will defy censorship or opinion and emphasize the philosophy of liberty, while also teaching practical skills that will help students become politicians themselves.
“They will learn public speaking, and writing, and social media,” Rockwell adds. “They will emerge as top-notch ambassadors of the ideas Ron has championed his whole life. They will, I predict, join Young Americans for Liberty.”
The long-time friend and former chief of staff to Paul also claims that Paul will soon come out with a new website, books and a ‘homeschooling manifesto’ that will be ‘enormously influential’.
Although Paul’s curriculum was launched on April 6, the former congressman and three-time presidential candidate has long advocated homeschooling. During his farewell speech to Congress, he hinted towards his long-standing idea of developing his own curriculum.
“Expect the rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with constitutional protections,” he said.
The Examiner reports that the research to put together Paul’s curriculum has been in the works since 1971, with help from libertarians such as economist, author and historian Thomas Woods.
The curriculum for grades 6-10 is still in the works and will likely be completed by September 2. The entire K-12 curriculum will likely be completed by December 2015. The website will provide solely primary sources, since North claims that textbooks “are screened by committees” and “dumb down the material”.
All of the curriculum materials will be delivered to students through online video lectures and downloadable documents. And Paul hopes that even parents take a look at some of his materials.
“I invite parents to take courses and participate on forums,” he writes on his website. “To get the education they never had.”
