I may have missed it, but I did not find anything in the links you posted that supports the statement you made.
See:
The first way that Freemasons affected the expansion of public education in the United
States was through the direct funding and construction of high schools, universities and other
types of schools. De Witt Clinton, who was Grand Master of New York, established the New
York Free School Society in 1809. This society provided free education to Freemason children
with voluntary donations from Freemasons. In addition to providing free education to over
600,000 students and training 1,200 teachers before its closure in 1854, this Society served
as a model for development of the public education system in New York and donated its
buildings and equipment to the public school system that had been founded in 1842 (Mackey
and Haywood 2003, p. 817).
Another example of the direct role that Freemasonry played in the actual construction
of public schools is provided by Woods (1936). Responding to a growing divide in the access
to public education between the North and the South during this period, the Masons of
eleven southern states were directly responsible for the construction of some 88 educational
institutions during the 1840s and 1850s.10 18 of these were schools were colleges which
represented nearly 10% of all colleges in these states.11 Further support of the importance of
public education to the Masons is that graduates of these universities, which were either free
or reasonably inexpensive, were either required or strongly encouraged to become teachers
in common schools.
10Woods (1936) notes that the motivation for this school construction was that \public education in the
South was much slower in getting under way".
11The state census records indicates that there were a total of 212 colleges in 1860 in the 11 states covered
byWoods (1936). These 18 schools were distributed across the 11 states as follows (the rst number indicates
the number of colleges built by Freemasons and the second number is the total number of colleges in that
state): Alabama (3/17), Arkansas (1/4), Florida (0/0), Georgia (5/32), Kentucky (3/20), Mississippi (1/13),
Missouri (1/36), North Carolina (1/16), South Carolina (1/14), Tennessee (4/35), Texas (1/25).
Individual Masons, not Grand Lodges/Lodges. Freemasonry as an organization can not lay claim the the accomplishments of individual Masons.
--I have never said, and I am not saying now, that any Lodge or Grand Lodge, is responsible for establishing public education in the Americas. BUT- Many individual Masons have remarkable accomplishments, and our Craft should be justifiably proud of this. Supporting and expanding education is one of our splendid traditions, and we can expand it to adult literacy.
There certainly are some very bad public school systems in the USA, but there are also some very good public school systems in the USA. I have 3 Grandchildren in public schools right now, and they always score in the 95-99 percentiles on standardized tests. I have 2 daughters that were educated mostly in public schools, one has a PhD and the other has her Masters degree. I value education very highly, I have 2 undergraduate degrees and 2 Masters degrees and my wife has a Masters degree. One of my undergraduate degrees and one of my Masters degrees are in Secondary School Administration, I taught Math to students ranging from 6th grade to High School and served as an Assistant Principal before I changed careers in my late 20s. My wife's undergraduate and Masters degrees were in education and she also taught in the public schools. So, since you have such a negative view of public education were/are your children and grandchildren educated/being educated in private schools.
( I have no children, nor grandchildren. If I did, I would be glad to send them to Fairfax County public schools)
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I am glad that your experiences have been so positive. I live in the WashDC metro area. Fairfax and Loudoun county (VA) have some excellent public schools. The District of Columbia spends $10,000 per pupil per year, and their public schools are a train wreck. Out of 100 Senators, 435 Representatives, and the Supreme Court, NONE send their children to DC public schools. President Obama sends his daughters t
o Sidwell Friends.
As far as I am concerned, sending a child to DC public schools, is an act of child abuse.
Again, while there are some bad public school systems in the USA, I can tell you from experience that the primary causes for poor academic performance by most students are environmental and mental ability. If you have a fix for that you really should share it.
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I am an engineer, not an academician. Myself, I support school choice, and vouchers. Break the teacher's unions. Here is an interesting link:
http://www.redefinedonline.org/2014/08/survey-1-in-5-school-teachers-send-kids-to-private-schools/
According to this survey, 28% of public school teachers send their own children to private schools (or have done so in the past), and 19% do so now. If that statistic alone does not make it clear to you, what will?
Public schools are run by the government.
"Government is like fire, a dangerous servant, and a terrible master" - George Washington, Freemason
To think that Grand Lodges/Masonic Lodges can really make a significant impact in improving the literacy rate in the USA is a pipe dream.
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Why not? A national program, perhaps working with other NGO's and with private funding, might work.
Just because you "sincerely" believe it does not make it so.
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I am not saying this as a fact. I believe it , notwithstanding.
EDIT: Just to clarify, I know there is a place for non profits in this and other needs we have in this country and I volunteer for 2 non profits myself, one supporting the homeless community and another that mentors small business owners and business startups. As far as the literacy problem there are many non profits doing good work in this area that are specifically equipped to handle this problem. Here is a list of a few: http://www.goodnet.org/articles/463.
