For as long as I can remember, and I'm certain even before then, there have been sincere and not so sincere attempts to break the cycle of poverty rampant in areas of our country. All have failed miserably. Consequently, we have allowed for the propagation of seemingly intractable generational problems that continually plague our nation: Poverty, racial animus, gun violence, obesity, drug addiction, and a workforce insufficiently trained to compete in today's internet-based global economy.

Providing an adequate education for all of our children is the one silver bullet that would go a long way toward ameliorating all the above-mentioned problems. Although on occasion, we have funded better and newer schools, better-trained teachers, and better-equipped classrooms, for the most part, the outcome has remained the same - one of abject failure. Furthermore, it is my contention that these failures cannot be attributed to the educational system alone. Logic insists that generational poverty creates a toxic environment that makes it extremely difficult to successfully educate those children reared in the environment it fosters.

Consequently, regardless of even those few sincere attempts to provide a sound educational system for our society's underprivileged, still a pitifully few will succeed. It is my contention that difficult home lives, inadequate parental guidance, environmental pressures, drugs, crime, the lore of the streets all conspire to create conditions leading to classrooms disrupted by far too many unruly, disinterested, sleep-deprived, and ill-fed students, which makes it virtually impossible for the rest to gain an adequate education. Yes, the exceptional few will succeed, unfortunately, exceptional by definition is not the average, leaving the majority doomed to fail and repeat the cycle of poverty.

The one solution never attempted for a variety of reasons, which must be addressed, is to remove these at-risk-children from their toxic environments before it can endanger their future. Furthermore, this must be accomplished the moment they reach school age.

I'm certain, as a knee-jerk reaction, many of you envision governmental intrusion and tyranny perpetrated against the poor. Forget it. The schools I envision will be similar, although granted, not as plush, as those serving the very wealthy, who by-the-way, have little difficulty sending their precious children off for months on end to be housed, fed, and educated. What would be so wrong with doing the same for all our youth? Granted, some might distrust the government to accomplish this successfully, or envision a Dickensian workhouse similar to prison where our children will be abused in a number of horrible ways, I contend that with proper funding, oversight, and the careful selection of staff and educators, these institutions can be run as effectively and successfully as today's boarding schools for the wealthy. To ensure this, I insist that each campus, most notably classes and dorms, be camera-monitored at all times, and reviewed by adequately trained outside monitors unaffiliated with the respective schools, and overseen by a panel of interested parents of the children attending said schools.

Before you totally discount what I propose, insisting that the government would never go along with this, I agree, and that why the pilot program, which I will discuss at length later in this article, will be tackled by the private sector, funded primarily by altruistic corporate and/or individual benefactors such as, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffet. Although altruistic, I also contend they will soon realize that in today's global economy, for us to compete successfully, we are going to need a better-educated work-force, which is woefully lacking at present. A major complaint of corporate America, many of our workers are unprepared to fill the many high tech, high skill jobs available today, and are forced to seek immigrant labor to fill those jobs.

The School and Campus:

Each school campus should be situated no more than a two-hour drive from the communities from where its students are drawn; allowing parents weekly or bi-weekly, weekend visits. This should be facilitated by providing strategically placed pick-up points for those parents requiring vehicular transportation to and from the campus. During these visits, parents are free to practice their particular religious affiliation with their children, with the knowledge that the remainder of the child's week will be completely secular.

It is important from the outset that each student body is comprised of a healthy mix of the city's racial and religious ethnicities. It is my belief that, beginning at the early age of five, children will grow up accepting others for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin or the God they worship. When grown, it is my belief, absent the prejudices learned from their parents and their usually racially-toxic environments, these young adults will serve as the vanguard of a more diverse racially accepting society. Furthermore, attendance at these boarding schools should be continued uninterrupted until the students graduate from their secondary school education when they are approximately 18 years of age.

Campus:

All buildings on the campus must be light, airy, comfortable, and well-maintained. Campus grounds should contain well-manicured lawns, vegetation, and trees normally found in the geographic section of the country that the campus is located. The latest educational materials, including books and computers shall be liberally provided and upgraded as necessary. Internet and television access shall be liberally provided, although carefully monitored as to time of use and restricted when necessary, as with pornographic or violent content unsuitable for the particular age group student.

Pre-teen children should be housed in a dormitory-like setting; initially separating the sexes, closely monitored by a carefully screened and selected staff, who themselves shall be reevaluated and monitored on a regular basis. As with the classrooms, no place in the dorms or campus will be out of camera view. The prevention of any type of abuse: physical, psychological, or sexual, by staff, teacher, or other student is of paramount importance. Failure to prevent this could sink even the most carefully run and successful program. Teenagers, two to a room, will share on-campus dorm rooms, monitored, although not as closely as the younger children. It is to be expected and should be treated as such, that the students raised within the system will, for the most part, become more responsible and should be treated accordingly.

The cafeteria will serve well-balanced and nutritional meals, carefully restricting high-sugar, fatty and other foods proven harmful to the emotional and physical wellbeing of the child. This, in itself, will reap enormous future dividends, drastically reducing obesity, type 2 diabetes, dental decay, and a host of other food-borne illnesses suffered by today's American public. In addition, a well-nourished child not bouncing off the walls because of a sugar-induced high will be more easily taught and capable of learning. Furthermore, he will form eating habits that will follow him throughout his life, which as a result, will help him maintain a healthier, happier and more productive future society.

Reality insists that this program will have no chance if congress or the political class is necessary for its inception. Consequently, a pilot program funded by socially conscious, politically connected private and/or corporate donors, over a 10 - 15-year horizon will be necessary to prove the validity of this approach. The school, campus, curriculum, educational experience, and make-up of the student body is as discussed above. The only difference will be in the way the first class of students is selected. Those politically connected donors will be necessary for the important role they must play in the recruitment of these students. Most, if not all, will be removed from at-risk living conditions, usually destined for foster homes or other such institutions set up to house them when satisfactory homes cannot be found. Logic dictates that the success rate of the high school graduating class will be so profoundly successful, documented, and nationally advertised, that our political leaders will have little alternative to support its adoption throughout America. Furthermore, caring parents, especially those from low-income areas, will clamor and vie for enrolment of their children (as seen in charter schools lotteries) into these schools. Although many will rebel at the thought of relinquishing control of their children to strangers, others will come to accept that these schools promise to provide their children a brighter future than they could offer in their present circumstances. Over time, it is my belief that a greater number of parents of all classes will happily enroll their children in these schools, viewing them as the boarding schools they were set-up to be. Good enough for the wealthy, good enough for them.

Curriculum:

The primary school curriculum should provide students with a sound understanding of reading with comprehension, math, basic science, and the rudiments of computer programming and coding, as comprehensive as they can comfortably handle. All during this time they should be socialized and integrated within a system that encourages friendly competition within a framework of teamwork and cooperation. The education should be entirely secular without the introduction of religion of any kind. Although impractical, I would recommend that even during parental visits the children not be exposed to any form of religious instruction until they reach the age of 16; when they have matured enough to think for themselves; sufficient to better be able to evaluate the logic and veracity of said instruction. If we view the reality of religion as it's practiced in the world today, who can successfully argue that religion unites rather than divides? In spite of lofty rhetoric promising peace and love, what have we actually been taught? Figure it out for yourself; this is not the proper forum to hold this discussion.

Most importantly, the students must be taught to think logically and carefully evaluate all he is taught and the information he receives, especially from the internet. He must understand that because it is written in a text or told to him by an adult, it does not necessarily make it reasonable or right. I believe most of us, with the possible exception of those born with some personality disorder or were seriously abused during their early formative years, intrinsically know and understand what is morally and ethically right, at least on a basic level. In other words, we are, for the most part, basically good; however, exposed to the toxic environments of poverty, racial and religious animus, or simply the result of poor parenting, much of that goodness is either lost or repressed.

The secondary school curriculum is designed, not simply to educate, but to turn students into well-rounded, socially conscious, physically fit, unbiased and open-minded individuals, capable of learning, not by memorizing or thoughtlessly accepting all they are taught without questioning the logic and reality of the argument presented. It's important that no specific religion, ideology or political point-of-view be presented with any bias in favor of or as opposed to. It's important to allow each student to determine what is right for him and which path would be most correct for him to follow. Supplied with a proper education devoid of the negative outside influences normally present, we can reasonably conclude their decisions will be substantially better than what we have come to accept today.

College placement or future employment should be determined by careful evaluation along with multiple student interviews, whatever the outcome, should be fully supported and provided for.

Immediate Benefits:

• At-risk children would be removed from potentially harmful and dangerous environments, often resulting in negative socialization rather than a positive alternative.
• Poverty-stricken parents, relieved of the added burden of housing, feeding, clothing, and caring for children they might dearly love and want the best for, might now be able to improve their own lives when allowed additional time and resources for re-education and for securing superior employment opportunities.
• The cycle of poverty will immediately begin the process of being broken.
• Police, social services, and hospital emergency rooms will immediately experience a diminution of their work-loads and the costs of accomplishing this.
• The constant source of new recruits for local gangs will be negatively impacted.

Long-term Benefits:

• Reduction in crime and national prison population.
• The cycle of poverty will finally be broken.
• Because of a better-educated workforce, our tax base will be expanded by increased employment, and at increased wages.
• Racism will be virtually eliminated because the graduates of these schools will be color-blind, valuing their peers for the content of their character rather than the color of their skin or their religion. They will not be weighed down by the prejudices of their parents and the differences of their backgrounds.
• Finally, a level playing field whereby the success of the child will not be dictated by the resources or lack of resources of their parents.
• Because of healthier eating habits and regulated physical activity, we will develop a healthier and happier population, which will greatly reduce our nation's medical costs.
• The national intelligence scores will be profoundly increased, leading to a profound increase of our scientific and intellectual advances. Consider how many Einsteins have been lost to the world simply because their brilliance was never allowed the opportunity to develop and grow because of their disadvantaged circumstances of poverty or poor parenting.
• Finally, we will have a truly educated electorate, which crafty demagogic politicians will not be able to lead with transparently false promises, and have us vote against our interests while railing against the actions of others that, in no way impacts our own lives.