I am so glad that my children are adults. I’m also glad I’m not teaching anymore. I loved teaching, but I think the profession is much different from when I retired in 2012.
Schools are moving away from teaching children how to read, write, do math and think for themselves, and are now in the business of teaching divisiveness and blame. While it is imperative that we teach about the history of this country with all it’s good AND bad, it is horrible to teach that a particular group of people living now are helpless victims of the past, and other groups are to be blamed for the acts of the past and the hardships of others.
You see, I don’t think our current division is about race. I think it is division created to paint one group as victims and another group as victimizers. This is a common tactic used by Communist dictators to divide people in order to put them all under the control of government. If the people are fighting each other, they are less likely to fight totalitarian takeover. It is how Stalin and Lenin engineered the Bloshevik takeover of Russia.
And so, we see some children being told that they are victims and not responsible for whatever happens to them. What is worse is that they are also told that they cannot be successful by using their own talents and determination. To me, this is the most viscious form of racism because it sends a message to a child that he/she is truly flawed and cannot achieve.
We have another group of children being taught that they are responsible for whatever wrongs are in the world and that they don’t deserve success no matter what their talents are and their work ethic. For them, the effects are that they feel shame and worthlessness.
This is being wrapped in a feel good “social justice” theme and is being taught to students as young as Pre-kindergarten. It has very little to do with justic at all.
It also seems that the age appropriateness of teaching certain subjects such as sexuality have been thrown out the window. It is really okay to teach a three year old about being gay or transgender? Actually, shouldn’t parents handle these topics with their children?
And all of this is being taught in the middle of the ridiculous convoluted schedules schools are now attempting because of Covid 19. These schedules,which are often hybrids of in person and virtual learning, are already compacted. It is difficult to address all the educational needs to be taught in a regular school day, but now we have cut time and added this additional subject. This means something has to go, and it is certainly not the social justice portion of the day. Academic instruction is edited.
Research has proven that a student’s learning is permanently damaged by having two consecutive years of ineffective teaching or lost learning. It’s clear that the learning and development of our children are being sacrificed at the altar of protecting the school systems from lawsuits while pandering to the demands of teacher’s unions flexing their poltical influence.
God help the child who has learning disabilities in this situation.
For years, most parents left the teaching up to the schools and got involved if there were problems. But, with all of this going on, that time is over. Some educators feel they can dismiss the value of the parents since, they, the educators, know best. If you are interested in your children’s education and well being, you need to be more proactive.
If your child is in public schools, my first suggestion is to get them out. I taught for over 30 years in the public schools. I was an administrator for five years or so. What is happening now is an effort to mold your child’s social beliefs while diminishing parental impact. In short, they want to take you out of the decision making process. It’s a process that has been ramping up for quite some time. About ten years ago, an administrator told me that the ultimate goal would be having the children in school year round and from morning to night.
There will be a time when you won’t have a say about what your child is taught or not taught, which medical and mental health professionals treat your child while in school, and what they treat them for. And the government will support them.
My first suggestion is if you have good private schools in your area, religous or secular, try to get your child in one. Yes, it costs money. Some will be out of your financial reach. Some you will be able to afford with the sacrifice of other things in your lives that are luxuries. Others may be reasonable and affordable. Many offer scholarships.
Make sure you investigate that private school as well. While you may pay the tuition for private school, make sure they will teach what you want your child to learn. Private schools can fall prey to educational fads and agendas as well as public schools!
If private school is out of the question, then you may need to investigate home schooling. I know what you’re thinking. You are thinking you can’t possibly teach your own children. I know. It’s what I said when I moved my children into a private school from the public schools. Luckily, we had a great private school near us.
Probably the biggest drawback to home schooling is feeling you don’t have the knowledge to teach your kids what they need to learn. For the most part, you do. BUT, there are options to help you. For example, time4learning.com provides resources and structures for homeschooling families for an affordable price. ( $30 a month per high school student, less for elementary.) They even provide help for how to meet each state’s requirements and guidelines for homeschooling. There are others which can be found via the internet.
Another drawback may be that there are two working parents in the family and no one feels they can stay home with the kids and teach them. I can’t speak for everyone, but I do feel that there are ways that schedules can be arranged so that homeschooling can work. Remember, YOU get to decide when school is in session. With some creativity and determination, you can work it out. Look for other groups of homeschooling parents in your area and talk to them. See what they do. Some groups will work together to form a consortium that allows them to work together to have study groups, field trips and social events for the kids. There is help out there!
If neither of these options work for you, then you will have to get more involved in your public school system and your child’s school. Become acquainted with who school board members are, who administrators are, what is taught in your district, and how decisions are made. Go to public school board meetings as often as possible and if you have opinions about what is going on, sign up to speak.
( Special note: As a taxpayer, you have a right to copies of the curriculum, study materials, used in your district. You also have a right to view the rules and procedures in the system. DO NOT let administrators stone wall you!!!! )
I highly recommend that parents form action groups. The one thing I know about school boards and administrations, they HATE bad publicity. One parent speaking out won’t always move them to action. A group of parents will, especially if they are speaking to the press.
If you have a problem with an individual teacher, always follow the “chain of command” to address it. Most teachers want to work with parents, not against them, but if you have one who wants to impose his/her political or social agenda on your child, or who is treating your child badly, be prepared with detailed dated notes about what happened, when you spoke to the teacher, what was said, etc. When you challenge a teacher, the union will jump in to support them if the situation is serious enough. Again, go up the chain of command as it works in the district.
Consider running for school board.
None of these options are easy because all of them require that you get involved and spend time making sure the education system works for your child and other children. However, the Leftists are using our youngsters to establish a country that is divided and chaotic. They are creating a generation of non-thinking, unquestioning clones. The ones who will be hurt are our children and all the generations to come.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want that on my conscience.
Remember, our country is built on making lives better for the generations to come. We must maintain that tradition.
