By Mimi Rothschild
It’s a short post, but it’s something. Possibly the hottest conservatively-minded politics and culture blogger, Michelle Malkin has linked two news stories that should make your blood boil.
The first, from the Edmonton Sun paints a picture of absolute terror as sixth graders were subjected to a staged gun attack. One of the teachers donned a ski mask and pulled on the locked door of the classroom, frightening the sixty-nine students in the room, who were crying and hiding under tables.
The second, from Fox News details the shocking story of an 8th grade class which was forced to watch Brokeback Mountain, a tale of homosexual lust. The film depicts a drawn-out homosexual sex scene, frontal nudity, among countless depictions of adultery, violence, foul language, and other unsavory images.
“It’s no wonder homeschooling is so popular,” mused Malkin. No wonder indeed. Between this, sex-change lessons, and innumerable other offenses, the public school’s track record is spotty at best.
By Mimi Rothschild
Problem: Children don’t like going to school.
Solution: Make it mandatory!
Problem 2: Children still don’t like going to school.
Solution 2: Make them stay longer!
From the HSLDA:
“Senate Bill 171 is a legislative proposal which would raise North Carolina’s compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 17, until the child graduates from high school. If enacted, this legislation would require homeschoolers to comply with the law for an additional year, including an additional year of standardized testing. Home School Legal Defense Association believes that Senate Bill 171 should be opposed, because it represents an expansion of the state’s control over education, particularly homeschooling.”
When will they ever learn! Studies show that students who lack the motivation to attend school are not benefited by this policy. All this will do is take resources away from students who actually want an education.
Perhaps the worst part of this legislation is that it will require North Carolina’s homeschoolers to comply as well. This is an unwanted expansion of government control that will take more money away from taxpayers while offering nothing in return. I urge North Carolinians to oppose this legislation wherever possible.
By Mimi Rothschild
Although it doesn’t seem that the mainstream media is interested in reporting this, a Pennsylvania government-sponsored virtual school recently boasted the following statistic.
We have been notified by the Department of Education that we have once again made AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress). 21st Century Cyber was the only cyber school to make AYP last year, and is the only cyber school in PA that is not on the academic warning list. Congratulations to our students and staff!
Out of the twelve public cyber charter schools based in Pennsylvania, only one is meeting AYP standards set forth in the No Child Left Behind plan!What a track record! This news comes hot on the heels of the HSLDA‘s recent announcement that public virtual schools are performing worse than not only private schools and homeschools, but the very public schools for which they were designed to provide an alternative!
Parents who are considering enrolling their children in a public virtual charter school need to realize that these organizations survive using bait-and-switch offers like free computers and internet connections in order to entice families back into the public school. Students are given the same poor curriculum, the same perverse sense of morality, the same rigidity in teaching methods, and it appears, the same declining academic standards.
By Mimi Rothschild
Joel Turtel, author of “Public Schools, Public Menace” cites a harrowing tale of the public school’s incompetence. He was a volunteer reading instructor some time ago and was asked to help a young boy read. He was dismayed to find that the child was never taught to sound out words using phonics, but simply memorized words that were simple enough to sight read. As a result, the boy insisted on reading only certain books that he had been able to memorize.
When Turtel expressed to the boy’s parents that the reason why their child has not excelled in reading is not due to a learning disability or disinterest in reading, but because he had never actually learned how to read. When the school’s administrators found out about his suggestion, they were furious and demanded that he leave the premises.
This heartbreaking story is indicative of a greater problem that is endemic to the public school way. Reading is perhaps the most tangible of subjects in which memorizing vs. learning is used. Consider any other subject. In history, for instance, any child will be able to tell you that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. However, ask them why he sailed, what the causes and effects of his journey were, and you’ll find a child at a loss for words. The same though process can be found in every subject.
That’s because the public school curriculum program encourages students to memorize information in order to pass a test. This type of learning occurs all the way through high school. Once the test is over, the students perform a “brain dump” and forget all that they have learned. Little concern is put towards attaining a meaningful understanding of any given topic, but memorizing singular, unrelated facts that amount to a whole lot of ignorance.
Perhaps more troubling is the school’s reaction to Turtel’s suggestion. It is clear that they do not have the child’s best interest in mind. Sticking to the curriculum is what’s important, not enabling a child to succeed. One can only hope and pray that the young boy’s parents heeded Turtel’s words.
By Mimi Rothschild
I’ve been meaning to post about this Georgetown Times article for some time now. This particularly unbiased piece showcases how four moms are choosing to give up their career dreams and more to stay at home with the kids.
By joining up with the Georgetown Area Home Educators, this group of women is standing firm in their call to bring Kingdom Education to their children.
Hagmayer doesn’t understand why people disagree with home-schooling, saying it is not a new practice. Before the federal and local governments decided to regulate education, everyone home-schooled their children, she said.
“We’re not inventing anything new, Hagmayer said. “We’re just going back to the basics.”
What a surprisingly true statement. Many public school administrators have this backwards idea that homeschool parents are doing rejecting the longstanding institution of the public school. In actuality, the public school is an institution in its infancy. Homeschooling is a tradition that has been passed down from generations since the beginning of time, really. To think that homeschool parents are entering uncharted waters by pulling their kids out of the public school is quite naive.
I’d also like to call attention to the article’s mention of the women giving up their career dreams. We live in a me-oriented culture. Self-actualization is the name of the game. After all, do we moms want to look back on our lives and regret that we didn’t go for that career in the thick of the rat-race? This mentality not only flies in the face of everything we know from God’s Word, but it also opposes our natural inclinations. Life is a time to invest in other people. Christianity is built on the concept of you-orientation.
A good example is marriage. Why are so many marriages ending in divorce? The simple answer is that our society reflects a me-culture, but marriage is a you-culture institution. Marriage can’t work in me-culture because marriage is one big sacrifice!
These moms are choosing to follow a different path, and in the end, they’ll be more fulfilled. Investing in a child is the most fulfilling act in all of human behavior. Why do we bang our heads against walls trying to get rid of this gift!