Schools As Microcosms of the Socialist State

I read a post on our Facebook page today that really just made me shudder - and that happens rarely anymore with all I've learned about the Common Core and specifically the data collection aspect of the initiative. 

Here is the post by DeShawna Marie Smyth:

"What is sad is our school is spending less and less time on actually educating our students and more time sending the students home, calling the parents, or ticketing the parents because the child is wearing a zipper on their sweater, or a hood on their jacket, or the wrong color of tights! Our uniform rules have gotten out of control here! Not only are parents getting tickets, but children are worrying too much about what they need to be wearing at school and less about what they are learning!"

And now my return post:

OH WELL SAID!!!! I knew that 'uniform codes' were so much more insidious than everyone thought and I think this is one of the things they are supposed to do (in order to change society)! Along with putting the child in a box (the school makes them feel inseparable from their counterparts). After all, you can't have a society of little automatons who are willing to do the state's bidding if you don't first decide to take away their sense of 'self' - their sense of who they are. See, everything is done for the sake of 'safety' these days. Schools tell you, "We're installing this retinal scanner to make sure your kids are safe" and "We're making all kids wear a uniform because we don't want kids to be sad if they don't have enough money for the clothes the other kids have" - which, incidentally is socialism! What happens when you buy all the items (school supplies) the school wants at the start of school. The school takes them and puts them into a single pile so no one has the items they bought and brought with them, doling them out instead to the kids 'according to their need. 

DeShawna replies to my comment:  

This is exactly how I feel!!! They add more and more restrictions and call it "Safety" when it's really "conformity".

Apparently this struck a cord because here are a couple of other posts:

Tina Dobbs: Don't forget, not wearing a belt is a huge offense as well!!

Paula Ray: Or can't take purse with ya because of personal reasons on a field trip because not allowed to bring bags, electronics, or jackets.

Until I pulled them from school, ALL my kids were in a public elementary school that forced a dress code.  The worst part about the whole thing was not the conformity, but the LACK of conformity.  Basically, I was one of the only parents in the entire school that followed the dress code!  My kids would put something on in the morning that was out of dress code and I'd tell them to go change, after which I'd get a 5 minute diatribe about how I was so mean and "no one else in the school followed the dress code".

I would show up at school on numerous occasions and I could tell the dress code wasn't being enforced - or at worst, it was being enforced SELECTIVELY.  

What did this teach the kids?  That not only were rules not important, but if you were important enough, rules didn't apply to you.  Gosh, I get this feeling about our President everyday!  Is this why the word 'president' and the word 'precedent' are so similar? 

I can't help but come back to the frog in the boiling water scenario.  Parents are that frog.  Schools have turned up the heat on us so gradually by implementing 'tools' to help them 'teach' our children better or keep them 'safer' and we've been either so dumbed down or trusting - or a combination of both - that we've gone right along with it to the point that now, many schools are simply little socialist states.

I'm telling you, I think parents are starting to wake up - at least I hope so, because the lives of our children and this country are at stake.  

Here are my thoughts:  When you find your school not allowing your child to use the school supplies you bought - BE CIVILLY DISOBEDIENT!  Say, "I do not want these items used for other children - I bought them for mine", and then have your child play tattle-tale!  

If your school has a dress code, get some parents together to ABOLISH it and if that's not possible - BE CIVILLY DISOBEDIENT and say, "I'm sorry but my child will not wear a uniform to a public school.  I have the right AS HIS/HER PARENT to allow him/her to dress any way I find fit that doesn't offend others."  (Sadly, today you'd have to add that, as many parents seem to be uncertain of what is appropriate clothing and need to be educated on the topic - notice I say EDUCATED and not HAVE THEIR PARENTAL RIGHTS USURPED!)

If your school is giving Common Core tests and you don't want your child to take them but the school won't provide an opt-out - BE CIVILLY DISOBEDIENT and say, "My taxes help pay for this public institution and I don't agree with the tests and standards this school is using, therefore, my child will not be taking the tests."

There is no reason to be ugly and certainly not violent, just kind, but firm!  Stand parents - it's time!