Today - Especially If You're A Christian - You Should Be Educating Your Children At Home

Many years ago I had a conversation with a friend considering homeschooling her kids. She told me she wanted to keep them home, because, as a Christian, she was concerned about the anti-Christian messages her kids have brought home to her.

Is Public Funding of Education Now Unconstitutional Based On Federal Discrimination Law? Bill Barr Thinks Possibly.

For years I've written about how public schools are very often indoctrinating children in ideals outside those prescribed in their homes.  I've warned parents for years to pay attention to what their children are learning in school and to attend school board meetings, yet until restrictions due to COVID-19 caused many students to stay home and learn on line, few were able.  When homework or books don't come home for view and the best you can get out of your kid about school is the following:

Mom, "How was school today?"

Kid, "Fine."

Mom, "What did you learn today?"

Kid, "Nothing much..."

How in the world do you find out exactly what is going on in your child's school?

Common Core in A Nutshell

This is a guest blog by one of ROPE's Board members, Julia Seay:

"How do I explain Common Core to another parent in one sentence that will make them want to look into this, and not just go along to get along?"   Jenni and I were asked that question by a mom at the Reclaim America conference this weekend.   We love to learn from our friends who stop by our table. Then the mom answered her own question.  It’s the Government replacing parents.  Here is one sentence that I believe will convey the urgency: 

·         Common Core will put Government in the place of parents the same way Welfare has put Government in the place of Churches.

Big Government is growing exponentially while the power of the church and the family is shrinking.  It’s a competition for influence over this generation.  We are facing a battle between those that love liberty, and those that lust for tyranny.

 The Church was once the center of almost every community in America, and the main source of charity.  Colleges and Universities were established by Churches.  Hospitals were established by Churches. Laws were based on the Bible.  Civility and dignity was expected from grown-ups. People believed their children would inherit a better world. 

Then LBJ spread the rumor that politics and church don’t mix, because pastors were talking about his poor character from the pulpit.  Facing the threat of taxation, many pastors started dumbing down their message. Fiery pastors stopped lifting people (especially elected officials) up to the highest of standards and teaching freedom through Christ and Biblical principles.   Pastors once led their congregations into battle for freedom from tyrants. Now many won’t even mention the rampant evil that is flourishing in our government, or encourage their church members to VOTE Biblical principles, much less run for office.  

Children of Christians are leaving the Church in droves.  Watered-down truth isn’t truth.
The Church sits silent as abortion wrecks the heart and soul of our nation, and the strength of Family is destroyed.  Poverty grows and the poor turn to the Government, not the church for help. 

No pastor-led congregations show up in the courtroom as the decision is made to take the 10 Commandments out of schools and the public square.  Anything Church can do, Government does better… but the price we pay is our freedom.

Government now provides health care, decides which businesses are allowed to succeed, dictates if a bug has more right to your property than you, picks the news and entertainment you hear, mis-educates, and decides who gets a scholarship, and just flat throws our money out the window or lines their pockets.  Church?  Shhhh….  Don’t offend anyone.

The Government will shackle the people who work hard and give the fruits of their labor to those who hold out their hand.  That is theft.  That is slavery.  They will then take credit for the gift, and demonize the true giver as selfish and greedy for not giving more. No hard work or morality is expected to receive that pilfered gift; no dreams required; no inspiration to become better or pass the blessing to others.  You don’t even have to be nice to anyone.  They have warped societal thinking to the point that no morality is expected even from elected leaders.  Corruption is working well for a ever-increasing segment of our society.  The Government shadow has hidden the light of Church.

Now the Government wants to replace Family.  The elitists want to mold your children into compliant Human Capital.  To both parties, it is their dream come true:   Big Government for the Democrats; Big Business for the Republicans.  Both have an enormous appetite for a skilled workforce.

 To a parent who wants their children to become all God created them to be, or to become a high achiever, it is your worst nightmare.  What is family anyway?  The Government will teach a Global worldview.  Your child can strive to be common with every other child in every other state, and become all MicroSoft needs them to be.   After all, it takes a village… 

The State will decide what your child will eat.  The State will decide what your child will learn.  The State will decide what vaccinations and medications your child will need. The State will assess what job your child is suited for. The State is working to grow itself in a partnership between Big Government and Big Business.  The family will be largely shut out of the process.  Even homeschools and private schools, while they still exist, will be subject to Government’s testing.  The ACT, SAT and College Entrance exams are being re-written to follow Common Core.  What.is.Common.Core? 

Teachers in Oklahoma – OKLAHOMA! – told David Barton “No, thank you.  We can’t do that.” to his suggestion of teaching the History of American Exceptionalism.  The History Standards are based on America being a “Constitutional Democracy.”  WE ARE A REPUBLIC and AMERICA IS EXCEPTIONAL!  But that doesn’t fit into the Global worldview or the cookie cutter image your child will be molded into.  The American Dream will have to be oppressed to have Global equality.  They can’t possibly teach our American Heritage and Constitution.  They aren’t following it!

Janet Barresi, Oklahoma Supt. of Schools, and PAARC board member (where we buy our tests…Is that a problem?) is giving speech after speech saying that we have not accepted Common Core in History and Science.  It only takes a Google or two to figure out SHE IS LYING. 

Parents will not be allowed to see what their children are tested over.  Not allowed to see the content of what they are teaching our children?  Even teachers are not allowed to see some of the assessments.  An assessment is an opinion that is formed, not a test of knowledge.  They don’t care what students know; they care how they think… 

“Teaching them to think critically” is the buzz-phrase there.  It is code for physiological data is being collected.  They want to know how you live.  The assessments go straight to the database.  You will never know who “assesses” your children and your lifestyle or to whom that information is sold to or shared with.  Why worry about hackers?  Your children are giving their pristine information to strangers, and creeps in our midst are shamelessly being exposed every day.  

We asked why they want this data system.  The answer:   Somebody might move. “We’re a mobile society and parents don’t always take the transcript to the new school” said Ok. Sen. Clark Jolley (and by now we have heard this same phrase about a dozen times).   I said, “You mean to tell me that we are going to spend $Millions collecting intricate data on students because a parent may not pick up a packet fast enough for you?”  He ran away from me, and left Lynn and I standing there shaking our heads. 

Clark Jolley, who ran as a self-proclaimed Conservative Republican in OK, his campaign ads just short of a halo over his head…. the most powerful Chairmanship in the State of Oklahoma wants to collect your children’s information for the use of Big Government and Big Business.  And while I’m in the mood to out people, add Senator Ford to that list, and Reps Ann Coody from Lawton and Lee Denney from Stillwater to the BS list.  You see, according to Common Core proponents, teachers apparently cannot teach children that move without knowing their blood type and the family’s voting history

Now this is personal:  If a child ever had a run-in with a teacher and the family decided to move to a new district, that bad behavior tag will follow that child for the rest of his or her life.  Have you ever been in a teachers’ lounge?   Some teachers just do not like some kids.  A parent could do nothing about it.  Are you as a parent going to risk having your child’s record tainted forever by complaining about a teacher?  They have your information.  They have control. 

Our tax dollars are being spent to tell pretty little lies about Common Core to our teachers. Teachers’ jobs depend on their compliance. We have educators come to us all the time horrified by Common Core, but afraid to speak out.  I learned of another teacher today afraid to talk about the abuse in our Special Ed department.  He is certain he will lose his job if he talks.  Barresi says that ALL the teachers tell her they love Common Core.  I bet they do!  They love it or risk getting their district’s funding cut or losing their job. 

The Government will feed your children.  They will decide what your child will eat and WHEN the child will eat and how much your child will eat.  Every meal will be served at school.   If they ask a parent to send a snack and a parent sends the “wrong” snack, the child will not get to have a snack and a note will be sent home telling the parent the snack was not on the Government-approved list.  Think about that.  The Government withholds food, and then corrects the parent via the child. That is already happening in at least one elementary school in Yukon, OK.  A teacher had implemented this program after learning it in her National Merit classes. Teachers are offered a $5000 reward for those classes.

The Government will decide the books your child should read.  Some of the books that are on the suggested reading list are books that go against everything you hold dear.  There are psychological questions on the assessment that your child must answer correctly according to the Government, not according to the parent’s values.  In the last two days, we have come across some sick books on the approved list, for instance:  “'The Bluest Eye’ which is full of INTENSE child molestation content. The author's intent is to establish empathy FOR THE PERPETRATOR.”  (Thank you, Ann-Marie Murrell)  Their thinking must align with “Global” thinking. Parents just don’t get it, after all.   They don’t even care about carbon footprints.   

Younger and younger children will be given problems to solve and questions to be answered to assess your lifestyle.  The adaptive testing will then reform their thought processes into a more Global worldview, a.k.a. indoctrination.

If your child believes in God and believes in American Exceptionalism, you are in big trouble already. You already know students are taught lies in History and Science, but now the teachers and schools will be graded on how well your student does on these so-called rigorous assessments, higher standards and critical thinking. Although there is zero evidence that any of this will be good, since it has never been tried anywhere, the educrats will assure you that your guinea pig child will be COMMON with all the other guinea pig children across the nation.  Now there’s something to work for!

Do you think you will have any input?  If a school’s assessments are low according to these assessments that parents cannot see, it will be taken over by the State Dept. of Education (3 minutes if it works for the State)  and your local school board will have no voice.  Your new board will either be the State itself, or an assigned board that might be a business looking for some good little workers.  

Do you think the elitists in the State Dept. of Ed or at the Chamber of Commerce will be interested in your child’s dreams and visions?   We’ve talked to them.  They are not.  John Kramen from the OK Dept. of Ed, formerly with Achieve in D.C., actually said on July 10 to a group of 5 of us, “I do not care about the children.  I care about getting my job done.”  His job is to collect data on our students.  Parents, do not remain silent!

When your school is taken over, good luck finding someone to talk to about a problem you might have with what your child is learning or the books they are required to read. To speak to the OK State Board of Education, you MAY have 3 minutes to speak IF your child’s problem is regarding something on their agenda. During this time, Supt. Barresi and the State school board appointed by Gov. Fallin will watch the 3 minute clock tick down so they can pronounce that your time is up. 

 The U.S. Senate has already written legislation for a National School Board, so you can see where this is going. Imagine trying to talk to the National School Board members, even if you could manage a trip to D.C.  You will have zero input in your child’s education.  Government has replaced Family in your child’s education and career choice.  The College entrance exams require Common Core, so homeschools, private schools, church schools as well as public schools and charter schools are all involved.  

·         Parents, please do not remain silent.  Join us in our fight.  Plan to show up to our events or the events in your state. Restore Oklahoma Public Education has a FB page, and you can get the latest information there.  There are also many other groups nation-wide.  Almost every state has them.  We are friends with many of them on our page.  #stopcommoncore #RopeOK

Oklahoma Elementary Students Study Ramadan?

Years ago, this was the inside of a typical American Classroom.

This is today's typical American Classroom -

And now, though we are already allowing America's classrooms to function as little more than propaganda machines in the war against well-rounded education, we have this:

This is one page from a 13 page booklet given to first grade students at Clegern Elementary School in Edmond, Oklahoma this 2013 school year.  You can view the packet in its entirety if you so wish, just as it came home (accidentally) with a student, just as I scanned it into my computer.

This is troubling.

First; elementary students should be going to school to have their heads packed with math facts, English grammar facts, basic American history facts and science facts.  The younger the child, the more easily facts are absorbed.  No one can think critically without an ability to memorize facts and have them on hand.  Critical thinking skills amount to nothing if there is no foundation upon which to think.

Second; because of their rapidly growing brains, young (elementary) children are much more susceptible to influences outside the sphere of education - those that belong in the category of ideology.  I wrote a blog about this specific issue and how it effected one of my own children.  

Last; while I believe World Religions to be an important topic of study, it should not be introduced until 11th or 12th grade - or college - in deference to the first two reasons.  A study of World Religions allows the student to assimilate their world view and the knowledge base imparted them by their parents into a larger framework.  Younger students have not enough world view to master this ability, nor to place the information studied in any real context, therefore, studying world religions merely creates an opportunity for introduction of ideology. 

Though secularists and atheists will disagree, the religion upon which American public schooling was based (Judeo-Christian; see any McGuffey reader) is the only religion for which I would make opposite argument.

History shows without a doubt, this country was colonized by Christians for the, "advancement of the Christian faith."  Though there will be arguments again and again by secularists (none that are born out by even a mere cursory study of the art found in our nation's capitol), the Founders of this country at least established America as a nation in which the religion of its citizenry would never be prescribed by its government not as a nation in which religion and government were to be separated.  America was not established as a secular nation.  The facts that over 75% of Americans self-identify as Christian and, of all the countries in the world America still ranks as the country containing the most self-identified Christians, should dispense with the notion that America is not a Christian nation first and foremost.

Judeo-Christian prayer was removed from schools in 1962 as consequence of a lawsuit by New York parents.  Bible reading was prohibited in schools in 1965 due to a lawsuit filed by Madeline Murray O'Hair.  Neither of these incidents mirrored the religious makeup of the citizenry of America, just the amount of judicial activism allowed within the Supreme Court.

The beauty of America is that everyone living here has the opportunity to worship as he or she desires -  even to educate others about their religion.  In addition, any member of any religious group in America has the ultimate right to express their religion by creating a private school in which to instruct their youth - including those religions of atheism and Islam.  The study of Islam, however, is simply not appropriate for K-10 public education and certainly not in light of the context of American public schools.

I Can Bring Home the Bacon...

I sort of had a mental breakdown when I read Brandon Dutcher’s post this morning.

I can't possibly articulate the number of times I have thought of the movie Logan's Run lately myself - not only in terms of public education today - but the way in which our federal government has usurped nearly every aspect of our lives. We are not people anymore, we are numbers – numbers on a computer screen for health care and insurance companies, and public schools from elementary to college – and we have allowed ourselves to become just that.

Why do very few people today understand that ‘numbering’ people has been done before? Please, ask a Jew who has survived Auschwitz. They’ll tell you what it’s like to be a number and how easy it is for those doing the numbering to completely dehumanize every individual numbered.

I wish these kinds of posts (thoughts) would truly waken people to the fact that children are a gift from a God that expected PARENTS to raise them for Him without pawning them off onto public schools or the mall or - where ever with whom ever – so you could go to work or struggle to survive.

I truly FEAR that until we start seeing kids as gifts from God we will never truly decide to throw off our 'worldly' trappings in order to create two parent families with mothers who take up the mantle of protector, tutor and disciplinarian (note I didn't say, 'scheduler of activities' here) things in this country cannot change.

I don't say that lightly, either. Nor am I attempting to wage the war of hypocrisy among my fellow parents.

It is a fact that until I began homeschooling our oldest son this year I had not understood this in totality. Before my son became MY FULL AND COMPLETE RESPONSIBILITY during EACH AND EVERY DAY, I had developed a really great double-speak about the necessity of parents to get their kids out of public school and be actual parents - not guardians - of their children.

Once my son became my actual responsbility, I became absolutely and completely convicted of the kind of mother I had been to my children in their previous years. I don’t think I ever realized how content I was when I could simply drop them off at our ‘safe’ public elementary school every day and go about my regular routine of criticizing our public school administration and elected officials. I was, after all, ‘at home’. I didn’t work ‘outside’ my home. I was ‘here’ for my kids.

I find it sad but true, that since the beginning of the women’s movement in the 60’s and the following “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan and never, let you forget you’re a man” mantra from the early 1980’s, American women have allowed a wholly ungodly group of individuals to tell us supposedly Godly women how to behave – what was and wasn’t important in our lives.

Obviously, Enjolie thought that working outside the home while reading to your kids before you put them in bed to ‘service’ your husband was appropriate and we bought it. The real problem became that once we figured we could ‘do it ourselves’, what did we need men for? We could take our kids and leave that boring (unattractive, not earning enough money…whatever…) man and make it on our own. Too bad the commercial didn’t tell us that by simply taking care of ourselves, not only would our kids suffer, but the communist and socialist sympathizers had plans for them when we finally created that selfish lifestyle advertisers sold us – plans to make them Godless, automatons who prayed to the “environment” and “social justice”.

Now, we’re seeing their plans played out in schools everywhere across the country, yet most American women are Enjolie women who haven’t awakened from their ‘80’s “me” coma yet.

Now, I fear, the only thing that will wake them is social collapse – and that, make no mistake, is coming and coming fast.

My only hope lies in Christ and the absolute fact that God is sovereign and knows all things and works all things for good for those who follow His word.

I pray for a spiritual awakening to take hold in this country (particularly mothers) every day…looking around, I’m afraid we’re vastly overdue…