GUEST POST: "Generation Citizen" Provides 'Action Civics' Indoctrination In Oklahoma Public Schools

 

The following is a guest post by Jean Thomson. She has included a list of schools using the program. Additional comments have been added by the editor at the end of the post.

What On Earth Could Be Wrong With Student Activism?

Though it definitely frustrated me to see teachers leave their classrooms and picket the legislature for more taxpayer funding of public education - shutting down some schools for as many as two full weeks - the level of activism displayed by high school students on this issue bothered me more.

Oklahoma Has EXCELLENT Social Studies Standards - Too Bad There's No Reason To Follow Them

This year, Senator Nathan Dahm has authored a bill - SB503 - to mandate that public schools in Oklahoma teach the following:

a. the content of the United States naturalization test, with an emphasis on the specific content of the test and the ideas and concepts it references. The United States naturalization test shall be made available in physical and electronic online formats as an optional assessment tool for teachers,

b. the Declaration of Independence,

c. the United States Constitution including the Bill of Rights,

d. substantive selections from the Federalist Papers,

e. the Emancipation Proclamation,

f. the Articles of Confederation,

g. the Gettysburg Address, and

h. George Washington’s Farewell Address

A Brief History of ROPE

After a comment I received on one of our Facebook posts yesterday, I thought this post might be in order.

Yesterday, I was very happy to see a rather lively Facebook conversation initiated over a post concerning a central Oklahoma middle school that had instituted something called, "Lobby Guard" - a 'security' system in which all entrants to the school must SCAN in their driver's license in order to be admitted to the school. 

I pointed out - in my usual exceptionally opinionated tone - that this was ridiculous. 

The comments this post received afterward, were quite concerning to me as most of the posts defended the system as being necessary for the protection and safety of children inside.  Here are the posts made to the page with live links so that you can have the opportunity to read some of the posts shared by those who have studied the threats to our liberty posed by such 'security' systems.

One of the comments was particularly interesting:

That said, ROPE, you should stay focused on stopping CC not stretching yourself into government intrusion on our privacy. My elementary school has a lot of aliens, and I personally have seen one pedophile in my school. I signed up to be notified by the state via email about all of the registered sex offenders within 5 miles of my home. The emails come and I look them up. The son of a bitch walks right through the doors of our school! Well, this year we got Lobby Guard and I haven't seen him since. So intrusion or not, my daughter is no longer exposed to that POS. While I agree that none of that should be on our license, I also do not believe this is where your efforts should be focused. Not only that, think about the service-people who enter the building daily! The smartboard stops working and in walks a guy to fix it. He hasn't been cleared by anyone. Lobbyguard checks him out instantly.

I thought it would be interesting to point out here that ROPE began in 2008 as a reaction to the election of President Obama.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion as to what kind of a president he has been and will continue to be, however, there is literally no disputing the fact that the man's history is antithetical to the position of president of the United States of America.  His background and upbringing is full of Marxists and Communists and there is no doubt the man is not a fan of the United States.  This is not opinion nor conjecture, this is a completely fact-based assessment whether you agree or not.

Myself and another previously non-political citizen, Julie McKenzie, felt that people must not know much about the history of the United States, or civics, if we - as a population - were willing to "pledge our lives and sacred fortunes" to a man intent upon apologizing for and intent upon "fundamentally changing" the fabric of this great nation.

We studied our Oklahoma US History standards and found that, by and large, Oklahoma neither teaches the founding of this nation, nor the process of civic government.  We lobbied our state government officials to create a curricula through which schools must teach the Constitution and basic civics and, though passed by the House, the Senate refused to see the importance of the bill and it died - twice.  Shortly after that, more and more educational research organizations came out with research saying exactly what we had begun ROPE to highlight - students all across America are (by and large) not receiving an education on the founding history of this country, nor the Constitution, nor basic civics.

From that point, we went on to tackle State Question 744 - a large tax measure, proposed by the Oklahoma Education Association and its parent, the National Education Association, to further fund education in Oklahoma.  Our position at ROPE has been - since the inception of this organization - that school funding is adequate, it is simply not being directed to the classroom, instead, being usurped at the administrative levels.  We stand by that claim today.  We need much less money in administration in Oklahoma education, and more at the building and classroom level.  The money is there, it must be forced DOWNWARD.

As you can see, ROPE has never simply been about Common Core.  We began our organization under the premise that American students are not being properly educated in their Constitutional rights.  It was EXCEPTIONALLY clear after this particular flurry of activity over school 'security' systems, that our mission was an accurate one and one from which we will not waiver.  This quote from Samuel Adams explains well, why:

"No people will tamely surrender their Liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffusd and Virtue is preservd. On the Contrary, when People are universally ignorant, and debauchd in their Manners, they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of foreign Invaders."
--Samuel Adams, letter to James Warren, 1775

In closing, I will reiterate more succinctly the point I was trying to make on this post yesterday; school security systems are:

1.  A flagrant violation of the 4th Amendment - presumption of INNOCENCE.  In America, we are presumed INNOCENT until proven guilty.  The Lobby Guard assumes you are GUILTY.  This system robs you of your right to due process and a right to be charged with a crime.  No, it doesn't matter if you are innocent or not (I often hear, "Well I'm not doing anything wrong, so what do I care?"), if that machine goes off, you will be held until you can PROVE you are INNOCENT.  This is in direct violation of your rights under the Constitution.

2. A flagrant violation of the 5th Amendment - due process.  In America, because we are innocent until proven guilty, we need not implicate ourselves in a crime by providing information to ANYONE that might secure our guilt.  This system takes DATA from the back of your card and uses it against you - not in a court of law - not because you were found guilty of a crime - but because the school SEES you as a threat to safety.

3.  These systems do not work and evidence done by objective organizations has shown this to be true. 
     a.  Pedophiles enter the building as employees of the state.  The chances of the UPS man molesting your child at school is infinitesimal in comparison to the chances your child would be molested by a school employee - a person who has already checked in using the system.       
    b.  The system can and HAS misidentified people who then must prove their INNOCENCE taking hundreds of thousands of actual dollars and time off work. 
    c.  If a person has a gun, they will simply shoot out the windows and enter.

The research is there on this issue.  Please study the available sources instead of allowing your emotions to drive your thoughts.

They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.  Benjamin Franklin,  Memoirs of the life and writings of Benjamin Franklin (1818).

Again, What Is and Isn't The Responsibility of the Public School?

It has seemed to me lately that much of America has gone to Hell in a hand basket, thus the news from EdWeek today didn't actually help my state of mind.

Two articles appeared today in my daily inbox notifications; Ethics Education; A National Imperative and Election 2016 Is a Real Civics Lesson for Students (Video). 

Why I Choose To School My Children At Home And Why I Think You Should Too

by Jenni White

"Mom, are you going to check my paper?"  Sam, my youngest, is sitting next to me doing math right now, but because I'm attempting to write a blog, I ask him to hold on a minute.  Don't worry, he'll ask again in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

"Ok...let's look..." I answer, swinging away from my keyboard.

Obviously, I did not choose to homeschool my children so that I could get more done for ROPE.  I'm sure homeschooling and peace and quiet can be synonymous, but I don't find that often in the White house anymore.

It's not always been this way.  My kids haven't always been homeschooled.

In fact, when my husband David and I had our first son, Coleman (we also have a married daughter, Bryna, 31) he and I left our little self-remodeled 50's bungalow for a bigger house in the neighborhood where I grew up - so he could attend a 'Blue Ribbon' public school - we never even considered anything else.

Coleman - and our adopted daughter Betty - started half-day kindergarten at that little school in 2007 and I was irritated they were only going a half day.  It made no sense to me that other schools had full day kindergarten and mine had only half.  I joined PTA, went to every Kindergarten presentation, helped them with their reading every evening and enjoyed both kids' teachers tremendously.

In 2008, the school offered full year kindergarten and by 2009, I was standing in line so Sam, could be in half-day pre-k.

During the end of 2008, something began to change in me.  Until this time, I was a pretty typical stay-at-home mom; cleaning house, making meals, doing laundry and very involved in my church.  I did have a home business I began in 2003 named for the son we lost between Coleman and Sam (MarshallsMemories), and I scrap-booked and made jewelry in my 'off' hours, selling my wares mainly on Etsy.com, but other than that, nothing remarkable.

Though I had voted in nearly every election since I was 18, I had never really been involved in 'politics'.

I registered Republican at 18 (I adored Ronald Reagan) and, excepting a fall from the wagon with Clinton's first term, I found Republican ideals more suited to my own.  Voting was one thing; researching a candidate's voting record or background, another.  That had never been on my radar screen, yet toward the middle of '08, I began researching then-presidential candidate Barrack Obama and became concerned about what I found. Never before much interested in America's form of government, civics or history, I suddenly wanted to know as much as I could about as much as I could.  The more I found out about Communism, Marxism and America's Republican form of government, the more I became convinced public schools had, by and large, simply quit teaching the fundamentals of American history and government.

One thing led to another with my research and by 2010, a friend (Julie McKenzie) and I had started ROPE as a way to shed light on the fact that American students were graduating high school with little to no education in the founding of our country and the science of civics. In fact, ROPE's first stab at legislation was to make sure kids were reading American foundational documents.  From there, we began studying public school funding and many, many other topics relating to the education of our youth across Oklahoma and America.

Interestingly, I spent the first several years of my career as ROPE president, researching and writing about public school issues after dutifully seeing my kids off to school.  In fact, I remember complaining bitterly when school was canceled for snow or cold, or there was an assembly.  My property taxes were going to pay for this school to be open, why wasn't it?  My kids needed to be in school, not sitting around home watching TV.

I knew there were parents out there who schooled their kids at home yet I thought them only slightly sane.  Why would anyone bring their kids home for school?  How were they going to get a good education?  Parents weren't teachers for Pete's sake, what parent thought they could adequately educate a child for college by keeping him home?  Even having been a teacher - even with a Master's Degree in Biology - this thought was anathema.  I was fairly certain homeschooled kids did little but run around their neighborhoods during regular school hours, driving their scooters in front of cars like a homeschool family that moved (briefly) into our neighborhood.  How in the world did these kids make friends?  Who was around to hang out with during the day?  None of this made any sense to me.

As a Christian, I had also come to believe that my Christian children could be salt and light to nonbelievers at their school.  Why would I even think of removing my kids from public school when they could be leading others to Jesus within the confines of the school room walls?*

Throughout the years, I was active in PTA at the school.  I tried to attend every meeting I could and did what I could to help out with PTA functions.  One day at a PTA meeting, I spoke up and asked why we were raising so much money for the school (we had 10's of thousands in the school PTA account).  I was told it was for the school's computer lab and to pay for a new gymnasium that we could use during the week and rent out for basketball games/practice on the weekends.  Once, when I opined that elementary kids didn't really need to learn how to operate computers, I had the immediate and distinct notion I had broached the unbroachable.  It was clear these kids MUST have computer time or they would fall behind their peers at other schools - did I want our kids to be computer illiterate?  I had just read research indicating that electronics for elementary-aged kids can prevent them from focusing by shortening their attention span, so I shared this.  Clearly, no one in the room was interested.

After studying traditional math (in comparison to the Common Core) I shared - at another meeting - that our school should NOT be using Everyday math, but instead adopt Saxon or Singapore texts.  This revelation was met with disinterest in the least and consternation at worst.  For a number of months I tried to get other parents/teachers on board with the idea, but our Principal finally put the hex on the idea by reporting that the school couldn't afford the textbooks.  PTA, of course, needed their money for a computer lab and gymnasium.  It was then I realized that even math illiterate kids can get on the computer and play roundball, and maybe my ideals about education weren't those of my fellow parents or school.

No matter how many children you have, no two will be alike.  I have four, and while none of them are carbon copies of one another, I managed to get a more introverted boy and a girl and a boy and a girl who love going and doing and being right in the middle of everything.  Coleman is one of my introverts.  From a young age that kid would sit by himself, perfectly content building Lego's or drawing, so I shouldn't have been surprised when during the middle of a VERY TOUGH 3rd grade year (lots of bullying and an overbearing teacher who didn't like my son much), he came to me crying and begging me to homeschool him.

What?  He was just having a reaction to the year, I was sure, yet even after he was moved to another class to try and make it easier for him to learn, he would regularly beg me to keep him home for fourth grade.  Two things happened fairly quickly near the end of that year; a homeschooling mom joined the ROPE board and she began sharing personal experiences about her homeschooling, and Coleman fell face first off the swings, and was made to sit in the office with his face so swollen he could barely open his eyes until they finally got around to calling me. That was it.  Though I wasn't sure how the whole schooling the kid at home would work, I decided to take on the challenge and my husband reluctantly agreed.

If I hadn't been seen as the bizarre white-haired White lady at that school before, I was by the first day of school 2010-2011.  I enrolled Sam and Betty in 1st and 4th grades respectively, while submitting a letter to the office that I would be schooling Coleman at home and signing up for another year of PTA - this time with the intention of running for President.**

I began Coleman in Classical Conversations that year.  One day a week I went to an Edmond church 'campus' where kids of all ages and stages came together to learn all sorts of facts about all sorts of things.  In the morning, Coleman had Foundations (the facts portion of the curriculum) and in the afternoon he had Essentials of the English Language where he learned to diagram sentences and write essays.  At home during the week while his siblings were in school, Coleman would study his facts, practice his English assignments and write a paper on a different topic each week.  I added Saxon math and had him read and outline a junior classic book every couple of weeks.  Though I suspect both David and I thought he would soon tire of the self-paced work and lack of friendship, he blossomed, and I learned more about traditional (classical) education vs the progressive education taught in most public schools today.

ROPE had just taken on Common Core and I was speaking and writing and lobbying frequently at this point.  Disinterested with the idea of hanging with Mimi or Grandmama during many of my outings, he chose to come along to the Capitol, to meetings - wherever I was headed - and he had a blast (most times!).

Meanwhile, I was still following what the other two were doing in public school, but by now my eyes had fully opened and I was beginning to see the light.  The assignments Betty brought home from school made my new blog (begun in July of 2011) several times, as did school newsletters and other items.  Her fourth grade teacher and I did not see eye-to-eye and her deeply progressive, rude, student teacher nearly caused my husband apoplexy after a meeting scheduled to discuss some of her more interesting worksheets on Global Warming and Native Americans.

First grade wasn't treating Sam any better.  His teacher should never have been responsible for an elementary classroom.  She was, if anything, more equipped to muscle around teen children - she had absolutely no empathy and seemed to have cared less for little ones in general.  Certainly a Common Core apologist, she was proud to tell me that our school was an early adopter of the standards, knowing the state would force the issue the following school year.  During his tenure in her first grade class, he learned to spell words like Kapok Tree (thanks to the chapter on rain forest deforestation) while learning nearly zero English grammar mechanics for spelling (i before e except after c, etc.).  Even today, that kid can spell very, very little no matter how hard I have tried to teach him by phonemes.  Then there was the math.  Oh my word.  Though my child could easily be classified ADD, I have no doubt in my mind that his math experiences in first grade are what set him back at least two grades and made him absolutely detest the subject.  The fact that he can't sit still and concentrate doesn't make him hate math, it just makes him hate sitting down for any length of time.

By the end of 4th and 1st grades in public school while homeschooling one simultaneously, I had simply gotten to the point where I had zero compunction about removing the other two kids lock stock and barrel from public school and pulling them onto the CC campus with Coleman.  I'm sure the school was absolutely ecstatic to see me go, and we were just as pleased to leave.

And there you have it.  The genesis of the White family homeschool experience.

Today, we're still with Classical, but we're now at a campus well outside the city, near the little town where we've moved to start a farm.  Apparently, once you jump off one conveyor belt, it's becomes easier to jump off the rest (packaged food vs fresh food, internet news vs Big Media news, classic shows on Netflix vs commercial television - we've jumped off them all).  Sadly, as I look back, I see how brainwashed Americans - especially mothers - have become.  We women bought into that 'bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan' mentality back in the '70's and now we have no qualms dropping off even our youngest children to be raised by someone other than ourselves during the day while we are at work.

I did the math one day.  Did you know that each year your child/children are in school, you are allowing someone other than yourself to influence your children 1,190 hours = 50 days = 14% of a year?  Did you know that every year our state/federal government want your children to be in school MORE hours and MORE days?  How many can you lose and expect your child to graduate high school (let alone college) comfortable with your set of values?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that homeschooling is the panacea for producing 'perfect' people (how about that for alliteration!?) - there is no formula for perfection and there is only One that was - I'm simply saying that the more you influence your child, the less someone else is influencing your child.

Neither am I saying that all homeschools produce excellent results, or are done for the right reasons or should be held up as education models for all to see.  I am saying, however, that more parents are equipped to homeschool than are.  I'm saying that more parents can homeschool than think they can.  I'm saying many parents don't even entertain the option because they think themselves ill-equipped.

Over twenty years ago when people like my friends, former state representative George Faught and his wife Becky, began homeschooling their children - in the days when people in IGA would call the truant officer because Becky had her kids in the store while she shopped - there were very few resources for parents that wanted to homeschool.  This isn't the case today.  Today there are wonderful online resources (not K12 or other online schools associated with state public schools) such as Freedom Project Education, and others such as Sonlight and A Beka that can provide excellent road maps to an excellent education for ANY parent, regardless of educational background.

As I've said many times in many different venues, God blessed you with your children.  He gave them to you to raise, not to a school or a teacher.  We are admonished to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6), and that admonition is for parents directly, not through teachers or schools indirectly.  Though I in no way mean to embarrass or anger parents who choose to send their children to public schools, or the many teachers who bring their wonderful values with them into the classroom to provide the best education they can for each child, I think it is important to think on these things and listen to our hearts.  Could God be calling you to homeschool?  If He is, step out and follow His lead - He will bless you in your efforts.  If God is not calling you to homeschool, make sure to take time with your children when they are at home - indoctrinate them in your worldview - watch carefully the items that come home - stay in contact with your child/children's teacher/s - make public education work for your family.

No matter what, be sensitive to your kids and keep them under your wing as long as possible.  They are only little a short while and after that, your influence wanes.  Although I will continue to fight for public education (and so should we all), until parents can return to the position of authority in their child's education within the system, as many of us as can, should be out of it.  The system won't change on its own, and a wheel deprived of cogs won't work and must be re-built, or demolished back to step one.  Let's stay engaged and committed to restoring public education, but let's not throw our kids in the deep end of the pool to dog paddle as we do.



*I learned subsequently (through an experience with my daughter), that few young children can withstand the pressure of their peers or put aside their desire to please their teacher with enough force or consistency to keep the worldview imparted to them by their parents.  As strong as we like to think our children are in the Lord, until they've been able to understand and articulate their Christian worldview well enough to attain apologist status, kids will more than likely adapt to the worldview espoused by their peers/teachers.  Children should never be sacrificed on the altar of evangelism and sadly, this is often the case when Christian children are left to defend their faiths inside secular schools.

** I was told I would not be allowed to run for PTA president because I was "too political".  Yes, it's true.  There you have it.  If PTA weren't an arm of NEA and the ultimate in everything political, I wouldn't have laughed so hard I nearly wet my pants, yet that's exactly what I did.

General Elections 2014 - How ROPE Will Vote

I have finally had it with the majority of my fellow Americans and their stubborn refusal to quit watching Dancing With The Stars long enough to become educated about the laws that govern the country from which they get so much they have time to sit on their posteriors and watch TV.  Originally, I was going to say I had finally had it with all levels of government, but then I realized there is no one to blame for the state of our American government, than the American people themselves.

Last week I posted the blog, "Seven Reasons Why Common Core Repeal in Oklahoma Isn't". Here, I explained why and how Common Core hasn't been removed from our state, yet ROPE's Facebook page has gone from a high of nearly 80 thousand views per week in May to less than 5 thousand views a week in October. I'm reading this as, now that Common Core is "dead" in Oklahoma, there's no need for participatory government; "We came, we saw, we conquered" and now it's time for everyone to go back to their 'regular' lives and TV schedules.

Let me be frank. Common Core is not about education standards, it's a policy representing the natural thought process of decades of people trained via schools, the media and churches, to believe government is their friend - that government can be all things to all people; the chicken in every pot, the protector of rights and liberties, the provider of services citizens can't provide for themselves - the be all, end all. This is categorically 100% false. The federal government has no power other than what it is dictated in the Constitution (the Enumerated Powers in Article 1 Section 9) and states allow it to have, yet how many people have educated themselves (because government schools won't do it) on the Constitution, what it says and how the Founders felt about their actions and how they ascribed the words they committed to that parchment so long ago?

Newsflash; the Founders expected American citizens to exhibit the concept of SELF GOVERNMENT - the governing of one's own actions - in order to prevent interference from a body politic excepting in certain, rare instances.

Yet, today America is nearly 18 TRILLION dollars in debt, and Americans have allowed

• an unconstitutional, socialized system of healthcare (the website for which won't even work), 
• failed immigration and border protection policies leading to the growth and spread of diseases we never thought we'd have again or thought we'd ever see in a first world country, 
• rapid growth and spread of radical Islam, 
• massive intrusions of personal privacy via the NSA and IRS (bureaucratic agencies that have ZERO power to even blow their own nose if we followed the Constitution), 
• government cronyism (GM? Solyndra?) leading to the loss of free enterprise, 
• vast usurpation of property rights via the EPA and Department of Interior, 
• failed government institutions such as the VA and the Post Office, 
• government scandals such as Benghazi and Fast and Furious 

I could continue this list for pages, yet nothing on it is the fault of any government. The fault lies with countless American citizens who choose not to vote, place uneducated votes, vote for party ahead of policy, vote though they have little understanding of the role of government or civics and/or refuse to participate in their system of government at all on any level out of sheer laziness and/or contempt for the country that provides them a better standard of living than, arguably now, any country in the world.

Unfortunately for Oklahomans, our state is following right behind. 

As Dave Bond, (CEO of OCPA Impact) says in a recap of this years' legislative session, 

"Lawmakers passed a $7.12 billion budget that is the largest in state history and contains hundreds of millions of dollars in nonessential spending, including golf courses and rodeos."

This on top of the fact that, while sales tax receipts are at an all time high, the Oklahoma legislature couldn't pass a reduction in state income tax to 4%, settling on 5% by 2016 (currently we're at 5.25% - Kansas' system is much better).

Every year since 2008, I have provided election thoughts and analysis to anyone who wanted to read it. In 2008 I was vilified for referring to President Obama as a Marxist (a political philosophy in opposition to the American Constitution). Please read the above list again and then the definition of Marxism. America is there. Oklahomans must protect our state from this nonsense, but we MUST have legislators willing to put a stop to federal government intrusion at all levels - not just healthcare. Educating citizens on the Constitution and civics and exercising our right to an informed vote are our only hope.

VOTER GUIDE

Here is the list of statewide candidates for office in the 2014 general election November 4.

Go here to get a SAMPLE BALLOT for your district November 4. Please print it out and complete it BEFORE you enter the ballot box. 

Voting information for JUDGES and STATE QUESTIONS can be found here.

PLEASE NOTE: NONE OF THE CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR OR STATE SUPERINTENDENT COMPLETED OUR CANDIDATE SURVEY! The only candidate that even responded at all was Hofmeister who said it was too long to complete with her current time constraints.

LYNN'S PICKS: Straight Party Republican

I just can't vote for a Democrat for a powerful, visible position like Governor. I do not agree with the Democrat party at all - more government, dependence on government, that government is the answer instead of individuals solving their own problems and succeeding on their own. I understand those statements are big and sweeping. The democrats will, of course, try to make a comeback in OK, this is the way for them- a so-called moderate that is riding Mary's coattails of controversy - NOT on his own merit. Even if he wants more money in education- where is it going to come from? How will he make sure that money is used properly?  I see more money in education always goes to new programs, not the classroom or for teachers. 

I read a Homeschool survey - Joe's one answer in question is "homeschoolers should take standarized tests annually" - that is philosophically against homeschooling. They would have to teach CC, and then would be in the data collection trap! That tells me Joe is so much more big government than he lets on. That is unacceptable. I do not agree with Medicaid expansion, I do not agree with increase in minimum wage, and fracking does not cause earthquakes - all things I have heard Joe support. 

So, could Joe actually get anything done - probably not with the Republican legislature, so whats the harm in voting for him? I want to reform (elect more conservatives) the republican party, not empower the democrat party. I am in it for the long haul - I believe it will take many election cycles. 

What I have seen in entry level employees over the last 30 years in my business is terrible. The quality of entry level employees is deteriorating - I see it is because of more dependence on government and the entitlement philosophy, not because of standards. I will vote against that every time. 

We must get back to self empowerment, individual responsibility. For me the question is do we get closer to that with Mary or Joe? Mary showed last session she is pushable- with CC and with Obamacare. Some powerful liberal pacs are supporting Joe ( afl-cio for ex) - they will want something. My hope is we elect more conservative republicans in the house and senate and we push the republican governor that way. We don't have great choices - but I also don't believe in not voting because of bad choices. We all need to vote and then hold all elected officials accountable!!

JOYS PICKS:

I believe in the republican platform. I think it necessary to continue to strive for better candidates and not cede power to the hands of a party that wishes to fundamentally transform our state and nation. Just because I support any candidate doesn’t mean they are immune to public and private scrutiny and accountability. I have only listed those candidates whom I wish to endorse. With that said here are my picks.

• Governor: Mary Fallin – While I am displeased with several of the actions and decisions of our sitting governor, I cannot partner with a candidate who seeks to challenge my freedom as a homeschooling mom, grow government, and spend more money. Governor Fallin requires some elbow grease while in office, but she can be compelled to do the right thing when necessary. I challenge the Senate and House to pursue conservative principles and not seek the blessing of the governor!
• Superintendent: Joy Hofmeister 
• Commissioner of Labor: Mark Costello
• US Senator: Jim Inhofe
• Congress 5th District: Steve Russel
• State Senator 6th District: Josh Brecheen
• State Senator 44th District: Ralph Shortey
• State Senator 48th District: Duane Crumbacher
• State Representative 10th District: Travis Dunlap
• State Representative 36th District: Sean Roberts
• State Representative 43rd District: John Paul Jordan
• State Representative 76th District: David Brumbaugh
• State Representative 87th District: Jason Nelson

• JUDGES: I will vote against all judicial retention.

• STATE QUESTIONS: Yes on all three. 1) I believe a person serving in the US military should be able to concurrently service in office. 2,3) I believe property taxes should be eliminated altogether. We currently lease our property from the government and do not own it. Providing exemptions on homesteading for those who have served in our military is a great start.

JENNI'S PICKS:

• Governor: Governor Fallin's record is that of having to be pushed (as Lynn says) into taking the conservative path on nearly every issue. She talks a good game, but she'll pick the federal government over her state citizens nearly every time while saying she won't or didn't. Why? I believe the cause is a lack of Constitutional knowledge and a staff that believes most Oklahomans are not smart enough to make their own decisions so they must make our decisions for us. I believe Governor Fallin governs the way her paid staff advises in order to produce the best political advantage. Throughout her time in Congress and again as Governor, Fallin has shown me her compass rarely finds true North. **While I've heard a few things that concern me about Joe Dorman's ideas for Oklahoma, I believe he truly cares about the state and her people. In fact, I don't see him filling his office with stiff-arming, dismissive, rude staff, which would be a really nice change. In addition, Dorman's voting record is not awful, and is, in fact, arguably better than some of our currently seated Republicans. Though a Republican-led legislature has tended to back our current Republican Governor all the way down the trail of higher taxes and more government intrusion into our regular, everyday lives, they may choose to balk if these plans come from a Democrat. I don't like the idea of supporting the Democratic party in any way shape or form - as you can tell from the screed above, but I won't hold my nose and vote Republican ever, ever again. I have actually not decided whether I will actively vote for Dorman or simply not vote for this office (I'm considering neither of the Independents in this race) - I may not know until I'm in the voting booth. The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing time and again expecting different results and I don't need to add to my insanity level.
• Lt. Governor: Lamb
• State Superintendent: Hofmeister. I think Dr. Cox is a very nice man, but I also believe the Republican-led legislature will find excuses not to work with him. I also believe he will not manage taxpayer dollars (which he refers to as "public money") conservatively, and we'll have the same lack of fiscal transparency we saw with Barresi. I feel certain Cox will try to stop a lot of the mandates that have been stifling public schools, but again, I don't believe he'll get any traction with the legislature. Because the state Board of Education has been handpicked by Governor Fallin, though Dr. Cox may choose to battle them on any number of issues, the office of Governor (thanks to our Republican legislature) now holds all the keys to the board, not the State Superintendent. No matter how Cox chooses to confront the Board or education issues, the Board can stymie every single issue on which he chooses to go to battle. Net result - ZERO. Hoffmeister has a working relationship with much of the Board and is publicly supported by a chunk of the legislature. She has a record of allowing ROPE to educate her on a number of issues. If she chooses to follow our admonitions about a number of education policies, she has the ability to create movement with the Board and the legislature and that is really the issue here. In addition, she has successfully run her own business for years (Kumon) indicating to me she understands how to manage the fiscal aspects of the job.
• Commissioner of Labor: Costello. Frankly, if Mark Costello were running for Governor, the Republican party would have my vote. Mark is one of a very few conservatives I have ever met that just intuitively understands the ideals of conservatism.
• Senate: Inhofe
• Senate (unexpired term): Though James Lankford is the only real choice here for conservatives, I won't be voting in this race either. Mr. Lankford continually frustrated me with his "go along to get along" positions while in Congress - particularly those which continue to fund the government ad infinitum. This is certainly not personal - I think Mr. Lankford a fine man personally, he's just not conservative enough for me - and again, I will no longer hold my nose and vote Republican. (Yes, please feel free to lambaste me for my comments, my shoulders are big enough to take it).
• Congress 5th District: Steve Russell 
• Congress 1st District: Jim Bridenstine
• Congress District 2, 3, 4: If I were in these districts, I would again, refuse to vote. None of these candidates are reflections of our conservative state, nor have they been in recent years. 
• Josh Brecheen must be re-elected.
• Jason Nelson must be re-elected.

• JUDGES: Please see the blog on judges.

• STATE QUESTIONS: Though I don't like monkeying with our state Constitution as a rule, I'll vote yes on all three state questions. Property taxes are flat unconstitutional (the Founders warned us not to go there). If we're going to start allowing Homestead Exemptions for certain individuals, let us now decide to ultimately release ALL property owners from such an unconstitutional, Founder-hated, tax. Though I've heard grumbling about crossing two branches of government (lawmaking and peace keeping), I don't see this as an issue here. If voters are particularly concerned about a candidate for office being in a military position, they should oppose his election. SQ 769 simply allows for the option of a candidate also serving in the military - the voters ultimately have the final say - as it should be.

NOW, GO VOTE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4th. Polls are open from 7am to 7pm.

What's The Fight Against Common Core Really All About?

Today I find that Mike Petrilli of the Bill Gates-money-accepting Thomas B. Fordham Institute in Ohio has been a busy bee!  He's not only been banging away at his computer blogging about Indiana and their failed attempt to rid themselves of Common Core, but writing our Governor to explain how important it is for Oklahoma to 'stay the course' and keep the Common Core State Standards in the face of 'opponents' (something he's done more than once).

His article from today, "Common Core: The Day After", was quite enlightening.  Here he scares us into believing it's just too expensive for states to stop utilizing the Common Core - particularly when you factor in all the money that would be lost to bailing states via federal Title 1 funding as states lost their NCLB Waivers.

Reading the article, I became more and more irritated as I began to internalize the notion that this whole Common Core Standards garbage has nothing to do with standards and everything to do with government itself.  As I was telling my friend Emmett McGroarty from the American Principals Project this afternoon, this is an 'us against them' argument.  This is civil rights and class warfare all rolled up into a neat little package wrapped with a complete lack of understanding of the origins of government in our country and tied with a bow of civics ignorance.

My comments on the article, I hope, indicate my full level of frustration:

Here’s what I always find interesting about your defense of Common Core Mike; why do you really care how states other than Ohio educate their kids? What difference does it make to the students in your state what Oklahoma does to educate Oklahoma students? You obviously care enough to continue writing our governor, ‘encouraging’ her to ‘stay the course’, but why?

Ohio – on its own – could create such cherry-on-the-top-of-the-standards-sundae standards, insuring ALL kids in Ohio were so well educated and so workforce competitive that families from across the nation wanted to move to Ohio just so their kids could compete in our fabulous new global economy! You don’t need the rest of the nation to be on board for you to do that!

Oh, wait, I forgot….Ohio can’t be trusted to do that. Ohio, just like every other state in the union must be overseen with a giant educational fly swatter of sorts to make them do the ‘right’ thing by their citizens, parents and students because they cannot do so utilizing their state’s educational devices.

So what’s ‘right’? Maybe we should define what ‘right’ actually is in terms of education. Yes, Fordham (Achieve, CCSSO and NGA) clearly knows what’s ‘right’ for the nation in terms of education, but is it really up to you to create that definition?

Doesn’t it seem at least plausible that people in their own states would best know that definition of a ‘right’ education for their own state? If not, then why have states at all? Why don’t we just open up all borders and allow every state to be ruled by one central government that knows the best definition of ‘right’ for the entire country?

Oh, sorry! I forgot! That’s what we’re on our way to doing now in education (and healthcare…and environmental protection…)! It is becoming obvious, however, that actual, factual, taxpaying citizens don’t like the idea of borderless states, or one large central government. In fact, I’m pretty sure most Oklahomans wouldn’t be super happy about being lumped into any one category with New York city folk. Isn’t that really what we’re seeing right now? The outcry from that notion?

The absolute worst problem with any of your arguments about Common Core, Mike, is that you have no idea about the actual nature of – not only people themselves – but the principals on which this nation was founded.

Yes, you can yammer all day about the importance of education ‘reform’ and how important ‘accountability’ is to this notion of ‘reform’, but the only ones to whom ANY school needs to prove educational relevance and accountability are those parents and students actually served by that school in that community. That was the greatest notion in all the ideals during the creation of America – the fact that no one was going to have the definition of ‘right’ for any state or individual. That the individual first, and then the state, had the best idea of ‘right’.

I find it nothing less than hilarious that, in the course of your Common Core apologetics, you began by saying, “This is ‘state led’”, intimating that states have all the Common Core decision-making process in their laps. Now that citizens, parents – and even students – have said NO to Common Core, your argument must originate from a different level. Now, the states can’t be trusted to make a case against Common Core because we’ll all end up with crummier standards. No matter what, so long as states are saying no to Common Core, you will find the Common Core monster in the closet that offsets that effort.

I love this line: “But it’s clear that many policymakers are under pressure to demonstrate that they are hearing and heeding opponents’ concerns.” I think it pretty much sums up the derision you have for the regular citizen Mike. We’re ‘opponents’ – saboteurs – reactionaries – idiots who are kicking at our leash because we’re simply too stuppid to understand that you really know what’s best for us. Gack.

Maybe it’s not the standards that are the problem here. Maybe it’s the fact that us ‘idiots’ are sick and tired of being told we’re too stupid to make decisions for ourselves and we should just shut up and listen to you and Bill Gates and NGA and Exxon tell us how to run the lives of our own children.

I truly suggest that before you continue down the road with your arguments aimed at nationalizing education (all the while saying you’re not in favor of that), you get a handle on basic civics and US History. Out here in flyover country, we don’t cotton much to being told what to do by city folk and we’re too stupid to think outside the box that holds our Constitution and our Bible. You’ll never get anywhere with us until you do.

Jenni White
Restore Oklahoma Public Education

Liberty, Not Common Core; Liberty, Not Education Reform

I knew my post of yesterday would create a stir - I meant for it to. 

I believe without a doubt that Americans today do very little deep thinking on any topic other than who will win The Voice this season, sadly.  How can I say such a thing?  Look at the arts for example.  How many seats does a theater sell for a play versus the number of seats the a major league sports team sells for a single game?  How did we end up with 500 channels of television and yet the number of books being sold in a year has declined nearly exponentially over the course of the last 10 years.

As I showed my husband my previous post, he shook his head and said, "Yeah, well no one's gonna get it."

I figured as much when I began the post, but that doesn't mean I won't try.  He actually went on to wax philosophic on the topic with such excellent elocution I was embarrassed at my own oratory skills (that sentence was for my English teacher mom!).  What he said, in a nutshell, was that schools need only teach the Constitution, civics and the key concepts of LIBERTY to create a populace capable of throwing off the cloak of tyranny wherever and whenever it should rear its ugly head.  I got to thinking about that and I could not deny the absolute truth of that statement.  People who understand the concepts of liberty have thriving economies where the cream rises to the top and mediocrity is soon pushed down to the bottom of the barrel.  

Unfortunately, we don't have that anymore, and that is mostly because our liberal colleges warp history at all levels.  I saw this post this morning about how liberal college professors call Hitler (of all people) a member of the right wing.  How odd.  Who would even believe that nonsense?  I mean, he was the CREATOR of the National SOCIALIST Workers Party (NAZI).

I also saw this today.  A very short (1:48) YouTube of a professor from Hillsdale College talking about just this very warping of history and how it is happening under the Common Core.  We don't STUDY the Constitution, we just compare parts of it to other documents.  We don't expect kids to understand what it means, we simply want to pay it lip service as we slide down the slippery slope of government controlled education into the sea of socialism where everyone is COMMON yet no one understands the problem with this fact.

Then you have another article I read today about how the State Longitudinal Database basis - the Data Quality Campaign (an organization created and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to make sure that states are collected information on all American students) is going to have yet a new arm.  Yes, instead of just collecting information on all STUDENTS we will now start collecting data on all students in the WORKFORCE.  Gosh.  Have we really gone so far in America that we don't understand the ramifications of that?  Do we NOT understand anymore that we DON'T educate students for jobs?

After my post yesterday, I received an email from a dear friend of mine - Howard Houchen - a fellow political activist.  Though I've known him for years, I did NOT know that his Bachelor's degree was actually in Political Science with a major in Communist Studies.

I am closing this blog with his words because they were echoed by my husband and because they mean something.  I desperately hope they mean something to you:

If others don't get it, its not your fault -- you can't MAKE them understand the history nor its magnitude.  That's a big struggle for many of us.  I've said it a thousand time -- Face it, we're nerds!

To 99% of the every day average folks, communism died around 1991.  Communism, to them, was a set of countries, not a lasting ideology.  When these countries fell, these folks believed it was THAT act which spelled the demise of an ideology and so what if N.Korea and Cuba held on -- Weirdos.

Now, we (The good ole U.S. of A.) were the victors over Communism so why would anyone contemplate America EVER adopting any policy(s) which equaled communist policy(s)?  That would be "insane"!!!  Its how people think because of the inherent trust of government Americans have evolved to have.  In two generations, Americans have accepted government as protector and provider over self-sufficiency and reliance.  Maybe a bit reluctantly but, they've accepted it nonetheless.  

Those that have could care less about history or future consequences.  The media (the 4th Branch of Government) and government itself, possesses the ability to get to people EVERY day and EVERY hour with the message (twisted as it is) THEY want to spread -- by nature, Americans have become informationally lazy and despise having to work (search) for truth.   The average American mind has been conditioned to soak up the 'institutionalized' (ABC, NBC, CBS) information, not the alternative information.  

Its not your fault or my fault the masses are unable to see truth...it's their fault combined with a centralized effort to keep them in the dark and those centralized forces have ALL the really good cards to play with!

Parents, Your Kids Belong To The Collective and This Is But One Reason Why You Can't Practice School Choice

This video of Melissa Harris Perry went viral last year. In the video she claims children belong to society - they are products for and of their community. 

Unfortunately, at least two recent blogs against Education Savings Accounts (to be heard in the OK legislature today) point to collectivism as one reason Oklahoma can't tolerate this form of school choice. While I can agree with many things said by people populating Education circles today - especially when it comes to state mandates - THIS is not - nor ever will be - one of them. 

One blogger references another blogger,

Blogger Peter Greene explains this well: "The educated human being (good grief! they are not even referred to as students here, let alone CHILDREN) who emerges from school will become our neighbor, an employee, a parent, a spouse, a voter, a (one hopes) involved citizen, a person whose job will contribute in some way to the life of the community. Everybody who will every deal with her in any of those capacities shares the benefits of that education. They are all "customers" of public education."

This is the philosophy which bore the term, STAKEHOLDER. As soon as this terminology began to emerge in conjunction with public education it was clear it was communitarian. After all, many parents will only agree to so much in the name of their child. Consequently, their child must be tied to a 'greater good' - must be anchored as the face of humanity - in order for parents to be sold many forms of community programming that might otherwise seem a usurpation of parental rights.

Do your children interact with the public? YES. Is it the job of the school to produce citizens? NO. It is strictly the job of the parent. Are all parents doing a good job at this? NO - I was a teacher for many years, I got that - but this is NOT an excuse to justify collectivism in a FREE REPUBLIC on any level. Are there non-profit organizations that help parents be better parents? YES. Should we support these as individuals? YES.

What about the notion of "involved citizen"? I guess it depends upon what kind of a citizen is desired. If it's one that believes in a collective over individual rights, I would imagine the public school system is doing a great job of that considering how little our public school students know about American government or civics - I just don't subscribe to this school of thought. 

This entire blog maintains the philosophy of America as a Democracy and posits that Big Investors are the basis for the ideals of 'school choice' because they

"do not want those parents to do things that might threaten minority rule of the rich like organizing, engaging in collective protest, exercising their democratic power to elect new school boards and demanding change in their publicly-owned schools."

First, referring to America as a 'Democracy' is a common misconception of those who do not understand - or believe in - the concept of American Constitutional government. America is a Constitutional Republic with democratic elections for our representation in government, held together by the rule of law. A true Democracy is at best, mob rule by a majority - a collective. This is NOT what our Founders intended, yet even Oklahoma's own History Standards perpetuate this lie. 

Secondly, I most certainly couldn't be labeled rich, or privileged, but I guess I'm not a collectivist because I don't understand the notion that the STATE can do a better job than individuals in any area involving personal choice. I guess I believe in individual rights as given by God and enumerated in the Constitution because I believe in the right of the individual to fail and/or succeed and as such, learn. 

(At this point the argument will turn to roads and bridges and ambulance service - oh wait, that's privately owned - to make the point that society operates as a collective for different reasons. Yes. That is true. Roads are necessity for commerce from which all residents benefit. Fire/Police service protect and defend the safety of all residents in an orderly society protected by a Constitution. How again do children fit into this picture? Conflating children and the public good is dishonest because roads/bridges/police/fire services do not have human characteristics. You simply can't take a human being with individual rights and self-awareness and slap them into a societal mold because they will - ostensibly - eventually come out to be firemen/policemen/civil engineers to perpetuate the public good.)

I'm told over and over that public education is a societal right which precludes my right as a parent to withdraw my child from the system with the money the state attaches to my child for a public education. After all, apparently I'm rich enough to pay for a state education I don't use and a homeschool education I do because the one the public offers is not appropriate for my children or family. This thought alone is massively frustrating because the public school system is producing high school graduates that can't read or do math, ostensibly because there isn't enough money in the system. Public K-12 education in Oklahoma already uses 51% of the entire budget. How much money is ever enough money to produce educated students?

I'm also told over and over that the Oklahoma Constitution provides for a 'system of free public schools' and we must obey the Constitution. The Oklahoma Constitution also specifies that public education includes only those aged from EIGHT (8) to SIXTEEN (16) years of age. This is the point, however, at which the Constitution is ignored by those citing the previous statute. If Oklahoma taxpayers were to stop paying for pre-K and Kindergarten services based on the Oklahoma Constitution, there would be screaming loud enough to be heard on the moon and it wouldn't just come from parents. 

As I've said numerous times, people are entitled to their opinions and I'll certainly stand for their ability to voice them - and so will I. Collectivist thought is not only antithetical to my belief system, it's counter to the thought process that created this country. I shun it on every level because it is dangerous on every level. Collectivist thought is responsible for global atrocities such as ethnic cleansing, it destroys work ethic and allows the state to believe they can make decisions for parents against the parent's beliefs or wishes.

My religious beliefs are most certainly up for derision by secularists and those who don't agree, but according to these, my children are gifts from God and I am to "Train them up in the way they should go so they should not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6). Christians are also told, "Children, obey [your] parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord. (Colossians 3:20) Please note, the word "public school" or "community" or any other term is present in that statement. 

Oklahoma should provide some kind of publicly-supported education for those that endeavor to use it. I'm also for eliminating public school (state and federal) mandates that force compliance while usurping money from the classroom, putting school officials in the impossible bind of having to educate more and more children with less and less classroom funding. I'm certainly willing to pay a portion of my taxes toward a 'public' education. It seems beyond eternally 'fair', however, that if the public system is not appropriate for my children, I should be able to keep some of those monies designated for their public instruction to the instruction I choose as a parent. If public schools are providing the best educational service, it doesn't make sense to me that public school officials would oppose the right of a parent to choose the education best for their child. After all, how much money would really be removed from the system in that case?

It seems to me that, so long as public schools are responding to their districts and not state/federal money-sucking mandates, school officials should be happy for parents to choose the education best for their child/children. Maybe the fight shouldn't be against 'choice in education' but mandates in education. Maybe that's where individuals from opposing world-view philosophies should work together to make public school changes for the betterment of Oklahoma parents, students, teachers, administrators and tax-payers. Seems fair to me.

"A REPUBLIC Ma'am - If you can keep it!"

For those of you who have been educated in public schools and have not done any outside reading on your own, the man above is Benjamin Franklin - a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States - an American Founding Father.

I say this in the most snarky possible way because until the other day, I had not read the 'new' Oklahoma Social Studies Standards, adopted by the State School Board in March of last year. 

For those of you who don't know, ROPE was begun when myself (Jenni) and my friend Julie McKenzie realized that young adults in America must not have been taught the fundamentals of US Government, its founding and the Constitution if we were to expand government the way we did under Bush's last term and then go on to elect Barrack Obama. 

If you don't know, our current state superintendent (Janet Barresi) told ROPE (when we complained bitterly to her about the Common Core State Standards) we shouldn't worry our silly heads about this because we would just LOVE the History standards she was working.  We would be proud of these standards because she would have prominent historian David Barton be a part of the working group to create them. 

ROPE wasn't aware there was a working group until November of last year. We didn't even know the standards had been approved until yesterday! Yes, I'm sure the Department of Education put them out for public comment, but how odd is it that a watchdog group dedicated to public education wouldn't know that the state history standards had been completed and were up for review? If we didn't know, WHAT PARENT/TAX PAYER DID?  

In fact, there is a rule change about the Oklahoma State Standards open for public comment currently (through March 25, 2013) on the State Department of Education website.  Did you know that?  Yes, here is the link, right here:   Here is the link to ALL of the current (well current until the rule change is decided) standards.  C3 is Dr. Barresi's way of taking Common Core State Standards and marrying them to standards produced in Oklahoma, producing our own (well, by way of Jeb Bush in Florida of course).  We get the best of both worlds that way, right?  Well NO.  I'll talk about the science standards in another blog!

At any rate, after meeting with David Barton last November at his Pro-Family Legislative Conference, he told us he had come to Oklahoma at Janet Barresi's invitation and had been part of the working group, but he didn't really contribute anything. He said he told the teachers assembled they needed to include American Exceptionalism in their standards and they refused.  

 American Exceptionalism is the notion that America is exceptional because we a Republic - a nation with a Constitution that protects citizens FROM their government by laws - and that our laws are derived by our CREATOR unlike those in any other nation in the world in order to impart upon us NATURAL rights that are not given by the government, nor can they be taken away by the government.  

This is more than frustrating!  How can a teacher object to that?  American history teachers don't WANT the government to be able to protect citizens from itself?  They don't want students to know they live in a country that protects their personal, individual rights through a form of government found in no other country in the world ?  Here is the video where he discusses this with Glenn Beck on his election program from last year. 

I can see why Mr. Barton was so upset. Please read the standards when you have a minute.

Our biggest complaint is on page 11.  It appears the ENTIRE set of standards is predicated on the following notion:

"The goal of civics and government is to develop literate, informed, competent, and responsible citizens who are politically aware and active and committed to the fundamental values and principles of American constitutional democracy." 

What? America is a Constitutional Democracy? NO. It is a Constitutional REPUBLIC. There is an ENORMOUS difference between the two. No wonder Barton wasn't happy with what he was hearing.  This is the same exact thing my co-founder Julie McKenzie and I fought when we first started ROPE!  We found this same nonsense in our OLD Oklahoma State Standards and tied the phrase right back to the Progressive Policy Institute!!!  Basically, Superintendent Barresi told us one thing and absolutely DID ANOTHER!  We don't have 'new' standards 'informed' (to use one of the 'educrat' terms) by David Barton, but a re-hash of the same old tired standards Oklahoma had before which are teaching children INACCURATE information!

Why are we teaching this to kids in America - especially in OKLAHOMA - the reddest state in the UNION!?  Maybe you'd better talk to our state school board and find out!