Many people ask what to do when your child is subjected to subversive or inappropriate content at school. It can happen from exposure to inappropriate media, curriculum, teacher’s comments, and even state assessments or surveys.
When it happens (not if) here are the steps to take. If it happened in the past, still try to do this process.
(If you are a teacher forced to teach this content, see step 4b)
0) Prevention (pre-vent before you “vent”)
You should do your best to prevent indoctrination in the first place. Turn in the opt out forms for subversive content, gender ideology, state assessments, and where applicable, digital surveillance of your home. These forms put educators on notice by reminding them of state laws to not touch certain subjects or administer surveys that contain such content. (https://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/action-list/opt-out-forms/)
Then talk with your child about these forms and let them know their teachers are being informed and reminded of certain things that are not to be taught. Teach your children that teachers are not allowed to shame them either (by state law) and what that looks like (embarrass them, reward others, punish them in front of the class, and otherwise coerce them into taking the tests). Give your children permission and instruction that if one of these inappropriate subjects comes up they may walk out of class. Encourage them to inform their friends as well so if the topics arise they can all walk out at once. If the teacher asks what they are doing, they can state they are going to the nurse’s office. Then make sure they absolutely refuse to speak with a school counselor.
Never make your children’s teachers into greater authority figures than you the parent. If you say, “listen to your teacher,” add, “so you can tell me anything they say that goes against what we’ve talked about at home.” If you don’t do this, children will develop a sense that their teacher who is with them all day, is always right and they are teaching them the right things in the right way. For the ultimate protection, consider homeschooling (see item 8 for links).
1) When it happens, document everything
As you proceed down these steps, keep track of previous conversations to give a summary to the next person you contact so they know the efforts you have gone through to make corrections and when they say, “did you speak to ____” you can say “yes, and this was their response.” Also, record conversations that you are able to so you have a perfect record of what was said.
Start your documentation by noting:
The school this took place at
The teacher(s) involved
What class, time(s) and date(s)
What curriculum material was used if any (book, publisher, periodical, etc…)
2) Speak with the Teacher (always speak with respect sharing your concerns, never accusatory. “Share” your concerns.)
a) Do they share your concern?
Yes: Can they and will they stop teaching subversive content?
Yes? Great! Thank the teacher for listening to your concerns. Then inform your child of the outcome and warn them to be watchful and report any infractions to you.
No? Why? Is it their own beliefs or is someone pressuring them to use this material (material can be curriculum content or assessments)? (Principal, District Administration, EDI director (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), School Board?)
b) Are they part of the problem? Document it and move to step 3.
3) Speak with the Principal
a) Do they share your concern?
Yes: Can they and will they stop subversive content from being taught?
Yes? Great! Thank the principal for listening and taking action. Make sure they have specific action steps and then follow up to make sure they are done.
No? Who is pressuring them to use this material? (EDI director (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), District Administration, School Board?)
b) Are they part of the problem? Document it and move to step 4.
4a) Report to the State Hotline
Utah has a state hotline to report specific instances of indoctrination, student shaming and bullying by teachers, and so on. If the teacher and principal cannot give you satisfaction, report everything immediately then proceed to step 5.
Quick reference: call 801-538-7813 or email audit@schools.utah.gov. Share your story with them and email your story to state board members at board@schools.utah.gov. Then also email your story to indoctrination at utahnsagainstcommoncore.com.
4b) Teacher help
If you are a teacher who is being forced to teach things against your conscience, please email your story to indoctrination @ utahnsagainstcommoncore.com and let us publish your story anonymously. We will keep you anonymous but please include sufficient information to allow us to contact you and verify your identity.
5) Speak with District/Charter School Board member
This person often can’t affect what’s happening directly in a classroom like the teacher or principal so I think it’s best to report things in step 4 and then have this conversation.
a) Do they share your concern?
Yes: Will they work to stop subversive content from being taught in the district?
Yes? Great! However, depending on the issue, the board member may or may not be able to fix the issue. If it requires board action, they (and possibly you) will have to convince others there is a problem in order for the board to take action. This is where petitions and movements often get started since the school board affects the direction of the district. Ask what they will do and how you can help.
No? Who is pressuring them to use this material? (State Board, EDI director (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), Legislature, Federal policy?)
b) Are they part of the problem? Run against them or find someone you can support to run against them. When you complete this process, publicize what their position is with regard to your concern.
6) Speak with State Board member
a) Do they share your concern? Did they read the email you sent in step 4a?
Yes: Will they work to stop subversive content from being taught in the state?
Yes? Great, but they are even further removed from the classroom. Ask what they will do and how you can help.
No? Who is pressuring them to use this material? (Legislature, EDI director (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), Federal policy?)
b) Are they part of the problem? Run against them or find someone you can support to run against them. When you complete this process, publicize what their position is with regard to your concern.
7) Speak with your House Representative and State Senator
a) Do they share your concern?
Yes: What will they do? Will they hold hearings or run a bill to stop subversive content from being taught in the state?
Yes? Ask how you can help and how to participate in the process.
No? If they agree with you and won’t or can’t do anything about it, ask if they would recommend another legislator who they think might be interested in helping and contact that person.
b) Are they part of the problem? Run against them or find someone you can support to run against them. When you complete this process, publicize what their position is with regard to your concern.
8) Next steps
Publish all your documentation.
Gather reinforcements who can help.
Speak with friends and neighbors about the problem. Have cottage meetings.
Start a petition with other like-minded parents and raise awareness.
Run for office and replace the bad actors or find others who are like-minded and willing to do it.
Write letters to the editor.
Homeschool or private school and stop financially supporting any institution that indoctrinates children (including universities). Or dual enroll (https://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/dual-enrolling-your-child/) to homeschool for the indoctrinating classes while attending school for the others. Homeschooling has come a LONG way over the last 50 years. There are excellent materials that make the job a lot easier and there are plenty of groups for kids to associate with and socialize. They can still participate at local school events with their friends too. For some excellent videos on getting started and being inspired, check out: https://www.agencybasededucation.org/options/homeschooling/
There are many great private schools available that shun Common Core and are freedom oriented. Ask around and find one.
Start a private school. Here’s a workshop discussing how:
“Am I the only one complaining?” Almost certainly not. This is a common tactic to isolate parents who are voicing their concerns. Some years ago after one particular incident in Alpine School District, I encouraged people to complain to the district. That week, three people contacted me and said the same district administrator had told all of them they were the only one to complain about the issue. Obviously he was lying to them in an effort to minimize their concerns and make them feel alone and weak.
“If I opt my kids out, do they still have to do the practice tests? I have a teacher telling my son too bad.” And: “The teacher is telling my child they will have to do a lot of extra work during the test we opted out of. Is that legal?” No. Read the state laws here: https://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/opt-out-guiding-document/
With permission I am publishing this Facebook post by Dr. Gary Thompson, one of my two favorite Utah doctors… :)
***
I received this letter last week from a political insider who worked during the Utah-Herbert/Cox Administration. I waited several days to do a background check on the writer before making this public. He/She checked out.
If you want to know why the Cox Administration will never meet with me, and quite frankly, why they are more than likely figuring out a nasty way to destroy my name and honor? Read on:
Doctor Thompson:
“Gary, you do not know me personally. I worked through__________and contacts on the UDOE, mainly ____________back in 2014-16, to try to stop the State’s work in digitizing children and creating electronic figure-prints, and using the data commercially. It was an epic failure.”
“You scared the hell out of the establishment. I suspect Gov. Herbert admin was especially concerned over the potential for you exposing them, and how they circumvented the intent of parental rights and stripped away all local control”
“And you would have exposed how they altered the legal language, so they could digitize minors for profit, while making parents responsible as the primary for exposing them, all while stripping parents of all editorial control over the classroom. You would have shown how digitizing minors completely ignored all the science behind the principle of “do no harm” .”
“And how it was never about improving educational outcomes. It was about them gaining power and the State profiting. In a word, you would have exposed the lie. And they knew you would.”
“What you may not know, is your battle exposed enough of their design as to prevent them from carrying it out in full. And it provided parents a way to take it back without having to fight the beast….”
Here is my [Gary’s] open response to the Cox Administration:
Dear Cox Administration:
I don’t want to fight you, expose you, or have ANY involvement with politics. I do not wish to be on TV, made famous by Tucker Carlson or any media talking head. I do not want to write a book, or receive monies from speaking engagements…..
All I want is to hang out with my beautiful wife and six kids, and to assist her with her efforts of providing trauma level services to the area of the State with the highest youth suicide rate in the country, and to raise my kids via the values passed on by several generations of African Americans in my family system.
Critical Race “Theory” goes directly against those values, and have a strong statistical possibility of harming both my marriage and my biracial children.
5 years ago I promised to “go away” quietly from the public spot light IF your future policies did not directly negatively affect my wife or kids.
I kept mine…but it appears to be that you may be under the direct influence of the Union, BLM, and other woke, left leaning entities which are championing CRT….thus it appears that you are thinking about breaking your promise.
I hope you have the fortitude to stop this harmful garbage in its tracks during the special legislative session coming next month. If not? You will leave me no choice but to come out like a bat out of hell to fight this on both a local and national level.
I won’t come out of this as a “winner”, but I do know this much: Neither will you.
I am more than willing to be “canceled” and shamed fighting for family my against CRT……are you willing to risk your political career and good name over this garbage?
Thank you for having the courage to advocate for your child! Gone are the days you can just sit back and hope your child will be safe at school. The following are some important steps to help you proactively advocate for your child. Please share with other concerned parents.
1) Get Educated on the Harmful Programs in Schools:
Social Emotional Learning programs groom your children to accept Critical Race Theory, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, Gender Ideology, BLM Curriculum, and intersectionality. Learn more here:
A perfect example of how they are trying to indoctrinate our teachers and students: Keynote from the Utah Pride Center’s conference for Utah Educators, held 1/23/2021 “Gender Creative Education: Building an Inclusive and Equitable Learning Community”
The school will not always tell you when something controversial is going to be taught unless you make your wishes known in unmistakable terms. These opt out forms will help you do just that!
Feel free to edit the forms to include anything not already mentioned that you do not consent to having your child taught or exposed to. For example:
“I do not consent to my child being read stories that include the topic of intersectionality, gender identity/orientation, or homosexuality ideology”
“I do not consent to my child participating in the Second Step program and I request that my child be allowed to go to the library to do an alternative assignment whenever the class is participating in these program materials.”
“I do not consent to my child participating in any discussions, activities, programs, or presentations on the topics of Cultural Proficiency/Competency/Revelance, Diversity, Equity, Inclusivity, Privilege, White Fragility, Intersectionality, Anti-Racism, Systemic Racism, bias/sensitivity training, Critical/Crucial Conversations (i.e. Critical Race Theory), Social Justice, Racial Justice, etc.”
I would recommend that you add signature lines at the bottom of each form for the principal and teachers to sign showing they read and understand your desires. Have them sign two copies of each opt-out form, one for your records and one to be kept in your child’s official file.
3) Know the Laws – and how they pertain to your parental rights and child’s learning environment. Cite these laws whenever asserting your parental authority over your child’s education:
Be sure remind your school that yours and your child’s first amendment rights are guaranteed even at school – freedom of speech, religious freedoms, and rights of conscience – and that Utah code 53G-10-402(6) states that political, atheistic, sectarian, religious, or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools (except as provided in Section 53G-10-202).
Constitutional free speech laws also protect against compelled speech of any kind (i.e. having to choose an identity group, having to state whether they are an oppressor or oppressed, having to state their own preferred pronouns, having to use someone else’s “preferred” pronouns, having to state their sexual orientation, having to admit guilt for something they didn’t do, having to say they are “racist”, have “privilege” or “power” etc.).
Utah laws protecting parental rights are cited in the attached opt-out form for “subversive content”.
You may want to edit the “sexual content” non-consent form to include the following Utah laws and Board Rules that require parental consent to be given before anything related to sexuality or gender orientation are discussed in class:
4) If your child is taught or exposed to inappropriate materials in their classroom or library:
1) Find out if your local school board approved the book, curriculum, or program. If they did not, have them remove the inappropriate materials from the classroom, and send out a formal apology to all parents in the school informing them of what happened and what actions they are taking to remedy the situation and ensure it does not happen again. If they did approve it have them remove it from the approved list.
2) Ask teacher/administrator what content on the opt-out forms have already been taught to your child so you can discuss the content with your child, share your family’s values and why these are important to you.
3) Report incident to the Utah Education Hotline: 801-538-7813, include the offending teacher or administrator’s name(s) if you suspect your complaint may require disciplinary action. Also, mail the State School Board with your concerns at board@schools.utah.gov.
5) Right to Know:
Parents have a right to know everything their children are taught. Assert your parental rights by visiting the school and insisting they let you see all books, curricula, resource materials, and computer programs being used. Ask to be logged in through the student portal so you can see what is only available through the student portals. Write down the names of any programs or curricula being used and research them at home. See attachments below for more helpful tips.
6) School Community Counsels:
Find out about your local school community councils on your school’s website and in the attachment below. This is where you as a parent can have a voice in what happens at your child’s school. Attend their meetings and work to get informed parents on the counsel or get on it yourself.
Teach them what is ok and not okay for them to be taught in school so they know when to call you. Not sure what to tell them to watch out for? Study the links in the “Get Educated” section at the beginning of this letter and then you will know.
Teach your child to trust their instincts. If something doesn’t feel right it probably isn’t. If your child is “sick” about what is being taught or presented in class or online, have them tell the teacher they “do not feel well” so they can go to the office and call you. Come up with a code word they can use when they call you so that you understand they need rescuing from the uncomfortable situation such as a fake name for a relative that if they mention it on the phone you know they are in distress (ex. “Did Uncle Charlie arrive safely?”). Be sure to follow up with the school about whatever it was that caused your child discomfort.
8) Utah Parents United:
Last, but not least, go to http://www.utahparentsunited.org/get-involved.html and join with other concerned parents and learn powerful ways you can advocate for your child! We must stand together to protect our children.
Thank you again for caring about your child enough to get involved!
Please watch these critically important videos from the 2021 Eagle Forum conference. These issues are here in Utah.
5:33 Gayle Ruzicka, Eagle Forum President speaking on the reproductive mutilation of children happening in our state. Ask your legislators to support HB 92 which prevents surgeons in Utah from performing transgender procedures on minors.
7:16 Jennie Earl (currently serving on the Utah state school board), on critical race theory and cultural Marxism.
7:35 Merrilee Boyack (Abortion-Free Utah and Family Watch International) on comprehensive sex ed in Utah schools.
7:50 Nicholeen Peck – discusses pornography happening in Utah schools through the databases children have access to. Ask your legislators to support HB 38 which requires Utah schools to block obscene and pornographic material from students.
Parents have always had the primary responsibility and authority for their children’s education but state and local authorities, and some individual classroom teachers, often bypass family concerns and legal limitations on what can be taught to children in schools.
As such, a small group of concerned citizens created this new opt-out form and sent it to me. Please download the pdf or copy/paste the below text into your word processor, print it out, sign it, and address it to your child’s teacher and principal.
It has come to my attention that many entities within public education and the community at large, are pushing an agenda into schools that diminishes the relationship between parent and child, abolishes liberty and personal responsibility, and silences the free exercise of individual conscience. Specifically, there are groups seeking to divide our nation according to oppressed and oppressor classes, a concept which is a prominent feature of Marxist ideology.
Therefore, please be informed that:
“Under both the United States Constitution and the constitution of the state of Utah, a parent possesses a fundamental liberty interest in the care, custody, and management of the parents’ children” (Utah Code § 62A-4a-201).
The state of Utah recognizes that parents have the “right, obligation, responsibility, and authority to raise, manage, train, educate, provide and care for, and reasonably discipline their children” (Utah Code § 62A-4a-201) and “supports parents through a responsive educational system that guarantees local school communities autonomy, flexibility, and client choice” (Utah Code § 53E-2-301-3).
In the implementation of “all policies, programs, and responsibilities, the Utah Legislature, the state school board, local school boards, and charter school governing boards” are required to “respect, protect, and further the interests of parents in their children’s public education”(Utah Code § 53E-2-201-2(a)). Furthermore “political, atheistic, sectarian, religious, or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools except as provided in Section 53G-10-202” (Utah Code § 53G-10-402).
The Utah Legislature envisions an educated citizenry that “encompasses foundational principles including strong moral and social values, and loyalty and commitment to constitutional government” (Utah Code § 53E-2-301).
As a parent of a child or children in this school, please be advised that:
My child/children will not participate in any activities, receive literature, read text books or literary works, view videos, attend assemblies, take assessments, or participate in any activities that disparage the United States Constitution, any of the citizen rights guaranteed by the First Amendment, capitalism, our constitutional republic, law enforcement, the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, or the founders of Utah.
I am requesting that none of the following be used in the education of my child/children:
Broad negative generalizations about race and privilege.
Ideology of an oppressed and oppressor based on characteristics or background not on individual actions. Education should allow for diverse thinking including various religious and ideological groups.
Shaming children in any way based on items listed in Utah Code § 53E-9-203. For example, environmentalism that diminishes human life or disparages family size.
Any theory of the history of the United States of America or the state of Utah that states a need for fundamental transformation of our constitutions.
Diminishing self-government and personal responsibility in favor of collectivism
Activities that focus on victim ideology and seek to divide U.S. citizens, communities, or families and pit one group against another (e.g., heterosexism, classism, ableism, racism, Marxism, intersectionality, white fragility, identity grouping, privilege, etc…).
Furthermore, any literature, curriculum materials, assemblies, guest speakers, other media or communication made available from or through political /advocacy groups — especially those associated with “Critical Theory” or “Critical Race Theory” should not be used in the public school environment. (e.g. Black Lives Matter Inc., The 1619 Project, Comprehensive Sexuality Education, etc…)
In accordance with the parameters stated in Utah law, none of the below topics are to be addressed in the curriculum of children in the state of Utah without written parental consent (Utah Code § 53E-9-203).
“political philosophies;…
sexual behavior, orientation, or attitudes;
illegal, anti-social, self-incriminating, or demeaning behavior;
critical appraisals of individuals with whom the student or family member has close family relationships;
religious affiliations or beliefs;…”
Educators are required to “comply with all federal, state, and local laws” (R277-217-3) which includes the following prohibited conduct (R277-217-2-23) “exclude a student from participating in any program, deny or grant any benefit to a student, or encourage a student to develop a prejudice on the basis of: (a) race; (b) color; (c) creed; (d) sex; (e) national origin; (f) marital status; (g) political or religious belief; (h) physical or mental condition; (i) family, social, or cultural background; (j) sexual orientation; or (k) gender identification;” LEA’s are required to report violations to the UPPAC (R277-217-5).
I give full consent for the below items to be integrated into the education of my child/children as stated in Utah law (Utah Code § 53-10-204).
“respect for and an understanding of the Declaration of Independence and the constitutions of the United States and of the state of Utah;
Utah history, including territorial and preterritorial development to the present;
the essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system;
respect for parents, home, and family;
the dignity and necessity of honest labor;
and other skills, habits, and qualities of character which will promote an upright and desirable citizenry and better prepare students to recognize and accept responsibility for preserving and defending the blessings of liberty inherited from prior generations and secured by the Constitution.”
Foundational changes being called for by a few will result in the destruction of law and order, healthy families, peace and prosperity, private property rights, and life. This is evidenced by the riots and other alarming behavior currently taking place around our nation. It is a lawful mandate, and my expectation, that public schools preserve a lawful citizenry that will carry forward the legacy and freedom ideals of this great nation.
With permission from Dr. Sandra Stotsky, below is an article she wrote that appeared in the New Boston Post about solving Common Core in Massachusetts (or any state).
Utah needs to replace the standards and what Dr. Stotsky outlines below is great for a broad statewide base. However, in my view, it would be better if school districts and charter schools were allowed to set their own standards and just have the state issue broad graduation guidelines. Instead of the SAT/ACT/SAGE/RISE/Aspire tests have students take the Classical Learning Test. When teachers teach to that test, it will be a higher level of learning with more quality materials used to ensure their students perform better. And stop all the database tracking of students. It’s insane and a violation of privacy.
Now Dr. Stotsky:
With the onset of Common Core, Massachusetts’s education standards for public schools have declined. How can the state regain lost ground?
It’s actually not that hard. Solid standards already exist. What’s needed is the will to implement them.
Massachusetts can again develop effective non-Common Core standards for mathematics and English/reading if the state legislature requires either a return to the state’s pre-Common Core standards in English language arts/reading, science, or mathematics, or the development of K-12 standards in mathematics and in English/reading with the following features and guiding policies.
In mathematics:
1. Standards for all basic arithmetical operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, short and long division) and standard algorithms should be taught at the same grade levels as in Singapore Math’s original series for the elementary grades. The four operations should be learned with all the real numbers, positive and negative, and fractional forms like common fractions, decimals, and percents.
How do we know Singapore Mathematics works? Three Massachusetts public elementary schools in the North Middlesex Regional School District (which serves Ashby, Pepperell, and Townsend, all along the New Hampshire border) began teaching it in 2000. The results were encouraging, as articles here, here, here, and here show.
2. Standards that enable all children in public elementary schools to be prepared via their mathematics curriculum to enroll in and complete a traditional Algebra I course in grade 7 or 8 before going on to advanced science and math in high school. Before 2010, about half of all grade 8 Massachusetts students had completed a traditional Algebra I course before entering grade 9. It sets them up for success in science, which depends on math.
3. Standards/lessons from Dolciani-authored or co-authored mathematics textbooks in grade 8 and above, where possible. Mary P. Dolciani and the publisher Houghton Mifflin were known as the “king and queen” of secondary mathematics texbooks — from the 1960s to the 1990s. Dolciani died in 1985. Many, perhaps most, secondary algebra teachers in this country were trained on Dolciani-authored textbooks and continue to value them for their structure and method.
As one teacher commented: “The books were literate in their context, never watered down, but not so abstract that a high school student couldn’t read and follow. What makes this book so unique is the fact that mathematical induction is introduced in Chapter 3 and is carried throughout the book. Normally mathematical induction is included at the end of a precalculus text and is never covered. No other precalculus book prior or since has used this approach. Mathematical induction is a proof-driven treatment for the topics which follow. It makes the students think in a logical manner and enables them, by proof, to understand the full argument of why certain ‘things happen’ in math as they do.”
4. Standards for Euclidean geometry (with proofs) addressed in separate units in grades 6, 7, and/or 8 (as in Singapore Math), along with standards for separate algebra units, or in a full course in grade 9.
5. Standards that enable high-achieving math students to enroll in and complete a traditional Algebra II course in grade 10 or 11 and to study trigonometry or a pre-calculus course in grade 11 or 12.
In English/reading:
1. In the primary grades, explicit reading instruction with systematic phonics/phonemic awareness. Usage/grammar/roots and prefixes/suffixes, as well as sentence structure and spelling (in other words, writing mechanics) should also be taught.
2. Standards in grades 3-8 that require about half of what all elementary students read in whole-class history or language arts lessons to come from the excellent series of informational books on historical people and events in U.S. and world history published in the 1950s and 1960s by Random House Publishers. See this link.
3. Standards in grades 9-12 that require all high school students to become familiar with historically and culturally significant whole works from the following ten Literary Periods: Classical (1200 BCE–455 CE); Medieval (455 CE–1485 CE); Renaissance (1300–1660): Restoration and 18th Century (1660–1790); Colonial and Early National (1600–1830): Romantic (1790–1870): Realism and Naturalism (1870–1910); Modernist (1910–1945); Post World War II (1945–1980); and Contemporary (1980-2020). (“BCE” here refers to “Before Common Era,” often rendered “B.C.” elsewhere; “CE” here refers to “Common Era,” often rendered “A.D.” elsewhere.) Most of these Literary Periods are spelled out in an appendix in the latest version of Florida’s English language arts standards (page 165), together with the names of authors whose works illustrate their features and a list of the features themselves.
4. Standards for a coherent literature/reading curriculum for K-12 that address, as did the Massachusetts pre-Common Core English language arts/reading standards, all four major types of literature: poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and dramatic literature. See the appendices in the latest version of Florida’s English language arts standards for lists of recommended titles and authors, from K to grade 12, for poetry, fiction, and dramatic literature.
5. Reading lists showing titles or authors of well-known informational texts in these literary periods that serve as historical context for the literary works selected by the English teacher for classroom instruction. Appendix A and Appendix B in the 2013 version of the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework (which is a condensed version of the 2001/4 English Language Arts Curriculum Framework, composed by Sandra Stotsky) contain lists of recommended authors for K-8 informational reading (vetted by The Horn Book editors and listed under “essays” or “nonfiction” or “historical documents”), as well as recommended authors for 9-12 (vetted by a diverse group of literary scholars).
6. Reading passages for test items for each tested grade that come from works by authors in these literary periods. As a committee of Massachusetts secondary school English teachers recommended after the first edition of its English standards in 1997, about 60 percent of the passages should be literary, and 40 percent non-literary. Passages from well-known speeches or biographies may be literary or non-literary. (Again, for lists, see the appendices of the recent Florida English Language Arts standards.)
For teacher licensure or certification in Massachusetts:
1. All elementary, early childhood, and special education teachers (grades K-6) should continue to be required to pass the Reading Licensure Test (MTEL 90) developed in Massachusetts in 2001/2 (or its equivalent). This licensure test helped all teachers of young children to teach beginning reading so effectively that Massachusetts students on average earned first place on National Association of Educational Progress tests in grade 4 and grade 8 in reading and in mathematics from 2005 on. (Reading is crucial in mathematics because of word problems.) Massachusetts students still have the highest state averages in the country, probably because many teachers use the methods they learn to pass the test.
For a description of the Reading Licensure Test’s development, see here.
2. All prospective elementary, early childhood, and special education teachers should be required to take and pass the Bay State’s elementary mathematics licensure test (MTEL 53). The skills the test forces teachers to learn helped Massachusetts students earn first place on National Association of Educational Progress tests from 2009 on. This test has a relatively low pass rate overall.
3. All cut-off scores for performance levels on all student or teacher tests should be set by Massachusetts parents, grade 11 or 12 teachers, and state legislators — instead of using the cut-off scores the state is given from outside the state and/or from the United States Department of Education.
4. The state’s board of higher education and governor need to require the mathematics, science, and English teaching faculty at each public college or university in the state to analyze the state’s current high school standards for grades 9-12, and issue a signed public report containing their analysis.
5. The governor and state secretary of education need to ask the math and English teaching faculty at each public college in the state to recommend in writing what standards should be added or changed to make sure that Massachusetts high school students are prepared for freshman and sophomore credit-bearing courses at that college if they plan to attend college in Massachusetts.
Stopping the Nonsense, and Strengthening Public Education
The chief purpose of a standards revision committee would be to strengthen public education in Massachusetts in order to remedy recent federal and state policies designed for low achievers. All students once learned that, regardless of academic achievement, they were politically equal to each other in our civic culture, with a shared civic identity. Yet, policy makers and philanthropists have led low achievers to believe they haven’t succeeded in school because of bigoted educators and communities.
As my last four books try to make clear, all parents and educators must revive the civic mission of their own public schools, and actively help to restore educated citizenship as the goal of K-12 public education. They will also have to help the state legislature to nullify the four-year state “plan” in education that was submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in 2016 for approval under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act without state legislative approval.
Academic standards in public schools aren’t hopeless, but they need help. It starts with the will to do something about them.
Sandra Stotsky, former senior associate commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is professor of education emerita at the University of Arkansas.
To you teachers on the front lines trying your best to teach the truth to children while under assault from the many treasonous pressures brought to bear on you, I applaud you and pray for you. To you teachers seeking to indoctrinate our students, and to those other “useful idiots” of Lenin’s who are subverting good teachers everywhere, I pray for you for entirely different reasons.
Marxism in Common Core Standards?
In 2012, then Senator Margaret Dayton invited me to join her in a meeting with then Lt. Governor Greg Bell to discuss the Common Core standards and the agenda behind it. After introductions, the Lt. Gov. said something like, “I’ve read these standards and there’s no Marxism in them.” I immediately knew what had happened. Someone in the state office of education had told him that we believed the standards taught Marxism and that by reading them he would see we were just loonies and worried about nothing.
I explained this was a straw-man argument the state office set up to make us look bad and be easy to knock over. I explained that although the standards were weak, nobody had ever said they had Marxism in them. We then dove into other aspects of the Common Core agenda designed to take over the education system nationally and then globally, and everything I was aware of at that time.
Shall Exit vs. May Exit
The Lt. Governor took a page or two of notes and was very concerned about the state of things. He asked me to draft a bill to protect Utah from federal encroachment. That bill became SB 287 and was passed into law in the 2012 session with Governor Herbert signing it. Unfortunately, the language of the bill was amended to read “the state may exit” instead of my original language, “the state shall exit.” I believe this was done at the behest of the governor’s office, and of course the state office of education.
A couple years later, Governor Herbert appeared on The Blaze TV program with Glenn Beck and when asked about federal encroachment in education and Common Core said, citing this law, “We have a law that says if any of this federal overreach somehow gets into our [education] system, we are mandated to get out of it.” That was completely false since the bill didn’t pass into law that way, but it made the Governor sound strong and gave a false reassurance to people that Utah was protected.
Over these past years, despite being warned repeatedly about federal encroachment, nothing was ever done to get Utah out of these predicaments.
Warnings Ignored
One of the other things we’ve been warning about for over a decade is the influence of Bill Ayers, John Goodlad, Linda Darling-Hammond, and others in pushing dangerous agendas into our school system. What is this dangerous agenda? Marxism but in its most clever disguises. Not in the standards, but in the curriculum, the assessments, and pumped into the heads of teachers by perverted colleges of education and professional development classes that twist the truth to make America ugly.
Just as some declare the perverse idea that communism is a form of charitable living, Marxism today is being sold under the benign sounding banner of “social justice.” But what is it? It’s about treating different people unequally while claiming to make them equal. At its core, it’s an assault on all Western values – faith, family, and freedom. They know those are the obstacles to achieving political domination. Interestingly, the very people promoting social justice are the first to condemn fascism while simultaneously promoting its fraternal twin sibling, communism.
Marxism is “the socialist philosophy and political program developed by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels” (Wiktionary). Social justice is part and parcel of Marxism. As Orwell said, some are “more equal” than others in a supposedly equal system.
When Charlotte Iserbyt worked at the US Department of Education under Ronald Reagan, she was shocked at just how bad things were 40 years ago. She called the federal Department of “Education” a “Marxist factory” and for years smuggled out documents proving the case for what they were doing to American children. You can download a free pdf of the 900 page book she wrote called “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America” from here:
I highly recommend spending some time on her site. She has done a tremendous work and service to America.
I’m not sure if she was aware of this statement during her time there, but I know she would agree they achieved this goal.
“Among the elementary measures the American Soviet government will adopt to further the cultural revolution are…[a] National Department of Education…the studies will be revolutionized, being cleansed of religious, patriotic, and other features of the bourgeois ideology. The students will be taught the basis of Marxian dialectical materialism, internationalism and the general ethics of the new Socialist society.” –William Z. Foster, Toward Soviet America, 1932 National Chairman of the American Communist Party (1933-44, 1945-57)
The communists knew they had to get the youth and destroy their foundations. President Carter was the one who finally started up the national department of education. How did the communists get so entrenched into our education system? I’m glad you asked.
The Non-Profit Organizations
Do you know why the Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller non-profit organizations contribute millions of dollars to the education system? (Oh and I shouldn’t leave out the Gates Foundation but they weren’t around yet for this part.)
The Reese hearings back in the 1950’s took a close look at the tax-free foundations. Norman Dodd was the primary investigator. Alger Hiss was convicted as a Soviet spy while serving as president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. A true Orwellian naming convention meaning the exact opposite. Hiss was replaced by Joseph Johnson. Dodd contacted Johnson to request an interview but Johnson was busy, and not yet knowing what he was sitting on, told Dodd he could just come look through the minutes of their meetings. Dodd pounced on this and found lengthy discussions about the actions of the foundations. From the 1911 minutes of the Carnegie group, they discussed the question, “Is there any means known to man more effective than war, assuming you wish to alter the life of an entire people?” After discussing this for a year, another set of minutes stated, “How do we involve the United States in a war?” In 1917, the minutes showed they congratulated themselves on the wisdom of their actions and had the brashness to telegram President Wilson informing him not to end the war too quickly. War devastates families and enriches those that own the military industrial complex companies.
Dodd then spoke with Rowan Gaither who was president of the Ford Foundation who openly said, the purpose of their foundation’s efforts was “to so alter life in the United States as to make possible a comfortable merger with the Soviet Union.“When Mr. Dodd suggested they make those efforts public, Mr. Gaither declined and stated that for public consumption they are guided by the 10 commandments and the constitution. This is the textbook definition of a “secret combination” or conspiracy. Publicly you put on one face while privately working to undermine a system.
These foundations have been promoting Marxism in gradual doses to bring America to the point it is a socialist nation.
The above information in this small section can be found in chapter 4 of the book, “How the World Really Works” by Alan B. Jones, which is in turn, a summary of “The Tax-Exempt Foundations” by William McIlhany.
Listen to former Secretary of Agriculture, Ezra Taft Benson share what Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev told him during a visit to America about gradual doses of socialism they were pumping into our nation.
The goal of Marxism is revolution, which stunningly, we see in America today with Black Lives Matter’s leadership openly stating they have been trained in Marxism and implementing revolution in the streets of America. It’s not about helping Black people, it’s about destroying capitalism and replacing our form of government with a communist utopia (dictatorship). This is why the de-fund police movement exists: to further push America into anarchy where institutions of law and order are eradicated and militarized Marxists fill the power vacuum. Anyone supporting this movement is an enemy of freedom and America.
Destroying Capitalism
How do you destroy capitalism? You have to destroy the middle class. Then you just have a working class where everyone is “equal” and needy, working for a ruling class that is just a little more equal. That is the essence of communism. Be in charge, till the next coup where you will be denounced and held out as a traitor for someone else to step into leadership. That’s the story of the transition of leadership in the USSR during the 20th century. Each leader was replaced by one who essentially called their predecessor’s traitors for living off the people…
The destruction of the middle class of America would never happen unless it was an inside job. The communists knew this and developed a comprehensive plan to accomplish it. Bring financial pressure on the people, erode their confidence in their own history, take over one or both of the major political parties, eliminate obscenity laws by calling them censorship, discredit the American Founding Fathers, take over the education system including schools of education where teachers are indoctrinated to in turn pass it on to students, and much more.
Cleon Skousen identified 45 of the communist goals for destroying America and that list was then entered into the official congressional record by a *Democrat* lawmaker from Florida in 1963. Here’s a link to read the 45 goals which every American should know.
Almost every single goal on the list can be clearly seen as accomplished. Six of them have to do with education such as softening our curriculum (ex. Common Core) and taking over our teacher’s unions and associations. It’s had tremendous success by well-placed change agents across all segments of America. Hollywood breaks down our culture, governmental officials push for straight out communism, our children are taught nonsense, and our rights are constantly under attack. Recent pandemic events are more evidence where middle class business owners were told to abandon their businesses for weeks and months on end, while big business interests with more power and clout were deemed *essential* and allowed to stay open. Tremendous damage was done to American lives, not from Covid-19, but from government intervention policies.
The Communist Manifesto: Free Public Education
When Marx and Engle wrote the Communist Manifesto, they included 10 core planks. One of them was to have a free public education system. It’s no wonder public education doesn’t teach about the dangers of Marxism. It’s got a vested self-interest in concealing the truth about its origin.
“Oh but Oak, Thomas Jefferson wanted free public education. See, our founders wanted it too!!!”
OK, what was the difference between Marx and Jefferson on public education?
Public Education Views
Jefferson
Marx
Goal
Preservation of our liberty through knowledge, character, and moral education
Workforce training and revolution
Responsibility
Equal opportunity for Students
Equal outcomes for Students – Teachers become levelers via social justice
Advancement
Meritocracy
End class-based society (by creating mass poverty)
Financing & Direction
Decentralized – Locally financed and operated
Centralized – State financed and operated (removed from locals)
Curriculum
Locally chosen
State chosen
Values
Judeo-Christian Biblical values
Morally relative atheism
It makes sense that locally, parents gather, talk about what’s best for their children, and ensure they get educated. The parents stay involved and they keep costs under control because they are directly responsible for them. No one gets between them and their children. With Marx, someone is always meddling with your family values and beliefs in the name of ensuring they are taught *the right things* by *the right people.* DANGER WILL ROBINSON.
Social Justice isn’t about Equality
Why was Common Core created the way it was? Listen to one of the authors…it was for social justice (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI11e3a0Q0k – 4:55 mark). The authors wanted to slow things down. Dumb down the bright students (see Charlotte’s work above if you’re in doubt of this) and give the lower capacity students a better chance to be at the same level. IE. Marx’s equal outcome.
Jefferson would have been strongly against social justice even in education. He was all about letting the best and the brightest of both the rich and the poor advance as far as they were able to. This is what Jefferson said on differences in public classes.
“By… [selecting] the youths of genius from among the classes of the poor, we hope to avail the State of those talents which nature has sown as liberally among the poor as the rich, but which perish without use if not sought for and cultivated.” –Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XIV, 1782. ME 2:206
In other words, let all be educated, help all to excel, and hold no one back. No social justice here.
Here’s the truth. If you believe in social justice, you’re either ignorant of what it means, or you’re anti-American. Most Americans are ignorant of what social justice is because they don’t understand Marxism. They have been taught a perverted form of charity to take care of the poor using governmental powers to confiscate the hard-earned wealth of the producers (which never reaches the poor). For those of you in the ignorant camp, please read Thomas Sowell’s essay, “The Quest for Cosmic Justice.”
There is nothing “just” about social justice. It is injustice. Social justice is Marxism. It’s the gospel of greed and envy. It’s the systematic destruction of institutions that uphold society, particularly the traditional family values passed on from parent to child. Instead of “work hard, get a good education, and take care of your family,” it’s “we were wronged” or as they push on the other side, “we are guilty.”
To paraphrase a prophet in the Book of Mormon, if you want justice, be just. If you want mercy, be merciful. You cannot have justice while seeking revenge or reparations (Alma 41:14). He also said, (speaking to the poor who had built synagogues of worship and then got cast out of them because they were too poor for the rich to let them in), don’t revile against your oppressors “lest ye become sinners like unto them.” I think Martin Luther King would have shared these sentiments.
One cannot be a patriotic American and favor social justice because the very foundation of America is “all men are created equal.” Not “all men should be made equal.” A conservative or liberal can be a patriotic American. But a Leftist cannot be a patriotic American. By definition they seek to overthrow the freedom of every individual and institution of traditional America.
Today’s education system is infested by Leftists. Our college schools of education pass on these subversive ideas to students who will become teachers, and they in turn pass them on to children who are indoctrinated in principles of evil. Our schools today are indeed Marxist factories.
Today’s families will need to sacrifice more by homeschooling their children or very carefully selecting individual classes and teachers that their children will actually be safe in, and by safe, I mean free of indoctrination from those that would poison their minds. I was personally made aware of two Alpine school district middle school teachers about 10 years ago teaching children that “communism isn’t that bad.” The families involved were completely caught off guard. The teachers were nice people and they had no idea they had these sentiments. Unless you speak with your children about what they are actually learning, you’d never know.
If anyone is under the illusion this has stopped in Utah, feel free to keep your head buried in the sand.
National Education Indoctrination Association
Who else is pushing this indoctrination into our classrooms? Of course, there’s the National Education Association (NEA) who promotes social justice and gets all their affiliates to do it as well.
“Someone really is after us… (the NEA and its affiliates) have been singled out because of our political power and effectiveness at all levels — because we have the ability to help implement the type of liberal social and economic agenda that (they) find unacceptable.”
–Robert H. Chanin, National Education Association general counsel
The NEA is not about education. It’s about pushing an agenda.
Utah Education Indoctrination Assocation
In a recent conversation I got into on Facebook with former UEA president Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh, she indicated that “racial and social justice is critical” because that’s how to “create a great public school for EVERY child.” Yeah. It’s working out really well I think, if your goal is to INCREASE racial tension and disparity. Minorities feel underprivileged and envious, while white kids feel guilt. The truth is, there is no systemic racism in America. If you think there is, spend a little time on Prager U listening to some of the Black individuals like Larry Elder talking about real statistics:
School children should not be subjected to this indoctrination not only because it isn’t factual, but because their brains aren’t even developed to be able to handle this kind of information. That’s why the indoctrination is done early because children can’t tell what’s happening to them. They should be focused on getting an education in the core subjects and not be subjected to this nonsense.
If you are a teacher paying dues to the UEA, you are aiding and abetting in the demise of the U.S. Constitution. If you are doing it because you need insurance, look for an alternative.
Utah State Office of Education (now going by the name Utah State Board of Education)
The current Utah State Superintendent of education, Sydnee Dickson, in a recent streaming event mentioned a couple things of concern.
After announcing herself “as a white woman of privilege,” (2:24:08) she went on to share that “as leaders we have a responsibility to create mechanisms for systemic change” (2:25:10).
This is a statement of more changes to come, but what are some of the systemic changes Utah is currently experiencing?
“Most recently Sydnee served on the national CCSSO writing committees for the InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards and the refresh of the ISLLC standards for preparing school leaders.”
What is InTASC? It’s the “Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium” and they are creating social-emotional learning standards for our children. Hmmm, what’s that?
From this news article on the Canyon’s school district website, we see Superintendent Dickson tell us we have “evolved” from character and civic education and are now moving toward a program endorsed by the U.S. Dept. of Education (giant red flag) to teach the social-emotional learning children need through a program endorsed by CASEL.
“Having evolved from ‘character or civic education,’ it’s building momentum alongside a growing body of research supporting its use, says Utah’s State Superintendent of Public Instruction Sydnee Dickson, who also spoke at the symposium. ‘We know more about brain research than we ever have before, and social-emotional learning is part of that…’
The ‘Second Step’ curriculum that Canyons is adopting is endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL). It’s lessons are designed to help students from kindergarten to eighth grade manage emotions, solve problems in a positive way, demonstrate empathy, and focus during class.”
Who is CASEL? Their website homepage (https://casel.org/) says they “stand against racial injustice.” They created a program to combat this called Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and state, “SEL is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”
That sounds just peachy! Lets fight racial injustice by helping children understand and manage emotions? But shouldn’t that just happen by building friendships? What’s their idea of how this will work? Have a look at their equity webinar (https://casel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/equity-webinar-FINAL.pdf). On page 15 we see this:
“In addition to required funding, striving for educational equity challenges us to examine biases and interrupt inequitable practices. We can then create inclusive, multicultural school environments that reveal and cultivate the interests and talents of children, youth, and adults from diverse backgrounds (Nat’l Equity Project).”
“Justice-oriented global citizenship as a developmental imperative to address inequities (i.e., education, health, wealth and environment) and promote collective wellbeing ”
“Situated in global history of power, privilege, oppression, resistance, empowerment, and self-determination/liberation that is raced, classed, aged and gendered”
“Schools and classrooms as mini-polities”
“SEL as a viable lever for justice-oriented civic/sociopolitical development trajectories”
THIS IS STRAIGHT OUT MARXISM! Karl Marx couldn’t have written it better. In fact, I think CASEL channeled him to do it! Multi-culturalism, justice-oriented global citizenship (redistribution of wealth, global carbon taxes, etc…), treating minorities as “more equal” than majorities, and reorienting civics through emotional manipulation and behavior modification of our children, and Utah is implementing it with the full involvement of our State Superintendent!
Knowing Sydnee Dickson is a nice person to talk to, doesn’t mean she isn’t completely wrong on these things. She’s a product of dozens of conferences where this is all presented as the next best thing in education. Unless someone intentionally looks at Marxism and it’s goals and methods, you will not see why promoting these things CAUSES PROBLEMS INSTEAD OF SOLVING THEM. You become the problem instead of the solution. You get led where a change agent wants you to look so they can then alter your thinking by giving you a little truth and mixing in a set of lies and making it all sound important and right.
If you really want to know why kids are having mental and social issues in the classroom, how about being compelled to learn, sit in a chair for 990 hours a year, and have their core values and beliefs challenged as they are marched toward socialism and forced to confront things that aren’t natural for children to confront? This will inevitably lead to further intrusions into their home life which is where these people really want to affect change. We can clearly see this is the goal. Search this page for the word “family” and you’ll find some alarming things (https://www.utahnsagainstcommoncore.com/offfeded). More on the family assault below…
Change agents
Change agents use Marxist tactics of twisting truth to make it more palatable. Occasionally they spout off something that reveals their true motives and agenda. When someone or a group follows these people (like the UEA, a school district administration, a university education department), and they get confronted with a quote like those below, their typical answer is, “well, I don’t agree with that statement but they have a lot of other stuff they’ve said which is great.” That’s called being a useful idiot. Lending your support to an individual who at their core has an evil agenda simply because you support some others of their statements. Lets start with an example of the indoctrination CASEL put out in page 8 of their guide.
Look at this cute picture. Any educator looking at this graph knows this is what we want, right. We want each child to have the support to have a chance to eat the fruit. Some need more help.
In reality, what these programs do cannot be described as equality or equity. The first thing they do to help the *less smart* kids is cut off the legs of the other students who excel above them.
Then when they determine the poor student is still learning, they cut down the tree and tell them “eat all you want” while the fruit rots and the tree dies.
To make everyone a winner, nobody can be a winner.
Let me give you some examples. Ever heard of Jaime Escalante? He’s the teacher in California that taught the class of *rejected students* calculus and had such incredible success they made the movie “Stand and Deliver” about it. How did he do this? High expectations. He expected the “stupid kids” to reach the fruit. That “Equality” picture above was his classroom where the students couldn’t reach the fruit and he did what any great teacher does. He helped his students reach the fruit when nobody said they could and he did it by making them work hard and not putting up with anything less than success. He gave them legs to stand on. Watch the movie.
What ever happened to him? He was too successful and embarrassed other teachers so the school district shut down his program. Tree felled.
Around 2000, California created the “green dot standards” for math. This was a program where instead of “a mile wide and inch deep” standards everyone talks about, they put green dots next to some standards and told teachers to spend 85% of their time on those standards. They were the key to mathematical learning. What happened?
California experienced massive success in increasing proficiency in algebra by 8th grade. The most awesome success came among minorities as they experienced up to a 6x increase in proficiency. This is a direct result of having high expectations and standards, and helping every student achieve. Equity achieved, right?
Seeing this incredible success, what did California do?
Dropped the program and adopted Common Core.
Progress lost. Now everyone can be equally dumb. No more smart kids whether they are white, black, or other minorities. Then chop up the tree after it’s down by reducing the difficulty of college exams so everyone feels good about their dumbed-down learning.
When I served on the Utah Elementary Math Education Committee a few years ago, as part of an opportunity for parents to review Common Core standards, I tried to show the committee the amazing success California had with these green dot standards. I waited for an opportune moment when one of the state office of education employees, Diana Suddreth, left the room. I knew that was my chance to share this success story. I passed out a flier I’d prepared with some of this information to the 15 member panel and shared why I thought Utah should adopt these standards. Unfortunately, Diana returned and completely shut down the conversation. The state office is not interested in success stories that change the status quo. They have their fiefdom and don’t want it disturbed.
Change agents are at work in every aspect of education. They often don’t even know they’ve been co-opted to serve in that capacity because they’ve been indoctrinated by master change agents who make things sound so great and only occasionally reveal the underlying goal. One goal (of the communists mentioned above) is to modify the behaviors and attitudes of children and the first step is always to soften the curriculum and reduce learning so they aren’t able to clearly see what’s happening to them. Our masters want a dumbed-down population that can’t tell what’s happening to them.
Lets look at a few specific change agents who are fully aware of what they are doing.
In an address to the Childhood International Education Seminar in 1973, Dr. Chester M. Pierce, Harvard Professor of Education and Psychiatry, said:
“Every child in America entering school at the age of five is insane because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well – by creating the international child of the future.”
Now what do you think Chester has been working on for decades in his research and instruction to teachers? Interestingly, he is also noted for coining the term microaggression.
Remember “Blooms hierarchy you learned about in school and how you become self-actualized at the highest level? Here’s a definition of his you probably didn’t hear about in school.
“…a student attains ‘higher order thinking’ when he no longer believes in right or wrong. A large part of what we call good teaching is a teacher´s ability to obtain affective objectives by challenging the student’s fixed beliefs. …a large part of what we call teaching is that the teacher should be able to use education to reorganize a child’s thoughts, attitudes, and feelings.”
-Benjamin Bloom, psychologist and educational theorist, “Major Categories in the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives,” pg. 185
Here’s a quote from John Goodlad, identified by Charlotte Iserbyt as “America’s premier change agent.” He was hired by “conservative” BYU and worked there from 1983 to 1985. Then he founded the National Network for Educational Renewal and BYU signed on as a charter university and stayed with his organization till 2010, even hosting one of his conferences in 2006 I believe.
Many of his conferences included how to put social justice and LGBT teaching into classrooms. The only reason they dropped the NNER affiliation is because we discovered it and made a stink about it and the education department said they were dropping their membership “for financial reasons.” Yeah, as word got out that they were taking instructions from an atheist, humanist, socialist, I’d guess some donors and trustees threatened to turn off the spigot.
This is Goodlad:
“Most youth still hold the same values of their parents… if we do not alter this pattern, if we don’t resocialize, our system will decay.”
– John Goodlad, Schooling for the Future, Issue #9, 1971
“Public education has served as a check on the power of parents, and this is another powerful reason for maintaining it.” – John Goodlad, Developing Democratic Character in the Young, pg. 165
“[schools] should liberate students from the ways of thinking imposed by religions and other traditions of thought.” -John Goodlad, “Education and Community,” in Democracy,Education, and the Schools, Roger Stone, pg. 92.
B. Y. U.
If “conservative” BYU has such serious issues, you know pretty much every other university does as well.
Goodlad worked with BYU to create a Public School Partnership that pushed his books and doctrine into 5 major school districts around BYU (Provo, Alpine, Nebo, Wasatch, and Jordan). This is why so many of them are promoting social justice, because it comes from a socialist into the teacher college, which teaches teachers, who teach our children. Here’s one specific example of a math educator at BYU who loves teaching new teachers all about social justice:
One of Marx’s goals was the destruction of the family. Social justice demands it. It isn’t fair that some kids get good families and others don’t.
I know a family that moved from one area in Alpine school district to another so they could switch schools because their straight A daughter was given a B on an assignment she did perfectly solely because the teacher wanted her to know what it was like to not get a perfect grade and be like everyone else. There’s social justice for you, a toxic teacher punishing a student doing her best in the name of fairness.
President Johnson’s war on poverty had a devastating effect on Black communities by subsidizing single parents but taking away the subsidies if they got married. This gave rise to unwed parents and a lack of fathers in the home, which in turn caused tremendous problems. Watch here for some shocking statistics compiled by Glenn Beck.
Then listen to this segment by Glenn on the groups of people with influence openly advocating that we need to do away with the traditional family concept because it promotes capitalism. The last 10-15 minutes of the audio is key for the quotes, but all 30 minutes is worth listening to.
Here’s a quote from Sophia Lewis who runs the “Family Story project”:
“That’s something I want to challenge, the idea that babies belong to anyone—the idea that the product of gestational labor gets transferred as property to a set of people.”
Pure Marxism. Abolish the family and make children the property of the community so they are raised away from parents who might influence their values toward a set of unacceptable beliefs (religious, liberty oriented, etc…)
Here’s a link to their twisted attack on the family, “embracing family justice for all.”
If you are for social justice, you are for the destruction of the family. You can’t separate ideology and say, “I’m for this piece of Marxism that I agree with, but not the rest.” By embracing any of it, you lend your voice and influence to all of it. You aid and abet the enemies of freedom. Your agreement with part gives others that trust you, permission and direction to embrace it and go further. Social justice warriors are promoting the destruction of the family, the end of capitalism, the end of the Constitution, the end of order, and the creation of a new world order: global communism headed by the world’s elites. We are living in “1984” and “Animal Farm.”
The 1619 Project: More Marxist Lies
The newest assault to destroy America is coming from the radical 1619 Project the New York Times is launching. This is yet another attempt to show how evil those white people were that came to America. This project will only further divide America, increase racial tension through promoting lies, and set back race relations by decades.
Even BYU has a web page on “Race, Equity, & Belonging” that links to the 1619 Project and other “anti-racism” readings which are loaded with social in-justice content.
I didn’t always know this stuff. I was oblivious to it for decades of my life. But at some point, a rational mind has to recognize the overwhelming relationship between these dots and make all these connections come together. One must conclude that people mean what they say and are working to overthrow the family and the American way of life. They’ve been saying it for decades and been dismissed. Now they have infiltrated every facet of government and public agencies, and worse, the hearts of so many sincere (but misguided) people that it’s been given a place to grow in America.
It used to be forbidden for Communists and their sympathizers to be teachers in schools. In 1952, a 6-3 Supreme Court ruling upheld a NEW YORK law that prohibited communists from teaching in schools. It was the Feinburg Law which banned anyone from the teaching profession who called for the overthrow of the government. This was overturned in 1967 by a revised Supreme Court that didn’t share the concerns of the prior court (https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/supreme-court-rules-on-communist-teachers). In 2008, California overturned a state ban on communist activity in the schools with the full support of the California Teachers Association and the California Federation of Teachers (https://www.nysun.com/editorials/california-communists/74159/). It probably made sense to everyone to just come out and make it formal…
Are you awake yet? If you read this article, congratulations. Becoming informed is the first step. Now act. Save your family, and save your community.
Be Inspired
The world is turning right before our eyes. Men and women must act to save our freedoms which are being stripped away.
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
–Thomas Paine
“Revisiting the Revolutionary War is a bracing reminder that the fate of a continent, and the shape of the modern world, turned on the free choices of remarkably few Americans defying an empire.”
–George Will
“So that this nation may long endure, I urge you to follow in the hallowed footsteps of the great disobediences of history that freed exiles, founded religions, defeated tyrants, and yes, in the hands of an aroused rabble in arms and a few great men, by God’s grace, built this country.”
–Charlton Heston
ACT NOW: Make these calls
Call your school district and school board members. Ask if they are using the 1619 project in any of the schools. Get informed on it and tell them to not let it into your children’s schools. Tell them not to implement social-emotional learning programs. Point them at the CASEL document above. In their own words they are advocating Marxism. Then contact your state board member and ask them to prevent Utah schools from using these destructive curricula. Tell them we need local control and to be free of federal money and strings. We need local school boards at every school overseeing what’s happening locally. Find your rep here:
Even if your children are out of schools or don’t attend your local public school, make the calls. YOUR future is in the hands of those children and I don’t think anyone wants to live in a country fundamentally transformed by Marxists.
ACT NOW: Save your children and grandchildren
If you believe in America, the place that isn’t perfect, has made mistakes, but is still the greatest nation on earth with the greatest governance document ever crafted with the help of God, then it’s time to get your principles clear and pull your children out of public schools. The indoctrination has already done tremendous harm to our children and it’s just going to get worse. You’ve got to find alternatives for educating your children. Homeschool or private school, or selectively dual enroll them, it’s time to take action now to preserve your family.
If homeschooling scares you, there is a tremendous support structure in place to help you. It’s work, but probably not as much work as you think. Once you find a rhythm, most homeschool families love it and would never go back. Here’s a few videos that might inspire you.
There are loads of Facebook homeschool groups. Parents, grandparents, and single parents homeschool their children. If you want to do it, there is a way forward.
Something to Keep Your Eyes On
Now I think a question every Utahn should ask themselves is why the NEA gave Spencer Cox $75,000 for his campaign. Then we should know why Spencer Cox kept the money. He can’t be ignorant of the Leftist policies of the NEA. Assuming he is elected in the general election, what favors is he going to do for this Marxist organization? We can only hope and pray for divine intervention…
And now for something religious
If you are a Bible believer, try reading Revelation 13 again with this thought.
Verse 1: a blasphemous beast arises (Communism)
Verse 3: one of its heads is wounded to death (assumed death of communism), but his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the beast (communism makes a comeback)
Verse 11: Another beast arises (socialism) which spake as a dragon (same old lies) and had two horns like a lamb (looks innocent)
Verse 12: This beast exercises the same power as the first beast and causes the earth to worship the first beast.
Verse 15: The second beast causes anyone that won’t worship an image of the first beast to be put to death. The new world order arises.
This is the history of socialism. It can’t stand truth and light so it ends the lives of those who oppose it. So far, the effort to create a great peaceful communist utopia has ended the lives of over 100 million people. How many more will be put to death is uncertain, but if we don’t act, America will fall.
Book reading list:
Want to be prepared for what’s happening? Here’s a short book list you should get very familiar with:
The Scriptures
None Dare Call it Conspiracy by Gary Allen
The Leipzig Connection by Paolo Lionni
The Naked Communist by Cleon Skousen
The Naked Capitalist by Cleon Skousen
The Law by Frederick Bastiat
The U.S. Constitution
How the World Really Works by Alan Jones
Many are Called but Few are Chosen by H. Verlan Anderson
(Featured Image of Marx by Anton Ivanov @123rf.com)
In the 2020 primary races happening right now, these are the candidates we believe are most firmly committed to getting rid of Common Core (standards, assessments, data collection and privacy violations). That’s not to say their opponents wouldn’t make good board members, but they have not indicated the firmest levels of commitment to these things and to help restore true local control of education. For the race in Southern Utah (seat 15), some people like Kristen Norton a lot. You can read her and Scott’s responses on the survey and make up your own mind. Having spoken with both of them, I like both candidates a lot. They each have positive traits and good qualities, but I believe Scott is more up to speed on issues of concern and more fully committed to getting rid of the Common Core agenda.
Addendum: 6/19/20
Before voting for a candidate, you should ask them where they stand on Black Lives Matter understanding that they have a goal to destroy the American way of life. BLM is a money funnel to the Democratic party. If you click the donate button on the BLM website, it takes you to Actblue.com to collect your donation. If you look them up here: (https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expenditures.php?cycle=2020&cmte=C00401224) you will see their top 10 expenditures are hundreds of millions of dollars to Democratic campaigns.
You should also ask them if they believe Utah is still on Common Core or not. If they do not believe that, they haven’t looked close enough.
Utah State School Board Election Candidates in the June Primary
November ballot choices for Utah state school board elections
These are the other candidates not in the June primary (they’ve already made it through their party race) to vote for in the November election. Please like their Facebook pages and if you are in their areas, offer to help them gear up for the November election.
This is an informative series of Facebook posts about the Comprehensive Sexuality Education movement/program. They were posted by Jennie Earl who serves on the Utah State Board of Education to help explain what is happening in this area and the agenda of those involved. With permission I am re-posting with light format editing.
The four posts cover these topics:
First, What is CSE and who are the primary players?
Second, Where is CSE found around the nation and in our state?
Third, What can you do to protect your family?
Fourth, What are Utah laws that support family rights?
Post 1 – What is CSE and who are the primary players?
Here is a quick break down of the differences between Comprehensive Sexuality Education CSE (also known as Sexual Risk Reduction) and Abstinence-based Education (also known as Sexual Risk Avoidance).
Comprehensive Sexuality Education
Graphic Sexual content often depicting sexual acts
Introduction to various sexual behaviors
Continually changing definition of abstinence
K-12 sexual program often weaved throughout the curriculum
Focus on childhood sexual rights
Individual pleasure driven
Sexual License
Casualness about human anatomy
Duplicity/advocacy group involvement and removal of parents
How to consent /sexual negotiations/foreplay
Expectations low or ambiguous
All lifestyle relationships are presented as equal
Discussion about partners in elementary school
Self-sexual expression is valorized and revered
Gender theory
Abstinence-based Education
Age/medically appropriate content
Focus on healthy teen relationships
Clear definition of abstinence
Only in 5th grade/ middle and high school health education with parent consent
Recognize childhood development/innocence/latency period
Focus on responsibility to self and others
Sexual health for life, self-control/ long-term goal setting
Respect for human anatomy
Exactness/parent involvement
Refusal skills, clear boundaries
Clear expectations set high for all youth
Positive effects of committed legal relationships like marriage are encouraged
Friendships are stressed
Value of a person is multifaceted
importance of biological sex
The main movers in the US are Planned Parenthood and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) who hold consultative status at the UN. Along with these two organizations, state education policy makers and many advocacy groups work hand-in-hand to push the agenda to remove sexual taboos, “change social norms” and to “transform education”.
A couple of things worth noting from the bill. CSE will be delivered in K-3 via Social Emotion Learning SEL. Protected classes do not include religion as stated in the analysis.
I often here “yes but that is California and we are Utah”. Where can CSE be found in Utah?
Some local health departments distribute and refer to organizations that promote CSE. For example look through Weber/Morgan health Department’s site under “Health Promotion” and “Teen Health”. http://www.webermorganhealth.org/health-promotion/teen-health/
The relationships link has resources for parents and resources for youth compare the difference between the two. One of the references for teens says “Build Healthy Relationships” which takes you to: http://www.seriouslysexuality.com/ Notice the primary players on this site (SIECUS and menstoyhub) Also under “sexual health” Advocates for Youth and Planned Parenthood are two of the three references used for Educators.
In the Spring of 2019 USBE approved new health standards. Staff then developed with the help of outside agencies “Core Guides” to accompany the standards. These Core Guides could be used by educators in their classroom.
In August the public contacted Utah State Board members with concerns about CSE advocacy groups listed as resources in the Core Guides. Many CSE items were removed over the next several months as they were a clear violation of Utah law (thank you to those that emailed or called in), but CSE advocacy groups remain as resources promoted because of their continued presence within the Core Guides. As of March 2020, a vetting process has been put into place to assist in vetting upcoming and current Core Guides. The motion to remove the current Core Guides from our site until the new process is fully implemented failed to get enough votes.
Human Rights Campaign “Welcoming Schools”, Southern Poverty Law Center “Teaching Tolerance” and GLSEN: Can all be located under Mental and Emotional Health 3.MEH.2 Additional Activities and Resources Link
Advocates for Youth -Under Human Development Standard 3.HD.3 Feeling Safe
Other areas where CSE advocacy groups can be found: Suicide prevention coalition groups locally and state wide, bullying programs and policy, some times in English class readings or History class.
2- Teach your Family! In the fall as I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious about CSE content I knelt and prayed for help to understand what and how to help my own children and Utah families. That morning I was lead to Ezekiel 44:23 “Teach my people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” You have a unique insight about each of your children and know best what they need. As you strengthen your relationship with your children, youth will naturally want to know exactly where you stand on issues related to human intimacy. They will want to live up to any expectations you set. You are the authority when it comes to your family. The responsibility to teach them falls on your shoulders first. As you seek inspiration you too can find resources and know how to teach important truths to your children and family members.
3- Talk with your local district about the content they allow in the classroom. Utah is not a CSE state! Organizations that advocate for such practices should not be in our schools they are outside Utah law. There are tons of great resources for schools that are usable for all children from many different backgrounds. As a parent in Utah, you can request certain materials not be taught to your child. You can ask to have your child receive an alternate assignment or to be excused as per Utah law ( https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53G/Chapter10/53G-10-S403.html ). Ask to be part of the Sex Education Materials Review Committee for your local district. Ask how they vet materials. USBE recently approved a vetting process that you could recommend is implemented at your school. https://usbe.civicclerk.com/Web/GenFile.aspx?ad=2608 Family Watch also has an analysis tool they use. 15-CSE-Analysis-Tool_Template_final_7_18.doc
4- Take a few minutes and meet with your child’s teacher to explain your concerns. Meet with your local school board members.
5- A number of national organizations have put together a parent guide to help families navigate current gender issues in the school setting. In chapter 5 of this guide it includes parent involvement and community building information. https://genderresourceguide.com/
6- Any program used at the school should have evidence demonstrating that it does what it actually says it will do. I have included a link of research conducted by Irene H. Ericksen, M.S. and Stan E. Weed, Ph.D. They have looked at 120 studies of school-based sex education programs and reported on the findings. The full report, short video findings, and an abstract are listed here. https://www.institute-research.com/published-cse.php An organization called Blueprints looks at Healthy Youth Development programs that are based on scientific evaluations and have strong evidence of effectiveness https://www.blueprintsprograms.org. In the same vein, always check the statistics you are given. For example research conducted by UCLA Williams Institute https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/ will have a different approach than research from the Institute for Family Studies. https://ifstudies.org/. It is good to be familiar with the objective of research entities and their agenda.
7- Find solutions by making recommendations to education leaders of resources you would support using in the classroom. Ascend is an organization that compiles sexual health education resources to be used around the nation. They are a great wealth of information-Here is a statement from them “Sexual Risk Avoidance is an educational approach based on the public health model of primary prevention to empower youth to avoid ALL the risks of sexual activity.” Take a minute to look through their materials. https://weascend.org/ (Check out Heritage Keepers and Real Essentials. They are located on their site.)
9- Attend public meetings. A schedule for local school Community Councils, Local School Boards, Utah State Board of Education and Local Health Departments should be posted on the organization’s webpage or the secretary could direct you to the information. Often these can be found by calling the secretary of the organization or by going to their website. Each will have its own time frame and rules for public comment. For example USBE has public comment within the first hour of their normal monthly meeting. Public Comment is a time for elected officials to listen, so rarely will a response be given during this part of the meeting.
10- USBE has a new vetting process for core guide materials. If the public has concerns with any of the information or organizations on the core guides they can bring their concerns before the Standard and Assessment Committee to be heard. Here is the number to call to get on the agenda. Noralee Green Phone: (801) 538-7515. If you have an ongoing concern and it has not been addressed after talking with local education leaders, USBE has a hotline where our auditing department will investigate https://www.schools.utah.gov/internalaudit?mid=892&tid=3
In closing, work within your comfort level and where you can have the greatest impact. Act on your personal impressions for your family and community. Ask others to help and support you in your efforts. Many parents are wanting to be part of the solution but simply are unsure about what to do or where to start.
Post 4 – Utah law that supports family rights
#4 CSE Law Post-this is not all inclusive but key provisions of Utah Law that support families in Utah
a) Under both the United States Constitution and the constitution of this state, a parent possesses a fundamental liberty interest in the care, custody, and management of the parent’s children.
(d) The state recognizes that:
(i) a parent has the right, obligation, responsibility, and authority to raise, manage, train, educate, provide and care for, and reasonably discipline the parent’s children; and
(ii) the state’s role is secondary and supportive to the primary role of a parent.
(e) It is the public policy of this state that parents retain the fundamental right and duty to exercise primary control over the care, supervision, upbringing, and education of their children.
(a) recognizes that parents are a child’s first teachers and are responsible for the education of their children;
(b) encourages family engagement and adequate preparation so that students enter the public education system ready to learn; and
(c) intends that the mission detailed in Subsection (2) be carried out through a responsive educational system that guarantees local school communities autonomy, flexibility, and client choice, while holding them accountable for results.
(d) the primary responsibility for the education of children within the state resides with their parents and that the role of state and local governments is to support and assist parents in fulfilling that responsibility;
3) Through an integrated curriculum, students shall be taught in connection with regular school work:
(a) honesty, integrity, morality, civility, duty, honor, service, and obedience to law;
(b) respect for and an understanding of the Declaration of Independence and the constitutions of the United States and of the state of Utah;
(c) Utah history, including territorial and preterritorial development to the present;
(d) the essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system;
(e) respect for parents, home, and family;
(f) the dignity and necessity of honest labor; and
(g) other skills, habits, and qualities of character which will promote an upright and desirable citizenry and better prepare students to recognize and accept responsibility for preserving and defending the blessings of liberty inherited from prior generations and secured by the constitution.
(3) a) Each local school board shall adopt a policy on parental involvement in the schools of the district.
(b) The local school board shall design its policy to build consistent and effective communication among parents, teachers, and administrators.
(c) The policy shall provide parents with the opportunity to be actively involved in their children’s education and to be informed of:
(i) the importance of the involvement of parents in directly affecting the success of their children’s educational efforts; and
(ii) groups and organizations that may provide instruction and training to parents to help improve their children’s academic success and support their academic efforts.
If a parent of a student, or a secondary student, determines that the student’s participation in a portion of the curriculum or in an activity would require the student to affirm or deny a religious belief or right of conscience, or engage or refrain from engaging in a practice forbidden or required in the exercise of a religious right or right of conscience, the parent or the secondary student may request:
(a) a waiver of the requirement to participate; or
(b) a reasonable alternative that requires reasonably equivalent performance by the student of the secular objectives of the curriculum or activity in question.
(i) provide that the parental consent requirements of Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323 are complied with; and
(ii) require a student’s parent to be notified in advance and have an opportunity to review the information for which parental consent is required under Sections 76-7-322 and 76-7-323.
(6) Except as provided in Section 53G-10-202, political, atheistic, sectarian, religious, or denominational doctrine may not be taught in the public schools.
Any course touching these items mush have parent consent
(i) “Sex education instruction” means any course material, unit, class, lesson, activity, or presentation that, as the focus of the discussion, provides instruction or information to a student about:
(A) sexual abstinence;
(B) human sexuality;
(C) human reproduction;
(D) reproductive anatomy;
(E) physiology;
(F) pregnancy;
(G) marriage;
(H) childbirth;
(I) parenthood;
(J) contraception;
(K) HIV/AIDS;
(L) sexually transmitted diseases; or
(M) refusal skills, as defined in Section 53G-10-402.
(2) A school shall obtain prior written consent from a student’s parent before the school may provide sex education instruction to the student.
(3) If a student’s parent chooses not to have the student participate in sex education instruction, a school shall:
(a) waive the requirement for the student to participate in the sex education instruction; or
(b) provide the student with a reasonable alternative to the sex education instruction requirement.
(b) The state board shall make rules that, and instruction shall:
(i) stress the importance of abstinence from all sexual activity before marriage and fidelity after marriage as methods for preventing certain communicable diseases;
(ii) stress personal skills that encourage individual choice of abstinence and fidelity;
(iii) prohibit instruction in:
(A) the intricacies of intercourse, sexual stimulation, or erotic behavior;
(B) the advocacy of premarital or extramarital sexual activity; or
(C) the advocacy or encouragement of the use of contraceptive methods or devices; and
methods of strengthening the family; and allow instruction to include information about contraceptive methods or devices that stresses effectiveness, limitations, risks, and information on state law applicable to minors obtaining contraceptive methods or devices.
No funds of the state or its political subdivisions shall be used to provide contraceptive or abortion services to an unmarried minor without the prior written consent of the minor’s parent or guardian.
1) Any person before providing contraceptives to a minor shall notify, whenever possible, the minor’s parents or guardian of the service requested to be provided to such minor. Contraceptives shall be defined as appliances (including but not limited to intrauterine devices), drugs, or medicinal preparations intended or having special utility for prevention of conception.
(2) Any person in violation of this section shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
I am including one rule because it focuses on the local Instructional Materials Commission and parent participation.
An LEA governing board shall annually appoint and review members of the LEA’s curriculum materials review committee on or before August 1.
(b) An LEA’s curriculum materials review committee shall include parents, health professionals, school health educators, and administrators, with at least as many parents as school employees.
(c) The members of an LEA’s committee shall:
(i) meet on a regular basis, as determined by the membership;
(2) In collaboration with the public education suicide prevention coordinator, a school district or charter school, in the secondary grades of the school district or charter school, shall implement a youth suicide prevention program, which, in collaboration with the training, programs, and initiatives described in Section 53G-9-607, shall include programs and training to address:
(g) methods of strengthening the family; and
(h) methods of strengthening a youth’s relationships in the school and community.
Maintaining Constitutional Freedoms in the public Schools
(1) Any instructional activity, performance, or display which includes examination of or presentations about religion, political or religious thought or expression, or the influence thereof on music, art, literature, law, politics, history, or any other element of the curriculum, including the comparative study of religions, which is designed to achieve secular educational objectives included within the context of a course or activity and conducted in accordance with applicable rules or policies of the state and LEA governing boards, may be undertaken in the public schools.
(2) No aspect of cultural heritage, political theory, moral theory, or societal value shall be included within or excluded from public school curricula for the primary reason that it affirms, ignores, or denies religious belief, religious doctrine, a religious sect, or the existence of a spiritual realm or supreme being.
(3) Public schools may not sponsor prayer or religious devotionals.
(4) School officials and employees may not use their positions to endorse, promote, or disparage a particular religious, denominational, sectarian, agnostic, or atheistic belief or viewpoint.
I hope this is helpful for parents working with their local districts.
All the time we hear how teachers need more money. Money spent on education has tripled in my lifetime but we certainly aren’t getting more “bang for our buck” from the education system. More importantly, are parents even getting what we want?
