Teachers Unions Wield Their Power
But are they losing control?
On the heels of its virtual convention last month, the NEA, the smaller AFT, and their affiliates have launched a campaign to force universal mask-wearing among schoolchildren. Masks are already mandated in many districts across the country as schools reopen, and the unions are among their most strident advocates. For example, the AFT state affiliate in Massachusetts voted unanimously to require masks for all students from preschool age through college, and urged the governor to issue a mandatory mask order.
Recent news reports claim an uptick in cases of the virus among children that require hospitalization, but deaths are nearly unknown in this age group and have even sharply decreased among adults. Meanwhile, data collected over the past 18 months has repeatedly demonstrated that the transmission of COVID-19 among schoolchildren is negligible and that daily mask-wearing causes both physical and psychological harm.
Unions, Politics Behind Mandatory Masks
Research related to mandatory masks in schools shows a direct correlation between the strength of a local teachers union and the likelihood of a school district imposing a mask mandate.” The website HealthAffairs.org published a study of Iowa school districts earlier this month which showed that “a 1-standard-deviation increase in the teachers’ unionization rate was associated with a 12.5 percent relative increase in the probability that a school district adopted a mask mandate.” This research also indicated that the number of private- and parochial-school alternatives available in an area played a role. Where there were more educational options available for parents, the public-school mask mandates were less onerous.
Annenberg Brown University’s research paper titled “Politics, Markets, and Pandemics: Public Education’s Response to COVID-19” reveals similar findings. An excerpt reads: “Contrary to the conventional understanding of school districts as localized and non-partisan actors, we find evidence that politics, far more than science, shaped school district decision-making. Mass partisanship and teacher union strength (emphasis added) best explain how school boards approached reopening.”
Kerry McDonald, Senior Education Fellow at The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE), cited results of research released in March 2021 that show “school closures are uncorrelated with the actual incidence of the virus, but are rather strongly associated with unionization, [which] implies that the decision to close schools has been a political—not scientific—decision.” These findings were published on March 25 in Social Science Quarterly by author and researcher Corey A. DeAngelis and Stanford University Researcher Christos Makridis.
Outlier COVID Cases Causing Chaos
Chaos over isolated cases of the coronavirus is already happening in schools from Georgia to Arkansas to Arizona, where classes are disrupted and students are being quarantined. FEE’s McDonald predicts that “the prospect of rolling quarantines throughout the year because a classmate tests positive may lead more parents to unenroll their children from a district school in favor of a calmer, more settled learning environment.”
McDonald said new data from Sweden proving that the country’s reluctance to close its schools over the coronavirus didn’t harm children, “is not preventing back-to-school time in the U.S. from being rocky and contentious.”
In a remarkable about-face, some local teachers-union chapters are refusing to support the prospect of mandatory vaccines for teachers and administrators, after insisting last school year that teachers could not return to the classroom unless and until a vaccine was readily available. Even Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times columnist and a co-anchor for CNBC observed: “Teachers, whose entire professional mission is to educate and keep kids safe, won’t require the vaccine among themselves.” Instead, the teacher’s union mantra this year seems to have switched from being all about vaccines to demands for regular on-site COVID testing, at no charge to them of course.
Goliath vs. David Lawsuit
The ongoing battle of parents against mandatory in-class masking, forced CRT and gender identity indoctrination is resulting in more children exiting the public-school system. Since the start of the pandemic, many parents have for the first time become aware of what their children are actually learning in the classroom and are seeking alternatives. While it may be true that the unions lack “bottom up” accountability and thus do whatever they want, at present they are unable to prevent parents from pulling their children out of public schools.
The Rhode Island chapter of the NEA and its local South Kingstown branch have filed an unprecedented lawsuit against Nicole Solas, a mom who was concerned about the politically charged ideology her child might be exposed to in her public school. Last month, Education Reporter described how Solas was threatened with legal action by the South Kingstown District School Board for asking too many questions about what her daughter would be learning. Solas initially queried the school principal out of curiosity as to why the words “boys” and “girls” are no longer used to refer to kindergarteners, and her concerns grew when she encountered pushback and stalling. The board ultimately declined to pursue litigation, but in a classic Goliath vs. David case and as if on cue, the NEA stepped in and filed the lawsuit.
The Goldwater Institute’s Director of National Litigation, Jon Riches, is representing Solas in her fight against the NEA. The Defense of Liberty blog quoted Riches as saying: “Nicole Solas is entitled to ask questions. And she does not deserve to face legal action just for asking questions any concerned parent would ask.” He added that Rhode Island law “does not authorize what the NEA is attempting to do here.”
Solas noted: “The NEA is so determined to push its political agenda that they are willing to expose themselves in a court of law for who they really are: an association of bullies eager to challenge a stay-at-home mom who simply wanted to know what her daughter would be taught.”
Some may reasonably wonder if this lawsuit, filed by the nation’s largest public sector teachers’ union with a $300 million budget against a lone parent, is more an act of intimidation to demonstrate its power and discourage other parents from asking questions. The unions may enjoy the support of the current administration in Washington, DC, the mainstream media, big tech, and the nation’s liberal elite, but the eyes of ordinary parents are opening, and many do not like what they see. Fortunately, these parents have alternatives.
For Liberty News, 8-9-21
In Defense of Liberty Blog – NEA Sues Mom 8-5-21
The Daily Signal, 8-5-21
Washington Times.com-8/7/2021
Homeschooling: A Clear Choice
There are probably more educational choices available today than ever before, but homeschooling may be the best option for many families wishing to leave the public schools. While school choice is an important issue that has gained momentum in recent years, some private and charter schools promote the same destructive ideology as the public schools, often at a hefty price tag. This is not to discourage parents from supporting a better educational experience for their children. Many private schools do just that, but homeschooling offers a variety of study options as well as flexibility for learning opportunities that are not available in brick-and-mortar schools.
Resources abound for guidance and help with homeschooling. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is probably the most well-known homeschool support organization with its 35-year history of helping parents instruct their children at home. HSLDA also continues to represent homeschooling families in legal battles against state infringement on the right of parents to oversee the education of their own children.
The HSLDA.org website provides interested parents with a wealth of information, including homeschool laws by state, advice on how and where to begin a homeschool program, and more. But bulwark that HSLDA is, there are a great many resources available to homeschooling families. For many parents, assistance at the local level is most beneficial.
Just Do It!
Pro-family activist and homeschooling mom of 13 years, Jennifer Coulter is just such a valuable resource for parents interested in homeschooling in the St. Louis, Missouri area. With a Master’s degree in Education, Coulter counsels would-be homeschoolers and recently hosted a seminar for interested parents. Although she specializes in curriculum and resources for Catholic homeschoolers, she provides a wide range of websites, blogs and suggestions that all parents can use. (See reference list at the end of this article.)
Coulter stresses that a master’s degree is not needed to homeschool. “No one else has the same interest in your child that you do as a parent,” she says. “The key is to be flexible and give yourself permission to accept that you will make mistakes together and you will also learn together.” She adds: “You will have more time with your children and will know what they need to be successful more than anyone else. Your child is your life, so just do it!”
Homeschooling Advantages
Coulter cites as advantages of homeschooling the fact that there is “less stress, no hoops to jump through, no peer pressure, and no teacher indoctrination.” This last point becomes abundantly clear if one considers a recent viral video of a public-school teacher castigating her class for over four minutes about white privilege, climate change, former President Donald Trump, and even attacking the students’ parents. This teacher has reportedly been fired, but it is a wakeup call that perfectly illustrates Coulter’s point about teacher indoctrination.
According to Coulter, one of the major issues keeping kids in the public-school system is sports, so it’s important for homeschooling families to check out their state laws in this area. She says such laws need to allow students leaving a public or private school for homeschooling “to be able to play on the homeschool teams immediately and not be forced to observe a ‘waiting period.'” For example, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) rules prohibit students who leave a MSHSAA competing school and join a homeschool team from competing in a MSHSAA event for one full calendar year. “In my experience, Coulter says, “this rule has no benefit for students and needs to be changed.”
Homeschool Socialization
Another factor that deters families from homeschooling is the fear that children will be deprived of socialization. But Coulter says that “because of the growing homeschool population, this is not an issue. There are plenty of homeschool co-ops that hold dances, field trips and graduations.”
Coulter adds: “When many schools canceled these important milestone gatherings last year, the homeschoolers carried on. And homeschooling also provides for socialization beyond simply being with children the same age every day. Homeschoolers have the opportunity to hang out with their grandparents who share their knowledge, talents and love. Homeschoolers also have more time to travel and experience in real time the places and history they learn about.”
Taking the First Step
Coulter acknowledges that homeschooling parents learn over time. A good first step in the process is for parents to investigate their state’s homeschool laws. The right curriculum is also critical, but Coulter says “even if kids just read good books, they are learning.” She highly recommends Conservapedia’s lectures, articles, and courses free for use in an educational setting. Conservapedia was founded by lawyer, teacher, historian, and writer Andrew Schlafly as an alternative to the liberal Wikipedia, and the site offers a wealth of valuable resource material.
Most major metro areas have local homeschool co-ops, and one example in Missouri is the St. Louis Catholic Homeschool Association. Smaller cities and towns often have similar resources as well, and online resources can be accessed anywhere in the country. “A free source that might be a good starting point for anyone jumping into homeschooling is the Christian Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool,” Coulter suggests. Her other recommendations for online information and assistance are listed below.
Homeschool Laws by State
Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool
Seton Catholic Homeschooling Books and More
St. Louis Catholic Homeschool Association
Missouri Baptist Homeschool on Campus Program-High School Dual Enrollment Program
Homeschool Sports Net
Hillsdale College Online Courses
Beware of Homeschool-Public School Collaboration
Homeschool partnering with public schools essentially refers to “families and schools developing relationships as collaborative partners.” These partnerships involve “families, educators, and community members working together to support students’ educational and mental health needs.” This description alone should raise alarm bells.
According to Michigan-based Biblical Worldview (Christian Worldview.net), a growing number of homeschoolers “are joining partnership programs offered by the public-school system.” With so many families new to homeschooling, these partnerships may seem attractive because they appear to “take the guesswork” out of homeschooling. The danger is that while there are various programs (see for example, Connecting Connections Academy to Common Core), all include the godless pedagogy and other aspects of public education.
NEA Influence
Arline Helms, a home educator, speaker, event planner, and founder of the organizations, Reviving the Foundations and Youth for Truth & Life, cautions parents interested in homeschooling to avoid any connection with the public-school system. Helms says that although parents may feel more secure in such partnerships, “liberty is far more important” than security. “The public schools are connected to the National Education Association (NEA),” she points out, “and that is a concern.” She urges parents to “connect with other homeschool families” for support and assistance in directing their child’s education.
Helms quotes Samuel Blumenfeld’s 1984 book Trojan Horse in American Education, in which Blumenfeld wrote: “NEA will become a political power second to none other special interest group…. NEA will organize their profession from top to bottom into logical operational units that can move swiftly and effectively and with power unmatched by any other organized group in the nation.” How prophetic he was.
Since then, notes Helms, “the NEA has grown in numbers and now also includes all the administrators working in public schools across America.” Again, quoting Blumenfeld, she states: “The NEA is the most political, powerful, and dangerous organization in the United States, with plans not only to control the federal government but also every state legislature in America under the guise of ‘improving education.’ Teachers are on the march toward total political power with the aim of converting America into a socialist society.”
Helms referenced the NEA’s recent lawsuit against Nicole Solas as an example of the union’s power. “Ask any concerned conservative teacher if they are okay with what the NEA is doing and has been doing and they will tell you they aren’t pleased with what is going on,” Helms says. “Many public-school teachers actually homeschool their own children without partnering with the public schools.”
For homeschooling parents, Helms recommends the website Foundation for American Christian Education FACE.net, which offers a variety of helpful materials, including curriculum guides and a free resource catalog.
Connecting Connections Academy to Common Core
Parents searching for a tuition-free online program so their children can be schooled at home may discover “Connections Academy” by Pearson, a company that bills itself as “the world’s leading learning company.” It wasn’t always so — Pearson began as a construction company in Yorkshire, England, in 1844 — and is much more than a “learning company” today, having grown, diversified, and globalized during the 177 years of its existence.
Before seriously considering Connections, parents should be aware that Pearson collaborated with Bill Gates in the development of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). As Education Reporter readers know, Common Core has since its inception been roundly criticized as a dumbed-down, one-size-fits-all set of standards that incorporate leftist indoctrination such as LGBTQ propaganda and Critical Race Theory (CRT).
An article in The Washington Post of Sept. 23, 2015 includes a lengthy excerpt from the book Common Core Dilemma: Who Owns Our Schools? by Mercedes K. Schneider. The excerpt provides a wealth of information about Pearson and the company’s involvement with CCSS, focusing on the enormous profitability of the large-scale, one-size-fits-all approach to education.
Connections Academy does not advertise Common Core; however, its website provides a question-and-answer section that attempts to put a positive spin on the CCSS. Question one asks: Who created Common Core standards? The misleading answer omits the Pearson/Gates connection: “The Common Core State Standards Initiative was a state-led effort that was coordinated by a partnership between the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. A team of teachers, school administrators, and experts developed the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare students for college and the workforce.” According to Schneider, Gates financially supported the many organizations he used to promote the CCSS.
The answer to question two — Does the federal government force states to adopt the Common Core State Standards? — contains the following admission: “Although most states adopted the standards initially, the standards have become a point of contention among parents and voters, and four states have since withdrawn from the program. In addition, a dozen states are considering adopting their own state standards — and of these states, some have drafted standards that are nearly identical to the Common Core.” Unfortunately, this last statement has proven to be for the most part true.
The answer to question four — What are the Common Core State Standards designed to do? — is telling. It states in part: “The Common Core State Standards were designed to promote equity by ensuring that all students have access to the same high-quality education.” This response follows an admission that “some states had rigorous standards, while others set a lower bar. Not only could states cover different topics, but they could also teach them at various grade levels. This made it difficult to ensure that all students across the United States were learning skills and objectives at the same difficulty level or pace.” The implication is clear that it was important for the creators of Common Core to lower the bar across the board for all students so that no public school or district could escape the mediocrity or propaganda.
The bottom line is that Connections Academy may not be a solution for parents seeking a favorable homeschooling experience for their children. In fact, it’s exactly the type of “connection” with brick-and-mortar public schools that Arline Helms and other concerned parents warn about. Although Common Core supporters deny that it is a curriculum, the standards drive curriculum. In her Washington Post excerpt, author Schneider describers a 2014 market analysis meeting during which the then-CEO of Pearson, John Fallon, admitted that “the CCSS ‘leads’ the states — and specifically, the curriculum in those states.”
Connections Academy
Connections Academy Answers to Parent Questions About Common Core
The Washington Post 9/23/2015
Mallard Fillmore
Book Review – WORDS FOR WARRIORS: Fight Back Against Crazy Socialists and the Toxic Liberal Left
by Sam Sorbo, Humanix Books, 2021
Accomplished actress, filmmaker, author, and radio host Sam Sorbo has written a series of word definitions that have been subverted by the left, to which she adds her unabashedly conservative and patriotic perspective. She begins by defining “Aberration,” which she considers the United States of America to be, and ends with “Zeitgeist,” which she believes currently to be
“postmodernism, marked by subjectivism and moral relativism.” Following this final definition, she tells readers: “The truth often combats the zeitgeist. The world does not owe you. Speak the (not your) truth, always.”
In her Introduction, Sorbo observes that “the United States not only created the greatest manufacturing and industrial engine of the world,” but also created a patent system that allowed ideas to grow, flourish, and be protected, so that anyone could contribute “if they were willing to engage in thought.” However, she writes, “now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that system shaping a free marketplace of thoughts should endure.”
As motivation for writing her book, she states: “They’ve hijacked words, and then used them against us. But we’re gonna take ’em back. Because our words are our thoughts, and our thoughts are our prosperity.” And she minces no words. For example, in defining “Antifa,” she writes that it “is but another arm of the Communist Party, organizing to prevent conservatives from expressing truth and wreaking mayhem and violence on our streets as a way to overthrow our democratically elected government.”
The author tackles tough and unpleasant topics but it is an easy read that is also at times laugh-out-loud funny. For example, she defines the word “Bigot,” then writes: “Bigot has been mangled, distorted, and co-opted by those who abhor dissent (unless it’s them dissenting) and used as a weapon to shut down legitimate debate on an issue.” She elaborates:
- “It’s unfair to the female students to allow boys who feel like girls to use the same locker room” — “Bigot.”
- “I support traditional marriage, and here’s why…” — “Homophobic bigot.”
- “Illegal aliens…” — “The ‘I’ word is hate speech, you racist bigot.”
Following her definition of “Plutocracy,” she opines: “Writer Noam Chomsky believes the United States resembles a plutocracy, but that’s because he’s an idiot communist. He hates capitalism and idealizes the pie-in-the-sky view of communism while simultaneously ignoring its murder of millions.”
Words for Warriors contains so much interesting and sometimes little-known information, it’s a struggle to determine which definitions to showcase for review purposes. Occasionally, Sorbo displays an off-handedness bordering on the unrefined; perhaps intentionally, but more likely as a result of contact with her subject matter.
Of “Common Core,” the author writes: “It promised everything and delivered worse than nothing, as test scores are now lower than before. But hey, if they just change the standards, everybody gets a trophy!” She quotes Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers as saying at the union’s annual conference about parental skepticism of CC: “I’m gonna punch you in the face and push you in the dirt because this is the teachers! These are our tools!” Sorbo then adds with sardonic wit, “When teachers become the bullies, everyone wins. Catchphrase: ‘Because, who doesn’t want their child to be common?'”
Sorbo defines “Climate Change” as “an alarmist effort to control the population through fear-mongering and falsified data.” There are a number of definitions describing environmental hysteria, including “Global Cooling,” “Global Warming,” and more.
As the reader turns the pages, it becomes obvious that Words for Warriors is also an indictment of former president Barack Obama. In her definition of “Convention,” she writes: “For the bulk of America, a presidential convention kick-starts their interest in the general election. Balloons fly, music roars, and great speechifying takes place. Or, in Barack Obama’s case, a royal coronation set against the backdrop of imperial Greek columns. Nothing scary or totalitarian there.”
When she defines “Executive Branch,” she charges Obama, a constitutional lawyer, with being absent the day his class covered Article II “because he acted as if it didn’t apply to him, as evidenced in his bold and arrogant assertions: ‘Where and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do….We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation….I’ve got a pen and I’ve got a phone.'”
In her definition of “Demagogue,” she writes: “President Obama is regularly labeled a demagogue. And for good reason. The best examples [were] his regular recitations to push the Affordable Care Act. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. These statements were not mistakes or a misunderstanding of the legislation — he knew them to be untrue when he said them.” She further writes that Obama’s “most disgraceful display of demagoguery” happened after the terrorist attack on our consulate in Benghazi, Libya, when four Americans were killed in a planned terrorist attack. “The truth did not fit Obama’s narrative that the terrorists were on the run, so he blamed an internet video criticizing Muslims.”
Later, in her definition of “Secretary of State,” she similarly charges Hillary Clinton. After listing the former secretary’s duties, she writes that Clinton “fumbled the ball” on all of them. “After the attacks on our embassy,” she writes, “Clinton followed that dereliction by failing to correctly inform Congress and citizens about the conduct of her foreign relations. She lied about the attack, calling it a spontaneous uprising and blaming an internet video for causing it, and then when called to testify before Congress defended her inaction and lies with the glib and callous, ‘What difference at this point, does it make?'”
In defining the term “Sharia Law,” Sorbo contrasts Obama’s assertion that “America and Islam share common principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings” with the truth that “Sharia is totally incompatible with the American views of law and justice.” She contrasts the U.S. Constitution and legal system protection of basic human rights regardless of religion, sex, and ethnicity with Sharia law’s dictates that “apostasy (from Islam), defaming (of Islam), and homosexuality” are all punishable by death. “Sharia law sees no distinction between church and state. Under Sharia, the church is the state.”
This is not to say that Sorbo’s entire focus is on the Obama presidency. She has praise for President Trump, delves into the COVID-19 pandemic with its mask mandates and lockdowns and has more to say on education, politics, Christianity, Fascism, Socialism, McCarthyism, and even the Crusades.
The book is peppered throughout with quotes from famous people that relate to the definitions. To illustrate are just a few gems.
- Following Sorbo’s description of “Monopoly”: “Our public-school system is our country’s biggest and most inefficient monopoly, yet it keeps demanding more and more money.” — Phyllis Schlafly
- After the definition of “Nazi” and its aspect of socialism: “America is like a healthy body and its resistance threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within.” — Joseph Stalin
- Following the definition and discussion of the term “Racist”: “The point I was making was not that Grandmother harbors any racial animosity, she doesn’t. But she is a typical white person.” — Barack Obama
Words for Warriors is just that; a helpful glossary of current terms and jargon to arm conservatives in their fight to preserve faith, freedom, and country.
Education Briefs
The number of Texas parents pursuing a homeschool alternative for their children has increased five-fold this month from the same time period last year. Texas Homeschool Coalition President Tim Lambert said his organization is “literally inundated with calls and emails from thousands upon thousands of families asking how they can begin homeschooling this fall.” The coalition said that last fall the number of homeschooling families “nearly tripled from four-and-a-half percent in the spring [of 2020] to 12.3 percent by October” according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Reasons for the increase range from parental dissatisfaction with what their children are learning in the schools, whether in-class or virtual, to “school districts’ retaliatory policies for noncompliance” with ongoing mandates such as forced masking. The Texas legislature obligingly passed two bills which the governor signed, one allowing homeschool students to participate in “University Interscholastic League sponsored activities,” and another that eases local government regulatory burdens in certain instances. Guard The Constitution.com 8-21-21
According to a former deputy national security advisor under President Trump, Chinese spying on American citizens is reaching new heights, and includes children. Matthew Pottinger testified at a Senate Intelligence Hearing on August 4, raising the alarm about Chinese spying. “Assembling dossiers on people has always been a feature of Leninist regimes, but Beijing’s penetration of digital networks worldwide, including using 5G networks … has really taken this to a new level,” he explained. He testified that China not only has enough data to compile a dossier on every U.S. adult, but “on many of our children, too, who are fair game under Beijing’s rules of political warfare.” Another Trump initiative that Biden overturned was the former president’s effort to ban Chinese-owned TikTok over spying concerns. Meanwhile, millions of American kids and adults alike continue to use TikTok and Minecraft, “blissfully giving these CCP-linked apps access to their personal data.” Western Journal.com, 8-9-2021
In a late-night vote on August 10, the U.S. Senate passed an amendment prohibiting federal funding to K-12 schools and preschool programs that teach critical race theory (CRT). The measure passed 50-49 in what was nearly a strict party-line vote, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) the lone Democrat voting in favor. The amendment’s sponsor, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), said it permits the chairman of the budget committee to prohibit or limit federal funds from being used “to promote critical race theory or compel teachers or students to affirm critical race theory in prekindergarten programs, elementary schools, and secondary schools.” Opponents of CRT concede that the amendment is not perfect because many school districts deny teaching CRT even though they admit finding no problem with teaching it. The Gateway Pundit online news source believes one important aspect of the amendment is that 49 Democrats voted for “this sort of modern-day racism being taught to innocent children. The Dems are now on record supporting Marxist propaganda.” Washington Examiner, 8-12-21; Gateway Pundit, 8-11-21
Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed a bill into law in July that exempts high school students from having to prove they can read, write, or do math at a freshman or sophomore level before receiving a diploma. The governor reportedly downplayed the law and the fact that she signed it; no press release was issued nor was there a signing ceremony. The Oregon legislature passed the bill in June, officially suspending the proficiency requirements for three years but potentially up to five years. The bill’s supporters said that considering math and reading to be essential skills for students unfairly challenges those who don’t test well. Most, but not all, Republican legislators pushed back against any further dumbing-down of students. Oregon House Minority Leader Christine Drazan said she would have supported the bill had it focused on testing requirements alone. “If it had just been a testing bill, then I would have been supportive of it,” said Drazan, “but what we were doing was taking a list of essential skills and saying we’re not going to hold our kids to these standards anymore.” KATU.com/Fox News/OR, 8-9-21
Disestablishment a Second Time
“It is time to save our kids from the leftism and racist misinformation they are receiving in poorly performing public schools.”
Over 50 million American youth suffer from atrocious academically failing, ideologically slanted, and openly woke public schools. This has been savagely damaging to long-term livelihoods, and it costs taxpayers over $15,000 per pupil each year.
There is a way to end it.
In 1982, a very well-researched book made the bold claim that we can change this situation by rethinking our policy choices about the way we educate.
That book had an odd title, Disestablishment a Second Time, and it was all about ensuring pluralism in America. It is a shame that other than a few intelligent people like Senator Daniel Moynihan (D-NY), America didn’t listen to that advice; for we would be in a very different place today if people had listened.
Instead, we are stuck in the same old rut when it comes to our schools.
The thesis then was that America’s monopolistic public education system was the result of Jefferson’s idea of an agreed-upon common morality (some combination of self-evident natural law and the shared tenets of major forces). That belief later resulted in the Horace Mann (1796-1859) one-size-fits-all public “normal” school, rooted in his philosophy of progressivism. The problem is every decade it has gotten more and more progressive.
This public conscience became a secular ideology that forces the citizenry to capitulate under the umbrella of liberal ideology, but the authors pointed out that this secular ideology, in fact, is closer to what could be called a civil religion. Indeed, the Constitution is vague about what even qualifies as religion—an ambiguity that is further clouded by various SCOTUS decisions.
Coupled with an overly strict interpretation of the Establishment Clause, this creates a dynamic where liberal secular values and culture are favored over religious values and culture—putting an even greater burden on those who wish to live in accordance with their faith. This is even more apparent when it comes to educating young people.
The authors then recommended replacing the centralized and increasingly left-wing education-indoctrination system (one that has gotten much worse in the ensuing years and now mandates things like critical race theory) with a more pluralistic one that would allow for diverse cultures to reinforce their values through choice in education.
Rather than having the government bureaucracy run all schools, political leaders should develop a system where schools could compete against one another for students and where parents and communities have a greater influence in the intellectual and emotional development of their own children.
This would disestablish the schools, freeing them from the monopolist stranglehold teachers’ unions and the Democratic Party (which works in tandem with the unions) have on the schools. The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers give 99.4 percent of their political contributions to Democrats. Who is indebted to whom?
Like the first act of disestablishment in America—that of Church from State—this separation would lead to a plurality of choices and a system run by parents and communities, including those of various religious orientations, instead of a unitary dictate from on high and controlled by so-called “expert” liberal bureaucrats from Washington, DC.
If this is sounding a lot like charter schools, you’re on the right track. The authors were not prescriptive, but something like that also including religious institutions was the direction in which they were firmly headed. They showed a clear pathway, explained options, studied alternative systems like that of consociality in the Netherlands, and came down squarely in favor of experimentation with vouchers.
It’s a great idea that was never really fully implemented. The institutional forces aligned against K-12 educational reform were and remain overwhelming, and any effort to reduce their power is a steep uphill climb.
At times it seems nearly impossible and not unlike The Myth of Sisyphus. Albert Camus used the Greek legend of Sisyphus, who was condemned by the gods for eternity to repeatedly roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll down again once he got it to the top, as a metaphor for the individual’s persistent struggle against the essential absurdity of life. At times the fight for school choice has felt absurd in a similar way. The Left is adamantly opposed to any such reform and not nearly enough Republicans, except certain true conservatives and libertarians, are willing to stick their necks out. It has not been a “priority.”
Now 40 years later, America’s schools are failing more than ever by any measure you want to use: test scores, accreditation, international standards, and job placements. Even college admissions these days mostly require remediation just to begin to perform at an acceptable entry university level. In the well-known PISA educational assessments, the United States ranked near the bottom overall and was 38 out of 71 in math and science.
School choice would allow public education funds to follow students to the schools or services that best fit their needs—whether public school, private school, religious school, charter school, vocational school, home school, or any other learning environment parents choose for their children.
The Agenda: Sustainable Socialism
To date, there are almost 30 voucher programs in at least 18 states and Puerto Rico. But the experiment is piecemeal, often an afterthought, and underfunded. What is needed is the dismantling of the current system and a complete transformational change to school choice—money and all. Nothing else will suffice.
Freedom of schooling to date has not succeeded because the Democrats oppose it; teachers unions oppose it; regulators try to thwart it; and the public has been sold a bunch of lies about the merit of voucher systems.
Last year just over 51 million U.S. students attended public schools, pre-K through high school. About six million students attend private schools, four million in parochial or religious schools of all denominations. That is one in 12 students. Charter schools grew in popularity but still account for only three million attendees, with some 2,700 such schools across the country. Vocational schools have 1.6 million enrollees. Online schools list six million students in their programs, half of which are in full-time distance education courses. The number has rapidly increased during the pandemic and past decade. By my calculations this means just 8.5 percent of American students benefit from school choice—and at a high price. Their parents have to pay twice for their education: once through taxes and another by fees as tuition.
It is time to save our kids from the leftism and racist misinformation they are receiving in poorly performing public schools. It is time for parents to take back control. There is only one way to achieve that goal: school choice.
Portable money on a per pupil basis would change everything and lead to real competition. Yes, public schools would lose—but it is what they deserve. This means disestablishment a second time. Then, in a decade or two, we will see the radical results in terms of freedom, better test scores, and an increase in the sheer joy of learning.
The case for school choice is overwhelming, particularly in a climate where so many schools are closed or slow to reopen due to the pandemic and when critical race theory and silly knee-jerk Marxism have come to dominate more and more public-school curriculum.
America needs to disestablish its current educational system and mandate school choice once and for all. It can begin when we refuse to send kids back to public schools this year!
© 2013 – 2021 American Greatness. All rights reserved.
Theodore Roosevelt Malloch, scholar-diplomat-strategist, is CEO of the thought leadership firm The Roosevelt Group. The author of 18 books, he is a frequent keynote speaker and television guest.
Reprinted by permission.
