March 2022 — Ed Reporter Monthly Email Edition

It seems that liberals never let the truth get in the way of what they consider to be a good narrative, but rather, they twist it into a fabric of lies and deceit. Such is the case with Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill that received final passage in the Florida Senate on March 8 and which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on March 28. The legislation has been under heavy fire by the left, and dutifully parroted throughout the mainstream media as the anti-LGBTQ “Don’t Say Gay” bill, even though it contains no such reference. President Biden obligingly chimed in, calling the bill “hateful.”

The bill passed the Florida Senate by a vote of 21-17 and by a margin of 69-47 last month in Florida’s House of Representatives. The legislation is a win not only for Florida parents, but provides an example for parents across the country who have been fighting to wrest the education of their children from the clutches of public-school administrators and teachers’ unions.

What’s in the bill?

What CS/CS/HB 1557 actually does is require school districts to allow personnel to notify a parent about “his or her student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or wellbeing, or a change in related services or monitoring, or that encourage or have the effect of encouraging a student to withhold from a parent such information.” The legislation further states: “School district personnel may not discourage or prohibit parental notification of and involvement in critical decisions affecting a student’s mental, emotional, or physical health or wellbeing.” The bill does make an allowance for failure to disclose if the danger of abuse or neglect in the home is strongly indicated.

The bill ensures that the fundamental right of parents to make decisions regarding the education and control of their children is considered in all school district procedures, and it creates a cause of action that permits “declaratory and injunctive relief” if a parent’s concerns are not addressed or corrected within 30 days.

The bulk of the Left’s hysteria is focused on subsection 3, which reads: “Classroom instruction by school personnel or third parties on sexual orientation or gender identity may not occur in kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.”

Despite the claims of Democrats, the bill does not ban the word “gay” in school settings, nor does it ban casual discussion of topics related to sexual orientation and gender identity. It does require schools to get parental permission before administering a well-being questionnaire or health screening to students in kindergarten through third grade, which is the opt-in provision sought after nationwide by many parents.

Disney gets into the act

On March 11, The Daily Citizen reported that Disney CEO Bob Chapek joined the chorus of jackals pretending that if this bill becomes law, it could, in Chapek’s words, “be used to unfairly target gay, lesbian, non-binary, and transgender kids and families.” Chapek said he called the governor to “express our disappointment and concern,” pledging that Disney “would be donating $5 million to LGBT activist groups.”

Unbowed, DeSantis fired back:

• 

  When you have companies that have made a fortune off being family friendly and catering to families and young kids, they should understand that parents of young kids do not want this injected into their kid’s kindergarten classroom.

• You have companies, like at Disney, that are going to criticize parents’ rights; they’re going to criticize the fact that we don’t want transgenderism in kindergarten, in first grade classrooms. If that’s the hill they’re going to die on, then how do they possibly explain lining their pockets from their relationship with the Communist Party of China? Because that’s what they do, and they make a fortune, and they don’t say a word about the really brutal practices that you see over there at the hands of the CCP.
• And so in Florida, our policies [have] got to be based on the best interest of Florida citizens, not on the musing of woke corporations.

According to Fox News, DeSantis also challenged a reporter for using the false “Don’t Say Gay” label during a press conference just prior to the senate’s approval of the measure. “Does it say that in the bill?” he demanded, adding: “It’s why people don’t trust people like you because you peddle false narratives.”

The Fox report said Christina Pushaw, a DeSantis spokeswoman, similarly admonished an Associated Press reporter after the bill’s passage. “What’s the bill’s real name?” she objected. “Does it mention the word ‘gay’ or LGBT people at all? Are AP reporters expected to read legislation before writing about it?”

Despite the apparent resolve of Florida lawmakers and the governor’s office to stand firm in support of the state’s Parental Rights in Education bill, the sabre rattling from Democrats and leftwing activists is in full swing.

Prior to final passage of the measure, the March 5 Daytona Beach News-Journal ran a story about Flagler Palm Coast High School junior Jack Petocz, whose efforts to organize “a statewide walkout to protest House Bill 1557,” resulted in his alleged suspension for distributing pride flags during the walkout. The newspaper described the bill as “a controversial measure” and dutifully mentioned its “Don’t Say Gay” moniker.

The article conceded that a Flagler spokesman denied Petocz had been suspended, but rather that he had been “put on an administrative excused absence,” which would allow the school to continue its investigation into the incident while permitting Petocz “to complete schoolwork without any dings to [his] attendance or student record.”

When word of the school’s action got out, activists started a petition through the organization Change.org, which calls itself “The world’s platform for change,” demanding that Petocz’s “suspension” be rescinded. The petition quickly attracted 3,840 signatures. On Twitter, #NotAfraidToSayGay was reportedly the second-hottest trending hashtag as of March 4.

The News-Journal noted that “Petocz is a political strategist associate for Gen-Z for Change, a coalition of more than 500 creators and activists ‘fighting for progressive change to promote civil discourse and political action among our generation.'” In a public statement through Gen-Z for Change, Petocz declared: “I am proud of who I am and proud of all those protesting regressive bills. We must let our politicians know that no matter how hard they try, they cannot suppress our identities or silence our voices.”

Other leftwing/progressive groups entered the fray, including the ACLU of Florida, which posted: “We support students exercising their First Amendment Rights.” The national organization PEN America publicly called on the school to reverse its decision. Its misleading and dramatic statement read in part: “PEN America is alarmed to hear of the suspension of Jack Petocz from Flagler Palm Coast High School in FL for organizing a rally against the state’s pending ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill and distributing LGBTQ pride flags. This appears both disproportionate and unconstitutional… This wrongful suspension must be reversed.” The statement continued with the patently false assertion: “This comes as Florida moves to ban discussions of LGBTQ+ identifies [sic] in schools, and books about LGBTQ+ lives are being removed from Florida’s school library shelves. Petocz’s efforts to make his and other students’ voices heard should be lauded, not retaliated against.”

Another Twitter post from the LGBTQ civil rights organization Equality Florida shared Petocz’s story and announced: “We stand with Jack Petocz… With LGBTQ people who refuse to be erased.”

Parents refuse to be silenced

The question is whether leftwing activists have overplayed their hand. All indications are that parents are not backing down and that legislation such as Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill is a direct result of their activism and determination to retake control of their public schools.

A recent Gallup poll appears to suggest that parents are happy with their public schools, and public-school cheerleaders are quick to charge that the current fuss is generated by a few out-of-touch fuddy duddies who have no children. But unfortunately for liberals and the uninformed, the events of the past two years prove otherwise. Polls can be skewed by the way questions are framed as well as by the audiences targeted. The explosion of parents’ rights groups and the extent to which parents are protesting reprehensible curriculum cannot be explained away by leftwing disinformation.

Indeed, liberal hypocrisy has been on national display. One blatant example has been the irrational demands made by those in power that schoolchildren (and others) remain masked even while they go maskless themselves. And ordinary citizens are fed up.

Last month, outraged mom Alecia Vaught called out the Montgomery County School Board for forcing district schoolchildren to continue wearing masks even after Governor Glenn Youngkin made mask-wearing optional in public schools. The Blaze quoted Vaught as telling the board:

• We sat here last year and listened to you guys preach to us about Gov. Northam’s executive orders and how we must follow them. You guys remember that? We do. So here’s the governor [Youngkin] that comes into office, but you don’t want to follow his orders. Why is that? … Two different governors. Two different political parties. So, we were supposed to follow it last year, but not this year. That makes no sense and makes all of you a bunch of hypocrites.

Vaught then singled out board chair Sue Kass, whom she said “yelled at her for taking off her mask” at a board meeting in 2021. Vaught displayed photos from Kass’s Facebook page that showed Kass appearing maskless in public. Kass was infuriated and ordered Vaught to sit down. When she refused, Kass demanded that the attending security officer remove her. The officer declined to do so, and Kass “stormed out of the meeting.” Vaught called out to her as she departed: “We’re coming for your seat,” to which Kass fumed: “You can have it.”

Other legislative efforts

Continuing resistance from parents is fueling turnover on school boards and legislative responses such as the passage of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act. But Florida is not the only state working to protect parents and children through legislation.

Texas law already requires licensed professionals who come into direct contact with children, including medical professionals and teachers, to report child abuse or face criminal penalties. A recent advisory opinion issued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declared that prescribing transgender drugs and surgeries for minors violates this law.

“The Texas Family Code is clear — causing or permitting substantial harm to the child or the child’s growth and development is child abuse,” Paxton said. “Courts have held that an unnecessary surgical procedure that removes a healthy body part from a child can constitute a real and significant injury or damage to the child.” These include “genital mutilation surgeries, mastectomies,” and any other procedures that involve “removing from children otherwise healthy or non-diseased body parts or tissue,” as well as transgender hormone drugs, such as puberty blockers.

The day after the attorney general’s declaration, Governor Greg Abbott issued a letter ordering the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to investigate “any reported instances of Texas children being subjected to abusive gender-transitioning procedures.” The governor added: “Texas law also imposes a duty on DFPS to investigate the parents of a child who is subjected to these abusive gender-transitioning procedures, and on other state agencies to investigate licensed facilities where such procedures may occur.

The DFPS issued a statement that it will enforce the attorney general’s declaration.

The states of Arkansas and Tennessee passed laws in 2021 that restrict gender-altering procedures for minors. LifeSiteNews notes that “least 16 states have introduced bills in recent months” to combat these practices. For example, State Rep. Suzie Pollock of Missouri has introduced H.B. 2649, the Missouri Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, to protect minors from harmful physiological gender transition procedures.

Most Americans are aware that transgender ideology has taken a firm and tragic hold on our nation’s institutions, and nowhere more deleteriously than in the schools. This destructive agenda was first introduced at the university level and descended into high school and middle school classrooms before victimizing our youngest, most vulnerable children in the elementary grades.

As a consequence of all this indoctrination, sex reassignment drugs and surgeries on the young have been rising for the past dozen years. The explosion in gender dysphoria, particularly among girls, is unlike anything that has ever been seen before, stoked in the schools by disingenuous counselors and therapists who won’t question it when a pubescent or even prepubescent child asserts that she is really “a boy” or that he is really “a girl.” Rather, these kids are affirmed in their confusion by adult so-called “professionals,” who escalate the process of emotional and even physical transition before parents have a clue as to what is happening.

At least one transgender activist advocates for all children to be put on puberty blockers until they can decide their gender. The Blaze reported in December 2020 that “popular transgender activist, Zinnia Jones” (whose “real” name is Lauren McNamara) argues that “children should be legally able to consent to the administration of puberty blockers since they already de facto consent to the ‘permanent and irreversible’ changes that come naturally through puberty.”

Jones is a YouTuber with a following and a fan page. Born male in Chicago with the given name of Zachary Antolak, Jones for years identified as gay. In 2011, he concluded that he was actually a transgender woman, and “started a romantic relationship with close friend and lesbian Heather McNamara, becoming an adoptive mother towards Heather’s two children.” Jones is currently “in a polyamorous relationship with Heather and another trans woman named Penny.”

Bitter fruits

With obviously disturbed characters like Jones serving as role models for the transgender lifestyle, it’s little wonder confused kids become mired in disorder and depression. The sad reality is that many such children will undergo sterilization through puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, followed later by physical mutualization and broken, unhappy lives, all at the hands of the public-school system, the health-care system, and social and mainstream media. As LifeSite News reported: “Sex change surgeries have been performed on children as young as 13 years old in the United States.”

Douglas Blair of The Daily Signal documented several examples of the egregious transgender influence currently taking place in the nation’s public schools. “In Howard County, Maryland,” Blair wrote, “eighth grade students were subjected to a video in English class featuring a biological woman who identifies as a man talking about transgender issues. The video begins with discussions surrounding genital surgery, sex, and public restrooms before devolving into a screed about transgenderism in general.” In California, teachers helped “a 12-year-old girl with a gender transition without telling her parents, then called Child Protective Services when the parents found out and tried to stop it.”

Harmeet Dhillon, lawyer and founder of The Center for American Liberty, says “teachers are grooming our children” to embrace the transgender lifestyle. Dhillon tells the story of a 12-year-old girl who was “manipulated into identifying as a boy, changing her name on school records, binding her breasts so she wouldn’t look like a girl, and keeping all of it a secret from her mother, Jessica.”

In this particular case, the school formed “a secret ‘equality club,'” where preteens were recruited and persuaded “to question sexual and gender identities.” At club meetings, kids learned that they may really be boys trapped in girls’ bodies and vice versa. Radical teachers suggested to Jessica’s daughter that the 12-year-old “was sexually attracted to both men and women.”

As a result of this indoctrination, club leaders became convinced that they had successfully “transitioned” the child, and it was only then that they contacted Jessica and told her she was “to call her own daughter a boy’s name with male pronouns — and that her daughter’s name and gender had already been changed in official school records.”

Fortunately, Jessica’s mother fought back and Dhillon’s organization has filed suit against the offending parties on her behalf. But Dhillon concedes: “From what we know of this case, it looks like we’re in for a knock-down-drag-out legal battle…”

Paying the ultimate price

Incidents like those described above take place nationwide every day throughout the public-school system. But perhaps the most tragic examples of the irreparable harm being done are the kids who ultimately take their own lives.

On March 19, The Blaze reported the tragic story of Yaeli Martinez of California, who showed signs of depression by the time she reached eighth grade and began questioning her sexuality around the age of 15. Her mother, Abigail Martinez, related her daughter’s sad story at a Heritage Foundation event earlier this month titled “Protecting Our Children: How Radical Gender Ideology is Taking Over Public Schools & Harming Kids.”

Martinez told the audience that her daughter believed she was receiving support from the transgender crowd by going to meetings although no one truly cared about the girl’s wellbeing. She accused California’s public-school system of brainwashing children with gender ideology, and that her 16-year-old daughter’s “struggle with gender identity led her to commit suicide.

“The school counselor was involved, DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) was involved, and LGBT [sic] was in there too, trying to ‘help’ my daughter transition…” Martinez explained. “They all accused me of not wanting to open my eyes, insisting that since Yaeli was a little girl she felt she was a boy, which was not true. She was not even close to a tomboy … she was the girlie girl in the house.”

Martinez then met with the school counselor and the principal, which she said actually made the situation worse. After a failed suicide attempt, the school psychologist and representatives of the LGBTQ lobby told DCFS that Yaeli, who had decided to take the name “Andrew,” would “be better off out of the house.” The girl was removed from her mother’s home and placed in foster care.

In another attempt to save Yaeli, Martinez petitioned the court “to please let my daughter have a psych evaluation.” But the girl’s social worker said the problem was that Yaeli “needed to be acknowledged as transgender,” and so the judge denied her mother’s request.

Martinez disclosed that “an LGBT group” assured Yaeli that the State of California “would pay for her surgeries.” They told the girl: “This is the best time to do it, because if you don’t do it right now, nothing is going to make you happy. You’re unhappy with your body, you hate your body so you go for it.”

Martinez said she begged the court to focus on her child’s mental health crisis rather than the gender identity issue and to “help her from the inside out.” Instead, they forbade her to talk to Yaeli about God. A social worker warned that talking about God “was going to make him (Andrew) feel uncomfortable because he’s in danger of committing suicide.”

In September 2019, Yaeli Martinez ended her life by kneeling on a railroad track in front of an oncoming train. Her mother told the Heritage Foundation audience in closing: “I want everyone to know the truth because it didn’t have to happen. I don’t want this to happen to any other family… There’s a lot of pain.”

Now in litigation, Yaeli’s Arcadia School District and the Los Angeles DCFS “have extended their condolences” to the Martinez family but have refused to comment in light of the grieving mother’s lawsuit, according to the U.K. Daily Mail. A spokesperson for the DCFS touted the “therapy, leadership and mentorship programs, crisis intervention services, support groups, training, and education” that will allegedly be available through “new contracts with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, Penny Lane Centers, The Help Group and the Long Beach LGBTQ Center for ‘tailored youth services’ which are ‘intended to uplift a youth’s sexual orientation and gender identity.'”

The question is whether all these “services” would be necessary if the schools would teach valuable academics and leave children’s personal, sexual health matters to parents.

Since the first charter school opened in 1992 in St. Paul, MN, charters have proliferated throughout the nation. They are typically viewed as “school choice” options, and in some cases, may provide an academic improvement over traditional public schooling. However, charters are hardly a panacea for parents seeking positive educational alternatives for their children.

The concept of charter schools dates back to the 1970s when New England Educator Ray Budde came up with the progressive notion that teachers should set up contracts or “charters” with local school boards to discover and implement new approaches to education. In the 1980s, former American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Albert Shanker helped move this concept along. “With his support,” Public Charter Schools Insider recounts, “schools began to develop a test of ‘schools within schools’ programs or ‘charters’ in Philadelphia,” and the new method of education began catching on.

Recent figures published by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools show that by 2020, almost three and a half million children were enrolled in 7,700 charter schools in 44 states. Along with homeschooling and other educational alternatives, charter school enrollment increased during the pandemic to the tune of seven percent, the largest rise in five years according to the NAPCS.

While charter schools are technically under the jurisdiction of their public-school districts and are supposed to provide equal access to all students, the reality is that most operate quasi-independently and essentially do their own thing. In some cases, such as with classical charter schools like the Merit Academy in Woodland Park, Colorado, this is all to the good. Local parents can keep close tabs on administrators and curricula, and reject extremist propaganda.

In other cases, however, critics point out that some charter schools find ways to screen out lower-achieving and otherwise disadvantaged students while others engage in conflicts of interest, and employ poor fiscal management. Like their regular public-school counterparts, some fail to teach basic skills.

Gülenist Terror Group-linked charter schools

Then there are charter schools that operate under foreign influence even while subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. A case in point involves groups of charter schools associated with the Turkish cleric and terror group-linked Imam Fethullah Gülen, who arrived in the U.S. in 1999. Gülen had alleged terrorist connections and was expelled from his own country after Turkish authorities accused him of promoting an Islamic state. (He was later tried and acquitted of the charge in absentia.)

By 2005, Gülen was spreading his version of Islam through U.S. public education by establishing groups of “Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ)” charter schools in various states using local non-profit organizations that shared his philosophy and yet were willing to disavow his association with them. One such group is the Illinois-based Concept Schools, which are sprinkled throughout the Midwest. Another Gülenist group of charter schools operates in Texas, under the name Harmony Public Schools. The Harmony group includes 57 schools, plus an additional six STEM schools known as Schools of Science and Technology (SST). Texas has the dubious distinction of being home to the largest number of Gülen schools in the country.

As far back as 2013, the FBI was investigating “certain aspects” of Gülen’s empire, which by then was said to be worth billions of dollars, mostly from his educational ventures. While continuing to deny any involvement in the U.S. charter schools, he nonetheless claimed that his “followers” had established more than 600 schools worldwide. (See Education Reporter, January 2013.)

Gülen schools have triggered a host of complaints over the years, ranging from charges that they employ only teachers imported from Turkey on H-1B visas, some of whom speak limited English, to promoting the Islamic religion according to Gülen, including mandatory study of the Koran after regular school hours. Some of these schools have shown poor academic results and many stand accused of poor fiscal responsibility. All of the schools almost exclusively use Turkish-owned businesses as vendors, a practice that eventually caught the attention of the U.S. Government.

On November 6, 2020, the Turkish international news outlet Daily Sabah, which is published in both English and Arabic, reported that the U.S. Justice Department had levied a $4.5 million fine on what it described as “a Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ)-linked charter school for engaging in noncompetitive bidding practices in violation of the False Claims Act.” The Concept Schools were charged with “rigged bidding for E-rate contracts between 2009 and 2012 in favor of chosen technology vendors so that its network of charter schools located in several states, including Illinois, Ohio and Indiana, selected the chosen vendors without a meaningful, fair, and open bidding process.

“These charter schools are used as a tool to siphon federal funds, namely the American taxpayers’ money” Sabah continued. “FETÖ has some 312 educational facilities in the U.S. and receives almost $600 million per year for these schools,” totaling $5 billion.”

Jeffrey Bossert Clark, who in 2020 was the acting assistant attorney general for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division, vowed “serious consequences for schools that seek to profit at the U.S. taxpayers’ expense.”

David Hunt, then-inspector general of the FCC, added that entities attempting to harm the contracting process such as by conspiring to rig competitive bidding “will not be tolerated and will be investigated aggressively.”

During this time, the Turkish government appealed to both Ohio and Illinois courts in an attempt to prove what it noted is Gülen’s criminal conspiracy to launder money obtained from U.S. corporations and individuals through its nonprofit Concept Schools. The funds are then sent back to Turkey “for the continued financing of illicit activities in violation of Turkish laws.”

In April 2021, the Turkish-based news source, Azerbaijan in Focus, posted an article revealing that “a member of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) admitted that the group had formed a special unit for infiltrating the U.S. military through its members recruited from charter schools…”

Ä°hsan Yilmaz, a prominent fugitive member of FETÖ who lives in Australia, told Azerbaijan in an interview that he was shocked when he heard about the infiltration strategy via a report by Amsterdam & Partners LLP, “which is pursuing a global investigation into the suspicious activities of FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen, and a high-level FETÖ member living in the U.S. who later confirmed the existence of the unit in 2019.” Yilmaz said that he had warned the FETÖ leadership many times in the past against engaging in illegal activities but that they did not pay attention to his warnings.

Interestingly, the Amsterdam law firm in 2017 published a book titled Empire of Deceit: An Investigation of the Gülen Charter School Network, which describes how “the Gülen charter networks routinely use affiliated Gülenist vendors, whom they purposefully overpay to siphon public funds out of the schools and into the Gülen organization by way of apparent kickbacks from businesses. They also serve as H-1B visa sponsors and job creators for Gülenists.” This book may be downloaded free of charge as a 648-page PDF file. Amsterdam has a second book in the works to follow up on this topic.

Despite the evidence of wrongdoing, these alleged terrorist-sponsored charter schools continue to operate in the U.S. The Harmony Schools’ website is filled with braggadocio and nary a hint of the controversy surrounding their existence. While dated and with some links no longer working, the Concept Schools’ website still appears to be active as well.

Why are Gülen schools allowed in the U.S.?

The Gülen schools are reputedly allowed to continue operating for political reasons associated with the complex U.S. foreign policy in Central Asia, particularly regarding Iran. The Daily Sabah reported in 2019: “The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the U.S. Department of State basically position these movements as moderate and peaceful to infiltrate regions where U.S. interests are to be pursued or at stake… When the Soviet Union fell, a vacuum emerged in Turkic countries in Central Asia, and there was a growing concern over the Iranian Shia expansion into the region. The Gülen movement then became instrumental to manage the Turkic countries and cripple the impact of Iran.”

But even while the U.S. Government and state governments in turn close their eyes to the shrouded motives behind Gülen-backed charter schools, parents should be extremely wary of entrusting to them their children’s welfare and education.

As for Imam Fethullah Gülen, he reportedly lives in relative obscurity in a luxurious and well-guarded compound near Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania.

Chinese influence in charter schools

Savvy parents and observers may suspect that China’s tentacles in American education extend to charter schools, and their instincts would be correct. The influence of Confucius Institutes on higher education in the U.S. is well known and documented — with more than a hundred such programs currently operating on university and college campuses. Information about Chinese influence in the lower grades is sketchier, particularly with regard to charter schools.

One example, however, of a Chinese-sponsored full immersion K-8 charter school is the Yinghua Academy in Minneapolis. The school enrolls students via lottery and has a wait list, which is legally how all charter schools are supposed to operate. Yinghua opened its doors in 2006 and bills itself as “the first public charter Chinese immersion school in the U.S. and the first Chinese immersion school in the Midwest.”

Its website states that the academy enrolls students “of all backgrounds and abilities,” offering “a bilingual, bi-cultural, and bi-literate English (American) and Chinese educational experience.” The school teaches Chinese culture and the Mandarin Chinese language, although prior knowledge of Mandarin is not required in order for a child to enroll.

Yinghua emphasizes that students are educated and nurtured to become “citizens for a global society.” Two of the school’s goals include: “Acquire an acute cultural understanding of China and other countries of the world for more effective participation as global citizens”; and, “Develop empathy and respect for others in the school and global community.”

Therein lies the rub. Yinghua may well teach basic academic skills but does not appear to be shaping future American citizens even as American taxpayers foot the bills. Students are not likely to be encouraged to put America first or learn to revere and guard the precious freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Rather, students will be taught to view themselves as citizens of a global community, likely under a global government.

Seeking the bottom line

Volumes have been written about charter schools over the years. The intent to develop schools independent of teachers’ unions and education bureaucracies appealed to many Americans, but as Phyllis Schlafly wrote, the charter concept “opened up a path for foreigners to run schools at the expense of the U.S. taxpayers, without much news coverage.” Schlafly’s April 2012 report exposed the Gülen schools, noting: “Most American taxpayers would be mighty surprised at what their money is financing.”

While good charter schools do exist, the bad and the ugly also abound. Charter schools in general are often accused of employing incompetent teachers, and many perform little better than traditional public schools.

The bottom line for parents interested in enrolling their children in a charter school is to first investigate it fully, by talking to administrators and to parents of students who already attend. They should ask about the school’s mission and goals, as well as an opportunity to view the curriculum if not readily available online. As with traditional public schools, parents can petition for access to the curriculum if it is not posted on the school’s website.

Concerned fathers are running for political office in two different states as a direct result of what they see happening in their children’s schools. Both dads spoke out at their respective school board meetings during the past year, and their remarks went viral on social media. Brandon Michon of Loudoun County, Virginia, is running for Congress in northern Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, one of several candidates seeking the Republican nomination against incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton. Michon said his campaign message “is built on education, safety, the economy, [and] the core principles of our country,” adding that he “aspires to help our country get back on track.” North Carolina parent Brian Echevarria had his viral moment at a school board meeting just last month. The biracial Echevarria had already launched his campaign for a seat in North Carolina’s general assembly when his disagreement with the Cabarrus County School Board boiled over. He disagreed “not only with coronavirus mandates that were already waning nationwide, but also with the prominence of critical race theory in the schools.” Echevarria told the board: “The fact is, in America, I can do anything I want, and I teach that to my children, and the person who tells my pecan-colored kids that they’re oppressed based on the color of their skin would be absolutely wrong and absolutely at war with me… The last thing we need is an entire generation of people who have been told that the color of their skin determines their character.” Washington Examiner

A new level of transgender-pushing insanity has emerged from a children’s hospital in Portland, Oregon. The Doernbecher Children’s Hospital provides a step-by-step instructional guide for boys on how to “tuck” their genitals, which it claims “can reduce any concerns you have about your body, how your clothes fit and how safe you feel in public.” According to Blaze Media (3-17-22), “the guidance from the “Gender Clinic” of the children’s hospital states: ‘Tucking is moving the penis, testicles, or both out of the way. This makes the genital area look smoother and flatter.'” The hospital actually warns readers that the guide uses terms associated with male genitalia, as if the notion of “tucking” isn’t in itself the most offensive and mind-boggling part, or as if children who aren’t yet familiar with the names of male body parts need to know about tucking. The guide explains: “We know you may not use those terms or identify with them. We use them here to refer to body parts that people with tucking needs have, while understanding those words are not for everyone.” What the guide should state is that those words aren’t for anyone in this bizarre and abusive context. Boys are encouraged to practice tucking at home, and the guide instructs them that using tape and/or wearing tight underwear can help the genitals stay in place more securely and be “less likely to come undone.” It then states the obvious, that tape can irritate skin and make it “harder to use the bathroom because you need to take off the tape and then reapply it.” For boys who don’t wish to tuck, the hospital recommends “Spanx or other shapewear,” or “top pantyhose or tights with the legs cut off to your desired length.” The hospital provides web links for where these and other such garments may be purchased, and in case girls feel left out, the hospital also offers a guide on “chest binding.” Of course, puberty blockers for all are covered in the guidance.

The left is attempting to win ordinary citizens over to their extremist position that boys and men should be allowed to compete in sports against women and girls. Ed Martin, president of Phyllis Schlafly Eagles, describes a guide that “spells out” what arguments work or don’t work to push their flawed concept. “This guide starts by making clear that liberals should make their apologetics for transgenderism all about the ‘Race Class Narrative,’ which is the fancy way of saying that if you don’t agree with us, you are racist,” Martin explains. “It then goes on to say that a strong argument for transgenderism broadly focuses on the freedom to be one’s authentic self rather than being boxed in by societal norms, such as the biological fact that only two genders exist.” Martin concludes: “As conservatives, we don’t have to guess how the left will try to destroy girls’ sports. They’ve laid everything out for us in one convenient handout. It’s our job to be familiar with their arguments, and be prepared to counter them by talking about the real harms women and girls face when their ability to compete fairly and openly in sports is diminished by boys pretending to be girls.” While the national focus has been on the high-profile victories of transgender male “Lia” Thomas, who successfully annihilated his female competition in swimming, Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson observed that the left does not care about Thomas. On his March 23 “Tucker Carlson Tonight” program, the host said: “If you pretend to believe something you don’t, then they’ve won… Our national conversation about transgenderism is defined by censorship. Biological sex is fixed at birth, but no fact-based discussion is allowed. Their first move always is censorship and the second is punishment.”

As higher education becomes more focused on skin color and on which pronouns to use in order to honor each student’s gender of choice, university writing instructors are no longer grading students’ writing. The Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform Project reports that Boston University’s new process, which gained in popularity during the pandemic, has been dubbed the “ungrading project.” Professors Marisa Milanese and Gwen Kordonowy explain in a recent column that, of 100 instructors in the Boston University program, “nearly half employed contract grading in some form this semester.” Contract grading is a new fad whereby grades are calculated on the basis of “labor” on the student’s part and “cooperation” between an instructor and the student, which has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. Milanese and Kordonowy, a master lecturer and senior lecturer respectively, say they still comment on students’ writing, although they no longer assign a letter or number grade. The professors defend the “ungrading” movement and “labor-based” grading methods as inspiring students and creating “equity.” But many observers see it as just another step in the total dumbing down of higher education.