The New American
by Steve Byas
7/7/2017
Excerpts:
Public schools are more left-wing indoctrination centers than educational facilities — as test scores attest — so since the schools cannot be fixed, what should parents do?
Horace Mann, the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, speaking in the first half of the 19th century, declared that public schools constituted “the greatest discovery ever made by man.” He added, “Let the common [public] school be expanded to its capabilities, let it be worked with the efficiency of which it is susceptible, and nine-tenths of the crimes in the penal code would become obsolete; the long catalogue of human ills would be abridged; men would walk more safely by day; every pillow would be more inviolable by night.”
Such utopian sentiments provoke laughter today, especially when one considers that a leading cause for the growing exodus from the public schools into various forms of private or home schooling is due to the dangerous environment — physical, academic, and moral — found in so many of America’s public schools.
As public schools continue their degeneration into increasingly physically unsafe conditions, mediocrity, leftist indoctrination, and anti-Christian bias, parents struggle to decide whether these government-run institutions can be salvaged, and if not, what is the best alternative for their children in terms of preparing them for life.
As we shall see, parents do have other options for their children. ………………………………………………………….
Can the Public Schools Be “Saved”?
Across the country, the secular humanists swing into action if their worldview’s monopoly in the public schools is challenged. In Texas, a school nurse’s aide was even ordered to take down a Charlie Brown Christmas poster. The principal called it a violation of church and state, and said it might offend kids from other religions or those who do not have a religion. In Georgia, when a kindergarten student asked the teacher what Christmas was about, and the teacher responded that it was “Jesus’ birthday,” the teacher was reprimanded — at the instigation of the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
The Good News Clubs, a popular after-school Christian ministry for elementary kids, have even been challenged by “After School Satan Clubs” demanding “equal time.” Of course, no such equal time is provided during the school day, when a Christian kid is told that his religion is full of fables and myths. These so-called satanic groups generally do not believe in a literal devil, but use Satan “as a metaphor for fighting religious tyranny and oppression.”
Some, of course, argue that we should “take back the public schools,” rather than simply remove children from them. While political activity to improve the public schools can do some good at the margins, what should a family do in making decisions for their own kids? What can parents do who wish to protect their own children from being indoctrinated into a secular-progressive worldview?
Many well-intentioned conservatives and libertarians have embraced tax-funded vouchers for private schools as a solution. The idea seems appealing because some of the parents’ tax dollars can be used in a private school of their choosing. But this is playing with fire. The problem is that this could prove to be the “trojan horse” to bring government control over private schools. In Wisconsin, a state that has a voucher program for private schools known as Parental Choice Programs, the Wisconsin ESEA Flexibility Request reads, “All schools receiving state funds will be a part of the state accountability and support system.” In other words, programs such as Common Core will be imposed upon private schools in Wisconsin. If private schools are then just like public schools, what is the point?
Parents should also be aware that many private schools, secular or religious, often use the same textbooks as the public schools.
In other words, many private schools, including even many Christian and parochial schools, are just pale carbon copies of the public schools, with the exception that a religious class may be added in addition to the standard Common Core curricula. But there are also private schools that do offer a genuine alternative to public schools. And in addition to brick-and-mortar schools, there are also myriad homeschooling options.
FreedomProject Academy: A Fresh Alternative
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