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July 17,
'01
Vol. 1, No. 21
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T H E S C H O O L L I B E
R A T O R
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* Universal Head Start * LA's Bureaucratic Monster
* Bill Bennett Gets the Boot *
--> Sometimes I wonder if bad ideas are reproductively superior. Yes,
the universal pre-school control junkies are at it again.
--> Time Magazine reports: "At the biannual convention of the
American Federation of Teachers, president Sandra Feldman called for the
universal enrollment in pre-school of every child aged three or
older--regardless of whether
their parents are able to pay for the classes."
http://www.time.com/time/education/article/0,859
9,167401,00.html
--> Why do the control junkies think that universal pre-school is such
a great idea? Some say it's because Head Start has been a success.
--> But has it been? Krista Kafer, Education Policy analyst at the
Heritage Foundation begs to differ. "What existing [Head Start]
research shows is a fade-out effect--whatever gains are made early on fade
by the second grade." Some how I don't
think that Feldman is ignorant of this research.
--> Kafer points out another inconvenient fact about Head Start.
"Its focus was helping underprivileged kids gain the same skills and
understanding that their middle class peers had entering school." Why
are they now trying to institutionalize middle class children in
government pre-schools if non-government pre-schooled children are the
role models? Could more jobs for certified teachers be the motivation?
--> Carlo DiNota can tell you why Head Start fails poor children, just
as all government schools fail the poor. See more below..
--> "'The bloated and inept downtown education bureaucracy."
This quot[ation] was taken from the campaign centerpiece document of
Marlene Canter, one of the two newest Board of Education members of the
Los Angeles Unified School District." wrote Gregg Beytin and Carl
Douglas Rogers--two LA teachers--in the July 15 LA Daily News.
http://www.dailynewslosangeles.com/opinions/arti
cles/0701/15/vew03.asp
--> They go on to tell Canter what she needs to do to fix the LA
schools--and all their recommendations are pipe dreams. But there is this
little gem buried in the rubble of their editorial: "Canter.
reportedly spent a record $3 million to
overcome incumbent Valerie Fields, who had massive support from the
influential teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles."
--> $3 million smackaroos for a seat on a school board?
=========== ANNOUNCEMENTS ===========
--> Your donations are starting to roll in for our website upgrade.
Thanks, and to those still on the sidelines, there's a way to go to reach
our goal with less than two weeks left. We need $8,500 to pay our new
webmaster to upgrade other areas
of the website. We are hoping for a $1,000 gift, three $500 gifts, and a
whole bunch of gifts from $25 to $250. We need your commitment of support
by July 30 to be able to secure Geoff Braun's services for the rest of the
work. Email Morgen with your pledge mailto:Morgen@psnw.com
or call
559/292-1776.
Take a look at our new homepage http://www.sepschool.org
and show us how much you like it with your donation. As always, we thank
you for your generous support.
--> SepCon2001 is set for Nov. 16-18 in Arlington VA, the weekend
before Thanksgiving, at the Hilton DoubleTree Hotel in Arlington VA. We
have a SepCon2001 page listing the speakers and topics. Registration
information, too. Go to
http://www.sepschool.org/sepcon.html
Mark your calendar now.
======================================
CHEA Cancels William J. Bennett
By Kate Jimenez
The Christian Home Educators Association (CHEA) of California has canceled
William Bennett as the keynote speaker for their annual homeschooling
convention in Ontario, California. Dr. Bennett, founder of K12, an online
school that begins offering classes this fall, was scheduled to deliver
the keynote speech kicking off the convention on June 29th. CHEA's board
of directors abruptly canceled Dr. Bennett's speech and exclude a K12
exhibit in their convention hall when they learned that K12 had been
granted a permit to operate a charter school in Pennsylvania.
Charter schools are public schools, released from some of the restrictions
placed on traditional public schools, as outlined in their
"charters." CHEA does not support homeschooling through charter
schools as they correctly perceive these schools as a foot in the door for
government intrusion into the family's God given right and responsibility
to direct the education of their children. CHEA's mission statement reads
in part: "The Mission of the Christian Home Educators Association of
California is to Advance the Kingdom of Jesus
Christ by: Promoting private Christian home education as an outstanding
educational opportunity..."
According to their website http://www.K12.com K12 will be seeking permission to run
charter schools in other states including Illinois and, as CHEA reports,
California. Parents who enroll their children in the K12 Pennsylvania
Virtual Charter
School will receive a computer, an Internet connection and a variety of
materials to use for free. Additionally, because it is a public school,
there is no charge for tuition. Currently K12 is offering only
kindergarten through 2nd grade, with plans to expand in the future.
The incentives offered by charter schools make it difficult for private
homeschool programs to compete financially. In addition, teaching talent
and homeschool community spirit are drained when families throw in the
towel on independent homeschooling for the lure of free computers and
materials. These benefits have a hidden price tag. Parents lose the right
to chose educational materials for their children and will be subject to
state curriculum requirements o the teaching of sex and drug education and
a plethora of other social programs that have little to do with education
and everything to do with social engineering. Joining a public homeschool
program, whether offered by a charter or a traditional school, defeats the
Christian homeschool families' purpose of preventing the government from
indoctrinating their children with its social agenda.
Congratulations to CHEA of California for making a principled stand and
canceling Bennett and K12 at their conference.
Kate Jimenez is the former President and newsletter editor for The
California Homeschool Network, and a contributor to deschooling.org. http://www.deschooling.org
============ Special Offer ===============
In "Why Government Schools Fail the Poor," Carlo DiNota presents
the most devastating description you'll ever hear of how poor, urban
children are treated by government schools, good intentions
notwithstanding. Get this 60 minute audiotape as a School Liberator
special--$1 plus $3.50 shipping--a full $7 discount. Call Morgen at
559/292-1776 to order.
======================================
SIGN THE PROCLAMATION or get a family member to:
"I proclaim publicly that I favor ending government
involvement in education."
http://www.sepschool.org/Proclamation
WANT TO SOUND OFF? Discuss education issues with fellow articulate School
Liberators. Go to
http://www.sepschool.org/Other/eGroupsDiscus
sion.htm
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? Send us your message at mailto:ccuthbert@fix.net
WORD OF MOUTH is the most efficient means of marketing the Separator
philosophy. Please forward this newsletter to your family, friends and
associates.
=====================================
FINAL THOUGHT
"[Teachers' experiences] might suggest to some that a core, mandatory
reading list might be key to
transmitting at the least the basics of a common
literary culture.
"Many California educators, however, recoil from
that suggestion for a variety of reasons. [Language
arts consultant Diane] Levin, for example, simply insists 'that we are
such a diverse state and that there is so much literature out there that a
single set of books is too narrowing. Our communities won't accept it.' If
one were forced upon them, she said, 'we would have a lot of very, very,
very unhappy people.'
"Others point to the melancholy example of San Francisco, which
attempted to adopt a citywide mandatory reading list three years ago and
blundered into a battle over actual numerical quotas on authors' ethnicity
and gender. That, said Carol Jago, director of the California Reading
and Literature Project at UCLA and high school English teacher, 'is the
lowest common denominator for any canon.'"
--Tim Rutten, Times Culture Correspondent in
"Weighing the Classics"
http://latimes.com/features/lifestyle/la-071501b
ooks.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dliving
======================================
THE SCHOOL LIBERATOR is currently a FREE service of The Alliance for the
Separation of School & State, 4578 N First #310, Fresno CA 93726 (559)
292-1776. We are a non-profit, grass roots educational organization
dedicated to informing people worldwide how education can
be improved for all-not only the poor-by liberating schools from politics.
For more information go to
http://www.sepschool.org
Publisher: Marshall Fritz
Editor: Cathy Cuthbert
Copyright 2001, The Alliance for the Separation of
School & State, Inc. All rights reserved.
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