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EducationalFreedom.com News Update
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Learn more about EducationalFreedom.com
http://educationalfreedom.com
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Submit a Link for the EFC News Update
http://educationalfreedom.com/pages/news_form.html
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February 16, 2004
Links and commentary provided by Cathy Henderson.
FROM THE EFC EDITORS
0) What the Heck! Why You Should Vote for EducationalFreedom.com
HOMESCHOOLING IN THE NEWS
1) Should home schooling be monitored from outside the home?
2) Virtual charter schools growing in popularity
3) Home schoolers say they are being singled out
4) Budget cuts will make Virginians less safe
5) Panel: No extracurriculars for home-schooled
6) Starvation Report Blames N.J.
7) School funding draws fire in Mat-Su
8) Home is where the school is
9) Band of home schoolers keeps beat
10) Hoosier teen makes jump to truck series
11) Sounds of success
INSTITUTIONALIZED EDUCATION
12) Good girls do
13) Parents balk on student waivers
14) Police respond to federal lawsuit in drug sweep
15) New scholarship created for whites only
16) Say teacher kicked teen
17) Flesh amid Ivy: Harvard allows student sex mag
18) The Pivotal Year
19) Private schools getting Utah dollars
20) [British] Children to study atheism at school
THE EXPERTS
21) CDC VACCINE SAFETY DATA LEADS SCIENTISTS TO SHOCKING DISCOVERY
22) New Evidence Suggests Ritalin Health Risks for Pre-Adolescents
23) Student in antidepressant drug study kills herself
24) Past and Prologue
How we teach history says a lot about how we view ourselves, our nation,
and our world.
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
25) I, Pencil
26) What Is Seen and What is Not Seen
27) What's Wrong with Monopoly (the game)?
COMMENTARY
28) MY PRECIOUS
29)Remember Washington's Birthday? It's NEXT Monday
30) Why the Christian Right is wrong
31) Starting a Brush Fire for Freedom
32) Are your schools and kids being 'transformed'?
33) CATCH IT IF YOU CAN:
34) Little Wonder Public Schools Rank So Low
35) Pro-Abortion Feminist Scouts
36) A kick where it's needed
37) Socialism, Bush Style
THE LIGHTER SIDE
38) The String Bag and Octopus Guide to Parenthood
39) I'll do it yooooour wayyyyyy
40) [Weird News] Climax schools ban T-shirts with town's centennial slogan
41) Amazing True Stories of Recertification
RECOMMENDED READING
42) Rational Review News Digest
43) Dale Reed's Math Pages
SUPPORTING EFC
44) EFC DVD Rental Program
45) Amazon.com
46) What the Heck!
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FROM THE EFC EDITORS
What the Heck! Why You Should Vote for EducationalFreedom.com
Common sense dictates that Libertarian/libertarian sites and activists
would/should be the staunchest of allies in our continuing effort toward
education free of government control and intrusion, but the fact is that
there is little attention directed toward this most vital step toward
restoring individual freedom and liberty. The reasons this inexplicable
situation exists seem to stem from a position that there is simply no
market for educational freedom, that the goal is too "unrealistic" to
attain -- resulting in a compromise of libertarian principles in efforts
toward pseudo-choice instead. As states step up their efforts to both
reign in and seduce home educators, we need every ally possible. Bringing
EducationalFreedom.com to the attention of Libertarian/libertarian sites
will help dispel the myth that the goal is unrealistic, and perhaps even
result in some increased awareness of just how vital educational freedom
really is in achieving an awareness of the concepts of, and a mindset
toward, individual freedom. Thank You!!! for getting us on the List! Now
-- Let's Move On Up!
Vote for EducationalFreedom.com in the WHat the Heck Top 25 Libertarian
Sites Poll.
http://www.whattheheck.com/cgi-bin/topsites/topsites.cgi?efreedom
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HOMESCHOOLING IN THE NEWS
1) Should home schooling be monitored from outside the home?
"'I want every child to receive as full an education as they possibly can,'
explains Bruce Dennison, Regional Superintendent of public schools for
Bureau, Henry, and Stark counties. 'Every child in Illinois needs to be in
school if they're between the ages of seven and 16.' That school can be at
home, and Dennison's not opposed to letters, phone calls even home visits
to make sure schooling is taking place. 'Regional superintendents do have
the authority and the responsibility to see that children are going to
school.' Severson says that's not true when it comes to home schoolers. She
calls Dennison's actions harassment, citing an Illinois law which considers
home schools to be private schools."
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=1639030
http://tinyurl.com/2j959
=========
2) Virtual charter schools growing in popularity
"After home schooling for four years, two of Lorie Brunner's sons are
enrolled for the second year in the virtual charter school, Wisconsin
Connections Academy. Brunner, who lives near Cecil, said there are two main
reasons she joined WCA -- relieving the cost of home-schooling and getting
teacher support."
http://www.shawanoleader.com/articles/2004/02/15/news/news2.txt
http://tinyurl.com/2uruj
=========
3) Home schoolers say they are being singled out
"The state may increase its involvement in the education that the
six-thousand Idaho home schoolers are receiving on their home turf. The
Senate Education Committee has passed a measure to crack down on parents
who provide no such education to their children. But attorney Barry
Peterson, representing home-schooling groups, says the bill now headed to
the full Senate could put the state's legitimate home-schooling parents at
risk."
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvb_021404_news_home_schools.1e5acb45.html
http://tinyurl.com/2rpca
=========
4) Budget cuts will make Virginians less safe
"I voted in opposition to H.B. 675 (qualifications for providing home
instruction). The bill would lower the minimum standards of education for
the provider of home schooling. Currently, a parent of guardian must
possess a college degree in order to home school his/her child. H.B. 675,
would lower that requirement so that the provider would only need to have a
high school diploma. I was one of 40 delegates voting in opposition to this
measure (60 in support) and strongly stand behind my vote. Studies have
shown that at every grade level, home-schooled children whose parents do
not have a college degree under-perform those whose parents have a college
degree. I am wholly dedicated to ensuring the proper education of our
children and feel that H.B. 675 would undermine that effort."
[Some contact info for Delegate Fenton L. Bland, Jr., who is so "wholly
dedicated" that he 1) doesn't know VA law, which does not require a college
degree and 2) needs to give with the source of those studies -- or
alternately, define his version of "proper" for all children at all times.
1103 E. Booker Circle
Petersburg, VA 23803
Phone: (804)648-8361
Fax: (804)648-6680
Email:
<mailto:Del_Bland@house.state.va.us>Del_Bland@house.state.va.us<mailto:Del_Bland@house.state.va.us>
Hey, let's compare homeschooled students whose parents do not have a degree
with government-schooled students whose teachers _do_ have one.
But for the record. The highly-touted studies have always held the seeds
of their own destruction, and are ... irrelevant. They at best only
measure the children of home educators against the standards of measurement
of a failed government system; at worst, they validate the very system
rejected. This is what happens when parents seek legislative solutions
approving/disapproving their parental authority instead of demanding to
raise their own.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2271&dept_id=462943&newsid=10968918&PAG=461&rfi=9
http://tinyurl.com/yuhsx
=========
5) Panel: No extracurriculars for home-schooled
"A committee that looked into a parent request to allow home-schooled
students to participate in district extracurricular activities is
suggesting the board not allow it. The recommendation is on the agenda for
the board's meeting on Wednesday. 'It's not as simple as it's perceived,'
said Charleston Middle School Assistant Principal Clyde Frankie, who headed
the committee that studied the request. He said he thinks the biggest
'stumbling block' is accountability for home-schooled students' academic
progress. 'I don't think we can ask the students in-house to have a
different standard,' Frankie said."
[Can home educators encourage their children _not_ to have a different
standard?]
http://www.jg-tc.com/articles/2004/02/13/news/news02.txt
http://tinyurl.com/yv7do
=========
6) Starvation Report Blames N.J.
"New Jersey's system to protect children from abuse and neglect instead
perpetuated it - allowing the four Jackson brothers to endure years of
starvation, according to a report on the state's role in their case. ...
Even after Bruce Jackson's school raised the first red flag in 1995,
reporting that he might be malnourished, DYFS workers sought no medical
input and did not object when Vanessa Jackson began to home-school the boys
the next year. Repeatedly, DYFS workers also took Vanessa Jackson's word
when issues were raised about the brothers' development. In fact, workers
did not follow up with doctors or notice that regular medical care for the
four ceased in 1997, the report said. Although DYFS workers were in the
Jacksons' Camden County home 38 times, usually regarding foster children,
the four adopted sons were rarely seen. ... Because of the Jackson case,
children in foster care in New Jersey are no longer allowed to be
home-schooled."
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/7941885.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2lfnf
=========
7) School funding draws fire in Mat-Su
CITIZENS: Rep. Kohring's plans to reform the system include a voucher program.
"The voucher proposal, which would pay families to enroll their kids in a
school of their choosing, met with the most rancor. Carol Kane, executive
director of the state secondary school principals' association, saw
vouchers in action during a visit to England several years ago.
'Immediately that became the haves and the have-nots," Kane said. "We want
to make sure that every child ... (has) access to a well-funded,
well-rounded education system.' Teacher Laura Wick sees a number of
students enrolling in public school out of private, charter or home-school
situations annually. 'They're behind, very far behind,' Wick said."
[Pshaw. Cathy Henderson sees a number of students enrolling in home school
out of public schools annually. Some are behind, very far behind their
potential had they been learning rather than undergoing social
engineering. They're often withdrawing from drug-induced passivity,
convinced they are doomed to fail, and sometimes take years to heal before
their joy in learning is restored.]
http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4746202p-4692831c.html
http://tinyurl.com/2x48u
=========
8) Home is where the school is
But should the public pay for it? And how much is too much?
"Before last fall, the state's nose was firmly out of the business of
educating Meredith O'Hara's three daughters. Though a professed supporter
of public schools, O'Hara and her husband had either homeschooled their
children or enrolled them in private schools, paying the entire cost
themselves. Enter the Arkansas Virtual School. This year, O'Hara still
teaches her children - Mackie, 12; Casey, 10; and Julie, 7 - at their West
Little Rock home. But the government both picks up the tab - upwards of
$6,000 per child (about $1,500 more than the state spends, on average, on
children in "real" public schools) - and keeps tabs on their progress.
O'Hara gets a computer, books and materials and help from a certified
teacher; in exchange, the teacher evaluates her daughters' work every
couple of weeks, and the girls take the state's standardized tests each
spring. O'Hara is thrilled with the arrangement - not because of the
financial benefit, she said, but because of the high-quality, all-in-one
curriculum and the fact that she's accountable to someone for her
children's progress. ...Supporters of the Virtual School insist that there
is a difference between 'public schooling in the home' and homeschooling:
namely, that homeschoolers choose any curriculum they want and aren't
accountable to the state for what their children learn. The numbers,
however - and the Virtual School's application for charter school status,
approved by the state Board of Education last fall - seem not to split that
hair so finely. 'The majority of students that will choose to access this
innovative public education program are homeschool and private school
students,' Greenway wrote in the Virtual School's charter school application."
http://www.arktimes.com/040213coverstorya.html
http://tinyurl.com/ypj7o
=========
9) Band of home schoolers keeps beat
"Karen Borow raised her baton, and 140 students came instantly to
attention, instruments held to their lips. The baton slashed down, and the
crowded auditorium at a Wheaton middle school rang with the sounds of 'God
Bless America.' It was similar to other school band concerts, but there
were parents dressed in band uniforms playing alongside children, and six
of the musicians shared Borow's last name. The onstage banner read 'West
Suburban Home School Band Patriots.' 'We're different than most school
bands,' said Borow, founder of the group of home-schooled students from all
over the Chicago area. 'We're more like a community band that focuses on
music education as well as performance.'"
[Here here! Now _that's_ what's possible when we stop looking to the
government for solutions.]
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/nearwest/chi-0402150373feb15,1,3085905.story?coll=chi-newslocalnearwest-hed
http://tinyurl.com/39gyf
=========
10) Hoosier teen makes jump to truck series
"A teenager thrust into the competitive world of NASCAR could be excused
for feeling lost at times. And Shelby Howard, 18, who has moved from the
family home in Greenwood, Ind., to be near his new job in High Point, N.C.,
admits as much. But not for the reasons one might think. ...Howard has
taken few wrong turns in a short but meteoric career that tonight has him
15th on the grid for the Craftsman Truck Series season-opening Florida
Dodge Dealers 250 at Daytona International Speedway. ...While his buddies
are back home doing the things high school seniors do, Howard already is
well down the road in his chosen career. 'Yeah, there are some things I'm
missing,' he said, 'but this is about my job now and I'm having fun with
what I'm doing.' Howard earned his home-school degree in an accelerated
program, but that's tame compared to his program of higher education that
accelerates tonight to 180 mph."
http://www.indystar.com/articles/7/120334-5507-036.html
http://tinyurl.com/22vgp
=========
11) Sounds of success
Albany teen's song plays role in Disney movie
"For the past several years, Alexis Ebert has sung at county fairs, rodeos
and country music showdowns throughout the Northwest in hopes of building a
musical career. That effort began paying off last year, when she was
invited to join the cast of a musical revue. Even bigger things are now
falling into place for the 13-year-old Albany girl. Alexis' song "The Real
Me" is featured in the upcoming Walt Disney movie "Confessions of a Teenage
Drama Queen" and is included in the movie's soundtrack. ...Because of her
success and busy schedule, Alexis, who will turn 14 in March, is now doing
her eighth-grade studies as a home-school student."
http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2004/02/13/news/community/friloc04.txt
http://tinyurl.com/3h6zx
----------------------------------------------------------------------
INSTITUTIONALIZED EDUCATION
12) Good girls do
"School counsellors, researchers and teenagers themselves say that girls as
young as 12 and 13 are performing oral sex -- not just the class 'bad
girls,' but students from every walk of life. They don't consider it real
sex, but an act almost as normal as acne and cafeteria gossip. In today's
oversexed consumer culture, reports SARA WILSON, popularity commands a high
price"
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040207/CENTRE07
http://tinyurl.com/27ct2
=========
13) Parents balk on student waivers
"Annette Denietolis took a long look at the lengthy permission slip her
children brought home this past fall. It wasn't the ordinary field trip
slip she was used to signing. It was a full-fledged liability waiver, an
extensive legal document that, in her mind, released the Amesbury school
system from being responsible for her children during any out-of-class
activity. If she signed the slip once, the liability waiver would carry
through all of her children's years in Amesbury schools. ... She said she
is willing to sign a form acknowledging that her child is allowed to
participate in a trip or activity, but she is unwilling to give up the
right to bring a case to court if she feels the school system is
responsible for an accident."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/02/12/parents_balk_on_student_waivers/
http://tinyurl.com/3x76s
=========
14) Police respond to federal lawsuit in drug sweep
"Goose Creek police acted in their official capacity and did not violate
student constitutional rights during a Stratford High drug sweep, during
which officers with guns drawn ordered students to the floor, according a
response to a federal lawsuit. ... Seventeen Stratford students sued in
December alleging police and school officials terrorized them during the
Nov. 5 raid which attracted national attention. Later, the American Civil
Liberties Union sued on behalf of 20 other students alleging violations of
constitutional protections against unlawful search and seizure. In the days
after the raid, videotape of officers with guns drawn and students on the
floor was televised nationwide. Officers found no drugs and made no arrests
during the raid."
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/7928454.htm
http://tinyurl.com/3xe8j
=========
15) New scholarship created for whites only
"A student group at Roger Williams University is offering a new scholarship
for which only white students are eligible, a move they say is designed to
protest affirmative action. The application for the $250 award requires an
essay on 'why you are proud of your white heritage' and a recent picture to
'confirm whiteness.' 'Evidence of bleaching will disqualify applicants,'
says the application, issued by the university's College Republicans."
http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/02/15/whites.only.ap/
http://tinyurl.com/24fz5
=========
16) Say teacher kicked teen
"A Manhattan special-ed teacher was arrested and charged with shoving a
student to the ground and repeatedly kicking him because he refused to hand
him a ball in gym class, police said. Shmuel Levit, 50, is accused of
assaulting the 14-year-old boy in the gym at Public School 751 in the East
Village, cops said."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/164015p-143774c.html
http://tinyurl.com/ytexw
=========
17) Flesh amid Ivy: Harvard allows student sex mag
"Think of Harvard, and certain things come to mind: Pretty old buildings.
Perfect SAT scores. Books and lectures. But probably not sex. A new student
magazine aims to shake that up. On Monday, school administrators approved H
Bomb, a journal being launched by two female undergraduates featuring
erotic writing and nude photography. H Bomb will deal with 'sex and the
issues surrounding sex for men and women of all sexual orientations and
tastes,' according to the application submitted by the students to the
Committee on College Life. The committee, which includes students, staff,
and faculty, voted without opposition -- and two abstentions -- to grant
the magazine official recognition, allowing it to use Harvard's name and
facilities, and to hang posters on campus."
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/12/flesh_amid_ivyharvard_allows_student_sex_mag/
http://tinyurl.com/3aqcp
=========
18) The Pivotal Year
"Nearly 20 years ago, the National Association of Secondary School
Principals asked, 'How fares ninth grade?' ... [middle school experts John
Lounsbury and J. Howard Johnston] discovered a disconcerting mismatch
between school policies and practices and 14-year-olds' developmental
needs. ...Lounsbury and Johnston predicted the ninth grade would 'continue
to drift' and 'mirror the worst of outmoded high school practices that do
little to foster positive learning for all students.' Have their warnings
come true? A new wave of research suggests they have."
http://www.asbj.com/current/research.html
http://tinyurl.com/on9n
=========
19) Private schools getting Utah dollars
Does the practice suggest voucher bill isn't needed?
"Utah education officials stand firm against vouchers, or sending public
tax dollars to private schools -- except when they see fit. Some Utah
school districts already are giving $58,000 a year in weighted pupil unit
funds to private schools to teach special education students, according to
a State Office of Education analysis. The state's two largest school
districts also are spending more than $145,000 for private school services."
http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0%2C1249%2C590043276%2C00.html
http://tinyurl.com/2j2qr
=========
20) [British] Children to study atheism at school
National exam body plans new guidelines for RE lessons
Falling church numbers prompt radical syllabus reform
"Children will be taught about atheism during religious education classes
under official plans being drawn up to reflect the decline in churchgoing
in Britain. Non-religious beliefs such as humanism, agnosticism and atheism
would be covered alongside major faiths such as Christianity or Islam under
draft guidelines being prepared by the Qualifications and Curriculum
Authority, which regulates what is taught in schools in England. Although
some schools already cover non-religious beliefs, there is currently no
national guidance for what is taught, even though all schools must provide
religious education."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1148669,00.html
http://tinyurl.com/3hgy7
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE EXPERTS
21) CDC VACCINE SAFETY DATA LEADS SCIENTISTS TO SHOCKING DISCOVERY
CHILDREN 27-TIMES MORE LIKELY TO DEVELOP AUTISM WITH EXPOSURE TO
MERCURY-CONTAINING VACCINES,
FINDINGS REVIEWED AT TODAY'S IOM MEETING IN DC
"Today, the Institute of Medicine will hold a one-day meeting to review
important new research on the link between thimerosal, a mercury-based
preservative in vaccines, and neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.
One of the larger studies under review comes from the CDCs own Vaccine
Safety Datalink. Under independent investigation, CDCs data concludes
children are 27-times more likely to develop autism after exposure to three
thimerosal-containing vaccines (TCVs), than those who receive
thimerosal-free versions. The findings are not only disturbing to
government officials like U.S. Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D. (R-FL), who is also
scheduled to speak before the IOM panel, they suggest autism via TCVs has a
higher relative risk than that between lung cancer and smoking, which
according to the American Cancer Society is only 22 for men and 11 for
women. 'This absolutely confirms what parents have been saying for years'..."
http://www.educationnews.org/cdc-vaccine-safety-data-leads.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2tc8p
=========
22) New Evidence Suggests Ritalin Health Risks for Pre-Adolescents
"Three new studies, conducted on animals, suggest that misuse of Ritalin in
human children may have long-term brain and behavioral effects. Ritalin is
a powerful stimulant used with growing frequency to treat Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adults. ... Harvard
University Provost (and former NIMH Director) Steven Hyman discussed the
difficulties in comparing these studies on rats to humans. ... Hyman also
went on to describe 'major worries' that prescribing behavior-altering
drugs like Ritalin to human children may introduce 'irreversible,malign
changes in the circuits of developing brains.' Hyman observed that
prescription rates for Ritalin are increasing, and that many children who
are prescribed Ritalin for ADHD do not meet diagnostic criteria for the
condition. He discussed recent evidence of increases in Ritalin
prescriptions among preschool-age children."
http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/education/040209.pdf
http://tinyurl.com/25y7t
=========
23) Student in antidepressant drug study kills herself
"A college student who committed suicide while testing a new antidepressant
took part in the paid drug study to earn money for another semester of
classes, a school official said. Traci Johnson, 19, hanged herself Saturday
at Eli Lilly Co.'s hotel-like research lab at the Indiana University
Medical Center. She had recently stopped taking the pill, duloxetine, after
about a month, the drug company said."
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-drug13.html
http://tinyurl.com/39sw4
=========
24) Past and Prologue
How we teach history says a lot about how we view ourselves, our nation,
and our world.
"No one questions that times have changed since the 1960s, when the
textbook in Lucien Ellington's high school history class was called
American Pageant. The book, Ellington says, was distorted in that it showed
only the positive story of American history, with no criticism. But during
the Vietnam War -- when faith in American institutions plummeted -- the
history field began to change. Textbooks began to reflect both America's
triumphs and its failures. 'That's the way American history and world
history should be taught,' says Ellington, codirector of the Asia program
and professor of education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
But whatever is being taught, it doesn't seem to stick. The 1998 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) civics test results revealed that
75 percent of high school seniors were not proficient in the subject.
Twenty-five percent of seniors could not identify two ways the Constitution
prevents a president from becoming a dictator."
http://www.asbj.com/current/coverstory.html
http://tinyurl.com/2ub7q
----------------------------------------------------------------
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Economics -- First, two Classics for Home Educators who want to encourage
their children to think past government-approved information. Then an
essay that encourages in how to tearn a board game into a _real_ learning
experience -- by challenging your children to think outside of _that_ box.
25) I, Pencil
by Leonard E. Read
http://209.217.49.168/vnews.php?nid=316
http://tinyurl.com/2qusm
=========
26) What Is Seen and What is Not Seen
(Including The Broken Window)
by Frédéric Bastiat
http://209.217.49.168/vnews.php?nid=435
http://tinyurl.com/27vkg
=========
27) What's Wrong with Monopoly (the game)?
"You have surely played the Parker Brother's board game Monopoly. It has
been published in 26 languages and in 80 countries around the world. Since
being introduced in 1935, in fact, an estimated one-half billion people
have played it. It has taught the multitudes what they know about how an
economy works. The problem is that the game seriously misrepresents how an
actual market economy operates. "
http://www.mises.org/fullstory.asp?control=1451
http://tinyurl.com/38d6e
----------------------------------------------------------------
COMMENTARY
28) MY PRECIOUS
A highly recommended essay by Russell Madden.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rdmadden/webdocs/My_Precious.html
http://tinyurl.com/34le2
=========
29) Remember Washington's Birthday?
It's NEXT Monday
"PUBLIC SCHOOL MONSTERS. That's what the nation is producing -- and not
just in the inner cities. These kids don't have a chance, with gay and
race and feminist and all kinds of other bizarre courses poured into their
heads and with parents who are clueless to begin with. When the kids grow
up, they'll be our judges, our teachers, our 'civic leaders.' And our kids
or grandkids will be under their thumbs."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blumert/blumert89.html
http://tinyurl.com/2f7wk
=========
30) Why the Christian Right is wrong
"Since I believe much as they do why then am I critical of Christians who
support the War on Drugs and the Invasion of Iraq? Who often support
government schools and line up for government monies to use in 'Christian'
causes. There is a simple and compelling answer to that. The US government
as it now exists is a government of scofflaws and Christians are required
to uphold the actual law of the land -- not merely nod their heads in
passive acceptance of what to all intents and purposes is anarchy. The US
constitution, imperfect document that it is, remains the law governing our
Republic just as scripture governs our theology. When Christians support
extra-constitutional actions by government, even for what they rationalize
as 'good reasons,' they themselves become outlaws, taking it upon
themselves to write law rather than obey it."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/peirce/peirce72.html
http://tinyurl.com/33gqs
=========
31) Starting a Brush Fire for Freedom
An interview with US Rep. Ron Paul
"I am also in a congressional district where home schooling is very strong.
There are a lot of private schools as well. There are also many religious
schools, both Protestant and Catholic. This is very encouraging. And
although there arent as many children in private schools as there are in
public ones, there is a portion of the younger generation that will have a
sense of what freedom means. To win any battle, you do not have to convert
a majority. You have to convert a determined minority who are in a position
of influence. Thus, as another generation comes to maturity, there is a
chance for other views to prevail."
http://www.rutherford.org/articles/oldspeak-Ronpaul.asp
http://tinyurl.com/2tbao
=========
32) Are your schools and kids being 'transformed'?
"How often we hear parents proudly proclaiming the achievements of their
children and their schools, but do we ask, 'Do you have any idea what your
kids are really being taught?' To understand the process, we need to
understand the mentality behind the education system. ... Professor Alan
Quist and his wife Julie, author of FED ED, The New Federal Curriculum and
How it is Enforced, shared example after example of 'transformational
views' being taught in our schools versus 'traditional views.' Like it or
not, your children's views are being radically transformed and it is
doubtful parents, or teachers for that matter, are even aware of the
transformational teaching. The transformational view believes the purpose
of education is to make radical changes in the nature of our people, our
government, our basic institutions, our entire society and our world. It
defines the purpose of education in terms of changing the attitudes, values
and worldview of learners. The purpose is to train children to be political
activists to work to make the radical changes."
http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=7221
http://tinyurl.com/28f6d
=========
33) CATCH IT IF YOU CAN:
"The bottom line? Your privacy's toast.
My own particular emphasis was the unethical use of schools and children,
an angle none of the other writers up to that time had looked into. I
focused on a little-known technique (outside of advertising and marketing
circles) known as 'psychographic surveying' with a view to altering
attitudes. Then I traced the evolution of automatic transfer capability to
federal and international databases from 1969 onward. A definition of
psychographics is found in Webster's New World Communication and Media
Dictionary: 'the study of social class based upon the demographics income,
race, color, religion, and personality traits.' These characteristics, says
the dictionary, 'can be measured to predict behavior' - prediction being
the point of the exercise. "
http://www.newswithviews.com/Eakman/beverly1.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2uybw
=========
34) Little Wonder Public Schools Rank So Low
"Welcome to your new home in Tarpon Springs. ...By now you've probably
noticed things are just a tad different here in the deep sloth as opposed
to your old hometown, Pittsburgh. This revelation probably began to sink in
when you found yourself suspended from school simply for circulating a
petition. However, you were tampering with the forces of nature - even if
the gene pool has fewer variations on a theme than a newt. It is rather
likely you've been chagrined to learn that - tut, tut - the Confederate
flag had nothing whatsoever to do with slavery, or bigotry, or hatred.
...Why, it's merely a symbol of Southern heritage - Faulkneresque wisdom,
juleps on the veranda, dubious dental plans, and more snake handling than
in '`Raiders of the Lost Ark.' Indeed, one of the young scholars at Tarpon
Springs High, Billy Russ, who apparently wears more Confederate symbols on
his person than Foghorn Leghorn at a League of the South convention,
offered this primer on the Civil War: 'People look at it the wrong way. The
Civil War wasn't all about slaves. It was about economics.' And people
wonder why Florida education ranks somewhere between that of Tora Bora and
the Marianas Trench?"
[Actually, I was wondering more about what passes for scholarly FL
editorialism...]
http://www.tampatrib.com/MGAQVU8OLQD.html
http://tinyurl.com/3eedw
=========
35) Pro-Abortion Feminist Scouts
"At a recent Nobody's Fool annual meeting held at Planned Parenthood of
Waco, Texas, the Bluebonnet Council of the Girl Scouts of America bestowed
on Planned Parenthood chief executive Pam Smallwood the title of "Woman of
the Year." ... Girl Scouts sex education materials include such words as,
'Some girls have sexual attractions or desires for people of the same sex.'
... In the summer of 2001, Mountain Meadow Girl Scout Camp in New Jersey
was advertised as a 'feminist camping experience [for] children of lesbian,
gay, transgender ... and other progressive families.' Children ages nine to
fifteen were required to fill out an application asking name, birth date,
medications, and 'Gender of camper: male/female/other (please explain).'"
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/GuestColumns/Zeiger20040213.shtml
http://tinyurl.com/yu9fl
=========
36) A kick where it's needed
"When is the word 'diversity' not tolerated on campus? When someone tries
to put the word 'intellectual' in front of it. The debate over David
Horowitz's campaign for intellectual diversity has been raging in Colorado
for five months. By spring or fall, the debate may come to an
intellectually not-very-diverse university near you. ... Students
themselves now look up the political affiliations of professors and
complain about indoctrination that passes for teaching. (Check out
www.no
indoctrination.org for detailed student reports of unbelievable
professorial drivel.) Members of the Republican Club at Wells College, an
all-female institution in upstate New York, reported that 92 percent of
their professors in the humanities and social sciences were registered
either as Democrats or with splinter parties of the left. (A month later,
the women's application to be recognized as a campus club was rejected.)
Last week conservative students at Duke announced that the university's
eight humanities departments contain 142 registered Democrats and only
eight registered Republicans. The Duke Conservative Union also charged that
a number of humanities departments 'have become increasingly politicized
over the past few decades' and that this politicization has had 'a
significant impact on the daily workings of faculty members.' Student
challenges such as this are beginning to raise temperatures on campus."
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040223/opinion/23john.htm
http://tinyurl.com/yvj8h
=========
37) Socialism, Bush Style
"In recent days the Bush Administration has been making plans to spend
other people's hard-earned -- or what if simply luckily obtained -- money
on, as Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary, Administration of Children
and Families (Department of Health and Human Service), refers to it in a
letter to my local newspaper, 'to support couples in their desire to form
and sustain healthy marriages.' ... Dr. Horn adds that people who lack
sufficient funds may not be able to obtain the help they need from
professionals. True enough -- another reason that many people should wait
with getting hitched and, especially, with producing children. One has the
responsibility to prepare for such things, including economically. If you
cannot afford to bring in professional help when you need it, you should
wait until you can afford it or do without. But then Dr. Horn goes on to
line up the Bush Administration with out-and-out socialism. He tells us,
"Don't low-income couples deserve the same chance to build and sustain
healthy marriages as more affluent ones?" So, government must provide, no?
... I am less handsome than Robert Redford -- but don't I deserve a happy
love life, too? Alas, if I am unable to attract the ladies as Robert does,
shouldn't the government make sure this imbalance is fixed? No. What about
vacations or schools to which our kids go the better off can afford those
while the less well off cannot. Is it the role of government to even all
this out?"
http://www.lewrockwell.com/machan/machan36.html
http://tinyurl.com/2te8n
----------------------------------------------------------------------
THE LIGHTER SIDE
38) The String Bag and Octopus Guide to Parenthood
"Preparation for parenthood is not just a matter of reading Sheila
Kitzinger and decorating the nursery. Here are eleven simple tests for
expectant parents to take to prepare themselves for the real life
experience of being a mother or father."
[Thanks to Chris O'Donnell of O'DonnellWeb for posting this
link. http://www.odonnellweb.com/ is
an interesting read on any day, with
or without the humor links.]
http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/strbago.htm
http://tinyurl.com/2zhng
=========
39) I'll do it yooooour wayyyyyy
"My fellow and gal Americans:
For the past few months, as I have traveled around this great nation
talking about my campaign for president, the one question I have heard most
often from the voters, in these troubled times, is: 'President of
what?' Ha ha! Such kidders, those voters! But seriously: According to my
team of policy advisors, it is now 2004, which means this November the
American people will go into the voting booth and cast ballots for the
leader of our nation, except in Florida, where they will become confused
and attempt to produce urine samples."
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/columnists/dave_barry/7953353.htm
http://tinyurl.com/39kyb
=========
40) [Weird News]
Climax schools ban T-shirts with town's centennial slogan
"CLIMAX, Minn. -- It may be the town's slogan, but it doesn't meet the
approval of the superintendent who has placed a school ban on the
centennial T-shirts that read: 'Climax -- More than just a feeling.' About
a dozen students wore the Climax T-shirts to school this week in protest,
and one girl was sent home Wednesday for refusing to turn her shirt inside
out."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/4375145.html
http://tinyurl.com/3gjzk
=========
41) Amazing True Stories of Recertification
http://www.teachermagazine.org/tm/vol-15/04True_flat.htm
http://tinyurl.com/33vcr
----------------------------------------------------------------------
RECOMMENDED READING
42) Rational Review News Digest
News:
http://www.rationalreview.com/news/
Rational Review News Digest
Early morning e-mail delivery, Monday through Friday
Subscribe:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rrnd/join
=========
43) Dale Reed's Math Pages
Are you looking for some interesting math ideas and web sites? If so,
this is a comprehensive list of sites for math and logo programming.
Check it out.
http://www.educationalfreedom.com/pages/dale_reed/index.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUPPORTING EFC
44) EFC DVD Rental Program
http://mentura.com/dvdrentals/EducationalFreedom.com.html
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45) Amazon.com
Shop at Amazon.com and support EducationalFreedom.com!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/educationalfr-20
=========
46) What the Heck!
Vote for EducationalFreedom.com in the WHat the Heck Top 25
Libertarian Sites Poll. Get us on the list!
http://www.whattheheck.com/cgi-bin/topsites/topsites.cgi?efreedom
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