Educating Ourselves

…Kim Koerber, a former Pearson executive who now works as a sales consultant for National Geographic – another Gates Foundation-funded Common Core publisher – tells the Project Veritas undercover journalist that “conservative voters are afraid of everything,” and proceeds to say why Common Core is important in her view.

She explains that those behind Common Core and the new AP U.S. History framework have attempted to minimize the Constitution and remove Christianity from the core concepts, while they also stress the importance of teaching about Islam… “People who say they want to teach the Constitution, only want to teach the part of the Constitution that they like,” she tells the journalist, who then asks her about the Second Amendment.

“But yet they don’t want to teach all of it,” she replies. “Damn the Second Amendment.”…

…In 2014, however, the DOE issued new guidelines requiring the accommodation of transgendered students. With this ruling it became law that, among other outcomes, any biological male who feels that he is female can avail himself of women’s athletic teams, locker rooms, showers, and/or restrooms, and live in a women’s dorm if he wishes. Oklahoma Wesleyan University and several other Christian colleges therefore sought relief under the existing religious exemption provided in Title IX. Thus the demand from the HRC that the DOE now require Christian schools to “publish comprehensive information about the scope of the exemption they [requested and] received.”

My response in short —I gladly comply and here’s my report…

Greenville, Virginia’s Riverheads High School… Classroom teacher, Cheri Laporte, asked students to practice “calligraphy” by copying the Muslim statement of faith, also known as the shahada, which translates as: “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Recitation of the shahada is a fundamental step in conversion to Islam. … students were not informed of the translation or of the specific meaning… female students were invited to don Muslim apparel and subsequently were photographed in costume by the teacher.… Teacher Laporte was aware of the translation of the text assigned and was unapologetic… previously had circulated a Koran in the classroom, but had intentionally declined to make a Bible available…

Santa Claus is banned. The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer recited. “Harvest festival” has replaced Thanksgiving, and “winter celebrations” substitute for Christmas parties.

New principal Eujin Jaela Kim has given PS 169 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, a politically correct scrub-down, to the dismay of teachers and parents.…

This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt “victimized” by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love. In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.

I’m not making this up.…

…The National Education Association believes that home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience. …Home schooling should be limited to the children of the immediate family… Instruction should be by persons who are licensed… and a curriculum approved by the state… [and] home-schooled students should not participate in any extracurricular activities in the public schools. …

…Over the next two hours, the social worker quizzed their 15-year-old son… whether his parents fought or did drugs… wanted to see his homeschool curriculum… to inspect their firearms… told the Zimmers to sign papers agreeing to turn over their son’s medical records. And then she left, and the Zimmers never saw her again. But they can’t let it go. They can’t erase the memory of what it felt like when they thought the state might take away their son.

In April the Zimmers filed a $60 million federal lawsuit against the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency, along with several division officials and the social worker, Michelle Marchese, for an “unlawful and unconstitutional home intrusion.”…

…The argument that sexual orientation is solely a biological phenomenon is extraordinarily weak, and this poll proves it. Evolution does not favor high prevalence of homosexual attraction.… how we treat homosexuality as a society has massive influence on the sexual orientation of individuals within that society, for good or ill.…

11-year-old child prodigy Tanishq Abraham… graduating from college with… three different degrees. The talented kid from California… last year… [finished] high school at the age of ten… a year later, he’s finished college with three associate degrees.…

Lots of luck, kids — you’re going to need it

[bob's excellent selections]

"…Soon you’ll be able to read books, and everything there is to know is in them! You’ll be able to find out whatever you want!…"

…served to students in some Hawkins County, Tennessee schools last week. … 6-year-old meat had been frozen and then was thawed for meal preparation… at Joseph Rogers Primary School… the staff decided not to serve the meat. However, it was served at other schools. …the meat smelled so bad they made gravy to put over it…

SEATTLE -- Not a single 11th grade students showed up to take the SBAC test at Nathan Hale High School this week, a Seattle Public Schools spokesperson confirmed. … Earlier this year, teachers at Nathan Hale passed a resolution against the Common Core Standards test, but SPS Superintendent Larry Nyland threatened teachers with the loss of their teaching licenses if they didn't administer the test