Send your kids to government schools at your own risk.
Public schools were once charged with the duty of educating young citizens in the basics and teaching them how to be good citizens. These days, it’s all about indoctrination.
Thanks to Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, large unions are now compelled to disclose how they spend members’ money. The National Education Association has given money to such organizations as:
- National Council of La Raza (advocates government benefits for illegal aliens, among other things): $7,900
- Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Media Awards: $5,000
- Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN): $5,000
- Wellstone Memorial Fund: $5,000
- Rainbow PUSH Coalition: $5,000
See Teachers’ Pets. (Thanks, Errol.)
The Spunky Homeshooler has more. By the way, homeschool your kids if you can’t afford private schools. Now, if only home and private schoolers were exempt from paying taxes to support government schools, there would be harmony in the universe at last. 
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No surprise to me since the NEA opposes home education and all its footsteps are left and the fact it dose support these left-wing organizations shouldn’t surprise anyone.
“Now, if only home and private schoolers were exempt from paying taxes to support government schools, there would be harmony in the universe at last.”
We’ll get there La Shawn…one blog at a time. Thanks for the help!
Spunky
I have no love for the NEA and I share much of the disgust with public schools……but……many public school teachers are extremely dedicated and work miracles. Many, many public school teachers do not belong to the NEA or any other union.
I want to make certain that we do not tar all public school teachers with the dogma droppings of the NEA.
Dogma droppings. Catchy…
I was a teacher briefly from 1986 to 1987 and remember being forced/coerced into joining the NEA even though I didn’t want to. Even then they didn’t really represent teachers. On one occasion I needed representation due to a threatened lawsuit and was basically told that I was on my own.
I totally agree with the “indoctrination” assertion. If anyone wants to influence the propaganda materials that the educational establishment uses to brainwash students, get involved.
This is why: textbook companies will follow what consumers/local school boards want. I know this because I worked on textbooks and tests, and they changed depending on which state they were selling to. And I heard more than once the disdain the publishing folks had for places such as “conservative” Texas. Textbook companies want to sell, and they will conform accordingly. Parents make a difference.
I also got a master’s of education (which was a leftist propaganda indoctrination program), and believe me, those profs and educational system “architects” despise anything that does not fit into their ideology. What’s ironic is that they get a lot of gov’t money to do “studies” and “papers” about what children “need”.
Thanks for this, today. You are totally right. Shocking how bold the NEA has become…but more shocking that we let them.
-gena
Sam Blumenfeld wrote a book over ten years ago entitled “NEA: The Trojan Horse in American Education.”
I highly recommend it.
I also have been homeschooling for over ten years and haven’t looked back. I don’t particularly care for the elementary school district we are in, but the Middle School we have is good.
But the problems with public education go far beyond the NEA. Get rid of the Department of Education and get government (both federal and state) out of the schools and turn them back over to the people who fund them: The taxpayers.
Please do not condemn all public schools and teachers.
I belong to the NEA as the parent of my local education association. My association negotiates my contract and makes sure that the school district maintains it. I was told that only PAC contributions, separate from the dues, goes to political causes; I will check that out tomorrow.
I am frankly insulted by the disparaging comments about teachers. Perhaps some have been unfortunate enough to encounter poor ones, but some of us are the best influences in our students’ lives, and I have been called to teach.
Some of the best people I know are government school teachers, but that doesn’t change my assessment of the NEA, despite the little good they do in the world. I’m glad you’re called to teach, but my view of the NEA stands. If you’re offended by this post and the comments, I’d recommend you not read the archives or future posts. It’ll probably get a lot worse.
Cricket, my wife and I were well into our fourth decade as a public school teachers when we “threw in the towel.”
For the most part, I think public schools can not be fixed.
There is a quiet war taking place. True parents are home schooling or carefully choosing private schools. They value religion, discipline, academic rigor, ethical behavior, etc. On the other side are the entitlement crowd who worship the state and demand the “free” nipple of the tax-fattened sow.
To be free of the taint of the political correctness police and their intolerant “tolerance” dragnet, more and more you must find an education haven outside the public school (in most places.)
I firmly believe in the public paying for a child’s education; but, I have experienced, first hand, the pitiful decline of the “public school.” We should not tie the concept of a “free education of the public” with the system of “public schools.”
Our town chased the baby Jesus out of the manger, but sponsored an elaborate seven day Menorah ceremony all in the name of multicultural education. That is the reality of our times.
Most public schools switched from public education to public relations years ago. I see no trend that will turn that around.
What I found most disturbing is that they spent more than twice as much money on funding political activism groups than they did on their own lobbyism.
I wonder, if you looked at the $400k they gave to Protect Social Security, how long before a similar amount was given to a politician, PAC or campaign (by PSS)? And what are the chances said pol had a D after their name and district?
“Now, if only home and private schoolers were exempt from paying taxes to support government schools, there would be harmony in the universe at last.â€
I’m praying for this day to come. Tax exempt, vouchers, write offs, *something* to help us out of this hole. Our school taxes for 2005 is $6,115. That’s not a typo. Tuition for our fifth grader: $10,400 (private Christian school specializing in learning problems). And in just over two years the little one will go to school (at a regular private Christian school). Tuition and taxes just keep rising. We tried selling the house but we didn’t get any offers. We’re going to try again this year because the strain of making ends meet is becoming unbearable. We’re being taxed out of our home and, to me, that’s unspeakably criminal.
I can go on and on and on about the ineffectiveness of public schools especially when it comes to teaching kids with learning problems but I’d probably burn the server with it all.
And in case you’re wondering if sending our oldest to such an expensive school is worth it, the answer is YES! Without a doubt, she is worth every penny we’ve spent.
I am a member of the CTA (California Teachers Ass.)and because of that the NEA. Don’t ask me why I’m still a member after 18 years. After the effort from my cohorts concerning Arnold’s reforms I’ll not make it a 19 year run. There was so much vitriol spewing from the lips of the “outraged” that you had to where rain wear to school. Our local even sent around the most ridiculous breakdown possible of where our union dues were being spent in light of one of Arnold’s reform attempts. It was comical and inane.
Over the years, the NEA has repeatedly:
–Taken the credit for shooting down Voucher Bills.
–Abolished the Parental Rights and Responsibilties Act, and
–Derailed attempts to make English the official language of our public schools.
–The NEA was a major proponent of rewriting the textbooks to make leftist union thug Cesar Chavez into a hero. Not allowed to celebrate Christmas in the LA Unified School district, but NEA contributed tons of money to lobby for big district-wide celebrations of Cesar Chavez day as National Holiday in 7 states.
And many of us are forced to financially support the NEA because of $#!!# agency shop laws.
And it’s important to remember that the rank-and-file NEVER get to vote for any NEA official, candidate endorsement, expenditure, or dues.
And yes, people can formally “opt out” of NEA, but this legalized syndicate will sill keep 80-90% of dues as an “agency fee.”
Goodbye, LaShawn. Tearing down the public school system is not feasible; re-establishing local control through elected school boards is. Homeschooling is preferable for many parents and is certainly their right, but it doesn’t build a community. By opting out instead of reparing, conservatives are leaving the system to the very ones who pose the greatest danger.
You won’t miss me, I know, but I’m sorry that you’d rather lose a reader than consider that there are reasons for salvaging public education rather than condemning it.
Oh, brother! And I thought I was a drama queen.
Parting is such sweet sorry… and all that. – Admin
Most people can’t train a dog, much less home-school their children. Be careful what you preach! Some people may just take your advice, and you will further contribute to the illiteracy and closed-mindedness of America.
You really think it can get any worse? You’re a more optimistic man than I. – Admin
Let’s pretend that the NEA is a force for excellence in public schools. Instead of protecting incompetence and incompetents and contributing exclusively to the Democrat Party and engaging only in contract negotiation and litigation it would:
1.) Recognize that the 3 R’s are at the root of successful learning. It would scour its vast network of teachers and use its enormous wealth to pin-point successful teaching techniques and send “flying-squads” of rescue teachers to help failing schools adopt and implement successful programs.
2.) It would serve as a vast clearing house for successful curricula and implementing effective teaching/learning methods.
3.) It would never settle for mediocrity.
4.) It would…….Oh, just forget it.
Zorro : “Most people can’t train a dog, much less home-school their children.”
And a lot of those suckers are NEA members teaching in our classrooms today.
Zorro : “Some people may just take your advice, and you will further contribute to the illiteracy and closed-mindedness of America.”
The moonbat political commissars of the NEA are doing an excellent job of turning our children into illiterate, loony left indoctrinated morons already.
Zorro
It is better to be thought ignorant than to open one’s mouth or keyboard and remove all doubt.
For your information: Homeschoolers have won the national spelling and geography bees, and are consistently ahead of their peers at the same grade level.
The outrage that mere homeschoolers would beat publicly educated youngsters in spelling and geography aroused the ire of the NEA.
They screeched and howled about how these kids don’t have a social life, nor do anything fun, nor are productive except study. Homeschoolers are more well rounded than their counterparts in the public schools. Here is another little known fact: You will hear about the curve of learning and how African-American children aren’t performing up to standard in school. Well, that is true, because teaching is racist. When Afrtican Americans began to homeschool, the differences in learning disappeared. IOW, they performed as good as, or better than, their white public and privately taught peers.
All points have been proven false about how illiterate and ignorant homeschoolers are. I think you are just jealous.
In my own experience, my then fifth grade son tested at seventh grade for reading, spelling, grammar, math and general knowledge. The public school I would have sent him to for science courses didn’t have a science curriculum on his grade level, or ‘ability level’ since you want things to be dumbed down. The school had a three to one student teacher ratio. Most public school teachers would kill for that kind of class.
The school’s highest reading level at 12th grade was ninth grade, and that was pushing it. For 24 kids, you would think that they would be much higher. Well, it wasn’t. The school barely got it’s accreditation two years prior to me making the inquiries, and was routinely testing the kids at eighth grade reading levels to not only keep their accreditation, but to show that they could all make it…at a lower level. Intellectual dishonesty and education rape? I think so.
He was at 12th grade ninth month when he was 15 across the board in all core subjects. He has had songs copyrighted, along with some other intellectual property, to include working on a new Dungeons and Dragons character.
He was taking German and practicing with native speakers to improve his pronunciation and vocabulary.
He had attained the rank of Life Scout and earned
over 26 merit badges, 11 of them required, to get his Eagle rank.
My next oldest son is no less stellar in his achievements. He is the senior patrol leader in his patrol, and holds the rank of Scout, First Class and has earned a total of 12 merit badges.
My children participate in community service projects, have tutored public school children
in math and English grammar and have been sought out, well liked members of community and church.
Their level of literacy is a grade level or more ahead of their peers and has been since I have been teaching them.
So why don’t you chill and take a look at the statistics? The Wall Street Journal has taken notice and makes the observation that homeschooling will stem the tide of illiteracy, poverty and ignorance.
Your post is ill informed and a knee jerk response.
This idea that opting-out destroys the public schools.
Consider Crenshaw High, a public school in the Los Angeles Unified District. The State of California revoked Crenshaw’s accreditation in the Association of Public Schools. California is gearing up for a State takeover of that school. Opting-out didn’t destroy Crenshaw High. Nobody opted out. If anything there was overcrowding. Crenshaw High had all the “local control” in the world. There were task-forces, endless study groups, tax-payer funded research. There was a major profusion of corporate cash and donations, a big fund-raising drive to save Crenshaw High.
None of that worked. Once you have a State take-over of a public school, it’s all over. And, Crenshaw is only about one of dozens of public schools in LA Unified that is earmarked for State take-over.
The system is already broken without any possibility of repair, whether parents opt-out or not.
NEA leftist? In other news, dog bites man…
I am a graduate student working on my Masters in Education (EC-4) at Texas State University. I’m required to take a multicultural class as part of the degree. Haven’t taken it yet, but I’m leery about what will be taught. I did field experience this past fall, and was paranoid about reading “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” because Linus says a prayer before they eat. The teacher told me that was OK, because it was presented with a historical context (about the first Thanksgiving). Anyway, there is a need for good teachers, and I hope to be one of them that WILL NOT indoctrinate my students with left-leaning ideas. It is my feeling that if we of a conservative bent completely abandon the public school systems, things will only get worse. Home-school your kids or send them to private schools if you can, but I think it is also a good idea to try to change things from within, too.
Thank goodness that in Texas, we get to choose our teacher organizations and that not all of them are aligned with the NEA.
There is a core group of teachers at my campus (including myself) that fight the lower accountability and expectations that are showered on us from up above. On our campus, the accountability meme splits itself right down party lines. Too many of our teachers worry about what our kids can’t do instead of expanding on what they can do.
The current state of lower income and inner city schools is one that grinds on teachers until they quit, move, or give in. It takes extraordinarily principled, determined, and incredibly strong teachers to stay in it and get a campus turned around. Unfortunately, not enough teachers are willing to make that choice, and it is not an easy one. When there are other, more attractive options out there, what choice are you going to make?
I don’t blame any teacher for not wanting to get cussed at, threatened, looked down upon, or castigated by bureaucrats for wanting to have higher standards. It really is a tough gig.
Having super-lefty organizations like the NEA driving the education policy bus makes the problem worse, not better.
Zorro is absolutely right. Most people with children cannot even properly break their dogs, much less educate children. If most of the parents home educated their children, they would no doubt merely bumble along.
Here’s what the “Z” man forgot: It would still be twenty times better than the government educational system!
The gov’t school system is all about indoctrination; Dewey’s instruments of social change (social-control through mental manipulation), rather than what most people assume true education consists.
Therefore, homeschooling parents who started from a belief in education, bumbling along as many of them surely would; would be in a far superior position than ANY public school, no matter how well-equipped.
And also, Goddess-of-the-Classroom (if you are still among us), the government schools *are* wholly irredeemable. There exists a cunningly crafted system of checks and balances to PREVENT reform towards fundamental education.
Or, as Pat Buchanan said in 1992, speaking at the HQ of the Department of Education, “We should shut this system down, padlock the doors, and fumigate the building!”
Let’s be clear about something here. You guys aren’t against indoctrination. You’re against supposed “leftist” indoctrination in schools. Even if that were true, what you do to your own children at home is also “indoctrination”. Now I don’t know how much public schools have changed since I was in them (I’m 31), but the only things I remember being “indoctrinated” in were the alphabet, match, reading and writing, and being nice to others. I agree there are a lot of problems with public schools right now, and with education in America in general. Though I understand the right of parents to home-school their children or take them to a private school, I do not see how working parents who can’t afford private school, benefit from this desire on the right to blow up public education in America.
Wrong-o. It is NOT indoctrination we seek to pass on, certainly not that of the gov’t schools. To Quote Prof. Gilbert Meilander (Imprimis, Oct. 2005) “We should not think of this moral education as indoctation, but as initiation. It is initiation into the human moral inheritance. ‘Men transmitting manhood to men.’” A far stretch to compare this to that which is perpetrated by the pagan-left which is in charge of gov’t schools.
Yeah, there are a lot of problems with education in America right now, I agree. The solution is to start from scratch with schools free of State interference (market driven) and certainly free of beliefs and values contrary not only to that of the parents, but also in opposition to that which made America a once-great nation.
One other thing about education in America and the schools: They have taken a downhill turn since Johnson’s Great Society and the creation of the Department of Education. The NEA isn’t about bettering our schools, it is about empowerment for them and a chosen select few.
I do have my LD son in a closed program in the public school, but because federal law is on MY side as the parent, I could send him to the school that best suited his needs.
His teachers are good decent people and the principal of that school dares to pray and honor the military.
Not only that, it is considered an honor for the mainstreamed kids to be allowed to help with the SE children, as only the most trustworthy and kindest students are allowed to interact with them.
If this trend continues, I will be sending my younger children to this school when it is time.
Maybe I’m missing something. When I went to school (I’m 29), I took a lot of AP courses and was able to start college with 48 credits (and I considered myself to be a bit slow–others were taking higher level university courses). Also, those of us at the top of the public school were far stronger than those in the private schools. In short, in a good district, for the elite I think the public schools gave a better option than private schools. However, this was a completely different story for school districts only a few miles away where their highest math levels were around trig/advanced algebra. Even if a student was good there, they simply wouldn’t have had enough exposure to know what the true level should be when they reached college. My point is that public schools don’t have to suck. The problems that I see is that there is extreme variation. For example, some districts see an innovative teacher and support them. Others feel threatened and quash them. This makes merit pay across the board a dicey propisition. What determines the merit? Student/parent evaluations? Suppose you have a tough but fair grader at a school where everyone grades easy. That teacher loses. At the high school level, suppose there are tracked courses. One teacher deals with remedial and another with AP–how do you compare their abilities based on student performance on a national exam? If you leave it to an administrator, how do you avoid caprice? I just don’t see how this works out well. For school vouchers, private schools can pick and choose who they take. After the established schools are taken, how do parents make an informed choice about the remaining ones? How many parents are able to do so? As for home schooling, I think you’re seeing a self-selected population. They have the most motivated of teachers (their parents) and total immersion learning. Great, but not a financially viable option for many families. I could see these as options, but not as a solution for the bulk of students. I’m still in favor of trying to reform public education. Things like requiring competency of teachers (which would be measureable) in their subject area. Refocusing of subjects.
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