By Caitlin Nicholas

“You can’t make socialists out of individualists. Children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone is interdependent.”
- John Dewey, 19th Century Philosopher, Education Reformer

“The philosophy of the schoolroom in one generation will be the philosophy of Government in the next.”
- Abraham Lincoln, Self-Educated, Lawyer, U.S. President

In the past couple of years, our public school system has become more and more inefficient. Schools also continue to cross the line, when it comes to what is being taught— or what is no longer taught— to our youth.

Sex education is one of the most controversial –subjects taught to middle and high school students. Schools are no longer -emphasizing abstinence in health class. Schools are -educating students about birth control, safe sex, abortion, –including the best methods to use in order to prevent pregnancy. Can you believe that this is actually happening?

Planned Parenthood is influencing the sex education curriculum used in public schools by offering their own curriculum for teachers to use. Your kids are being taught that it’s okay to have sex. They are being told that if they do happen to get pregnant, it is also okay, because there are “options.” Planned Parenthood will help. In fact, parents don’t have to know about it!

Why is this happening? Because of the progressive left. They are trampling our traditional values. . But here is an important question: should sex-ed be taught in schools at all? I don’t think so! Sex education should be taught at home, by the parents, according to their own beliefs.

Our education system is teaching our children that their parents are stupid. The progressives say, “Don’t listen to them. You know things that they don’t know. You have rights!” The parents are not “educated” enough or “qualified” instructors. Progressive government leaders say, “Listen to us, we are your parents!” In fact, government officials have already coined the term “co-parenting.” Move over, mom and dad. The government is the new “parent” of your children. This indoctrination leads many youth away from traditional American values and faith doctrines taught by their families. It leads them to question what they have always known to be true and it encourages them to think more like their peers. They learn to think like a progressive. “Religion isn’t the most important thing in the world.” These are the results of the progressive left infiltrating schools, and it will only get worse if we don’t do something about it.

ELMINATING COMPETITION: ADVERSE, CONSERVATIVE THOUGHT

Very recently the Occupy Wall Street movement called for homeschooling to be outlawed because it’s “religious indoctrination and propaganda.” They also said they wish to reduce the adult age to 16. Why? So they can control the youth who are so easily manipulated and so easy to indoctrinate. It would give parents even less authority over their kids. Our government and schools leaders, television and media, as well as Hollywood, are all teaching our kids that their parents do not know what’s best for them, but the government does.

In one particular high school textbook, Glenn Beck is an evil figure in modern America. The progressive left, no doubt behind the editing of the textbook, eagerly casts him in a negative light, as well as his Restoring Honor rally that took place on August 28, 2010.

Like Glenn Beck, great Americans throughout history are misrepresented in school books in order to fit the progressive agenda. The American Sunday School Union published a book in 1923 called “The Life of George Washington,” a book that gave examples of faith in American history. At the time, the book was used as church curriculum. Would it be acceptable curriculum today? Certainly not. Teaching youth about George Washington, a “deist” in their words, as an example of a man who lived by faith, would be an outrage. Progressives will not teach the truth about American figures like George Washington or Martin Luther King Jr. because it does not fit with the progressive agenda.

If you need more proof that those controlling the public education system actually are indoctrinating your children, read on. In 1952, the National Educator’s Association said, “By moral and spiritual values, we mean those values which, when applied to human behavior, exalt and refine life and bring it into accord with the standards of conduct that are approved in our democratic culture.” The NEA also stated that “[t]he public schools of the United States stand firmly for freedom of religious belief. A common education must be given based on a respect for all religious opinions. Furthermore, such as education should be derived, not from some synthetic patchwork of many religious views, but rather from the moral and spiritual values which are shared by the members of all religious faiths.” According to these statements, written only sixty years ago, the NEA’s goal was to transform the religious education system into a secular system that better suits the “collective.”

A statement found in R.J. Rushdoony’s “Intellectual Schizophrenia” better reinforces my thought. “They (teachers) have no part in securing acceptance of any one of the numerous systems of belief regarding a super-natural power and the relation of man thereto.” Robert Owen, a man who was very influential in the transformation of public education, remarked that a generation of young people must be indoctrinated with religion free education in order to create a socialist society. Was his goal to create a religion free society or just brainwash the youth into accepting the religion of Secular Fundamentalism? According to the statements above, the secularists’ plan was to teach all faiths. But in reality, it’s a plan to erase the Judeo-Christian principles from our schools and our children’s minds.

HISTORY OF A PROGRESSIVE AGENDA

Horace Mann, a U.S. Senator (1833-1837), said that the state was to be the “true parent” of the child. Sound familiar? “Society in its collective capacity is a real, not simply nominal sponsor, and a god father for all the children.” Owen and Mann were only two leaders out of many that are actively seeking to destroy our society through our educational system. Flipping the education upside down is only one small step in a much bigger plan to fundamentally transform the United States of America.

In Germany in the 1940s, Mein Kampf was sold to the German public. Obviously it was a very popular book because over 200,000 copies were sold. Mein Kampf was Hitler’s propaganda book. It was his blueprint for socialism and totalitarianism.

Under Hitler’s regime, school children were forced to go to Socialist Nazi Youth camps where they were taught that all Catholics lied and all Jews ate little children. These children were indoctrinated to hate whole groups of people. They were also taught the only superior race is themselves. The children who were forced into those “education” camps later became soldiers in Hitler’s Nazi Army. This is happening now in a more subtle sense.

The idea is to brainwash today’s youth and use them later for their progressive gain. The German “collective” taught the innocence and superiority of man over the basic teachings of the Bible. Though many were traditionally “religious,” their consciences had been desensitized by the idea that man was not born into sin with a sinful nature, as Scripture teaches, but that society is responsible for the outcome for every individual. Barack Obama also believes that society as a whole is responsible for the redemption of everyone. Scary, wouldn’t you say?

“The non-Christian is hopelessly moralistic by nature, and in his insistence on viewing life as a battle between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ gives the Christian church a ‘common ground’ with the world. As long as a non-believer desires something that is good, are we to automatically determine that his/her agenda is the best for us to follow?” So what does society consider “good?” What does the government consider “good?” What about the government taking over farms? Is that good because this is the “collective?” The government can deem anything good if it suits their purposes. It could be the most evil idea on the planet and still be considered “good.”

HUMANISM VS SPRITUALLY-GUIDED REASON

America’s problem is that we’ve turned away from God and the Christian principles this country was founded upon. It is quite a challenge to find a Christian Conservative teenager. Those that I do know are homeschooled. I’m 16 years old, a sophomore in high school, and I’m also a Christian Conservative. Crazy, right? Don’t hear that very often do you? I am one of the few teenagers that have not bought into the indoctrination taking place in our schools because I’ve been reared by parents who know the Truth.

I was reared with the shield of God and reared in knowing what is really true. God is guiding my life and I know without Him, I would be a progressive rooting for Occupy Wall Street. I’m not home schooled in the traditional sense. I go to a virtual school where I read the same textbooks and curriculum as public schools but I am not exposed to the teachers and a school’s propaganda. My schooling is at home, therefore, I have a wall between me and the education. I don’t mindlessly soak information in. I “question with boldness even the very existence of God.” When I study, I question everything. I research, “is this really the truth?” That way I know what is true and what is propaganda.

When it came to my faith, I didn’t just accept that God is there, and I didn’t simply accept the Scriptures as true because my parents told me so. I questioned His existence and today, I know with everything in me that He lives and He is my savior.

Our youth will be the generation to save America. If our youth buy into the progressive agenda and lose the Christian faith that founded this country, what will happen to America? Right now, everything the left is teaching in schools the children are accepting. As President Reagan said, “What one generation accepts, the next embraces.”

How do we right our society without God in the mix, when our society and nation was FOUNDED on Divine Providence and the Holy Word? You can’t. God is the answer. We’ve turned away from God, and in order to right our society, we must turn back to God. We must put God back into our education, our society, and our personal lives.

Statistics show that four-fifths of our youth leave their faith when they leave home, especially if they go off to college. They get sucked into the secular college lifestyle. If parents do not instill their most cherished beliefs and values into their children before they leave home, children are very likely to adopt the beliefs, or agendas you might call it, taught by the “educational elite” that rule the universities. Your children are becoming slaves to the university system and their progressive agendas.

IT CREATES AN ECONOMIC PROBLEM

Today, 23.8% of our youth are unemployed in America. Among black youth the statistic is even worse: 48% unemployment. Why is this? Are these numbers just consequences of the economy? Or is this because our youth are less educated? Or maybe it’s the entitlement mindset many teenagers and twenty-something’s have adopted?

Between 1980 and 1992, the number of high school graduates decreased by 20%. Today it’s much worse. Only seven-tenths of ninth graders will receive their high school diplomas. As of this year, 26% of state spending goes towards education. That’s $260 billion annually. Where is that money going? If our youth are doing so poorly, how are all those tax payer dollars helping? They aren’t! Your money is being wasted! Obviously the current system is not working.

Who is better suited to teach your children? Teachers who have been indoctrinated by the very educational institutions they serve? Or you — a loving and caring parent who seeks the truth and actually cares about what your children learn? Those who have bought into the secular agenda should not be the ones in charge of your child’s education.

 TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY THEY SHOULD GO

If you’re not very familiar with homeschooling, it is a home-based, parent-led education. Twenty years ago, homeschooling was considered a very uncommon form of education. It was even considered “strange.” Even though homeschooling is still not accepted by all, it is gaining in popularity. Homeschooling tends to grow the fastest amongst mainstream Christians and conservatives, although atheists, Mormons, libertarians, liberals and families of every race and economic background are also becoming interested. Homeschooling is not only growing in America, but all over the world. In 2012, there was an estimated 2.04 million American homeschoolers in K-12 grades. That number is growing faster every year.

 Why are so many choosing to school at home? There are many reasons parents choose to switch, such as individualized curriculum and learning environments that might better suit their child. It gives children a chance to accomplish more academically without the distractions or a “one size fits all” public school curriculum. Choosing to school at home also gives parents more supervision over their child’s social interactions and gives them a safer social environment. Homeschooled children are less likely to experiment with drugs, alcohol, violence, and unhealthy sexual activity commonly associated with the behaviors of youth who attend public, and sometimes even private, schools. Homeschooling provides a lot more one-on-one time with a child, giving parents more opportunities to instill the values and beliefs into their child. Also, given all this time spent with their child, parents are able to create stronger family bonds.

An abundance of information exists showing the intellectual advancements in home school children. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschoolers score 15-30% higher than public school students on standardized tests. It also shows that children who school at home score above average on achievement tests, SATs and ACTs regardless of parent’s level of education or income level. In the past few years more and more colleges are recruiting home school students, because home schooled children develop in self-motivation, a highly valued skill that is hard for many kids to learn in public schools.

Studies by the National Home Education Research Institute show that children who have been schooled at home also develop better socially, emotionally, and psychologically. This research includes peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family cohesion, self-esteem, and community participation. The NHERI states that “home educated girls develop the strengths and the resistance abilities that give them an unusually strong sense of self.” It also states that “some think that boys’ energetic natures and tendency to physical expression can be more easily accommodated at home.”

When a home schooled child gets out into the real world, they tend to succeed at a higher rate and are more involved than the public schooled population. They participate in local community service, vote, and attend public meetings more frequently than does the general population. They succeed in college at an equal or higher rate than the general population and also internalize the values and beliefs of parents at a much higher rate.

If parents are unable to home school their child, they can consider virtual schooling. Virtual schooling provides a home-based public education that is self-paced. But as I mentioned earlier, it still provides a healthy distance between a child and the indoctrination that occurs in brick and mortar public schools. It also allows a child to grow spiritually without the negative influence of the culture that is so prevalent in regular schools. Even though virtual schooling is still “public,” it does separate child from the secularist agenda in the school system today. It allows you time to teach children about faith and Constitutional principles.

As scary as the infiltration in the public school system is, be thankful that there are still options in which to teach a child based on a parent’s preference, allowing for spiritual and emotional nourishment. Both types of schooling provide the time and environment to teach a child the very principles erased from public school curriculum, such as the Christian aspect of our American founding and the principles upon which our Constitution was created.

A MOVEMENT HAS BEGUN

One amazing group that is fighting for your children’s right to learn about their faith, and their religious and Constitutional history is As A Mom, a 9/12 Project group started by Yvonne Donnely. As A Mom’s mission is to teach children about the Christian and Constitutional history of America. They have started a Constitutional Chat Club where high school teens can meet and talk about topics most important to them, such as Constitutional rights. The Constitutional is a non-for-profit that provides elementary school students the resources to learn about the “history of our great country’s founding”. There are individuals and conservative groups out there that are standing up for your religious freedom and are fighting the Secular Fundamentalism that is taking over every aspect of society. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but with the guidance of Divine Providence, we shall overcome.

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Ed Willing contributed to this article with research notes, published material and references.