[Vision2020] public schools & indoctrination

amy smoucha asmoucha@hotmail.com
Wed, 12 Nov 2003 01:15:47 -0600


<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV>
<P>Oh my gosh, Dale, I didn't realize that in public schools these days, they are trying to teach children to SHARE.&nbsp; I can't believe it.&nbsp; How can they do this?!!?</P>
<P>If this kind of anecdote is all you and Mr. BOORtz can come up with, I'm not as worried about support for public schools as I have been in the past.</P>
<P>First of all, I went to Catholic school, but we too were taught to share--to bring money, clothes, food and gifts&nbsp;(our personal property) for less fortunate folks, and to share with each other instead of allowing divisions because some children had a lot more than others.&nbsp; They even made us wear UNIFORMS, so we could all learn to be exactly alike (oh yeah, except it didn't work).</P>
<P>I am glad that the public schools teach community above property, and I have never met a child who would be upset when her supplies were placed in a large bin so that all could share.&nbsp; A child would focus on the fact that he or she now has access to the other stuff that mom didn't buy.&nbsp; It's only some twisted adult that could turn the third week of third grade into a property rights struggle.&nbsp;</P>
<P>Anyway, &nbsp;I for one will be glad for the indoctrination when those public school students take care of me in a nursing home, provide me with physical therapy even though it should be their lunchhour, fix my furnace, drive the bus I ride, and, especially, when they&nbsp;work under my supervision.&nbsp; </P>
<P>And even though I do not have children and I went to private schools, I want to pay more taxes to teach other people's children--to teach them reading,&nbsp;math,&nbsp; history AND the values of community and of providing for each other.</P>
<P>&nbsp;</P>
<P>Amy Smoucha<BR><BR></P></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>----Original Message Follows---- 
<DIV></DIV>From: "Dale Courtney" <DMCOURTN@MOSCOW.COM>
<DIV></DIV>To: <VISION2020@MOSCOW.COM>
<DIV></DIV>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Devisiveness Must Stop 
<DIV></DIV>Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2003 12:36:31 -0800 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Don writes: 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>&gt; But I wouldn't blame "government" for the fact that "public 
<DIV></DIV>&gt; schools" is the widely accepted term. Governments have a 
<DIV></DIV>&gt; long record of trying to change language, and I suppose 
<DIV></DIV>&gt; there have been some successes, but when you blame 
<DIV></DIV>&gt; "government" for everything you sound a little like the 
<DIV></DIV>&gt; county supervisors in Grangeville. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Do I blame civil government for everything? Certainly not! However, the more 
<DIV></DIV>statist we become, the more problems are the result of that centralization. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Don, here's an anecdote of how government schools subtly indoctrinate. This 
<DIV></DIV>is from the Libertarian commentator, Neal Boortz. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>_____ 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>First of all, let's get this out of the way in the first paragraph. They are 
<DIV></DIV>not "public schools." They are government schools. They are owned and 
<DIV></DIV>operated by government. Every employee, from the superintendent to the 
<DIV></DIV>dishwasher in the cafeteria, is a government employee. So, let's call them 
<DIV></DIV>what they are. Government schools. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Being government employees, you would expect those who work in government 
<DIV></DIV>schools to have the same behavioral characteristics as other government 
<DIV></DIV>employees. You would be right. They react to the threat of privatization 
<DIV></DIV>with the ferocity of a cornered bobcat and to the threat of accountability 
<DIV></DIV>with the evasiveness of cockroaches. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>The truth, though, is that these are not so much schools as they are 
<DIV></DIV>indoctrination centers. If your child is attending a Catholic school, you 
<DIV></DIV>should expect that your child would be taught that the Catholics pretty well 
<DIV></DIV>have this religion thing down cold. Ditto for a Jewish school, or one 
<DIV></DIV>operated by a Christian fundamentalist church. Question: Will a government 
<DIV></DIV>school be any different? Why would you expect a government employee in a 
<DIV></DIV>government institution to tell your children that government is not 
<DIV></DIV>necessarily the answer to every problem or critter that goes bump in the 
<DIV></DIV>night? 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>The new school year has been underway for several weeks now. Maybe it's time 
<DIV></DIV>to give you a hint of what your child has been through. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Do you remember those weeks before school started for your first grader? 
<DIV></DIV>There you were, you and your proud new student walking the aisles of the 
<DIV></DIV>local Costco with your list of school supplies in hand. You checked off the 
<DIV></DIV>pencils, a ruler, a compass, paste, construction paper, a pencil holder, 
<DIV></DIV>notebooks and erasers. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>At home, your first grader takes the supplies into his room and spreads 
<DIV></DIV>everything out on the bed. Arranges them this way - then that way. Pencils 
<DIV></DIV>next to the erasers, glue and construction paper lined up over here, compass 
<DIV></DIV>and ruler lined up over there. These are his supplies. His! Do you hear? And 
<DIV></DIV>tomorrow he is going to take them to school. He couldn't be more proud. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Finally, the first day of school arrives. The night before all of the school 
<DIV></DIV>supplies are packed, repacked, unpacked and repacked again. Then, that 
<DIV></DIV>morning, just one more unpacking and repacking to make sure everything's 
<DIV></DIV>still there and undamaged. OK! It's off we go to school! Apprehension mixed 
<DIV></DIV>with pride. Your young man or woman is taking another grand step toward 
<DIV></DIV>adulthood! What could go wrong? 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Plenty. Remember, it's a government operation. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>The students are seated, the bell rings. As fast as you can say the Pledge 
<DIV></DIV>of Allegiance without the "under God" part, the indoctrination begins. The 
<DIV></DIV>government teacher steps in front of her virtual hostages and promptly 
<DIV></DIV>delivers the first raw lesson in the power of government. The students are 
<DIV></DIV>instructed to bring all of their precious school supplies - their property - 
<DIV></DIV>to the front of the classroom and put them into a huge box. They are told 
<DIV></DIV>that the supplies belong to all of the class now, and the teacher will 
<DIV></DIV>assume the responsibility of distributing the supplies as they are needed. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>"Whoaa! Hold on a minute here! These are my supplies. My daddy bought them 
<DIV></DIV>for me. You can't have them! They're mine!" 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Nope. Sorry! They were yours. Now all those supplies belong to - guess who? 
<DIV></DIV>The government! 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>There's a method to this madness. Your child is being taught that there are 
<DIV></DIV>some severe limits to the concept of private property. It is perfectly OK, 
<DIV></DIV>for instance, if the government just steps up and seizes your property if 
<DIV></DIV>there are other people who might need some of your stuff. After all, it's 
<DIV></DIV>just not right for you to have something that other people don't have or 
<DIV></DIV>can't share in, is it? 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>This whole "dump your supplies into this box" is not an innocent exercise. 
<DIV></DIV>Your child's teacher might not even be aware of it, but this lesson in 
<DIV></DIV>government power is a time-honored method of introducing your child to the 
<DIV></DIV>concept that there is something basically wrong with owning private property 
<DIV></DIV>- but everything will be OK if you just let your superiors even things out a 
<DIV></DIV>bit by taking some stuff from you and giving it to someone else. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>How did Marx present this concept? I think it was something like "From each 
<DIV></DIV>according to his ability; to each according to his need." 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>Day number one, lesson number one: Your rights to your property exist only 
<DIV></DIV>so long as government will allow, and it's just not fair to have more stuff 
<DIV></DIV>than someone else. 
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>And this is just the first week! More surprises in store! Wait until you get 
<DIV></DIV>that call from your child's teacher with vague, dark hints of a better world 
<DIV></DIV>for your child if only he was on Ritalin. 
<DIV></DIV>
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