Thread: U.S.A. Schooling the Communist Way

This is long but for anyone with kids in public school you NEED to read this!

U.S.A. Schooling the Communist Way
Part 1


By Brannon S. Howse


Several weeks ago, I was sitting in a hotel lobby sipping a
Coke and visiting with my friend Michael Reagan who had just given a speech
before several hundred people. Mike, as you may know, is a best-selling
author, radio talk-show host, Fox News contributor, and eldest son of
President Ronald Reagan.


A few minutes into our conversation, Mike remembered something he wanted to
tell me. “Brannon,” he said, cocking his head in my direction, “I thought
of you this morning when I read the newspaper.”


I wondered if he were about to crack a joke at my expense but noted that
there was no trace of a smirk on Mike’s face. “Really?” I wondered, “What
made you think of me?”


“Well,” Mike said before pausing for an instant (I wonder where he picked
up that mannerism) “I was thinking of you because I read in the paper that
Jeb Bush has become the first governor in America to sign into law a
state-wide requirement that ninth-grade high school students pick a career
major and focus on that major from ninth through twelfth grade. You’ve
predicted something like that on my radio show more than once since
1993*also in your book for which I wrote the foreword.”


Mike was correct. It’s a prediction I hoped Americans would be wise enough
to stop before it came to pass. As the education reporter and often the
guest host of Michael Reagan’s program I had spend countless hours warning
Mike’s listeners about Goals 2000, School-to-Work, Outcome-Based Education,
HR6, No Child Left Behind, and other federal plans that have the goal of
merging education with industrial production, thus turning our schools into
vocational centers where students are “trained” rather than educated.


Republicans and Democrats alike are to blame for nailing this tenth plank
of the Communist Manifesto into the educational foundation of schools right
here in the good old U.S. of A. Lest you think I exaggerate, the tenth
principle of the Communist Manifesto states that the goal of schooling for
society’s children should be the “combination of education with industrial
production.”


Starting in 1992, the transformation of America’s schools into vocational
centers greatly accelerated. T.G. Stict, who served under Secretary of
Labor Robert Reich, has observed, “Many companies have moved operations to
places with cheap, relatively poorly educated labor. What may be crucial,
they say, is the dependability of a labor force and how well it can be
managed and trained, not its general education level.” In other words, as
long as we can control people, who cares what they know?


Through programs like School-to-Work the “State” decides which children
will go on to college and which go straight into the workforce following
their “training certification.” State education authorities review a
student's educational history and determine the career track the individual
will follow. The desires of Big Brother, I mean, the State take precedent
over the wishes of the individual and his or her parents. Those who conform
to governmental standards are rewarded with further education and a good
job. Those who do not reflect the liberal, Secular Humanist worldview will
likely be pushed to vocational jobs where their Christian worldview is less
likely to have an impact on the culture.


The California PTA has noted that “School-to-Work is based on the premise
that government control can do a better job of training individuals,
satisfying occupational demands and managing the development of economic
activities than can the effort and initiative of millions of individuals.”


The draconian educational measures of the past fifteen years
have made strange bedfellows. President George H. W. Bush gave us America
2000. Although President Clinton later changed the name to Goals 2000, he
supported the program and pushed through several federal bills that further
meshed education with industrial production. President George W. Bush
expanded what his father and President Clinton had begun when he cozied up
with Ted Kennedy to give us a massive federal program with the irresistible
sound-bite name, No Child Left Behind. Florida Governor Jeb Bush then took
advantage of federal funds available from his older brother’s program and
on June 5, 2006 signed into law the ninth grade career major requirement.
Florida is the first state in the nation to require this state-wide. Under
Florida’s new law, career exploration will begin as early as sixth grade.
By ninth grade, students will need to declare their career major. Several
other states are not far behind and will soon join Florida in this radical
American implementation of the Communist Manifesto.


Did you know what you wanted to do when you were in ninth
grade? Do you wish the government had decided for you then what you would
be doing for the rest of your life to earn a living? Would that seem like a
heavy-handed restriction on your freedom to be self-determining? (In case
you need help on this test, the right answers are No-No-Yes.)


Students will be encouraged to select a career that will direct
them either along a vocational track or a college-bound track. With the
assistance (or coercion, perhaps?) of school career counselors, students
will be channeled into the path that is “right” for them. But here’s one of
the big problems that is guaranteed to arise: If a ninth grade student who
decides on the auto mechanic track, for example, changes his mind in the
eleventh or twelfth grade, he’s stuck without the schooling needed to go to
college upon graduation. At that point, a vocational track student will not
have taken courses needed for acceptance into college.


Some of you may consider this a good idea since not everyone should be
college bound. And I agree that in many regards, college is a waste of time
and money unless a person aspires to be a doctor, lawyer, nurse, engineer,
or other such professional. Several studies reveal that many, if not most,
of America’s millionaires do not have college degrees. Such notables as
Rush Limbaugh, Bill Gates, President Harry Truman, and the late Peter
Jennings never graduated from college. Yet while a college degree is not
needed for success, an academically sound education from kindergarten
through twelfth grade is essential for every student regardless of their
post-high school plans. It is the only way to have an informed citizenry.


Perhaps even more critical, the federal government is not qualified to
project the supply and demand of the workforce two years*much less ten*from
now. Trying to do so is one of the stultifying aspects of centrally planned
economies (remember the Soviet Union?). Whether the plan is called
ready-to-work, school-to-work, school-to-career, small learning
communities, or any other soundbite-crafted moniker, it is still a
fulfillment of the Communist Manifesto, not the Declaration of Independence
or any other foundational American document.


The frightening reality is that codifying these programs will
only make an already dangerous situation worse. Even without Florida-style
programs solidly in place yet, many students are already finding themselves
channeled where they don’t want to go. In part 2 of this series, we will
examine several examples of how honor students that are also conservative
Christians have been funneled into jobs as bartenders and waitresses. And
bear in mind as elections approach that you can’t simply assume a given
Republican or Democrat is for or against such programs just because of
party affiliation. You’ll have to find out where each individual candidate
stands. Educational communism is not a party-specific issue. So be careful
not to vote for someone who will add a communist plank to an election
platform.

Distributed by www.ChristianWorldviewNetwork.com

U.S.A. Schooling the Communist Way


Part 2


By Brannon S. Howse



After Part 1 of this series appeared, I received several e-mails that confirmed my fears: Far too many of my fellow citizens actually think school-to-work is a good idea.

Why, I wondered, would any American think the merging of education with industrial production as found in the Communist Manifesto benefits our children? It must be because they are educated beyond their intelligence, they love socialism and communism, or they dont recognize Marxism even when it stares them in the face.

Let me be very clear on a few things. First, I do think vocational education is a good idea. I also think apprenticeship programs are an outstanding approach to career preparation for some people. Too many students are pressured to go to college just because thats the way to get ahead. And I certainly do not believe state and federal governments should be the ones pressuring students to go to college or not or pressuring students to pick certain career majors. All students from first grade through the twelfth should receive a strongly academic education that will well prepare them to be thinking, creative persons in life and in whatever career they choose.

If you think school-to-work style education reform is not occurring where you live, then you need to ask whether or not your state receives any federal education funds. If your state is not receiving federal dollars, this communist brand of education reform may not be taking place. But lest you be even slightly optimistic, Ill tell you plainly that I dont know of a single state that has rejected federal education funds and the accompanying mandates. That means, its happening right where you live. Whether it is private grants, No Child Left Behind, or some other U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Labor program, states are rushing to comply with federal requirements so they can gorge themselves at Uncle Sams money trough.

Florida, Minnesota, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington are further along in their implantation of school-to-work/ready-to-work/Small Learning Communities, but make no mistake: Every state in the union has school districts that are in some way weaving this reform package into their systems, thereby moving America down the road toward a centrally planned economy.

Lynn Cheney, wife of Vice-President Dick Cheney, is the former chair-woman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. While serving with NEH, Mrs. Cheney wrote about the dangers of school-to-work:



A central thesis of school-to-work plans, for example, is that eighth-graders should choose careers. To help them along, schools administer interest and personality assessments that direct students toward specific occupations, often ones that have little to do with their ambitions. Kristine Jensen, a Nevada mother, told me that her daughter, an honor student who wants to work for NASA, had been advised to consider a career in sanitation or interior design. Eunice Evans, a parental-rights advocate in Pennsylvania, described a boy in her neighborhood that wanted to be a doctor but was told it would be more appropriate for him to be a gas station attendant or a truck-driver.



Mrs. Cheney also pointed out the goal of workforce development boardsbacked profusely by federal fundsthat now exist in almost every state:



To consider future market needs and decide which career choices schools should encourage. But predicting work-force needs is an iffy business. In 1989, for example, a prestigious study declared that by 1997, there would be a substantial shortage of humanities Ph.Ds, when, in fact, there is now a glut.



We need more public servants like Craig Hagen who will take a stand for what is right. In her congressional testimony, Lynn Cheney told Mr. Hagens story:



Concerned that schools in his state would get in the business of enforcing politically correct thinking led Craig Hagen, North Dakotas Commissioner of Labor, to resign from his states school-to-work management team earlier this year. I couldn't remain in that position with my principles, he said.



But abuses abound. In Las Vegas, for example, Rene Tuckers daughter, Darcy, was pulled out of a geography class without her parents consent in order to be given a computerized career assessment. Although Darcy wants to become a veterinarian, the computer held that she should be a bartender or waitress, and it spat out a list of courses she ought to take toward that end. Mrs. Tucker said, Were Christians, and the school stepped on my toes as a parent. It is my job to direct my childs career path, and it would not be in her best interest to be a bartender. Given the gargantuan hospitality needs of the state, it might be in Nevadas best interest to turn Darcy into one of the minions of the gambling and entertainment industry, but that approach to career path development sounds more like it belongs in the 1960s Soviet Union than in 21st century America.

A few years ago I testified before the Kansas state senate along with Rene Tucker. We were joined by an economist from Hillsdale College to urge Kansas not to implement school-to-work in that state. The anticipated tidal wave of federal funds was too much for the mere state of Kansas to resist, though, and on behalf of its people, the state legislature instead rejected common sense and freedom to imbibe the failed economic polices of communism.

In his now classic book, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley wrote,



To bring about the revolution we requireEnabling government managers to assign any given individual to his or her proper place in the social and economic hierarchy. Round pegs in square holes tend to have dangerous thoughts about the social system and to infect others with their discontents.



In other words, those who do not agree with the States worldview or standards will not be encouraged to pursue positions of power or influence either socially or economically.

A career exploration test already used in six states features 100 true or false questions, including these:



I have taught a Sunday school class or otherwise take an active part in my church;

I believe in a God who answers prayers;

I believe that tithing is ones duty to God;

I pray to God about my problems;

It is important that grace be said before meals;

I read the Bible or other religious writings regularly;

I believe in life after death;

I believe that God created man in his own image;

If I ask God for forgiveness, my sins are forgiven.



Now let that sink in for a moment, and then ask yourself this question: Why are such questions included on a career exploration test if not to determine the proper place to assign each student? The benign answer, of course, is to find out whether or not someone is suited to a job as a church pastor. But there is also a frighteningly non-benign possibility as Christian thought becomes increasingly marginalized in our culture. It could all too easily become the new frontier for black balling undesirables such as people who actually think God matters.

The goals of the Communist Manifesto and those who signed the Humanist Manifesto are being accomplished even now as we see the merging of education with labor policyor what many are referring to as corporate fascism. The American Heritage Dictionary defines corporate fascism as a philosophy or system of government that advocates or exercises dictatorship through the merging of state and business leadership.

The fact that so many Americans dont even know this communistic education reform is sweeping our nation is perilous. What is even more alarming are the ones who know it yet believe it is a good thing. Liberal Republicans and Democrats alike have succeeded in achieving the goals that Secular Humanists and Communists have long sought for Americas children. And there, as they say, goes the future.

You could title this "Why My Children Are Home Schooled"

Well, for this and many other reasons

I know this is the agenda......forget the ,"and you can grow-up to be anything you want".

D? Do they have "home school college" yet?

Florida Governor Jeb Bush then took
advantage of federal funds available from his older brother’s program and
on June 5, 2006 signed into law the ninth grade career major requirement.
Florida is the first state in the nation to require this state-wide. Under
Florida’s new law, career exploration will begin as early as sixth grade.
By ninth grade, students will need to declare their career major. Several
other states are not far behind and will soon join Florida in this radical
American implementation of the Communist Manifesto.

I emailed Jeb almost daily, the first time I heard about it. I pointed out that most people change choices mulitiple times, and then as adults, change careers. I also pointed out the Communist link.

Yeh, did a lot of good, but at least I was pestering him.

D? Do they have "home school college" yet?

Well actually most colleges now have college online. Never step foot on a campus. By then though hopefully I will have raised my children to think for themselves, stand up for what they believe, and not be led around by the nose.

But abuses abound. In Las Vegas, for example, Rene Tuckers daughter, Darcy, was pulled out of a geography class without her parents consent in order to be given a computerized career assessment. Although Darcy wants to become a veterinarian, the computer held that she should be a bartender or waitress, and it spat out a list of courses she ought to take toward that end. Mrs. Tucker said, Were Christians, and the school stepped on my toes as a parent. It is my job to direct my childs career path, and it would not be in her best interest to be a bartender. Given the gargantuan hospitality needs of the state, it might be in Nevadas best interest to turn Darcy into one of the minions of the gambling and entertainment industry, but that approach to career path development sounds more like it belongs in the 1960s Soviet Union than in 21st century America.

Homeschooling is wonderful!