By Ashley Anderson, 16 years old
November 12, 2003
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/2003/public-schools.htm
Every day your child is in public school, their mind is molded more to conform to the group, and they are trained to defend their new "family". There is no such thing as individuality in public schools; everyone is part of the 'herd'. Most teachers would tell you that they strive to help kids to be independent thinkers, but eventually, with their conformation complete on students, individuality gives way into what is called the "community" or group experience.
A process called "critical thinking" accomplishes this. In every lesson, and in every subject, we had "critical thinking" questions in public school. According to Mrs. Berit Kjos' Brave New Schools: "At the core of psychological strategies such as critical thinking….this formula undermines rational resistance to the new social philosophy." Critical thinking helps to bridge the gap between what students are taught at home and what public school teaches them: oneness with the community.
My paradigm or worldview was not the same as what is being taught in public school. The things modeled for me at home like Christian values, and faith, were mocked. My beliefs were challenged. I was made to think that what my parents were teaching me was wrong; that they were old fashioned and couldn't possibly 'have a clue'. There were slogans plastered on the classroom walls, "Think for yourself," and "The Power of Learning is Within your Reach".
My mom has constantly told me to think for myself. I know she loves me and wants only the best for me. But in the classroom setting and when the students receive challenges to their belief systems, the message comes across loud and clear: "Your parents have nothing of value to say to you; leave their world behind; you don't need them." The result is ill-mannered, smart-mouthed behavior at home and in public places. Public school is the frying pan where your children's brains are scrambled. Think about it. It's no longer about the facts, i.e., two plus two equals four, but about the manipulations of feelings and guided imagery. Of course many people will never freely admit this, because that group experience is terribly hard to shake off.
In "Readings in the Dialectic," Mr. Dean Gotcher talks about dialoguing to consensus, or coming to an agreement by "sharing differences, focusing compromise to achieve group solution." This is also called synthesis. The teacher, now sometimes referred to as facilitator, accomplishes this process. It's everyone coming together, realizing their differences, and putting them aside for the sake of the group. It's agreeing to disagree. When this happens, all individuality, patriotism, and faith disappear. You can't be part of the consensus process and keep your faith in God. Suddenly, what is important to you is okay for you, and what you believe and live by is just your opinion. The group is paramount.
Such group exercises were often used in many of my classes. In one exercise, each student was given a card with the name of a country on it along with a few of its exports, and every student was made to stand in a circle. Then, yarn was strung from student to student, connecting the countries and showing where their exports went. The entire class agreed that the people around the world needed each other to function. See how subtle this is? On the surface, this seemed like a fun exercise involving the whole class, but it demonstrated interdependency and how all the world is already connected, how systems work, and how we're all supposed to collaborate together: a common message used by the United Nations.
Mrs. Kjos defines consensus building as: The process by which students, schools, communities, or groups of people learn to compromise individual beliefs and ideas in order to work for 'common goals.' These may be dictated from the top down (national to local), yet be promoted as grassroots ideologies. It changes beliefs through pressure to conform to group thinking.
Working together as a team, (soon) using the same currency, and having the same leader(s), the same ideals, and the same minds, all over the world, is all a part of the global government that the United Nations proposes. This is a hard pill to swallow considering the United States, which as Patrick Henry declared, was founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
However, social engineers have utilized a concept known as conditioning. When people are fed little bits of propaganda a bite at a time, global government and other outrageous ideas would eventually sound good. In public school, the team concept (sometimes known as group work) is widely used. They also receive group grades. When they grow older, they are taught to apply that same process to everyday problems and even world problems, thus making suitable one-world citizens, a group of mindless workers. After they become adults, the things their parents may have taught them will no longer have impact on their lives because school taught them that complete tolerance and acceptance is a good thing.
This progresses further and further until eventually, they are taught that not only should all things be tolerated, but it is even desirable. Diversity, it's called. This includes the belief systems and pagan cultures from around the world. So, instead of singing the National Anthem, students will be singing the Earth Anthem (which is already sung in public schools in the U.S. and the world), celebrating man and worshiping the earth.
If it doesn't seem possible from our standpoint now, ask yourself where the United States' morality was one hundred years ago, even fifty. School shootings, gang rape, and the open worship of demonic powers were virtually unheard of, as witnessed by my parents and grandparents. Today, all these things are everyday events. Teen pregnancy and violent crime have skyrocketed since 1962 when God was removed from the classroom. It's all progressive, incremental, and meant to massage the minds of America a little at a time, until the goal is reached: One World Government. This unnerved me when my mother pointed this out, but it was scary mostly because I knew it was true.
There is a real-life story in Mrs. Kjos' book about a girl named Ashley who was given a writing assignment to describe killing her best friend. When the teacher was confronted by Ashley's mother, opting not to do the assignment, the teacher replied, "No one has ever complained about this before." I can verify that this is a favorite tactic used by teachers and administrators. My mother and I experienced this when opting not to do an assignment in the 7th grade which required listing my household belongings, our family's annual income, and most treasured possessions. I can relate to the Ashley in the story, because I too was made to feel uncomfortable and left out of the class because I did not want to conform to the classroom ideologies.
Mrs. Kjos goes on to explain that this is a common argument by teachers, attempting to intimidate the parent and/or student into submission of doing the assignment given. I'm so thankful that my mother is not easily intimidated. Though I was ostracized for it, I didn't do the assignment, and my grades were not affected.
Also in "Brave New Schools," Mrs. Berit Kjos tells of the relationship between pantheism, or the concept that "all is God, and God is all," and the public education system. She says that she, like many other parents, simply thought a multicultural education meant it simply "helps students understand other cultures and people. In reality, it trains students to view the world and its people from a global and pantheistic perspective rather than from a national and Judeo-Christian perspective."
Mrs. Kjos could not have been more correct in that statement. It happens everyday when your child goes to school: they read books that refer to Gaia or mother earth, they are taught to treat everyone fairly and not to hurt anyone's feelings. They are told that everyone's lifestyle is to be tolerated, even accepted. It makes no difference to them what parents have taught their children; when they are in public school, they play by the government's rules, not yours. Anything that stands in the group's way is looked upon as a threat and will be dealt with one way or another.
I am reminded of what happened in middle school when the nine weeks ceremonies came up. Many awards were given to students who weren't on the honor roll because they were "trying." They didn't give out many awards to academically advanced students because they didn't want to "hurt anyone's feelings." Since "advanced" students in public schools are ridiculed for being smart, they need someone to ridicule so they won't feel left out.
The advanced students in public school look down their noses at homeschoolers and private school students. But consistently, the homeschoolers and private schoolers have left publicly schooled students in the dust in various competitions and nation-wide tests. This leaves government officials little else to do but damage control. With the government in control over the schools, and the schools over countless students, is it any wonder that students all over the United States are generally all behaving in the same manner? "Kids will be kids," some people say, but how can so many act exactly the same? Although they are still individual in a sense, they are all in the same scheme. Someday, they will all be one group, as they have been taught, and persecute those few who are not one of them. That's what the proponents of world government are doing, and that's how they like it.
In "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America," Mrs. Charlotte Iserbyt explains how educators today believe that humans are expendable. Have you ever wondered why companies have a "Human Resources" department? In Outcome-Based Education, or OBE people are treated as nothing more than a job, a utility, or a source of service. The social engineers think ahead a period of time and ask themselves how many people they will need for a certain job. These are people at either the county or state level Workforce Education board. Then, they backmap to present day, deciding how the human resources would best serve the community.
I was asked as early as the seventh grade to decide what I wanted to do when I grew up, and stick with it. The answer I gave would place me into the desired slot where I would best fit according to my ability (see Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto"), and I would follow that path and be tracked for the rest of my life. This is the planned economy rather than a free market economy based on the system of supply and demand.
That's what the system wants to do: turn a student into a lettuce chopper or baggage handler or tour guide, or what have you, based on these "assessment tests" they are so fond of giving. What if I wanted to go to college? What if I wanted to become a chemical engineer or get my Ph.D. in math or physics? The fact is most students are not chosen to go on to higher learning. In fact, they are, and will continue to be, discouraged. They will blend in to the background of mediocrity and live out their lives as "useless eaters".
Most of the people in the system have no idea what is happening to them or why. Many teachers, administrators, and counselors have been trained to believe that what they do is the best for the children they do their best to "nurture." I stepped on a lot of toes with my first article, and many of my peers, who I thought were my friends, turned their backs on me and openly displayed their displeasure with me.
Many of the people who have written to me have said that they are encouraged by the knowledge that there is one from my generation who sees the big picture. May I further encourage you? There are many more who know the truth and see things the way I do. A camp I attended this summer showed me I was not alone in my viewpoints: Robert Welch University Summer Camp. There I met teenagers who are like me: informed. We took classes throughout the day about issues dealing with the way things are in the media, society, and public school. We also learned about the foundation documents of our country such as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, their meanings, and the rights we have and enjoy from God which are protected by them.
Many of you have written, confirming what I have stated. It is imperative to fight for what is right. The only way to ultimately protect your child from the mind-altering mess in public schools is to remove them and place them in a place where government does not reign supreme: home school, or private school. It is also important that the school receives no money whatsoever. Wherever the government is involved, so is their agenda. If you take their money, you have to take their priorities and goals as well.
There are other young people, personal friends of mine who also know about this 'dumbing down'. I am not the only one! We may certainly be in the minority, but I am reminded of a certain quote attributed to Samuel Adams: "...It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires in people's minds." As much as people don't want to hear it, this message that we're deliberately being dumbed down is exactly what we need to hear. Greed and arrogance drive this machine.
After being in public school for 10 years, I defended the system. But because of a certain chain of events, I became aware that the right thing to do was to get out. I was persecuted for my mother's actions when she rocked the boat. In their eyes, she was a troublemaker who had nothing better to do than to interfere with my life. The supposed friends I had turned on me for the sake of the group when I agreed with her. Score another point for 'team building'.
Thank you, Mom, for showing me how important it is to do the right thing, no matter what.
