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Archived October 9, 2006


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How the Schools Shortchange Boys

by Gerry Garibaldi

City Journal
Summer 2006
 

Alliance friend and author Bruce Shortt (The Harsh Truth about Public Schools) sent us this link with the following comment:

 

"This is exactly the kind of 'first person' account of what goes on in government schools that should be given to parents with children of preschool age or who have children (especially boys) in government schools."

 



Public School Leaders Reluctant to Drug Test Students

Newswise
July 24, 2006

 

Although the Supreme Court has upheld the random and suspicionless drug testing of government school students involved in extracurricular activities, school officials are reluctant to adopt this kind of policy, according to researchers at the University of New Hampshire.

 

Why? One reason suggested by the data is that the supers perceive a lack of community support.

 

Could it be that parents have more clout than they think?

 


 

'The Race' schools: Your tax dollars at work

by Michelle Malkin

Townhall.com
July 12, 2006
 

 

Malkin comments on the Bush Administration's support, including federal tax dollars, for charter schools sponsored by the National Council of La Raza. She describes La Raza as an "anti-immigration enforcement lobbying group for Hispanics." They describe themselves as "the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States."

 

The palpable outrage of her article no doubt echoes many recent immigration discussions across the country, with emotions running high on both sides. As usual, activists look to schools to spread their agenda and taxpayers dislike what was once their money being used to support political views to which they are opposed.

 

Would there be such rancor if all schools were privately funded?

 



Valedictorian Complains of 'Hollow' Public School Education

by Kate Monaghan

CNSNews.com Correspondent

June 29, 2006


The valedictorian of Mainland Regional High School
(Linwood, NJ) gave an address that sounds as if he had been reading School & State webpage. Princeton bound Kareen Elnahal told his audience that not asking life's Big Questions, such as "Is there a creator?" makes for a hollow education.

 

From the article: 'Ladies and gentlemen, the spirit of intellectual thought is lost,' Elnahal said. 'I know how highly this community values learning, and I urge you all to re-evaluate what it means to be educated,' he concluded before leaving the ceremony without collecting his diploma."

 

The following link is an editorial about Elnahal's valedictory.

MAINLAND'S VALEDICTORIAN

He proved his point.

 



Freedom Expands for Homeschoolers

Home School Legal Defense Association

July 6, 2006

HSLDA reports that the governor of Virginia has signed three bills to expand homeschool freedom in that state. More accurately, these bills barely reduce government domination over homeschools. These reforms are rather luke warm at best and show the extent to which government has usurped parental rights. In reading this article you may conclude that Virginia is not the best state for homeschooling.  For examples of genuine homeschool freedom, try California, Texas, Alaska, Kentucky or Connecticut.




Nonprofit seeks funding to open a private school:

Alternative to public education arises amid debate about autism

by Heather Woodward
The Olympian Online
July 7, 2006

One of the common objections to free market schooling is the contention that private schools will not provide adequate service to special needs students. Here is an article that shows this concern may be exaggerated.

Where there is a need, entreprenures will try to meet it
. With our current socialist school systems, the problem is that "free" education is so expensive for families that they cannot afford private alternatives.



Ed Schools: The Real Shame of the Nation

by Sandra Stotsky

EducationNews.org

May 22, 2006


The author of this article was senior associate commissioner in the Massachusetts Department of Education from 1999 to 2003 and it shows. She calls attention to the inadequate state of teacher training, yet proposes that the same people in charge of the current system rearrange their efforts and essentially go on as before. For example, she calls for a master's degree as a requirement for entry level teachers--degrees granted by the same institutions that she here criticizes.




Advice Worth $60 Billion

The Doyle Report
June 30, 2006
 

 

One wonders why Buffett thinks that if he can't figure out what to do with his spare billions, Gates can. The Gates Foundation has been pouring money down the government school rat hole lo' these many years.  Can doing so at twice the rate in the future really improve socialist education in the USA?

 

This Doyle Report link includes some tongue in cheek tips for the Gates Foundation on what to do with the bucks. Too bad no one included funding The Alliance. One "expert," Andy Smarick, of the National Alliance for Public Charters and candidate for the Maryland General Assembly, did unwittingly stumble on to one possible solution. He suggested funding "[r]eally, really, really, really, really, really small schools." The problem is we think he was not referring to private ones.

 

Buffett would have done better to let his heirs dissipate his fortune over a couple of generations as is customary among the wealthy than let the Gates faction prolong our agony by propping up the collapsing system.

 

--As an aside, we have to shake our heads at a college drop out chosing to fund our disastrous education system at any level. Clearly, he didn't learn the real lessons taught in school.

 



High-School Valedictorian Sues School for Muting Speech Thanking Jesus

by Peter J. Smith

LifeSite

July 14, 2006

 

Brittany McComb, the 18 year old valedictorian graduate of Foothill High School with the help of the Rutherford Institute, is suing her school for violating her freedoms of speech and religious expression. She was publicly censored by school officials during her June 15th commencement address, when they cut off the sound system as she began referring to Jesus.

 

We predict that if she prevails in court, the ACLU will appeal, since that organization threatens schools that allow religious references--or should we say Christian references--in school assemblies.

 

As is obvious, separating school and state would put a screeching halt to such suits and counter suits.




Public education is the mortar of a civil society

Rick Pullen

Fredericksburg.com

Published July 6, 2006

 

Here is an interesting letter to the editor of a Fredericksburg, Virginia, newspaper about the benefits of government schooling. Clearly, this gentleman believes that crime is the result of a lack of education, and that everyone who is productive went to government school.

 

We have come upon this logic before, that a lack of education leads to poverty and poverty leads to crime. The fallacy that since 98% of the incarcerated are high school drop outs, 98% of high school drop outs will end up in prison is quite common and used by government school officials frequently to push truancy laws.

 

The idea that everyone who is productive has a government school education, however, is a new one on us.




The Southern Baptist Convention held its annual conference on June 13-14, 2006, in Greensboro, North Carolina.  Bruce N. Shortt gives us a final recap of the conference.

Update: SBC Exit Strategy Doesn’t Pass, But There is Good News


For other articles about the conference, click here!



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Archived News - 2
Archived October 9, 2006

Some of the more
well-known signers of our proclamation:

Ed Crane
President, Cato Institute

John Taylor Gatto
1991 New York State Teacher of the Year

Fr. John A Hardon
SJ
RIP
The Catholic Catechism

Don Hodel
Former Secretary of Interior

D. James Kennedy
Coral Ridge Ministries

Rev. Tim LaHaye
Left Behind

Rabbi Daniel Lapin
President, Toward Tradition

Tom Monaghan
Founder, Domino’s Pizza

Ron Paul
US Congressman, Texas

John K Rosemond
Parenting Author, Columnist, Speaker


They and 29,000  others have signed Our Proclamation
:

"I favor ending government involvement in education."