COMMON CORE STANDARDS WILL LEAD TO NEW TAXES

The current political and social environment was shaped in our classrooms when humanist like John Dewey were given control of our children’s educational system. Abraham Lincoln stated that the philosophy of the classroom of one generation becomes the philosophy of the government of the next generation. Republicans need to hear this message.

As a conservative teacher I spent every day pushing liberal/progressive ideologies out of my classroom with NO HELP from conservatives or the Republican Party!

One simple example: I remember when they took the pledge to the flag out of the classroom. We conservative teachers kept it in our classrooms and our fellow teachers reported us to the administration. We were threatened with dismissal for insubordination. (The Republican assumption that teachers cannot be fired is a lie!! The internet is filled with examples of conservative teachers who have been fired. I sat on a committee that worked with administrators to assure that the rights of the teacher being fired were met. Each year our school district fired several teachers with the consent of our union. Yes, some states make it more difficult than others.) When I went to the local Republican Party and told them of my plight, they told me to get another job and that they were supporting school choice.

Had I been a Democrat, the party would have organized all of their members, attended a school board meeting and told that school board to keep their hands off their teachers who are teaching and supporting their values. The Democrats would have reminded the school board that the taxes paid by their citizen group paid the salaries of the school leadership and teachers! Therefore, as citizens, they have the right to decide what is being taught in the classroom. The pledge would have stayed (had that been one of their values).

How do I know this? I witnessed it dozens of times during my 36 year teaching career.

Now, federal legislation has been developed over the last 20 years which will eliminate homeschooling. Once Common Core Standards are in place, a new method of taxation will be implemented. They have already begun implementing it. This new method is called “regional equity”. That will completely eliminate all responsibilities now held by local government.

The UN and federal government have already influenced curricula in private school settings. The UN and the federal government will rapidly increase their influence on all educational settings through the use of vouchers and other federally funded opportunities for student to make a “school choice”. When schools accept federal dollars, they must accept federal mandates. Then the government will tell homeschooling parents that their curricula do not prepare children for a global economy or a global society. Therefore, they must attend public schools and parents will be fined each day that the child is not in attendance.

THIS IS WHY CONSERVATIVES NEEDED TO BE VIGILANT AND WELL INFORMED ABOUT WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS DOING WITH EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND LEGISLATION.

Look at the palm cards of conservative candidates. Do you see education mentioned? I have asked several to simply provide the following sentence: “I support a quality education for every child in every educational setting” and they will not even consider such a statement.

After 125 years of Republicans advocating school choice, only about 11% of Wisconsin’s school age children attend charter schools, private schools, and/or home schools. Only 32% of our current population identifies itself as conservative. When I attend Republican meetings, I am often the youngest in the room. I am 62. When 32% cannot pull off an election for Romney, how will 11%?

We have a lot to do. We must demand monthly educational updates from our political party leadership. We must become involved in each local school. We have a greater fight now than ever before. Democrats never surrender or tire. They are constantly evolving and DEMANDING support and understanding for their issues.

We must take what they do well and we must do it better. We must find additional ways to relate to all people about common issues: quality education, women’s health, sovereignty (stop discussing illegal immigration because then we are talking about people and race. The real issue is national sovereignty and that is an issue that can be won.) Our method of messaging and our method of selecting and promoting candidates must improve. There is so much more and I am out of time.

You may be interested in some of my writings about these issues and more on the blog page of Advocates for Academic Freedom.

Karen Schroeder

President of Advocates for Academic Freedom and
The Barron County Republican Women

Northwoods Patriots - Standing up for Faith, Family, Country - northwoodspatriotscomm@gmail.com