sam blumenfeld's remarks at the north carolina home school association conference 1990
TRANSCRIPT
8/20/2019 Sam Blumenfeld's Remarks at the North Carolina Home School Association Conference 1990
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REM RKS
BY
S MUEL
L.
BLUMENFELD T THE NORTH CAROLINA
HOME SCHOOL ASSOCIATION
CONFERENCE
F i v e y e a r s a g o ,
in
A p r i l 1 9 8 5 , I was i n v i t e d to s p e a k a t t h e
Mt.
O l i v e t B a p t i s t
Church i n R a l e i g h .
I a r r i v e d
in
R a l e i g h t h e
e v e n i n g
b e f o r e
and was met
a t t h e
a i r p o r t
by
two young
l a d i e s
who t o o k me to their home w h e r ~ t h e y had l a i d o u t on t h e d i n i n g
P ; ~ ~ o
room
t 2 b l e
t h e Nor th C a r o l i n a E d u c a t i o n P l a n ,
an
awesome
document
o f many p a r t s and
p a g e s ,
w hi ch
was to
be
v o t e d on
by
t h e Nor th
C a r o l i n a legislature.
They
a sk e d if I would k i n d l y r e a d t h r o u g h t h e m a t e r i a l and
e v a l u a t e it.
They had s e t up a legislative b r e a k f a s t f o r t h e
f o l l o w i n g morn ing a t t h e S t a t e C a p i t o l , a t w hi ch I was e x p e c t e d
to tell t h e
i n v i t e d
legislators
and
g u e s t s what I
t h o u g h t
o f
t h e i r
d e p a r t m e n t
o f
e d u c a t i o n s latest
e d u c a t i o n p l a n .
Now mind
y o u ,
t h i s was two y e a r s after
t h e
r e l e a s e o f
t h e
f amous Na t i o n a t Risk
r e p o r t ,
w hi ch
had
come o u t i n A p r i l 1983 .
It
was s u p p o s e d to be
Nor th
C a r o l i n a s r e s p o n s e
to
t h e e d u c a t i o n
crisis.
I
r e a d
t h r o u g h t h e p l a n
and was
a p p a l l e d by w ha t I
fo u n d .
Its b a s i c
p h i l o s o p h y
and
o r i e n t a t i o n was totally
h u m a n i s t i c . I
was particularly
i n t e r e s t e d in
t h e c u r r i c u l u m p l a n
fo r
r e a d i n g
i n s t r u c t i o n f o r r e a d i n g
i s
t h e
f o u n d a t i o n
o f
an y e d u c a t i o n prog ram
~ i t h o u t a
sound
r e a d i n g i n s t r u c t i o n
p r o g r a m ,
no e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m
can
s u c c e e d .
H a v i n g
~ p e n
many y e a r s
i n t h e
never ending w a r
b e tw e e n p h o n i c s
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NORTH
CAROLINA
- 2
and
l o o k - s a y , h a v i n g w r i t t e n a book
on
the s u b j e c t entitled THE NEW
ILLITERATES I knew what to l o o k
f o r .
Would t he state o f N o r t h
C a r o l i n a f i n a l l y
t e a c h
c h i l d r e n t o r e a d p r o p e r l y ?
I
was
s h o c k e d
to
f i nd
t h a t t h e program was
b a s e d
on
l o o k - s a y ,
whole -word
p e d a g o g y .
And I was
an
g r y . -
an
g r y t h a t the s tat e wo u 1 d use
t he
t a x p a y e r s
money to buy
r e a d i n g
p r o g r a m s
t h a t
would
g u a r a n t e e t h e
p e r p e t u a t i o n o f
t he r e a d i n g p r o b l e m in
Nor th C a r o l i n a
and
would
c r i p p l e t h o u s a n d s o f
N o r t h
C a r o l i n a c h i l d r e n ,
p r e v e n t i n g
them
f rom e v e r d e v e l o p i n g the
a c a d e m i c
and intellectual skills
t h e y
would
n e e d to
s u c c e e d in the
w o r k i n g
w o r l d .
The n e x t
mor n i ng
I met t h e
dozen
o r so legislators who showed
up f o r the b r e a k f a s t and t o l d them w h a t I t h o u g h t
o f
t he e d u c a t i o n
p l a n b e f o r e
them:
it was a w f u l .
I s a i d :
I
u n d e r s t a n d
t h a t N o r t h C a r o l i n a
i s
n e x t to
t he
b o t t o m in
SAT
s c o r e s
in
the
n a t i o n .
Only
Sou th C a r o l i n a
has
o u t d o n e you.
T h e y ' r e a t t h e
b o t t o m .
What a r e you t r y i n g
to
do in
N o r t h
C a r o l i n a ?
Are
you
v y i n g w i t h Sou th C a r o l i n a
f o r t he
distinction o f h a v i n g
the l o w e s t s c o r e s ?
Are you
t i r e d o f
b e i n g
number two?
I f
you p a s s
t h i s e d u c a t i o n p l a n
a s is
you w i l l be a t t h e b o t t o m, you
w i l l
be
number o n e .
As you
can
i ma g i n e ,
some o f
t he
legislators were n o t t oo happy
w i t h
what I
had t o l d them.
So I s a i d ,
I f
you
r e a l l y
\ .Jant
t o i mpr ov
e d u c a t i o n
in
N o r t h
C a r o l i n a ,
t h e r e is one s i m p l y t h i n g you can do
t h a t w i l l c o s t the
t a x p a y e r n o t h i n g in a d d i t i o n a l r e v e n u e .
In f a c t ,
it
w i ll s a v e you money .
A l l vou
h a v e to do i s manda t e the
t e a c h i n g
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NORTH
CAROLINA
3
o f
i n t e n s i v e p h o n i c s in
the
first
g r a d e
o f
e v e r y e l e m e n t a r y s c h o o l
in
Nor th C a r o l i n a , and yOU
w i l l
imnrove
r e a d i n g ability
d r a m a t i c a l l y . "
W e l l ,
some
of the
legislators
took
what I had
to
say
to h e a r t
and t r i e d
to do
e x a c t l y t h a t .
Ther e was even an emergency m e e t i n g
of the
e d u c a t i o n commit tee to d i s c u s s t h e m a t t e r .
But
Nor th
C a r o l i n a ' s c o m m i s s i o n e r o f
e d u c a t i o n ,
C r a i g Phillips become aware
o f my
s u g g e s t i o n
and went down
to
t h e legislature
to
make s u r e
t h a t no
such p rog ram was manda ted .
He
won and t he
c h i l d r e n o f
Nor th C a r o l i n a
lost.
And
where
do you
t h i n k Nor th C a r o l i n a ' s SAT
s t a n d i n g i s
t o d a y
e x a c t l y
wher e
I p r e d i c t e d ~ a t t h e b o t t o m .
Sou th C a r o l i n a i s
now
s e c o n d .
What does t h i s e x p e r i e n c e tell
us?
First it tells us t h a t
th
e e d u c a t i o n e s t a b l i s h m e
n t o f
Nor th C a r o l i n a i s
d e t e r mi n e d to
m a i n t a i n
the
a f f e c t i v e ,
h u m a n i s t i c
c u r r i c ulum
it
has
i mpos ed
on
t he
n u b l i c s c h o o l s o f t h i s state
and
s e c o n d ,
t h a t
t h e
l e g i s l a t u r e
i s p o w e r l e s s to c h a n ~ e it.
Why
T h a t ' s a q u e s t i o n I
can
o n l y
The o r g a n i z e d
e d u c a t i o n e s t a b l i s h m e n t
answ e r w
i t h
one word: D o l i t i c s .
And t h a t
i s
s i m p l
y
has t h e political
c l o u t
to g e t what it w a n t s .
why p a r e n t s
have
no c h o i c e bu t
to
t a k e t h e r c h i l d r e n o u t of t h e
p u b l i c s c h o o l s
if
th e
y
want
them
to
g e t a
d e c e n t
e d u c a t i o n .
Y
ou
s e e , th e p o l i t i c i a n s
a r e mor
e
b e h o l d e n
to
t h e e d u c r a t s t han to
the
p a r e n t s .
But
th
e n y o u ' r e
p r o b a b l y
a sk i ng : why
a r e t he
e d u c a t i o n a l l e a d e r s
o f North C a r o l i n a i m p o s i n g
a
c u r r i c u l u m
which
c l e a r l y
i s dumbing
First let
me say t h a t what i s
down the c h i l d r e n
o f
t h e s t a t e ?
h a p p e n i n g
in
Nor th
C a r o l i n a
i s
h a p p e n i n g
i n
e v e r y
state
of the u n i o n .
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NORTH CAROLINA - 4
o f John
Dewey ' s p r o g r e s s i v e e d u c a t i o n program
w h i c h
was d e v i s e d
e a r l y i n t h i s c e n t u r y
to change Amer i ca
f rom a
capitalist,
individualistic,
and
r e l i g i o u s
n a t i o n
i n t o
a
socialist, collectivist
atheist
o r h u m a n i s t s o c i e t y .
T h a t
p l a n
i s still
ve r y
much in
p l a c e , e n h a n c e d
by t h e socialist
f e r v o r
o f t h e
h i p p i e s o f t h e
sixties who
a r e
now t h e t e n u r e d p r o f e s s o r s in o u r universities
and g r a d u a t e
s c h o o l s .
The Reagan
c o n s e r v a t i v e
r e v o l u t i o n
made
no d e n t in t h e t h i n k i n g
o f
t h e
e d u c a t i o n
e s t a b l i s h m e n t .
A l l
you
have to do to c o n f i r m
t h i s
i s r e a d t h e
j o u r n a l s
o f e d u c a t i o n p u b l i s h e d
by
t h e g r a d u a t e s c h o o l s
o f
e d u c a t i o n and
t h e p r o f e s s i o n a l
a s s o c i a t i o n s
run by
t h e s e
same
p e o p l e .
They may make d u l l r e a d i n g ,
b u t
that s t h e o n l y way you
can
f i n d o u t what
t h e
e d u c a t o r s a r e really un
t o .
And w h a t
a r e
t h e y
up
t o?
They a r e
p u s h i n g t h e
a f f e c t i v e
d o m a in w i t h e v e r y bit
o f
power
t h e y ' v e g o t .
VJhat
is
t h e
a f f e c t i v e
domai n ?
I t
i s
t
h a t
p a r t o f
t h e
p u b l i c s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m t h a t d e a l s
\v i th t h e
c h i l d r e n ' s
v a l u e s , f e e l i n g s ,
b e h a v i o r ,
s e l f - e s t e e m , s e x u a l i t y , and attitudes
t owar d d r u g s
and d e a t h . Its
c o m p o n e n t s
i n c l u d e v a l u e s clarification
m u l t ic u l t u r a l i s m ,
g l o b a l i s m , sensitivity
t r a i n i n g , situational
ethic
t r a n s c e n d e n t a l m e d i t a t i o n , New Age r e l a x a t i o n
t e c h n i q u e s ,
E a s t e r n
m y s t i c i s m ,
s e x
e d u c a t i o n ,
d r u g
e d u c a t i o n ,
and
d e a t h
e d u c a t i o n .
The
a f f e c t
i v e
domain i s in
r e a 1 i t Y
t h e
r
eli
g i 0 u s c o n t e n t
o f t h e p u b l i c s c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m .
But , you s a y , it
i s f o r b i d d e n
to
t e a c h r e l i g i o n i n t h e
p u b l i c s c h o o l s .
And you
a r e
r i g h t if
you
a r e t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e
C h r i s t i a n
r e l i g i o n .
But
it is
n o t
so when
it
comes to
humanism
t h e r e l i g i o n whi ch is now in all o f t h e
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NORTH CAROLINA - 5
p u b l i c s c h o o l s o f Amer i ca .
A l l o f t he componen t s
I have
just
rattled o f f a r e
b a s e d
on t h e d o c t r i n e s and t e n e t s
o f
humanism.
D o n ' t
t h e e d u c a t o r s know
t h a t humanism i s
a r e l i g i o n ,
you
may a s k .
They o u g h t
t o .
A f t e r all
it
was J u d g e B r e v a r d Hand
who
r u l e d
in 1987 in
t h e
la n d ma rk Alabama
Tex tbook
Case
(Smi th v .
Board o f
Sc h o o l Commiss ione r s o f M obi l e Co u n ty ,
A l a . ) ,
t h a t
s e c u l a r humanism i s a r e l i g i o n . Judge Hand
w r o t e :
"T he c o u r t i s h o l d i n e
t h a t t h e p r o m o t i o n and
advancemen t
o f
a
r e l i g i o u s s y s t e m o c c u r s
when
one f a i t h - t h e o r y
i s
t a u g h t
to
t he
e x c l u s i o n
o f o t h e r s
and
t h i s
i s
p r o h i b i t e d by t h e First ~ e n d m e n t
r e l i g i o n
c l a u s e s .
For
p u rp o s e s
o f th e First
Amendment
s e c u l a r humanism
i s
a
r e l i g i o u s belief s y s t e m
,
entitled t o t h e p r o t e c t i o n s
o f
an
s u b j e c t to t he
p r o h i b i t i o n s
o f , t h e r e l i g i o n c l a u s e s .
It i s
n o t
a mere
scientific
methodo logy t h a t may
be
promoted and a d v a n c e d
in t h e
p u h l i c
s c h o o l s . "
And
if you
d o n ' t
want
to t a k e Judge H a n d ' s
word f o r
it
I
can
cite c h a p t e r
and
v e r s e
f rom any
number o f
h u m a n i s t s who have
a s s e r t e d
t h a t humanism i s
a r e l i g i o n .
H e r e ' s
what George
E. A x t e l l e ,
new l y
e l e c t e d p r e s i d e n t o f
th e
Amer i can
Human i s t
A s s o c i a t i o n , t o l d an
a u d i e n c e
in
1959 :
It i s a r e l i g i o n , an
intellectu
" Our s is no r e v e a l e d r e l i g i o n .
rtnd
mora l o u t l o o k sh a n e d
bv t he
more s e n s i t i v e and s y m p a t h e t i c s o u l s
o f o u r t ime .
Ours i s
a t a s k ,
n o t
a
d o c t r i n e .
Our
f u n d a m e
~
0 a 1 m u s t_ b~
t o m
a k e t h ': Hum
a n i
s
t TJ
a
y
0 f L
i
f
r
e ali
~ ~ _
0 u r
c
0 nit
i e s ,
0
u r s
tat
e
and 0
u
rna
i o n . "
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NORTH CAROLINA SA
And in
1 9 5 4 ,
a
w r i t e r
i n t h e
Human i s t ma g a z in e
w ro t e :
S i n c e
humanism
a p p e a r s
as
a
g e n u i n e l y
l i v i n g
o p t i o n
f o r many
p e o p l e ,
e s p e c i a l l y among s t u d e n t s ,
t e a c h e r s ,
and i n t e l l e c t u a l s
g e n e r a l l y ,
it may
be
a p p r o p r i a t e l y s tu d i e d as a r e l i g i o n .
In d e e d ,
it i s
n o t u n f a i r to call
it
t h e
f o u r t h main r e l i g i o u s
o p t i o n ,
a l o n g
w i t h J u d a i s m ,
Roman C a t h o l i c i s m , and P r o t e s t a n t i s m , f o r
t h o u g h t f u l men in t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y We ste rn w o r l d .
And if
t h a t isn t
co n v i n c i n g e n o u g h , how a b o u t t h e f o l l o w i n g ,
w r i t t e n by a f e l l o w named John Dunphy in t h e Hu ma n is t ma g a z in e
o f
J a n u a r y - F e b r u a r y
1983:
1 am
c o n v i n c e d
t h a t the battle
f o r
h u m a n k i n d ' s f u t u r e
must
be
waged and won in t h e p u b l i c s c h o o l c l a s s ro o m by
t e a c h e r s
who
c o r r e c t l y p e r c e i v e
t h e i r
r o l e as t h e p r o s e l y t i z e r s
o f
a
new
f a i t h :
a
r e l i g i o n o f h u ma n i ty
t h a t
r e c o g n i z e s
and r e s p e c t s
t he
s p a rk
o f
what t h e o l o g i a n s c a l l d i v i n i t y in e v e r y
human
b e i n g .
Th e se t e a c h e r s
must
embody
the same
selfless d e d i c a t i o n as
t h e
most r a b i d
f u n d a m e n t a l i s t p r e a c h e r s , fo r t h e y w i l l be m i n i s t e r s
o f a n o t h e r sort, utilizing a c l a s s ro o m i n s t e a d o f a p u l p i t to
convey
h u m a n i s t
v a l u e s
in
w h a t e v e r
s u b j e c t
t h e y
t e a c h , r e g a r d l e s s
o f
t he
e d u c a t i o n a l
l e v e l --
p r e s c h o o l
day
c a r e
o r l a r g e
s t a t e u n i v e r s i t
y .
The c l a s s r o o m must and w i l l
become
an a r e n a o f c o n f l i c t b e twe e n
t he o ld
and the
new
--
t h e
r o t t i n g
c o r p s e o f
C h r i s t i a n i t y ,
t o g e t h e r
w i t h all its a d j a c e n t
e v i l s
and m i s e r y . and t he new
f a i t h
o f humanism
r e s p l e n d e n t i n its p r o m i s e o f a wor ld in which the n e v e r - r e a l i z e d
C h r i s t i a n i d e a of ' l o v e t h y n e i g h b o r ' w i ll f i n a l l y be a c h i e v e d .
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n o r t h CAROLINA S
What do you
t h i n k
of t h a t ?
T h a t s
what one
y
oun
g
h u ma n i s t
l e a d e r of tomorrow
c a l l s
your
r e l i g i o n :
a
r o t t i n g c o r p s e .
T h a t s
i n l e a gue
wi th
t h e o t h e r
forms of
blasphemy in t h e a r t wor ld w e v e
he a r d so
much
a bou t .
What
it means ,
o f
c o u r s e ,
i s
t h a t our enemies
make
no bones abou t how
t he y
f e e l abou t u s . Remember
t h a t i s
t he m e n t a l i t y t h a t now
d o mi n a t e s Amer ican e d u c a t i o n .
This
i s
a
r e l i g i o u s
war , a
s p i ~ i t u l war ,
make
no
m is t a ke abou t
it.
The
f i g h t to
p r e s e rv e e d u c a t i o n a l f r eedom,
what
little i s left of it
i s
go ing
to be
a
l ong and hard one .
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NORTH CAROLINA - 6
1954 , a w r i t e r in the Humanis t magaz ine
w r o t e :
I
,
1
i
,
i
)
S i n c e a p p e a r s
as
a
g en u i n e l y l i v i n g
many
g e n e r a l l y , it may be
a r e l i g i o n .
it i s
not
the
f o u r t h
Roman
C a t h o l i c i s m ,
and
men
in t h e
p eo p l e . e s p e c i a l l y
~
i n t e l l e c t u a l s
In d e e d ,
I
I
I
Now
the
r e l i g i o n o f humanism a l s o
a f f e c t s
t h e
way
a c a d e mic
skills a r e t a u g h t in
the
p u b l i c s c h o o l s .
In
t h e
o ld
days we c a l l e d
them
t h e t h r e e Rs
r e a d i n g ,
w r i t i n g ,
and
' r i t h m e t i c .
Now t h e y
a re c a l l e d the c o g n i t i v e domain
in
which t hey t each t h e c o g n i t i v e
skills. In
the
c o g n i t i v e domain , t hey no l o n g e r t e a c h r e a d i n g .
They t each
l anguage
arts, literacies, communica t ion , body l an g u ag e ,
whole
l an g u ag e , holistic
r e a d i n g ,
critical t h i n k i n g , g e n e r i c
t h i n k i n g , h i g h e r o r d e r t h i n k i n g
skills
-- e v e r y t h i n g ex cep t c l e a r
t h i n k i n g .
As
f o r
w r i t i n g ,
c h i l d r e n
a r e
now
t au g h t to p r i n t f o r
the
first
two
y ea r s
and
a r e
then
ex p ec t ed to
p i c k UP c u r s i v e somewhere a l o n g
t h e way
on
t h e i r own.
T h e r e
i s
no such t h in g
as
penmansh ip o r a
c o r r e c t
way
o f
h o l d i n g
a pen .
Hold
it anyway you w n t ~
And t h e r e
i s no emphas i s on c o r r e c t
s p e l l i n g .
It s now i n v en t ed s p e l l i n g .
S p e l l it
anyway
you w n t ~
The t h eo r y
i s
t h a t if you show a c h i l d
how to s p e l l a word c o r r e c t l y , the e x p e r i e n c e
w i l l be
so t r a u m a t i c
t h a t t he c h i l d may
n e v e r
want
to
w r i t e
an y t h i n g ag a i n and h i s o r
h e r
s e l f - e s t e e m
may be
damaged f o r life.
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NORTH
CAROLINA
- 7
As
f o r
a r i th m e t i c ,
t h e
s u b j e c t no
l o n g e r exists.
It i s
now
all
c a l l e d Math,
and
i n c l u d e s
n o t o n l y
a vague
semblance o f what
us ed to
be
c a l l e d a r i th m e t i c , b u t a l s o math c o n c e p t s , s e t t h e o r y ,
n u m e r a c y ,
and how
to us e a
c a l c u l a t o r .
Now,
I
u n d e r s t a n d ,
t h e y
a r e wor k ing
on a new new
mat h .
The o l d new math d e s t r o y e d t h e
c a l c u l a t i n g skills o f m i l l i o n s o f
c h i l d r e n .
Heaven
knows what t h e
new
new math w i l l do.
Going f rom t h e
traditional
t h r e e
Rs
to
t h e
c o g n i t i v e domain
r e q u i r e d
a
r e v o l u t i o n
i n c u r r i c u lu m
d e v e l o p m e n t
by
h u m a n i s t
e d u c a t o r
and p s y c h o l o g i s t s who s p e n t m i ll io n s in f e d e r a l , state and p r i v a t e
r e s e a r c h
funds to g i v e us what we
have
t o d a
y .
The r e s u l t has been
an
e d u c a t i o n a l
disaster
o f s u c h
e n o r m i t y , t h a t o u r
S e c r e t a r y o f
E d u c a t i o n ,
Dr. Laur o Cavazos , s a i d
last
May:
· \ ~ e
must do b e t t e r
o r
p e r i s h as t h e n a t i o n '.Je kno'.J t o d a y .
But
that s e x a c t l y what t h e
h u ma n i s t s
want .
They ' .Jant t h e
o l d patriotic, C h r i s t i a n , s o v e r e i g n
Amer i ca to
w r i t e its own
50
o b i t u a r y
and e p i t a p h t h e ,.Jay
k i d s
a r e r e q u i r e d to
do in
d e a t h
e d u c a t i o n . They want
Amer i ca
to become
a
territory
w i t h i n
a
h u m a n i s t w o r l d g o v e r n m e n t . Humani s t M a n i f e s t o I I states:
We
d e p l o r e
t h e
d i v i s i o n
o f humank i nd on nationalistic
g r o u n d s .
e
have
r e a c h e d
a
t u r n i n g p o i n t in
human
h i s t o r y
where
t h e
b e s t
o p t i o n
i s
to t r a n s c e n d t h e l i m i t s
o f
n a t i o n a l
s o v e r e i g n t y
and
to
move
t oward
t h e b u i l d i n g o f a w o r l d communi ty
in
whi ch all
s e c t o r s
o f
the
human
f a mi l y can participate.
Thus
we
look
to
t h e deve lopmen
o f a
s v s t e m
of wor ld l aw and a w o r l d o r d e r b a s e d
upon
t r a n s n a t i o u a l
f e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t .
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NORTH
CAROLINA
- 8
Of
c o u r s e , g i v i n g up
Amer i can s o v e r e i g n t y
means g i v i n g up
Amer i can f r eedom.
It a l s o means g i v i n g up C h r i s t i a n f r eedom, t h e
f r eedom
to
obey
God ' s
commandments
t he f r eedom to e d u c a t e y o u r
c h i l d r e n
in
a Godly
manner as
p r e s c r i b e d
in
t he
B i b l e .
But
h u m a n i s t s a r e totalitarians a t h e a r t .
T h a t ' s
why
t h e y
f i n d
communi s t s so
e a s y t o
r e l a t e to
b u t C h r i s t i a n s no t a t
all.
Humani s t s
may
s i n g p a e a n s
i n f a v o r
o f human
d i g n i t y , r i g h t s
and
w o r t h . But t h a t o n l y
a p p l i e s
to f e l l o w p a g a n s ,
When it comes to
C h r i s t i a n s ,
t h e y
g e t a p o p l e c t i c
w i t h i n t o l e r a n c e .
The
last
t h i n g
t h e y want
in
t h e i r
w o r l d u t o p i a n state a r e
f u n d a m e n t a l i s t
C h r i s t i a n s
e x e r c i s i n g
C h r i s t i a n f r eedom, e d u c a t i n g and r e a r i n g t h e i r c h i l d r e n
in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h B i b l ic a l p r i n c i p l e s .
And t h a t
i s
why t h e y a r e
p r o s e l y t i z i n g
C h r i s t i a n c h i l d r e n
in
p u b l i c
s c h o o l s , t r a i n i n g t he g i f t e d and t a l e n t e d to be t h e h u ma n i s t
l e a d e r s o f t omor row, and dumbing
down
t he
r e s t
o f t he
p o p u l a t i o n
sufficiently
so
t h a t t h e
Amer i can
p e o p l e w i l l
be
l e d i n t o t he
new
w o r l d
o r d e r w i t h o u t
r e s i s t a n c e ,
l i k e
s h e e p .
A f t e r all,
if
you
c a n ' t r e a d , you a r e
more
l i k e l y to a c c e p t what t h e r u l i n g
h u ma n i s t
elite
w i l l
tell
you .
And
t h a t i s
why
the e d u c a t i o n a l e s t a b li s h m e n t
i s
v e r y
unhappy
w i t h
the home- schoo l
movement
whi ch
i s
so
v e r y
l a r g e l y C h r i s ti a n .
The N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n
A s s o c i a t i o n
has made it q u i t e c l e a r
t h a t
Its
1988 r e s o l u t i o n
(C-34)
on
t he
s u b j e c
it
opposes home s c h o o l i n g .
states:
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NORTH
CAROLINA
- 9
The N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n A s s o c i a t i o n b e l i e v e s
t h a t
h o m e - s c h o o l
p r o g r a m s
c a n n o t p r o v i d e t h e c h i l d H i t h
a c o m o r e h e n s i v e
e d u c a t i o n
e x p e r i e n c e .
The
A s s o c i a t i o n
b e l i e v e s
t h a t , if p a r e n t a l
p r e f e r e n c e home-
s c h o o l s t u d y
o c c u r s , s t u d e n t s e n r o l l e d
must
meet all state
r e q u i r e m e n t s .
I n s t r u c t i o n
s h o u l d
be
by
p e r s o n s who
a r e l i c e n s e d
by
t h e a p p r o p r i a t e state l i c e n s u r e
a g e n c y ,
and a c u r r i c u l u m appr oved
by
the
state d e p a r t m e n t o f e d u c a t i o n s h o u l d
be
u s e d ,
The A s s o c i a t i o n f u r t h e r b e l i e v e s t h a t
such
h o m e - s c h o o l
p r og r ams
s h o u l d be l i m i t e d
to
t h e c h i l d r e n of the
immed ia te
f a m i l y ,
w i t h all
e x p e n s e s b e i n g b o r n e by
t h e
p a r e n t s . "
D o n ' t
you
just want to
hug
t h e s e
p e o p l e ?
They
r e a l l y
go
o u t
o f t h e i r Hay to e n d e a r
t h e m s e l v e s .
They
want
to
strip y ou
o f
y
our u n a l i e n a b l e r i g h t
to
e d u c a t e
y o u r c h i l d
in
t he manner
t h a t
you
c h o o s e .
T h e y ' r e
very
much in
f a vo r
o f
c h o i c e
when
it comes
to
d e c i d i n g t he life or de a th
o f an
unborn c h i l d .
But
when
it comes to you r child s e d u c a t i o n ,
t h e y
want
you to
be
l i c e n s e d
and
to t e a c h t he same c u r r i c u l u m
t h a t
is
dumbing down
t he k i d s i n
p u b l i c s c h o o l .
A s t a t e - a p p r o v e d c u r r i c u l u m
They
say
t h a t t he state
has a
c o m p e l l i n g
interest
in
e d u c a t i o n .
But if
its
interest i s so
c o m p e l l i n g , o ~ v
come it
isn t
e d u c a t i n g t h
a l r e a d y
c h i l d r e n
it/has
in
t h e s c h o o l s
it
owns and o pe
r a t e s ?
I f t h e state reall
y had a
co
m
o e l l i n g inter
e
st in e d u c a t i o n ,
it
would
be d o i n g
all
in its power to
e n c o u r a g e
home
s c h o o l i n
g ,
b e c a u s e
that s wher e t h e c h i l d r e n
a r e
b e i n g
e d u c a t e d .
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NORTH CAROLINA 10
And
s t a n d a r d i z e d
test
s c o r e s
b e a r t h a t
Out .
H h e r e v e r home
s c h o o l e r s
have been t e s t e d ,
t h e y v e
done better
t han
t h e i r p u b l i c -
s c h o o l c o u n t e r p a r t s .
For example , in
T e nne s s e e ,
wher e
abou t
900
home s c h o o l e r s were r e g i s t e r e d w i t h t h e state in 1989 ~ even
though it i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t a b o u t 4 , 0 0 0
T e n n e s s e e
c h i l d r e n a r e
b e i n g t a u g h t a t home home s c h o o l e r s d i d q u i t e
w e l l .
A c c o r d i n g
to
t h e C h a t t a n o o g a
News-Free
P r e s s
o f Dec 11 , 1989 :
" S t a t e
t e s t s
show
t h a t
s e c o n d ~ g r a d e r s
a r e a b o u t e q u a l to
t h e i r
c l a s s r o o m - e d u c a t e d c o u n t e r p a r t s .
But
by
t he fi f
th g r a d e ,
home
s c h o o l e r s have p a s s e d t h e i r c l a s s r o o m
pe e r s
in r e a d i n g ,
and
by
t he s e v e n t h g r a d e
home
s c h o o l e r s e xc e l i n bo th math
and
l a n g u a g e ,
s c o r e s
s h o ~ v I
The
r e a s o n why home
s c h o o l e r s
g e n e r a l l y do so
w e l l
i s
b e c a u s e
o n e - o n - o n e
t u t o r i n g is
f a r
s u p e r i o r to t h e c l a s s ro o m
~ v h e r e
c h i l d r e n
who
need
h e l p o f t e n ge t lost in t h e crowd.
In t u t o r i n g you g e t
immed ia te
f e e dba c k ,
i m m e d i a t e
c o r r e c t i o n ,
and t h u s t h e
c h i l d
i s l e s s
l i k e l y t o d e v e l o p
bad
a c a d e m i c
ha
bits. A l s o , h o me - s c h o o l i n g p a r e n t s
a r e more a p t to t e a c h
t h e i r c h i l d r e n
to r e a d b y i n t e n s i v e p h o n i c s
than
b y
t he
d i s c r e d i t e d , inefficient l o o k - s a y method .
T h i s
makes
an
enormous
d i f f e r e n c e when t he goa l i s a rndemic e x c e l l e n c e .
Anothe r
r e a s o n
why home s c h o o l e r s e x c e l i s b e c a u s e
home e d u c a t o
a r e h i g h l y m o t i v a t e d , d e d i c a t e d p a r e n t s , commi t t ed to p r o v i d i n g
t h e i r c h i l d r e n
w i t h
t h e b e s t e d u c a t i o n
p o s s i b l e .
The y
want t h e i r
c h i l d r e n
to become
t he
b e s t
t h a t
Amer i ca
has
to
o f f e r .
Ther e i s no
q u e s t i o n
bu t
t h a t
the b e n e f i t s o f home s c h o o l i n g
ou twe igh
t he
difficulties by a
wi de
m a r g i n .
And
t h a t
is
Why
t h e
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NORTH CAROLINA - 11
movement
i s a t t r a c t i n g so many
new
young
f a m i l i e s .
The first
and most
obv ious b e n e f i t
i s
t h a t
h o me - s c h o o l i n g
r e s t o r e s
the
C h r i s t i a n
f a m i l y .
It
s e t you r i g h t
w i t h
God
and
p u t s you in
obe d i e nc e
to His Word.
e
a r e t o l d i n f r ove r bs :
l ITra in up
a c h i l d in t he way
he
s hou ld go and ,
when he i s o l d )
he w i l l
no t
d e p a r t f rom
it.
What a t r emendous r o l e
model f o r
c h i l d r e n
a r e p a r e n t s
who
conduc t
t h e i r
f a m i ly
life in
a c c o r da nc e w i th
God ' s l aw.
e r e a d
in
E p h e s i a n s
(6:
4 ) :
And, ye
f a t h e r s
. p rovoke no t
y o u r
c h i l d r e n
to wr a th ,
bu t b r i n g them up in
t he
n u r t u r e
and
a d mo n i t i o n o f
t he
Lord .
'
About
a y e a r and a h a l f ago , t he t e l e v i s i o n show 20 /20 had
a
segmen t
on c h i l d r e n
and heavy me t a l mus ic
mus ic f u l l
o f
s a t a n i s m , d e v i l wor s h ip ) v i o l e n c e ,
and
se x .
A mus ic
j o u r n a l i s t
was
asked
if t h e r e was a n y t h i n g dangerous abou t such music . On
t he
c o n t r a r y , he r e p l i e d
t h e r e
w a s n ' t a n y t h i n g wrong
w i t h
heavy
m e ta l m u s i c .
In f a c t , it was good b e c a u s e it
gave
t h e
k i d s
someth ing to b e l i e v e in
Yes ,
c h i l d r e n need s o me t h i n g to b e l i e v e i n ,
bu t
if
p a r e n t s send
t h e i r
c h i l d r e n to s c h o o l s
where God i s c o n s i d e r e d i mp o t e n t and
i r r e l e v a n t ,
and t he p a r e n t s d o n ' t c a r e , t h e c h i l d r e n w i l l seek
someth ing to b e l i e v e in t h a t i s r e l e v a n t and ve r y
p o t e n t -- t h e
mus ic
of the d e v i l .
P a r e n t s who l i v e in a c c o r da nc e wi th B i b l i c a l p r in c i p l e s w i ll
s e r v e as l i f e l o n g r o l e mode ls
f o r c h i l d r e n
who
must
l i v e in a v e r y
c o r r u p t w o r l d .
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NuRTH
CAROLINA 12
H o m e - s c h o o l i n g c r e a t e s a g e n e r a t i o n b r i d g e r a t h e r t h a n a
g e n e r a t i o n
gap .
The t r u e p u r p o s e o f e d u c a t i o n
i s
to p a s s on to
t he f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n t he knowledge , wisdom and v a l u e s of the
p r e v i o u s g e n e r a t i o n
to
c r e a t e
a
b r i d g e
o f g e n e r a t i o n s ,
so t h a t
t he c h i l d r e n o f
tomor row can
b u i l d on t he f o u n d a t i o n o f t he p a s t .
But
t h e
p u b l i c
s c h o o l s d e l i b e r a t e l y c r e h t e c o n f l i c t and
r e b e l l i o n
b e c a u s e
t h e y want
t he c h i l d - r e n
to r e j e c t t h e
r e l i g i o u s v a l u e s
of
t h e i r
p a r e n t s . Home- schoo l ing
c r e a t e s f r i e n d s h i p
and
harmony
be tween
g e n e r a t i o n s t h r o u g h the l o v i n g gift o f t e a c h i n g .
Home- schoo l ing c r e a t e s
m u t u a l r e s p e c t m u t u a l l o v e .
Honor
thY
f a t h e r and thy m o t h e r t h a t
t hy
days may be l o n g upon
t he
l a n d
whi ch
t he
Lord
thy God
g i v e t h
t h e e .
(Exodus
20 :12 ) C h i l d r e n
l o v e
p a r e n t s
who n o t o n l y t e a c h them
what
i s
i m p o r t a n t ,
b u t who
c o r r e c t
them
when n e c e s s a r y .
C o r r e c t
t hy s o n ,
t h e B i b l e tells
us , and
he
s h a l l
g i v e t h e e
rest; y e a , h e s h a l l
g i v e
d e l i g h t u n t o
t hy s o u l .
1i
C h i l d r e n
want
to know
what
i s t he r i g h t
t h i n g
to
do
The
p u b l i c
s c h o o l s
a r e g i v i n g
condoms to c h i l d r e n
so
t h a t
they can
p l a y R u s s i a n
r o u l e t t e w i t h
a d e a d l y
d i s e a s e . L o v i n g p a r e n t s
w i l l
t e a c h t h e i r
c h i l d r e n t h e
maa ± g
r u l e s o f
s e x u a l b e h a v i o r as
g i v e n
in
t h e B i b l e .
Also , p a r e n t s r e s p e c t
t he
i n t e l l i g e n c e o f t h e i r c h i l d r e n .