Bringing Up Baby 101: Expanded Curriculum for Missouri Charter Schools?

What federal agency searched for the words "missouri charter schools" on the internet recently and showed up on this blog? It wasn't the Department of Education...it was the Department of Health and Human Services.

I couldn't figure out why that department would be interested in charter schools. Since then I've discovered Health and Human Services has given quite a bit of funding for pregnancy programs:

WASHINGTON, DC – The District of Columbia’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that DHS has been awarded a $1.559M grant to further DHS’ efforts to provide school-based support to its pregnant and parenting teens. The goal of the grant is to increase attendance and graduation rates among pregnant and parenting teens, while also increasing public awareness about the availability of supports and resources for pregnant and parenting teens.

The grant will fund the expansion of the New Heights program into 14 new schools within the District of Columbia. New Heights is an innovative program whose mission is to inspire inner-city youth to be leaders, champions and student-athletes and to empower them to be successful in high school, college and life. The New Heights Teen Parent Program model is unique in that it is located in and run by DC Public Schools.

The District proposes expanding the New Heights program to both public and charter high schools. Schools will be prioritized based on their numbers of pregnant and parenting students and the existing resources in the school and neighboring community.

From the former superintendent of the DC school district:

“We are proud to serve the young parents who are determined to get the education they need to support their families,” said Chancellor Michelle Rhee. “It’s incredibly tough for students to raise children and balance a full course load at the same time, and we have to do everything possible to empower them and ensure their success.”

Former Chancellor Rhee apparently has great faith in the coming P20 pipeline for public education. The mother and baby can both be profiled and tracked at the same time. The Departments of Education and Health and Human Services can share the nanny position for mom and child. Education just isn't about writing, reading and arithmetic; it's also about teaching teenagers how to parent and possibly providing them with other services; under the "Health and Wellness" section of the DC website:

New Heights Teen Parent Program

Pregnant and parenting students have the right to remain in their schools and participate in all school programs. Our New Heights Teen Parent Program provides pregnant and parenting DCPS students with the assistance, support and guidance they need to handle the responsibilities of raising a child and graduating from high school.

New Heights participants may be eligible for educational, employment, housing, support services and information about community resources until their 20th birthday. Contact the Anacostia SHS office at 202-645-4040, or the Cardozo SHS office at 202-671-1995.

This is listed under the Health and Wellness section under the teen parent program information:

Wrap MC Condom Availability Program

We have adopted DOH’s Wrap MC Condom program in all high schools, where trained school staff provide condoms to students as part of a comprehensive health education program for students in grades 9–12. Condoms are also available through the school nurse.

Visit the Department of Health for more information.

A question: are these the intended functions and constitutional responsibilities of the Federal government and the public schools?

Higher Education Hits The Gutter

Northwestern University Professor Michael Bailey's class on Human Sexually was audience to a live demonstration of sex toys last week. We won't bring down the quality of writing on MEW by print the details here, but if you want to learn more you can see what the Chicago Sun Times wrote about it.

Suffice it to say, a large number of NU alumns did not think this was worthy of the higher education offered by their alma mater. Such education is readily available on any number of thousands of internet porn sites and at, I must say, significantly less cost than a credit hour at NU. Institutions of higher learning perhaps need to make the movie The Social Network required viewing by their development and alumni relations offices as traffic among alumn on Facebook and Twitter sent news of this debacle across the country faster than the class demonstrator could put her shirt back on. Sure it's all fun and games until someone gets hit in the pocketbook.

Is this the best the academic elite have to offer our children? Let's hope Professor Bailey is not part of any of the CCS consortia.

Teaching Socialism to Grade School via the Constitution

News of this bit of indoctrination made the rounds of the internet today...

The Promise Of America Is. . . Socialism? That’s exactly what is being taught in many American public schools.

Under the guise of teaching children to read, the seeds of Socialism are being planted within the minds of young children. Do you believe that the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States mandates the following?

The People’s basic needs must be met in a country. Needs for housing, education, transportation, and health care overseen by our government system.

Those are the words being chanted over and over and over by school children around the country. They are part of an educational program called Building Fluency Through Practice and Performance. This section is called ‘The Promise of America’ and it breaks down the fifty-two word single sentence that is the Preamble. Here is the original:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Disguised as a reading exercise, the Preamble has been turned into a five page choral project with commentary planted inside this very simple sentence. Here is an example. Make note of what the children (R5, R6, & R7) are being asked to read after the words ‘promote the general welfare’:

People’s basic needs must be met in a country. Needs for housing, education, transportation and health care, overseen by our government system.

When did the Preamble or the Constitution include the government meeting the people’s needs for housing, transportation and health care?

Instead of teaching the Preamble and Constitution as it is written, schools from coast to coast are indoctrinating children to Socialism thanks to a company called Teacher Created Materials. TCM sells ‘The Promise of America’ to thousands of school districts all across the country as well as over 100 countries around the world. Several phone calls to TCM, its‘ printing company Shell Education and New York City sales outlet Sussman Sales provided little specific data on just how many schools are currently using the ’Promise of America, ‘ but one company rep told The Blaze the “Fluency program is really really popular.”

Blaze Exclusive: Socialist Mantra Hidden in Grade School Chants | The Blaze

Find out if this is being taught in your school.

Summer Job Posting for Students: "Fight Far Right Extremism and Advance Progressive Causes"

Would your student like a summer job on behalf of progressive causes?

This appeared on Boston Craigslist and the application (complete with image above) is below:

Now Hiring Students for Summer Campaign Positions

It’s up to all of us to make sure that our country moves in the right direction.

In order to do that, we're currently partnering with some of the country’s leading advocacy and humanitarian organizations.

Right now, we're hiring students to work full-time this summer advocating on behalf of progressive causes.

Apply below, or call us at 617-521-9091

Summer Campaign Job Application

* = required field

First Name: *

Last Name: *

Telephone *

Email: *

Where did you hear about us? *
Email Poster Professor Craigslist Idealist.org Online Search Other

Current Location: *

City You’re Applying to Work In: *
Berkeley CA Boston MA Chicago IL Denver CO Indianapolis IN Kansas City MO Los Angeles CA New York NY Pasadena CA Philadelphia PA Sacramento CA San Diego CA San Francisco CA Santa Cruz CA Seattle WA Washington D.C.

School Attending: *

Expected Graduation Date: *
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Why Do You Want to Work for Grassroots? (limit 300 words)

If your student wants to become a community organizer, this would be a great opportunity to learn skills necessary to "empower" certain segments of society at the expense of others. This might be a great stepping stone toward a government position.

Are Vouchers for Parochial Schools an Example of Social Justice for Parents?

Is parental choice in schools a social justice issue? A lecture for parents of students attending private schools using taxpayer dollars is being held at a St. Louis area Catholic high school:

2011 Hesburgh Lecture

When: Saturday April 2, 2011 @ 7:30 PM
Where: Kevin Kline Theatre at Saint Louis Priory

Parental Choice: An Issue of Social Justice

Patricia O’Hara ’74 J.D., Professor of Law

Catholic primary and secondary schools today face daunting challenges in the wake of demographic shifts, the changing role of faith in the lives of American families and the fundamental alternations in the way in which Catholic schools are staffed and financed.
As bishops make painful choices with respect to schools in their dioceses, the stakes could not be higher for sustaining a transformative system of education for the next generation. One piece of the puzzle in creating a new paradigm for Catholic schools in the 21st century is the possibility of public support for private and religious schools that provide a public service to society. Can a case be made, as a matter of social justice, that parents who choose Catholic schools for their children should enjoy some semblance of the public economic support enjoyed by those who choose public schools?

Is public support of parochial school a social justice idea or more a belief parents should be able to decide how their tax dollars are being spent in choosing the appropriate education for their child with minimal governmental control and mandates? Here are some questions for the bishops: if the Catholic schools accept government funding, are they under government mandates in regard to standards, assessments and personal data reporting? Could the government prevent the teachings of the Catholic Church and other religious teaching in the classroom since there would government involvement? Is "social justice" worth handing over the autonomy of a parochial school's delivery of education for government funding?

Whose idea of "social justice" will the Church be following with the acceptance of government funding? The Church's or the government's? Does the Church face the danger of becoming a Church based on secularization vs staying a Church based on faith if it enjoys some semblance of the public economic support enjoyed by those who choose public schools?

How Not to Win Friends and Influence People

This is from an online primer listing qualities of a good teacher:

Good teachers....

keep their cool. There will be times when you will be tempted to scream or yell at your students, other teachers, parents, administrators, and so on. Good teachers are able to successfully resist this urge.

I hope this woman is not a teacher in Missouri but she could be as members from the MO NEA drove to Wisconsin to join the union protests. Let's hope she doesn't teach character education.