Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 12.18.11.

Welcome to the Sunday Education Weekly Reader for 12.18.11.  This week's highlights:

• Readers in Charlotte NC are smarter than the Charlotte Observer editorial board in educational matters
• Do you agree with Arne Duncan's job performance?
• A follow up to our previous posting about 'Occupy North Pole' at the George School

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Charlotte, NC readers take the editorial board to task and educate the writers on the scam operated on taxpayers and the push to spend even more federal money in Pre-K public education:

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that if a parent works with their child from birth to 4 years old and teaches them their colors and some words, they will be better off starting kindergarten than if they had not.
The stupidity lies with government getting more involved in the lives of those entitled - just let the government handle it and not the parents.
I feel very sad for our country and our kids and grandkids, because the America as we knew it will be dead and gone very soon.
Welcome to Europe. 

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 Here's your chance to vote in an Arne Duncan poll.  (No fair peeking at the results before you vote!)  As the author of the poll states:


Don't underestimate the power of my polls. The last one I did was on Michelle Rhee. A year later, DC Mayor Fenty was defeated and Rhee was gone. Okay. It took a year. I'm just sayin' ...

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We reported about the Quaker sponsored George School's Christmas play based on 'Occupy North Pole' and questioned what Christmas tradition the occupiers represented.  Perhaps the school is beginning a new tradition of supporting violent protests.  Check out the events the school had scheduled for December 3:


  

10:00 a.m.

Go with Tom and Becky Hutchins to see Occupy Philly and to the Friends Center to learn about the Quaker/Occupy connection

 
 A reader alerted us to the tuition charged for this Occupy friendly school:

Boarding Students — $45,710
Includes tuition, room and board, and some materials/lab fees. 

Day Students — $31,780
Includes tuition, all meals, and some materials/lab fees. 

These students certainly know what's it's like to be part of the 1%...right?





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Educational quote for the week:

Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.

Oren Arnold

The George School Christmas Program Promotes the Christmas Tradition 'Occupy the North Pole'

The  Quaker based George School in Newton, PA sponsored an annual Holiday Dance Performance this past weekend.  As one boarding student from South Africa stated:


“The holiday dance is our opportunity, as dancers, to really get everyone in the spirit of Christmas for holiday weekend....we kick off with a fun performance on Friday that always has exciting costumes. We create a story centered on a Christmas tradition.”

So what hallowed Christmas tradition did the school center its celebration on this year?  This year's selection was the well known and beloved tale of Santa's workshop being taken over by eminent domain for oil and the resulting 'Occupy North Pole' movement helping Santa regain his workshop:

Here is the storyline of the 'Occupy North Pole' saga:

This year’s dance theme is based on an original story written by Barbara Kibler, who has been a George School dance teacher for twenty-eight years. The action takes place in the North Pole with Santa Claus and his elves losing their workshop as a result of eminent domain. Soon, the elves’ work is outsourced and the workshop is taken over by a new corporate conglomerate, whose acronym is GREED. The sad and unfulfilled executive in charge begins using background checks to determine if children have been naughty or nice.

From this plight, Occupy North Pole is born. 




This is an interesting interpretative program based on a Christmas tradition.  Aren't Christmas traditions usually centered on tales of peace, love, joy, compassion, giving and worship?    The revisionist Christmas tradition in this school centers on a story of greed, evil capitalists, outsourcing, and revolution. 

Ho Ho Ho.  The Occupiers have rescued Santa and his elves from the evil doers.  Whatever would Christmas be without these protesters?  The Occupiers are the "saviors" and have allowed Santa to open once again to make toys for children world wide.  Hallelujah.