Whatever Happened to Kids’ Innocence – and Parental Rights?

Parents from coast to coast are working to have their voices heard in local public schools and continue to fight while being met with resistance along the way – in courtrooms and on Capitol Hill.

In Maryland, a group seeks to have sexually explicit books removed from school libraries and is being portrayed as enemies of speech and enlightenment. Meanwhile, in California, parents believe they should be informed if their child shows signs of gender confusion while at school – an argument with which the state disagrees. Continue reading

Far Left Alarmed Home Schooling on the Rise, Which Should Set Off Alarm Bells at Every Kitchen Table

New figures confirm home schooling is rocketing in popularity but a home school advocate warns that means an unhappy government will try to smash its independent-minded competitor.

The Washington Post this week reported on eye-opening school data from 32 states and Washington, D.C. Its findings show home school students have increased by 51% since the 2017-2018 school year, defying predictions that most families would return to public schools after COVID-19 restrictions went away.

The increases are especially high in states with large urban centers but not limited to those states.

California’s five-year increase in home schooling is 78%, New York’s is 103%, and Washington, D.C.’s figure is 108%, according to the Post.

Citing the National Center for Education Statistics, the Post said the number of home schooling children has jumped from 1.5 million before the COVID pandemic to as many as 2.7 million during the current school year. Continue reading

Benson: The Ongoing Battle Over Public School Books

It’s History Repeating Itself

It seems like the public schools in Hillsborough County, Florida have been having problems similar to those experienced in Kanawha County, West Virginia public schools 49 years ago now. Considering the true agenda of the public education system in this country – indoctrination rather than education – should anyone really be surprised?

And it looks as if this has been going on for while. In an article published back in March of this year in the Tampa Bay Times it was noted that “This Book Is Gay” a non-fiction book that offers guidance to LGBTQ youth will no longer be available at any Hillsborough County middle school. Continue reading

Why Homeschool Fearmongering Should Be Taken With a Grain of Salt

Movie music is the subtle cue that tells you how to respond to a certain scene. Happy, sad, afraid, angry – you name the mood and the composer will ensure that the desired emotion is accomplished.

I sometimes wonder if news articles work the same way. Take the recent and widely shared Washington Post article on the explosion of homeschooling occurring since Covid. “In 390 districts,” The Post explained, “there was at least one home-schooled child for every 10 in public schools during the 2021-2022 academic year.”

That 10 percent mark, also known as “the tipping point,” helped inch the numbers of homeschooling students up to a high of 2.7 million – 1 million more than the number of students in Catholic schools, according to The Post.

Such numbers, although still relatively small, appear to have The Washington Post worried. Very worried.
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Holmquist: The Recipe for a Happy Nation Requires Religious and Moral Instruction in Schools

A Founding Father’s vision for American education included a strong foundation of religious and moral instruction.

As a grade school student, one of my favorite field trips was spending a day attending the one-room school at a local historical site. My friends and I would pack our noontime meal in lunch buckets, dress in aprons and bonnets, and participate in a spelling bee at the close of the day.

But our lessons in the classroom covered more than just the three Rs. Continue reading

Vigilance Is Not Optional: Be Wary of Your Local Public Schools

Parents once looked forward to having their children reach the age of five. At that time, children enter kindergarten, usually a half-day session either in the morning or in the afternoon.

At age six, children enter the first grade with school hours, something on the order of 8:00 a.m. to 2:15 or 2:30 p.m. Parents did their business while ensuring that the children were dropped off and picked up at appointed times.

There was little or no concern about what transpired during the school day as long as nothing happened out of the ordinary. Every now and then, somebody skinned a knee during recess. Or someone got ill during the day and had to go home. Most days, however, were uneventful. Your little ones were learning the ABCs, simple arithmetic, American history, and a few things about society in general… and THEN:
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No, John Oliver, Homeschooling Doesn’t Need More Regulation

Many parents choose homeschooling specifically because of the harms they believe are caused by public schooling.

Those of us who have homeschooled for years are accustomed to periodic calls for greater regulation of homeschooling. Whether it’s a Harvard professor or NPR, the hackneyed hollers to regulate homeschoolers remain unconvincing.

Joining the tired chorus is comedian John Oliver, who earlier this week hosted an episode of his “Last Week Tonight” HBO show calling for more homeschool regulation… Continue reading

Publius Rutilius Rufus: Rome’s ‘Last Honest Man

Publius Rutilius Rufus (158 B.C.-78 B.C.) attempted to reform Rome’s corrupt tax system, and soon found himself accused of corruption and extortion himself.

Banished for debasing the currency from his home city in what is now north-central Turkey, Diogenes of Sinope chose to beg in the streets of Corinth and Athens, live in a clay jar, and eschew wealth of any kind. The story is often told that he walked the streets with a lantern, looking in vain for an honest man. He often confronted people with disparaging hand gestures, including one that involved the middle finger. He is considered a founder of the ancient Greek school of philosophy known as Cynicism. In his 80s, he died in the same year as Alexander the Great (323 B.C.). Continue reading

3 Missteps of the Education System According to Mike Rowe

Putting shop class BACK in session should be number 1 on the list…

Everybody loves Mike Rowe. His matter-of-fact sense of humor, his humility, and his willingness to get involved in the many work sites featured on his “Dirty Jobs” show make him an endearing figure.

But Rowe is also very intelligent. He has his finger on the pulse and problems of America in a way that many others often don’t recognize. Take the recent interview he did with Nick Gillespie of Reason in which he discussed how the missteps of the education system produced a generation of entitled young people who turn up their noses at blue collar or low-paying work. Continue reading

Harnessing Creative Brilliance in Children With Learning Disabilities

In the vibrant tapestry of human expression, art stands out as a medium that transcends words, allowing souls to communicate in colors, shapes, and movements. For children with learning disabilities, delving into the arts unlocks a universe of possibilities, providing them with a medium to express themselves and a bridge to connect, grow, and redefine their potential. Continue reading

Former Public School Teachers Find Happiness In Entrepreneurship

Education entrepreneurs are finding joy in launching their own innovative learning programs and are spreading that joy to their learners.

Jennifer Hunt works with students at Salt + Light Academy in Kansas. Photo: Kerry McDonald

I spent much of last week in the greater Kansas City area visiting microschools and learning pods, and talking to founders, ahead of the Heartland Hybrid & Microschools Summit, hosted by Kansas Policy Institute.

All of the seven learning environments I visited in Kansas and Missouri were founded within the past three years and all of the founders are former public school teachers who quit and created these alternative programs. They all expressed greater levels of personal and professional fulfillment. Continue reading

A Solution to the Problem of Failed Public Schools

It may be true, as the late, great Andrew Breitbart famously said, that “politics is downstream of culture.” But both are downstream of education. Nothing is more important to our families or to the future of our country than the moral, social, psychological, and intellectual development of our children.

In that regard, the pandemic lockdowns created quite a conundrum for traditionally conservative and “red-pilled” parents. They were on the front lines of the school reopening movement, demanding that children – who were at virtually no risk from covid – be allowed to attend school in person (and without masks). Yet once the public schools did reopen, those same parents found that their children were being exposed to a level of sexual and political indoctrination never before seen. Continue reading

Here’s Why John F. Kennedy Once Passionately Argued To Keep The Electoral College

The days of New York City’s Tammany Hall and the Windy City’s “Chicago Machine” may be technically over, but that doesn’t mean Democrats have given up trying to rig and steal elections in a neverending power grab that would make Mayor Daley blush. Not by a long shot. In fact, you can bet the farm that virtually any cockamamie proposal put out there by anyone with a D beside their name is specifically designed to do one thing and one thing alone – get votes.

Oh, I know they like to pretend they’re all about “virtue” and “values” and helping the “disenfranchised,” the downtrodden, and the disaffected, but these modern day Bolsheviks have “more power” scrubbed into their DNA, and it defines EVERYTHING they do. Continue reading

Schrock Taylor: Now Is the Time for All Good Parents To Come to the Aid of Their Children

Now that parents with school age children are homeschooling – whether they want to or not – I would like to offer some ideas towards teaching important educational skills at home. There is so much that parents can accomplish while families are in these unique “lock down” situations.

You all are very lucky. I hope that you understand that. You may never again have such an opportunity to teach your own children; to influence your children. You may never again have these chances to correct mistakes the schools have made; to fill any gaps that schools have left. Continue reading

George Washington’s Guide to Being a Gentleman

George Washington, it’s famously said, was “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.” Such firsts undoubtedly contributed to his other great achievements, including his election as president of both the Constitutional Convention and the United States.

In other words, Washington was not an average man. But his above-average nature didn’t happen overnight. At age 14, he copied out more than 100 maxims of good behavior in his school book, likely intending to implement them in his own life. Many of these are still applicable today. Following them can help modern men be true gentlemen who stand head and shoulders above the crowd in both character and conduct. Continue reading

UPDATE: Choosing the Best Education at Risk of Arrest

The chilling story of the Romeike family

NOTE: What you are about to read will sicken you. Joe Buy Deng and his crew have opened the Borders of this country to the largest number of future Demon-Cratic voters, but do NOTHING to protect those who have come to this country and conducted themselves as loving, caring, contributing human beings. ~ Editor

If you’re like most parents, you want the best for your children, especially when it comes to education.

But to what lengths would you go to achieve that best? Would you be willing to risk arrest by the government in order to choose the best education for your child? Continue reading

Little Girl Laments Education System’s Failure After Finding Her Class Doesn’t Know Who Napolean Was

She was surprised by her classmates’ lack of knowledge about Napoleon Bonaparte while discussing the Hogwarts house the conqueror would belong in.

While some of us loved to study history in school, many found the subject rather boring. Even though it teaches us about the significant impact past events still have on us, several children are not a fan of history. A little girl found this fact very surprising as she discovered that her classmates didn’t know about European history. Continue reading

OPINION: Dear Parents – Please Stop Asking Teachers To Give Your Kids Homework

Say WHAT???

If your kid’s teacher isn’t assigning homework, it’s for a good reason.

If I could change one thing about my past teaching, it would be homework. As in, I would never assign it. I’m just not convinced that the positives outweigh the negatives, and I’m not alone. Many teachers (even entire districts) are getting on the no homework train. Not everyone agrees, and some of the most vocal opponents of homework bans are parents. In fact, many parents seem to positively associate homework with teacher and/or school quality. I have school-age kids, and I can understand the discomfort around uprooting tradition.

But since when has “that’s the way we’ve always done it” been a good reason to continue with a practice? Fellow parents, it’s time to take a long, hard look at homework. Continue reading

Why Schools Are Ditching Spelling Tests

Gone are the days of memorizing a word list and taking weekly spelling tests. Recently, an emerging trend has been observed across schools nationwide, moving away from traditional spelling tests. This shift in approach raises questions about the value these tests and how they actually work. Teachers are recognizing the limitations of spelling tests and exploring alternatives. Continue reading