Criminal Mom
Mar. 22, 2006 at 11:27 AM
Public Schools
[I] want to be in my own son's classroom, to see how it functions, and who the children are who are going to school with him. Instinctively, I also have some issues with handing over a set of my fingerprints to the FBI. There's this little thing called the Fourth Amendment, and there is no justifiable reason to take my fingerprints, much less at my cost and inconvenience. It strikes me as really odd that the same moms who were complaining about federal wiretaps of suspected terrorists are perfectly happy to give their fingerprints to the same federal organization just so they can punch lap cards at the spring walk-a-thon.
The expense is paid out of the parent's pocket by by cashiers check or money order. No cash allowed. The tale continued even after she found out that state law regarding background checks didn't apply to volunteer parents. So what's she going to do about it?
I did write a strongly worded letter to the district superintendent and the school board president, but I don't have high hopes of them paying attention to it. I'm just opting out of my son's school life, and I'm afraid a lot of other parents will, too.
Another "Queen Bee" morphs into an drone as the state successfully puts another parent back in their place: Outside Class.
(HT: Joanne Jacobs via the Carnival of Education hosted by Edwonk)
Related Tags: education, parenting, family, homeschooling, home school, public schools
Is the NEA the new Animal Farm?
Nov. 19, 2005 at 8:26 PM
Public Schools
Darren at Right at the Left Coast links to the Washington City Paper article that talks more about the communist group known as the Frederick Douglass Club. One somewhat disturbing fact is the co-chair, Barry Weinstein, is an elementary school teacher in Fairfax, VA. I thought it was interesting that for the interview he wore a white T-shirt with a red hammer-and-sickle logo and "CPUSA" printed on it. Here's his perpsective,REDS AT NEA
The District of Columbia cell of the Communist Party USA has been revealed as holding a monthly luncheon in the cafeteria of the National Education Association (NEA), without the sponsorship but not with the disapproval of the huge, politically powerful schoolteachers union. The Communist meetings were reported by Chris Peterson in the Washington City Paper edition of Nov. 11-17. A lawyer attending the September meeting bolted from the cafeteria when he learned a reporter was present."We had no knowledge of this," NEA spokeswoman Denise Cardinal told this column, "because the NEA does not screen the patrons of our cafeteria or listen in on conversations. It's open to the public."
Look at me - don't call me a terrorist, and don't call me less than an American," he says. "I'm as American as you can get, as patriotic as anyone. Even more so!"What I'd like to know is just what definition does Mr. Weinstein use to teach "patriotism" to his young scholars? As a teacher, Darren also noted that in his state of California "it's illegal for a teacher to be a communist or to advocate communism to students."
I wonder if Mr. Weinstein also realizes that this cafeteria is operated by a capitalist company. The Education Gadfly wrote about this in September.
NEA Cafe's operation is outsourced to a private, for-profit vendor, Seasons Culinary Services - precisely what the union abhors in public education. This firm's philosophy is worth sharing, both because it's a fine one for a food service outfit and because it reads like the gustatory equivalent of a charter school.The vendor works hard to rid themelves of the stereotypical cafeteria food image. (aka your local public school.) The Education Gadfly actually visited the cafe and noted, "If the NEA ran its restaurant by its education policy precepts, everyone would be served the same food - and told where to sit."
My children an I have just finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell. It was not lost on us how the animals began to act like the farmer once they got into power. Maybe George Orwell was really writing about the NEA in 2005.
