Are Parents Really Still Concerned?
May 25th, 2006 was an extraordinary day in the life of District 214, Arlington Heights, IL. Prior to this day, it seemed that all was cheery and bright in the classrooms across the district. What parents did not know, did not hurt them. Suddenly, the ugly underbelly of what is really happening in some classrooms was exposed.
Certainly, there are caring and responsible teachers in our district. And I hope that they have the courage to speak to those who seemingly lack responsibility. Can they encourage them to greatness? Can they let their lights shine in what seems to be a place that is getting darker and darker as the years go on?
While the 6-1 vote showed an overwhelming support of the literature being selected was just fine to almost all the Board Members of District 214, you do have to wonder. Did that evening have any impact for good for our students? Were those six individuals changed as a result? Perhaps their votes came from a protectionist attitude for the teachers....a way to back the organization and hang together. Is anything happening behind the scenes to change what is being taught in our classrooms?
School will be in full swing shortly. Will the teacher's institute day have any talk of this issue? Will the teachers conduct themselves any differently? Maybe they will push their ideologies on the students even harder just to show those prudish parents a thing or two.
So, the aftermath is over, but has the dust settled? What do you think?
Links
posted by Concerned Citizen @ 8/11/2006 07:30:00 AM
54 Comments:
You people are at it again? When you will ever stop beating a dead horse?
It was alarming to see how the term "censoring" was used to distort the issue here.
Also alarming was how willing these people were, even teachers, to involve the students in this matter.
I am concerned about the huge influence these educators are having on future generations.
If you were to ask the teachers what the educational objectives are with these books, and if they were truthful, your hair would stand on end!
The "controlled environment" of which they speak, is just that. They want to control the minds of these students.
I think we have many good teachers in our schools. But there appear to be some radicals that wish to push a social agenda on our students.
They sadly see their role as one of changing society through harnessing our impressionable, malleable youth.
It’s really a form of exploitation. As a concerned parent I'm now going to have my kids report back to me on what's going on, especially in the English and Social Science areas.
Why can't these radical types just do the job we taxpayers pay them for--- to do their level best at teaching, not indoctrinating--- YES, its an agenda!
As a parent why should I be concerned, you ask? We are told to just hand over our children to this system and trust, trust... as the president of D214 School Board stated in the paper...
Well, has anyone read the recent Hearld article teachers' use of the MySpace website, and how some suburban teachers, and even a young administrator, use it to post their personal exploits on MySpace-
If these are examples of who we should be trusting, you bet I'm concerned.
As the mother of a freshman boy in a government high school, I am extremely concerned about both what my son will AND won't be learning (that he should). What the majority of 214 board members apparently consider educational I consider corruption. I have spent considerable time and energy trying to protect my son's innocence and character. I am outraged that his school might destroy it.
I do not question the expertise or even the motives of the educators and board members in District 214. I question their moral judgement. It seems to be seriously impaired...
-Abby
I plan to be more informed of what's going on in the classroom and with the school board.
As the new school year starts, I'm so excited and pleased that this organization has formed. We've needed it for some time. I've seen first hand the nonsense going on at my student's school. We're going to be watching very carefully for unwanted approaches in the class room.
The fact that this orgaization can think that they can delve into the educational environment is a disgrace. You people are snobby, elitist pigs who will chase after anything as long as it has a liberal smell to it. I firmly believe that you people should cease and desist. I believe in the freedom of speech, and you have a right to say whatever you want, but this organization should have its throat slit and be bled to death quietly. I shudder to think how many misguided parents will jump on the bandwagon and join your ridiculously ignorant organization.
And on another note, if you have a problem with homosexuality, you should be shot. If you were a homosexual and had people hack at your beliefs, you would be upset, too. Leave these poor people alone! It angers me to no describable extent.
Have a nice day!
To think that we are but malleable youth is an outrage. I am both unimpressed and insulted at the injustices that have graced this page. This website is unfathomably thick, trampling all over our society's educational system, treating it as a child. It is fully functional, and is a lot better off without this festering organization dragging its fetid carcass all over everyone elses business. You have become nothing but an obstacle to our society's progress, and its rather embarrasing. To treat our society's youth as malleable, impressionable youth is an unbelievable travesty. We are teenagers, and we are not total imbeciles. We are not zombies that can be brainwashed into anything that is thrown at us. And we are not idiots that will put up with this fecal extract! If our exquisite educational system is to be reformed by a woefully understaffed and underinformed posse of overly radical republicans, than it is not worth attending, because the educational system will have a political slant that will unravel the very fiber of the system. i am appauled that you sensationalists will do anything to attract attention in any way fathomable. I am sickened by your pathetic efforts to demolish what we have come to treasure in our unique educational processes. In summation, leave our schools to their own devices, you ditatorial dogs.
Why are there no names on this website? Why doesn no one sign their name after they express their opinion? In a free society if you can't put your name next to your word than you must not be proud of your statements.
Anyone can say anything-- lies, slanders, half-truths-- anonymously.
It takes courage to stand by your convictions and your statements.
Kathy Gregg
Thank you for standing up and voicing concerns and opening dialog. This is not a new problem. Our neighbors alerted us years ago that the summer reading book for incoming freshman was too violent. In that case, an alternate was readily available, and now there are completely different books for summer reading.
To the person who complained about anonymous postings . . . I am posting anonymously, because I do not want to jeopardize the grades my children receive. The classes where most of the issues arise are classes which by their nature have subjective grading systems - essay questions, papers, speeches, etc. After hearing about the one-sided disucussions led by some faculty in the classroom regarding the book issue last May, I no longer trust all of the faculty to be able to separate this issue from their work. Yes, that is sad, but that is where I am at on the subject until trust is reaffirmed.
If you really don't want to give your children a well rounded, honest education, pull them out. If your morals and ethics are the "chosen ones" then they should stand up to open conversation. They won't fit into society with their protected, biased, uneducated views anyway.
Looking at this web site, you list no specifics. No direct examples of what you are against. You don't list your names. On your report forms, you list name, class and student as optional. It is difficult to view your organization as helpful with so much secrecy. What is it you are hiding and why?
If you are so proud of what you are doing here then why don't you identify yourself? Why would I contact you about a problem with my child's education instead of contacting the school directly? I have no reason to trust you or your organization.
No doubt you also support a D214 Board member that votes to ban books she hasn't even read.
People that live in glass houses should not throw stones!
J.Zimmerman
OK
For the ignorant imbecile that said the comment about all the anonymous comments, it doesn't make a difference or not whether you are anonymous or not. You can put anything you want for your name, and I solidly enforce the ideasl that it is better to leave your idea to fester than to lie about your name. Anonymity is a gift, not a shield. Get a clue.
"Quality education" is really the most indirect term that you people can use. You don't define what our education is, why it isn't, "quality" or what can be done about it besides tearing the whole thing apart. It angers me that you will fill the internet with such trash. This organization as a whole is really just an enormous joke. It has no point to exist. Even you acknowledge on the blog homepage that the board members voted 6 to one. SIX TO ONE. Is that not telling you people anything? We obviously have six board members that know how the educational process is supposed to work, and one crackpot that makes rash decisions on books that she has not even read, takes for full face value, and does not show a shred of intelligence. It is overwhelmingly clear that the people that run this organization have no clue how this world works. You may believe (wrongly, I might add) that these books are harming our children, but in reality, they are enriching them with the real world. The thing that bugs me the most about you overly protective slobs is that you think you can protect your child forever. You are befuddled by the fact that you can keep them under the parental umbrella and keep them from experiencing the outside world. Well, I've got news for you. YOU CAN'T! Your kids, like it or not, are going to read something about rape, or murder, or something that you don't approve of, and when that day comes, you will not be able to do a single thing about it. You will be helpless, and it will be pathetic, because you will come to the realization that your futile attempts to shield your 'innocent' children has failed. They need this enrichment. They should have it. And if you don't approve of the books they read, then you can stop them from reading them, and pick up the alternative reading. This way, you can leave everybody's high school experience alone, and stop screwing with the books that everyone else reads. You people are not doing the community a shred of good. You are being overly ignorant, and it disgusts me that you think that you have the right to interfere with other people's education. It infuriates me.
I think it would be for the best of the entire district, and for that matter the community if you would just shut up.
Enraged,
M.F.
Honors Student
John Hersey High School
Thoroughly disgusted
If you do not want your children taking these interesting and informative classes, them do not have them take them. If they are not in the class, then mind your own business. I was sent home a list of all the materials that they would be covering in the class. My daughter comes home every day talking about what they discussed in her Contemporary American Texts class. I have read several of the articles. I was at the May board meeting and you sad and pathetic people should have accepted by now that you do not have a majority opinion. How would you like it if we tried to ban you from reading the bible? It is a very filthy and violent book. Do not try to preach in my daughter's school and I will not think in your church.
While I am in favor of free speech and open dialog, I strongly object to my school system serving as a forum for a political agenda.
As a graduate of District 214, my husband and I chose our home to be located within the District. While there are always opportunities for improvement within any organization, change happens through productive dialog based in fact and logic. Because this has been lacking throughout anything associated with this organization, I can only question the political motivation of the people involved. I also question whether all of the people involved in this agenda are even residents of Dist 214.
Finally, if US Patriot below is an example of the fact based logic resident in this group, I am appalled.
Isn't it amazing how "over the top" some of these comments are, not to mention immature.
I guess FREE speech is fine as long as YOU AGREE with it, otherwise you CANNOT TOLERATE differing views---- that my friends, is one-sided view point discrimination, which has been going on in this District for some time.
If you cannot put together a cogent, intelligent comment WITHOUT a rant, name calling, threats or derogatory language, what does that say about YOUR ability to disagree effectively and convey your thoughts in a civil manner -- obviously our school system is failing IF that's the approach that is encouraged, being taught and expressed by some here---
Time to get control of your emotions and agree to disagree without the immaturity exhibited by some herein.
Think about it--- you don't have to agree with comments pro or con expressed on this blog, but it should be done in a civil way, otherwise it is just DEMONSTRATING IMMATURITY AND INABILITY to express one's self in an adult and effective fashion.
I feel badly for some of our commenters that cannot discourse on an adult level.
Randy J.
Note to Randy J... about your last sentence, since you are referring to people, the proper grammar is "who" not "that."
Does anyone but me find it ironic that the citizens for quality education are trying to bring awareness about some kind of alleged political brainwashing at our schools by brainwashing the parents of these students
I am very glad that people have started a parent-student advocacy group for District 214. It is interesting how much people like to talk about freedom of speech and yet threaten in the same sentence about how an organization's throat should be slashed and bleed to death.
It is also interesting that J. Zimmerman and Kathy Gregg chastises those of us who would like to remain anonymous. Perhaps those of us who want to remain anonymous do not want to jeopardize our children’s grades. It seems that there could be conscious retribution from the teacher or perhaps subconsciously if a parent makes themselves known. This is inherent to the problem. Many times parents feel their hands are tied.
Also, the blogger who said, “The fact that this organization can think that they can delve into the educational environment is a disgrace.” So, parents should not delve into their children’s education? What a senseless statement!
I do appreciate the discourse, providing it is respectful and not threatening. Hopefully, our district is not so protective and indignant that they can handle some conflicting thoughts.
My daughter graduated from 214 in June. Her father and I are very pleased about the education she received there. If we had wanted our daughter to have a faith based education, we would have sent her to a faith based school. Both my husband and I have attended such schools and chose to provide our daughter with a public school education. American public education is the backbone of this country.
I am a senior at John Hersey High School. I have attended Hersey for four years, and I assure you, I am still very straight. In case you wondered. Maybe you shouldn't be worrying about the homosexual agenda, maybe you should worry about the 19 kids who got pregnant at Wheeling last year.
I think that by trying to control our 'quality education' you are making it that much worse. I love the fact that I can sit in my American History class and listen to a die hard conservative, and then go listen to a raging liberal next period. The political spectrum is completely balanced at our school, and when people say that our district had a liberal bias, that is just a ploy to make everyone think more conservatively. I don't think we're nearly liberal enough, and I will continue to think that until the wars stop and poverty comes to an end.
By trying to take controversy out of school, you take away our ability to deal with it in real life. It's so much better to devolop critical thinking skills in high school and be able to hold our own in the world rather than being mindless robots who only have one set opinion that has been conditioned into us for 4 years. Please let me think.
There has been an unforgivable travesty in my Contemporary American Text Class. During one period last year, the teacher showed a video of the Victoria's Secret runway show to compare the lax standards of society. Then, within two weeks they proceeded to show a montage of photographs of a compromising nature, including one of Janet Jackson at the controversial superbowl halftime show. Then the teachers proceeded to do various parodical interpretations of the runway show and the derobing of Mrs. Jackson. As a conservative student who has often felt that his beliefs are under atack by the english department, I commend and applaud your gallant efforts to destroy the hidden agenda of indecency, liberalism, and otherwise lewd activities that are so rampant in district 214.
Repressed Conservative Alumni
Well, as a recent grad of 214, I can state unequivocally there are a lot of good teachers - NO make that GREAT teachers. I've had them. And there was critical thinking imparted, no question.
But, you'd have to be naive or totally tuned out not to honestly admit that some definitely have a personal 'thing' they're trying to push. You can tell usually, but I had other kids in my classes that soaked it up like sponges and just accepted what was being jammed at them.
Its not right for them to use a classroom to rant on about their personal views or manipulate students, and OH YES, it does happen, I experienced it.
As a college student, I look back on it now and it upsets me that those certain ones abused their position. Its not right when that happens.
On 9/13, anonymous started a note by saying "We are not malleable youth..." Oh yes, you are. Your letter expressed anger in a way that has not only pervaded our culture (thus showing your malleability by succumbing to it)but also used language of the lowest common denominator (another unhappy cultural phenomena). Your points were not only not made in elegant, persuasive speech but were instead sprinkled with grammatical errors. Your presentation does not speak well for the system you defend.
Comments have been made many times that certain topics (especially as found in some books) are "a part of life" and "students need to be prepared for real life". This gets to a very important point. Some of us CHOOSE not to expose ourselves to this language or these thoughts. We are not ostriches with our heads in the sand - we know what is out there (we are former international broadcast journalists)- we simply choose not to live there. As parents in their 50's, we NEVER encounter the images and language found in these books in our daily life. It is alien to us. It is also not honorable or uplifting. (It is not "enriching", as one blogger put it. To enrich, according to Webster's, is "to supply with abundance of anything desirable, or to make finer in quality.") Who could argue that some of this is of "fine quality"? Why would we want our kids to be filling their minds with it?
I'd like to comment on a previous post that implied that the effort to provide high quality, decent education in D214 would somehow undermine the ability to teach critial thinking skills to the students. No one is expecting the schools to teach only one side of any issue, or for that matter, to avoid certain "hot topic" issues of our day. The real debate is how those issues are being presented. Do kids need to read the exact details of an act of beastiality or of a rape in order to understand the issue? Does an R movie need to be shown to make some kind of educational point, or is there alternative material that will also cover the issue? I think I can carry on quite an intelligent discussion of these and other controversial issues without having to read a book that invades my mind with graphic descriptions, some of which even our newspapers cannot print. I am all for our kids learning about the issues of our times so that they know how to engage in the culture and learn critical thinking skills at the same time. But, let's follow some basic standards of decency that have been followed by our educational system in the past and, believe it or not, are still held by the majority of the taxpaying adults in our district.
here's my question: why is everybody on this site attacking certain peoples' comments? sure, they're hotly written, but do you really need to stoop to the level of assailing their grammar? i think that is pathetic. You people are just posting on this site discussing how bad other peoople's posts are, and you really don't state your opinion on what this blog was started for. you are completely ignoring the point of why this blog was created in the first place. If you free speech haters are going to plague this blog with messages on how some people are poor writers, then you should start your own blog on that. Leave this blog alone.
There was a comment earlier about victoria's secret and the janet jackson slideshow. I was in your class! I remember the teacher's interpretations of them, and I was disgusted. This organization should leave that class alone, though. Even though it was a bit out of place, I learned so much in that class. I would reccomend it to anyone.
Leave CAT alone, CQE
Anonymous said on 9/18...
If we had wanted our daughter to have a faith based education, we would have sent her to a faith based school.... American public education is the backbone of this country.
---------
Who's said anything about faith based education here? My opinion is this about COMMUNITY STANDARDS and DECENCY.
How about an INDECENCY FREE ZONE in our schools?
I went to a public school too, and none of my teachers had to muck around with Perks of the Wallflower to get students motivated.
Just because its all "out there" doesn't mean we teach DOWN to that level, and embrace an MTV curriculum? How about shooting a lot higher in our standards, expecting better of all involved...
I'm truly perplexed, WHY would some teachers want, or feel the need, to expose this junk to our students... there's no lack of it in movies, MTV, and others areas where they already have access...
So, District 214, why do you feel the need to REINFORCE this gutter stuff in the classroom?
My teachers of the past, wanted to provide the highest caliber of material that engendered the best, not the worst. What happened to that notion?
I'm a taxpayer too, and why should my taxes go for this crass stuff couched as "progressive, award winning or college-required." That's just bogus arguments.
JLee
I'm wondering why our D214 students have such a poor understanding of what is meant by free speech. Don't they learn about the Constitution in our schools? It's interesting to read the rants where you can almost hear the poster screaming "Leave my free speech alone!!!" and it's followed up with "So shut up, CQE!" I hope the students reading and posting on this blog appreciate the irony someday.
I'm disappointed the media never ran a story after the infamous May board meeting that let the public know that all the previous articles mentioning D214's "opt-out" policy were inaccurate. I wonder how many parents even today realize that D214 does not have an opt-out policy? I wonder how many reporters, parents, or students have taken a look at the District's Controversial Issues Policy and realizes that if a parent or student objects to controversial material the teacher is required to ... do NOTHING! Thank you, CQE, for keeping us informed.
Please explain the connection between your use of the Corbis photo of a tightly skirted woman with shapely legs and your cause. Is objectification of women part of your christian agenda? Is this something you would like added to the District 214 academic curriculum?
As a parent I have struggled with how to handle situations when I have had a problem with a teacher and my child does not want me to address the teacher. I think this group could be a forum to raise some of my concerns without fear of reprisals against my child (or most likely just huge embarrassment on my child's part). I am not sure that the teachers realize how the kids react to being singled out or the prospect of being singled out. My son recently told me about something said in class that upset me. (This has happened before with my daughter.) My children literally began to cry when I said that I wanted to talk to the teacher about it. Consequently, I have not followed up with conversations with the teachers because it caused my kids so much trauma.
Apparently there are some very confident kids who believe they could stand up to any teacher. On the other hand, there are my kids. I would guess that most kids are like mine and not that confident and don't want to be singled out.
I am very much interested in an educational system that encourages thoughtful debate. I hope CQE can keep encouraging parents that feel that they have not had a voice.
I noticed you snatched the photo of the tightly skirted woman off your site without explaining why it was there in the first place. Unfortunately, you replaced it with yet another running (escaping?) female. What is your perverse obssession with women in peril?
Could it be that (gasp!) even the good people of CQE need to be taught decency and respect?
Anonymous at 9/19/2006 08:15:17 PM said... What is your perverse obssession with women in peril?
-------------
You're joking, right-- seeing as how YOU noticed it, sounds like its your obsession! I guess if the shoe fits! BTW--- looks like this person's late for class :<))
amynetter
If you really want me to get a quality education...LEAVE MY SCHOOL ALONE!!!...
To all you parents out there that believe in this load of crap...YOU CANT HOLD YOUR KID'S HAND FOREVER..
Who ever said that our school teaching beastialty is a nut job!
No where on our list of courses does it say that.
Take a look in the mirror think about what you people are saying!
IT'S CRAZY!!!
Shut UP...go away...
LEAVE MY EDUCATION ALONE!!!!
You people arent citizens for quality education..your citizens for conservatve close minded education..
YOU ARE RUINING OUR FUTURES!!!!!
I'm curious how Hersey students are finding this website . . . perhaps a teacher passing out extra credit for blasting the site? No one said beastiality (learn to spell it first before you use it) was a COURSE at school, but it was one of several questionable topics in a required reading book recently approved. You are welcome to read that stuff on your own time, not on my taxpayor dollars.
Prayer is the answer. Kindly leave our school system to the professionals. They are accountable, to the peers, and in the board's case, the voters. Who are you? And who holds you accountable?
Prayer is always a wonderful way to lift up our concerns and ask for guidance. However, we are also called to be "doers" and that means, action. Our school system was designed in such a way that there should be accountability to the districts they represent. However, parents have become very complacent over the years in their level of involvement in their childrens' educations, assuming that the "professionals" know what they are doing. District 214 is a wonderful school system, with incredibly talented and dedicated teachers. However, we parents still need to be involved, to voice our concerns, to have a say in how our children are being educated. It's not wrong for us to ask teachers what their educational goals are and how they are to accomplish those goals. I consider that a priviledge and a duty as a parent. It's also ok to ask about the standards that are being used by the teachers to guide their lesson plans. I don't get the impression this group is trying to tell the schools what to do - it sounds more like they are just encouraging us parents to get up off our seats and get involved and ASK QUESTIONS. . . respectfully and thoughfully AND prayerfully.
Dear Goody Amynetter,
In response to my: What is your perverse obssession with women in peril?
You stated: You're joking, right-- seeing as how YOU noticed it, sounds like its your obsession! I guess if the shoe fits!
Ahhh...so perversion is in the eye of the beholder. What does that say about the good people of CQE and their reaction to the reading material offered, not required, by District 214?
PS You might want to proofread your Witch Hunt Form. There's an obvious typographical error.
"Anonymous said...
I'm curious how Hersey students are finding this website . . . perhaps a teacher passing out extra credit for blasting the site? No one said beastiality (learn to spell it first before you use it) was a COURSE at school, but it was one of several questionable topics in a required reading book recently approved. You are welcome to read that stuff on your own time, not on my
taxpayor dollars. "
I told like 4000 people, because I do not belive that what you are doing is beneficial. I heard about it last year at the book-banning thing, from this orginization itself.
Teachers know I posted above, and as much as I would love extra credit... I didn't get any. I'm sure you don't actually think that people will get extra credit for stating their opinions.
It's not really fair to make statements like that when you can't back it up.
Hey, Anonymous poster of 9/20, 8:42 p.m.,
You criticize Kathleen of JHHS for misspelling a word, then you misspell it yourself. Is this a feeble joke or misplaced arrogance?
You ask why so many Hersey students know about this website. Aren't they supposed to know? After all, don't you folks want to spread your message? I could give you the answer you are hoping for and tell you that because of the CAT course and others like it, plus the naughty books, Hersey students are tainted and damaged and are now the devil incarnate. Instead, I'll give you the truth - you are a running joke at Hersey High. The more people find out about you, the more you become the butt of their jokes. You use secrecy and stealth to try to promote your agenda (i.e. mind control for all, pseudo-religiosity in a public school setting), knowing that if you were up front with your viewpoints, you'd be shot down point blank.
Now, come out of the closet (oops, did I just warp some malleable minds?)and tell us who you are and what you offer that makes you so proud.
I thought communism was over. 18 year olds can go to war and vote, these kids are not much younger. Trust them and they will make the right decisions, parents need only steer the ship at times and not run their kids lives. Censor this stuff and your kids will grow to not know reality. If you want your kid to grow up thinking mommy and daddy will be there to protect them from the big bad wolf all the time then they will have a harsh reality strike upon them when faced with the actual happenings of life.
You know what's funny about this site? The parents that come on here think that their teenagers don't have a brain. This may be a shocker to some of the parents that come on here but, we do read the newspaper from time to time. My teachers didn't have to tell me about this organization. I found this site on my own.
srzarogvWhy is freedom of speech OK for those pushing these books, but when the citizens for quality iobblnheducation try to make a point, they are called names and chastised for it? Perhaps these English teachers should get back to teaching basic/foundation English so our young people don't sound so ignorant with wrong verb tenses and spellings.
No matter how "enlightened" some of you outraged HS students think you are, the fact remains that you are still children, and your ability for critical thinking (just as your ability to safely operate an automobile) is not fully developed (read it all over the Daily Herald). You are the pawns of a very crafty group and are being used to promote a political agenda that most of your taxpayer parents find objectionable. Woe to the board members!
Just remember who is paying the bills over there!
Getting back to the original post: I agree there is an "ugly underbelly" here , but it is not in the classrooms of District 214, but rather here in this orginization. It should be obvious to all that CQE is a political orginization with a conservative christian agenda. Did anyone notice the hightlighting of which boardmembers are next up for re-election? Now go back and read CQE's "About Us" and "Why We Care" manifestos. This is a political orginization folks with an agenda that is far scarier for a free society than what they are railing against. I will guarantee we will see a CQE slate of candidates running for election next spring with the primary purpose of unseating the current board, so they can attempt to turn Dist 214 into "Our Lady of the Censored Education". Jokes aside, this is serious stuff going on here in the guise of their "rights" as taxpayers to a sanitized education. Hello!! You have no "rights" as taxpayers to deny the things you rail against to the majority, any more than you do to say you don't want your tax dollars used for war, highways where people might drive drunk and speed, or fireworks on the 4th of July. If this organization was totally above board there would be a listing of it's members or governing board, but there isn't. Also, who is funding this orginization and why is it kept a secret? There is way to much anonymity going on here folks, even from those who claim to be afraid of reprisals against their children in the classroom. Come on, are you serious? The Flaming Homosexual Liberal Teacher is going to give your Hitler-Youth a lower grade because of her mommies fascist rant on this website? If someone wants to be afraid, be afraid of the social/political agenda of CGE. Thankfuly this is still Illinois, and not some backwater like Arkansas or Utah, so I have confidence that come next spring the CQE slate will be soundly defeated back to the stone age where they live. I am, in spite of my rant against it, also staying anonymous as well. Like my posting name "be afraid"... I am afraid, but not for my childs grades. I am more afraid of having my house or car vandelized, or worse. It is my experience that the sort of people who are in favor of this web sites facist thinking, are also usually in favor of concealed carry firearms laws. Thank you to the District 214 board and educators for continuing to provide one of the best districts in the state! Have a nice day:) Oh, I also understand there is still plenty of room at Christian Liberty Academy for those of you who want creationism taught at school instead of science.
Does anyone else wonder why comments are subject to "blog owner approval" on here, if not to censor?
Whoever wrote this post...
"No matter how "enlightened" some of you outraged HS students think you are, the fact remains that you are still children, and your ability for critical thinking (just as your ability to safely operate an automobile) is not fully developed (read it all over the Daily Herald). You are the pawns of a very crafty group and are being used to promote a political agenda that most of your taxpayer parents find objectionable. Woe to the board members!
Just remember who is paying the bills over there! "
…should be informed of something. We are not idiot children. We're not. We can drive, vote, and get jobs, so if you are that misguided on how stupid we are, than you had better rework your ideas on the nation's young adult population. If you think the operation of a motor vehicle is the single criterion for showing an individual's maturity, than I guess you'd better examine this fact: Do you know (probably not) how many "children" DON'T get in automobile accidents? The vast majority! Don't think for one second that we are but putty, just waiting to be molded into some abhorred shape.
On another note, I would like to make an analogy to how you believe the "political agenda" is being handled. You believe that at d214 teachers are pushing a political agenda to push the students into the left end of the political spectrum. Well, the analogy is this. You inerrantist pigs wrongly accuse homosexuals of learning their behavior, on the basis of the nurture/nature argument. Similarly, you believe that a certain political standpoint can be taught, just as mathematics or science can be. In both cases, IT CANNOT BE TAUGHT. Homosexuality is not a choice, for all you dogs out there who discriminate because the bible tells you it is bad. Similarly, a political standpoint is based on a person's values, and a person's values are gained from experience and life lessons, not from these "radical missionaries" that you identify the teachers with. I have been through two years at a d214 school, and never had I had a political agenda pressed upon me at any time. Trust me, they were very, very liberal, and there were some staunch conservative students in that class that had an engaging learning experience, never having a political agenda imprinted into them at any point. In both of my years, the teachers have engaged the political ideals of teach student, and had them come closer to their own political standpoint. I can say the same for any of the students that accompanied me in the entire class, nobody was upset in any way that any teacher of any sort tried to chance the way they thought AT ALL. It never happened once. So I highly advise anyone who has any underlying feelings of a hidden agenda to banish that rubbish at once. Though there may be a majority of liberal teachers in the district, that doesn't mean that they are all witchdoctors beating students' skulls in with liberal propaganda. In summation, it hasn't happened, it doesn't happen, and it won't happen- ever.
Finally, I would like to point out a few lines above here the word, "students'". Take a good look at it. Notice that it has correct grammar. Notice the spelling is correct. Notice, most of all, that there is no reason to go pointing fingers because of a few spelling errors. Nobody is perfect. I'm sure all you perfectionists that analyze all these posts will find a few typos, a few grammatical mistakes, some bric-a-brac here and there. There's probably some in this post right now. But is it really necessary to accuse people of being uneducated because they have spelling errors? Let's see a few examples:
-“Note to Randy J... about your last sentence, since you are referring to people, the proper grammar is "who" not "that."”
-“…but also used language of the lowest common denominator (another unhappy cultural phenomena). Your points were not only not made in elegant, persuasive speech but were instead sprinkled with grammatical errors. Your presentation does not speak well for the system you defend.”
-“No one said beastiality (learn to spell it first before you use it) was a COURSE at school, but it was one of several questionable topics in a required reading book recently approved.”
-“You criticize Kathleen of JHHS for misspelling a word, then you misspell it yourself. Is this a feeble joke or misplaced arrogance?”
-“Perhaps these English teachers should get back to teaching basic/foundation English so our young people don't sound so ignorant with wrong verb tenses and spellings.”
Come on! This is implausibly disgraceful! We are just hacking at everybody else's posts, trying to find minute faults so that we can puncture their message and render it useless. And to the person who said the English teachers should go back to the basics, let me procure to you this point; if everybody's English was perfect, there'd be a hell of a lot of 36's on the ACT every spring, now wouldn't there be? The average ACT in d214 is in the mid 20's. Thus, it can be shown that everybody is not perfect. Get a clue.
This brings me to my point. This blog has been impregnated with many a good point, but the majority of posts here (both liberal and conservative) are accusatory of ridiculous things, such as fascists running the organization and teachers trying to control the minds of the students. It all boils down to this. CQE was created because of some controversial material in the reading list in d214. Now, some of us may not agree with it, and most of us don't, but the fact of the matter is that it's merely an opinion. I am a flaming liberal, and I would support abortion to my last dying breath. One of my closest friends, who has a major tie into this organization, is a conservative. She gave up talking for one day to represent all the aborted fetuses that were silenced. We have exceptionally differing political opinions in just about every category, but we still can get along. So for this blog's sake, everybody just stop fighting tooth and nail, and post what you want to say, not what you want to be true.
I'm on the side of being disgusted at some of things that are taught. Some thoughts (not in any particular order):
- Kids are impressionable. How does exposing them to crap help them? Sure, we all see it as we grow up, but some of the students take a certain percentage of it and assume the subject matter is being supported. And why wouldn't they? With all sorts of things happily being suppressed, the students will think that what is left (and, hopefully the 3 R's) are supported. So that's why it's better for the schools to choose books, etc that support good behavior.
- Some people complain about most people posting anonymously here, but there is a reason: the reason is people are AFRAID of retribution by the teachers. This is the 2000's, not the old days when more teachers had standards. Maybe a better way to say it is there are more teachers who don't have standards and therefore won't have the slightest problem taking out their idealogical anger out on our kids. (And yes, it happened years ago, but this lack of standards seems to part of many more people now-a-days. It's the same way some people treat Bush: the name calling and baseless attacks are appalling.) Whatever you believe, the fact that so many parents are afraid of retribution clearly demonstrates that there are big problems.
- Take a look at http://www.thechampion.org/ for detailed salary information. Remember, these teachers and administrators work short years. The average 214 teacher makes about $80k and the average 214 administrator makes $125k. (Btw, New Trier is at $138k.) It's funny, but I've seen comparisons made between administrators and business people and superintendents and CEO's. The difference is business people pay taxes and have competition. These school people live in protective bubble and they have lot of control over the students and their parents.
- The reason the schools are more than willing to push crap on the kids is because more and more educators are Modern Liberals. It's the same reason more and more kids movies have so much more crap in them. Find some quiet time and please watch this talk by a guy named Evan Sayet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaE98w1KZ-c
It's a phenomenal description and explanation of what he calls Modern Liberals - as opposed to the old time Liberal who was more in line with the Founders. I'd watch it, let iut soak in and watch it again. The patterns of this Modern Liberalism are all around us.
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