Free Republic

In "freeing herself" from the poverty of her childhood, Sonia Sotomayor had the benefit of attending private, not public schools. The next time an official in Obama Administration advances efforts to disenfranchise school vouchers or hails the virtues of public education even as he sends his children to a posh private one; the next time a federal court takes up a similar education-related issue; perhaps they should call to mind the personal story of U.S. Supreme Court nominee, current Court of Appeals Court Judge, Sonia Sotomayor, who, it is asserted, bootstrapped her way to her currently and swiftly opening door...

How corrupt has America become? I am the Middle School President at my school and the SCA was planning Color Games, an end-of-the-year parade like atmosphere, with kickball and basketball and capture the flag like games. I was put in charge of picking the inflatable, I went to this companys website and picked an inflatable that said "God Bless America" on it. It had a flag in the background. When I showed this to my sponsors (teachers) i was promptly yelled at and told that if we put God up on there then we have to put "Buddah bless America"...

Our county school system (Wake County, NC) will have schools open on Memorial Day (this coming Monday). I have informed my son that he is NOT going to school on Memorial Day, and that if asked, he's to tell whomever the truth that it's the day we remember our veterans, and that I don't give a flip what the school bureaucrats think about it. Is this happening anywhere else? If so, keep your child home. Do a family activity. Send a message.

Surrounded by elementary students from the Green School in Baltimore and charming critters – including an armadillo, cheetah and an Asian Toddy Cat – Democrats declared that the introduction of the “No Child Left Inside Act of 2009” was “historic” legislation that would connect children with nature. Some critics, however, said it is a way to spread environmental propaganda in the public schools.

Any parent would be appaled to learn their child was taken out of the classroom for a mandatory mental health evaluation without their knowledge or consent. But such is the case in Florida where more than 3 out or every 1000 children, on average will be involuntarily committed for psychiatric examination. 3,365 separate involuntary commitments were performed, in 2007 directly from school grounds. Over 3000 separate incidences of children being escorted, mandatory, from school to a psychiatric receiving facility and held in a secured ward, separate from their parents, and without their parents consent in one year.

WASHINGTON, DC— Among many educators and public officials in the U.S. is a drumbeat for “universal pre-school�—and for government to provide it to all 4-year olds so as to close school-readiness gaps and prepare kids to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.In his newest book, Reroute the Preschool Juggernaut (Hoover Press, 2009), Hoover Institution Senior Fellow Chester E. Finn, Jr. takes strong issue with this conventional wisdom and examines such fundamental questions as: Which children really need preschool that aren’t already getting it? Will a universal program help the kids who need it most? Will it be a costly windfall for...

The California State Senate is poised to vote on a bill making an official "homosexual day" in every public school. It would be called "Harvey Milk Day" in honor of the openly homosexual San Francisco Board of Supervisors member who was shot and killed in 1978 along with the city's mayor, George Moscone. S.B. 572, which was approved 7-to-2 out of committee last week, says observances conducted on May 22 should recognize Milk's "accomplishments as well as the contributions he made to this state" -- and that "all public schools and educational institutions are encouraged to observe...and...conduct suitable commemorative exercises."...

The Rutherford Institute is suing a Billings, Montana, school over a graduation decision. John Whitehead, founder of the Institute, says many people were scheduled to speak at the 2008 Butte High School graduation. Some chose serious subjects, others humor, he says. "Renee Griffith, who is a Christian, wanted to mention Christ once and mention God once in one of her very short remarks, and the school said she couldn't do it," he explains. "She [insisted she] wanted to do it, so then they actually removed her from the graduation ceremony and did not allow her to speak." According to a...

As if, as a parent, I don't have enough to worry about in sending my children to public school. There are issues of violence and drugs in schools, though things are pretty quiet round these parts. Still, there has been an occasional incident of fighting, or girls subjected to inappropriate physical contact. In the latter case, it shouldn't have to be the school administration I have to worry about. And definitely not with the blessings of the Supreme Court. Now my husband and I are all for a school administration having the authority to keep the school safe. In too...

When she was a 13-year-old student at Safford Middle School in Arizona, Savana Redding was strip-searched by school officials in search of - this is no joke - ibuprofen. Now she is suing the district and the officials for violating her Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. It is not good for Redding that while the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on her case last week, Justice David Souter commented, "My thought process is I would rather have the kid embarrassed by a strip search, if we can't find anything short of that, than to have some other...

The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit on behalf of students and parents against the Wilson County School Board in Tennessee. Lakeview Elementary School students wanted to display posters that referenced God and prayer, but school officials said they had to cover up those references before the posters could be displayed. The posters were hand-drawn by students and announced voluntary activities such as the "See You at the Pole" prayer event. Nate Kellum is with the Alliance Defense Fund. "Well, Christian students shouldn't be censored just for expressing their beliefs. They do not check their constitutional rights upon stepping...

Truthfully, I’m not writing this article from a political agenda. I’m writing, as one who cares deeply about children and the education profession. I’m writing from a position as an insider. I taught in public schools for 20+ years, served as an adjunct professor in Teacher Education, and now I am an educational consultant. I work with private schools and see parents rushing to transfer their children to our school, as if they are fleeing from some monster. Sadly, teaching according to this legislation seems to place educators in a “social role” of compliance rather than coming into their classrooms...

Sixty fourth-grade students from Runyon Elementary school will be receiving zeros on the writing portion of the CSAP, according to the Colorado Department of Education. Littleton Public School officials said teachers discovered that a test question on the 2008 CSAP was identical to one used for practice testing. a fourth-grade teacher had committed the question, called a prompt, to memory several years ago. The teacher, who was not identified, used the prompt for student preparation, not realizing it would appear again on a test. Jo O'Brien, assistant commissioner of Standards and Learning for the Colorado Department of Education, said state...

Rasmussen Poll: Just 53% of Americans Say Capitalism Better Than Socialism... Developing...

Although liberal groups and even courts protect HIV and AIDS victims from having to divulge their condition on any records, for fear they might be denied public activity and employment, innocent school kids are scrubbed, fumigated, and isolated lest they spread the deadly virus of Christianity. ....Wade was given a fourth grade assignment to choose a “hero,” write a description of his hero and portray the chosen hero as part of a “live wax museum.” He would then give an oral report in front of the class. When 9-year-old Wade chose Jesus as his hero, school officials immediately insisted that...

For nearly two years, single mother Heather Plano (name changed to protect privacy) had juggled her children’s illnesses and medical care along with their public school attendance and homework. Having one child with a severe blood disorder and immune system problems, Heather finally decided that homeschooling would be better, not only for his health but also for his academics, as he would not miss classes due to illness. Just before Christmas in 2008, Heather officially withdrew her son from public school and began homeschooling. On January 5, the LaSalle County truant officer called Heather to inform her of a meeting...

A North Carolina judge presiding over a bitter divorce case has ruled that three home-schooled children must start attending public school — a decision their mother angrily says was based on her religious beliefs. Wake County Judge Ned Mangum granted Thomas and Venessa Mills joint custody of their children — ages 10, 11 and 12 — and ruled that the children's "best interest" would be served by sending them to public school this fall, according to a temporary custody order. But Venessa Mills insists her association with the Sound Doctrine Church played a "big factor" in Mangum's ruling, in which...

BANGOR, Maine — Bangor School Committee members on Thursday were presented with their first look at the 2010 fiscal year budget, which proposes an overall increase of 1.8 percent over 2009.

RALEIGH -- Home-school groups and conservatives across the country are infuriated by a Wake County judge's declaration that he will make a North Raleigh mother stop teaching her children at home and send them to public schools. As part of a continuing divorce case, Wake District Court Judge Ned Mangum said last Friday that it would be in the "best interests" of Venessa Mills' three children to go to public school this fall. Mangum said at the hearing that while the children are "thriving," they need to be exposed to the "real world." "It will do them a great benefit...

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am Taking on Education In the opening of his speech today at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the President met critics head on who complain of too much change, too fast:Every so often, throughout our history, a generation of Americans bears the responsibility of seeing this country through difficult times and protecting the dream of its founding for posterity. This is a responsibility that has fallen to our generation. Meeting it will require steering our nation’s economy through a crisis unlike any we have seen in our time. In the short-term, that means jumpstarting job creation, re-starting lending,...

BORN IN HAWAII – the fictional movie. Verifying President Barack Obama's birthplace is getting to be as difficult as finding D.B. Cooper. But getting a look at Obama's real birth certificate evidently is of no importance to some folks. Students in the University of Hawaii-Manoa Academy for Creative Media Program are making "Born In Hawaii" – a fictional story based loosely on the nurses who worked at Kapiolani Medical Center when Barack Obama was born. The students currently are casting and soliciting donations from the community....

Senate Democrats have dealt a setback to a Republican-sponsored school voucher program that gives schoolchildren in the nation's capital the chance to attend private schools. The Senate voted 50-39 along mostly party lines to reject a bid by Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign to extend the program beyond the 2009-2010 school year. That leaves in place a provision contained in a huge spending bill that requires Congress and the Washington, D.C. government to re-approve the program. Republicans say that is likely to kill it. About 1,700 mostly low-income and minority students kids receive the $7,500 vouchers, which offer an alternative...

According to this item from The Times of London, a survey of secondary students in Great Britain (age 11 to 16) revealed that many could not identify Auschwitz -- even though Holocaust studies are part of the national curriculum. The Times cites a poll of students done by the British Press Association. It found that "about 10% were not sure what it [Auschwitz] was, 8% thought it was a country bordering Germany, 2% thought it was a beer, the same proportion said it was a religious festival and a further 1% said it was a type of bread."

Christianity was started by a young Palestinian named Jesus and the 9/11 murderers were not Islamic Fundamentalists but simply a generic "teams of terrorists." That's the caliber of politically corrected crap many of our children are being taught in American public schools -- and it's past time all parents took serious notice. A five year study by Gary Tobin and Dennis Ybarra of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research cites hundreds of such errors and distortions found in "28 of the most widely used social studies and history textbooks in the United States." Their book, The Trouble with Textbooks:...

An Outline History of Religion in American Schools "The Philosophy of the school room in one generation . . . will be the Philosophy of Government in the next."  Abraham Lincoln 1620 Mayflower Compact signed "Having undertaken for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian faith . . .  furtherance of the ends aforesaid."   The Pilgrims taught their children the Bible and the Christian  faith. 1624 Virginia General Assembly rules that Indian children be rounded up and educated in religion and civilization. 1636 Harvard College is founded by John Harvard a Presbyterian minister primarily as a religious...

Bountiful Jr. High School teacher Valynne Bowers for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 13- or 14-year-old student. The 39-year-old is charged with forcible sodomy and rape of a child. Police say the acts took place at the teacher's home in December. Police say a second teacher will also be arrested for similar charges for having a sexual relationship with the same student. Police say they found out about the crime through this second teacher who came in and confessed. Police do not believe any other teachers or students are involved.

RALEIGH, N.C. — High school students from Connecticut to California could soon be learning about abstinence-only sex education — as ancient history. At least 24 states and the District of Columbia are moving from abstinence instruction to a more comprehensive approach that includes lessons about STD prevention and contraception, a massive shift away from the wait-until-marriage method pushed heavily by the Bush administration. Many states adopted abstinence-only education in return for federal funding, but 13 years after Congress designed the programs in 1996, teen pregnancy rates are on the rise and critics say kids are simply not listening to the...

BLOOMFIELD, N.M. - New Mexico's education secretary has ordered a publicly funded home school to stop using curricula produced by A Beka Academy -- a conservative Christian publisher. The Family Home School, operated by the Bloomfield School District with parental involvement, is located in a portable classroom on the campus of a Bloomfield elementary school. The school's teacher, Kathy Harper, says she uses non-religious A Beka materials to teach math, phonics and language, and there have never been any complaints. But Education Secretary Veronica Garcia wrote a letter to Bloomfield's superintendent requiring that the home school "immediately cease using the...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of parents and students at Lakeview Elementary School in Wilson County after school officials ordered “God Bless the USA,” “In God We Trust,” and other phrases referencing God and prayer to be covered up on posters before they could be displayed in the school’s hallways.  The posters were hand-drawn by students and their families to announce “See You at the Pole,” a voluntary, student-led prayer event held outside of class time. “Christian students shouldn’t be censored for expressing their beliefs,” said ADF Senior Counsel Nate...

With clipboards, pencils and flag markers in hand, Julie Eathorne's students had one mission as they walked the Island Lake Park trail Wednesday: find dog poop. For each pile of waste discovered, Emerald Heights students marked it with a metal flag and recorded where it was along the trail. When finished, the total number of piles was tallied. With a split second-and-third grade class of 20 students — including 14 boys — it's natural to assume immature behavior would prevail when dealing with a sensitive subject like dog poop. But Eathorne's students rose above that. "They've handled it really well,"...

On January 22, a committee of the Rapid City School Board implied that homeschoolers were to blame for the school system losing thousands of dollars in funding. Just six days later, the Clear Lake Courier blamed homeschoolers for the loss of $41,000 in school funding. When homeschoolers are wrongly accused of creating financial problems for public school systems, it’s time to respond. HSLDA attorney Scott A. Woodruff sent the following letter to the editor to the Clear Lake Courier: Dear Editor: By leaving the blame for the school system losing $41,981 at the door of area homeschoolers, your recent article,...

Four students knelt on a classroom floor during lunch at the Albert Payson Terhune Elementary School today and performed the afternoon Muslim prayer ritual.   It was the first time the students had prayed in the school during school hours. And it may end a controversy over what arrangement the district should make to ensure the children’s constitutionally protected right to exercise their religion during school hours.  School parent Rola Awwad has been seeking a private place for her 10-year-old son, Adam, to pray in school since the fall. The district offered to let him pray at recess — either outside...

With data showing errors in many districts' materials, lawmakers file bills to require schools to provide scientifically accurate information.In sex education classes, 94 percent of Texas school districts teach that abstaining from sex is the only healthy option for unmarried couples, and, in many cases, students are given misleading and inaccurate information about the risks associated with sex, according to a 72-page report released Tuesday. Two percent of districts — in a state that has the third highest teen birth rate in the nation — ignore the subject completely, according to the study. The two-year study, "Just Say Don't Know:...

The impending demise by budget cuts of Little Owls Learning Center at Hartford Public High School has people howling about the potential consequences for unwed teen mothers and their children. Their outrage is misplaced. Little Owls is a daycare that rewards adolescent moms for believing that bringing children into this world, despite lacking the wisdom and wherewithal to raise them properly, might be fun. Staffed by a teacher and two paraprofessionals, Little Owls serves 10 students at a cost of $16,000 each and has 22 on its waiting list. If the elimination of funding holds, the moms would have to...

LARGO — Police this week removed an unruly 7-year-old from his classroom and forced him to be hospitalized under the state's Baker Act — against the wishes of his outraged parents. The boy spent the night alone at Morton Plant Hospital before he was seen by a child psychologist the next day and discharged. "This is a total abuse of police power," said the boy's father, Richard Smith, 41. "My son has no mental health problems. He's never hurt himself. He's never hurt anyone else." Smith and his wife, Barbara, said they want to consult a lawyer. But Largo deputy...

Two million American families have opted out of state and private school systems to teach their children at home, often without qualifications. I've never let my school interfere with my education. -- Mark Twain The heart of middle America beats in Ohio, the state that won the 2004 US presidential election for George Bush. You might think that middle America, badly hit by the recession, would be fertile ground for leftwing ideas -- but no. Conservative ideology is flourishing. The Tomkins family live in the Hocking River Valley, a former mining area. It resonates with birdsong and their house has...

LOS ANGELES — Attorneys with the Alliance Defense Fund Center for Academic Freedom filed a lawsuit against officials of the Los Angeles Community College District Wednesday.  The lawsuit comes after a professor censored and threatened to expel a student following a speech about marriage and his Christian faith during an open-ended assignment in a public speaking class. "Christian students shouldn't be penalized or discriminated against for speaking about their beliefs," said ADF Senior Counsel David French.  "Public institutions of higher learning cannot selectively censor Christian speech.  This student was speaking well within the confines of his professor's assignment when he...

A primary school receptionist, Jennie Cain, whose five-year-old daughter was told off for talking about Jesus in class is now facing the sack for seeking support from her church. Mrs Cain sent a private email to close friends to ask for prayers for her daughter after she was called into the school where she worked in Crediton, Devon, to be reprimanded. Her daughter Jasmine had been overheard by a teacher discussing heaven and God with a friend and had been pulled to one side and told off. Mrs Cain contacted 10 close friends from her church by email but the...

Hundreds of students have allegedly been beaten by teachers, coaches and staff at Chicago Public Schools. 2 Investigator Dave Savini continues his ongoing investigation involving the illegal use corporal punishment. SNIP An exclusive CBS 2 investigation discovered Treveon Martin is one of at least 818 Chicago Public School students, since 2003, to allege being battered by a teacher or an aide, coach, security guard, or even a principal. In most of those cases - 568 of them - Chicago Public School investigators determined the children were telling the truth. SNIP The 2 Investigators found reports of students beaten with broomsticks,...

Hundreds Of Kids Beaten, Whipped, Even Choked By Teachers, Coaches Reporting Hundreds of students have allegedly been beaten by teachers, coaches and staff at Chicago Public Schools. 2 Investigator Dave Savini continues his ongoing investigation involving the illegal use corporal punishment. Treveon Martin, 10, is afraid of a teacher at his school. "I've seen him hit five of them in the classroom," Martin said. Martin says he and others have been hit, grabbed and even struck with a belt. "He's threatened almost all the kids in his classroom," Martin said. He says it happened at Robert Emmet Academy in November...

HEMPSTEAD, New York: Students got their wish Wednesday as their school was officially renamed Barack Obama Elementary School.

More on this tonight at 5pm on Fox News.. The audio is from the inauguration. Gore was speaking to a group of young children about Global warming and told them not to listen to their parents. AUDIO AT LINK

Sixteen-year old Helen (named changed to protect privacy) felt humiliated when she was subjected to a degrading physical examination by multiple people after an anonymous report of abuse. When a second anonymous report was called in only a few months later, she put her foot down. She refused to go through that again. Her parents, members of Home School Legal Defense Association in South Jersey, called HSLDA attorney Scott Woodruff for help. Woodruff explained to the social worker and her supervisor that Helen had a right to refuse to submit to another physical exam because the report was anonymous, and...

A committee of the Rapid City School Board wants to fix the system’s broken budget by recruiting homeschoolers. The Rapid City School Board created a committee last summer to examine budget issues for the school system. On January 22, their recommendations were made public. The report suggested that the school system could find additional revenue sources by “recruiting more homeschooled students into the district.” Other recommendations were made, as well. Homeschoolers already feel somewhat taken advantage of. Not only do they pay for an expensive public education for the children of others, but they pay the full cost of educating...

RICH IN 'INCENTIVES' | Pay for some educators now tops a record $400,000 -- and when their careers end, bonuses and perks sweeten departure. A Niles Township school superintendent made $411,500 last year -- a record in a year that saw top public elementary and high school administrators' pay climb past $400,000 for the first time. But the taxpayer tab for Neil Codell, 56, didn't stop after he left his post June 30. Codell continued to receive his superintendent's salary -- even while in a lesser job -- for an additional six months. Niles Township High School District 219 now...

A parent in the Clark County School District of Las Vegas, Henderson area reported today that his son, who is in 1st grade, came home yesterday saying that he didn't want to go back to school anymore. When asked why, the boy said that during the Pledge of Allegiance the teacher put up a large image of Obama next to the flag. Thinking that the boy might be exaggerating, the man asked his son if he was sure, and suggested that by "large" he might mean an 8x10 photo of the president. The boy apparently said "No, it is a...

The Smith family (name changed to protect privacy) in Minnesota decided to try out the virtual charter school Connections Academy this school year. As all charter schools are, Connections Academy is a public school. However, the financial advantages of a free education, reduced recordkeeping, and the accountability and assistance of a certified teacher persuaded the Smiths to enroll their two children. During the first semester, the Smiths discovered that Connections Academy was not quite as wonderful as it had first seemed. The curriculum required memorization of obscure information and writing assignments that were too long for young children. As a...

WAYNESBORO, Pa. — Seven people — including one clutching a Bible — passionately objected on Tuesday to a proposal that would form a Gay-Straight Alliance club at Waynesboro Area Senior High School. Just as many people were on the other side of the argument, with several of them highlighting strides in unity demonstrated just eight hours earlier on a national scale. “It just seems really important to acknowledge today of all days that we have our first African-American president and how much we’re growing as a country,” said Stephanie Kober, a resident of Clayton Avenue.

An Ohio school district may be violating the constitutional rights of its students. Mason, Ohio, school officials sent an email to parents in advance of the presidential inauguration saying, "Inappropriate comments that may make other students, staff or families feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in school or on the bus will not be tolerated." The story by DaytonDailyNews.com featured examples of negative comments and actions made about the Obama administration after he was elected. The school's superintendent Kevin Bright added that even in a competitive election process, "our nation's greatness is displayed when all sides come together for a united country."...

ELKHORN, Wisconsin, January 16, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In an effort to combat "homophobia," a Wisconsin public school teacher implemented a 38-day regimen explicitly designed to change the minds of students who did not view homosexuality as equal to heterosexuality. 11-th grade English teacher Sarah Arnold says she was inspired to create the curriculum, entitled "Exposing Hidden Homophobia," when she heard an "anti-gay undertone" in students' conversations, which included making fun of "anything that defied gender stereotype," according to an article printed in the pro-homosexual publication by the Southern Poverty Law Center "Teaching Tolerance." "Some people would say we don't have...