Conservatism and Education

Accuracy In Media ^ | Jan 31, 2006 | Paul M. Weyrich

[Ray76]

As conservatives, we seek to build on past successes wherever we can rather than start anew. Fortunately, when we look at the question of education, the next conservatism quickly finds a lot to build on. The existing conservative movement has done some things right in this area.

The most important achievement is the home schooling movement. Today, over a million American children are getting real educations at home instead of being propagandized in the public schools.

Unfortunately, a new problem has cropped up which the next conservatism needs to take on now, before it gets bigger. Political Correctness, which is really the cultural Marxism of the Frankfurt School, is starting to creep into private school curricula, including Christian schools and other schools conservatives have helped establish. I’ve seen it myself. If we don’t stop it, soon we will find that it doesn’t matter how we educate our children, their minds will still be poisoned by this anti-Western, anti-Christian ideology.

It is important to remember cultural Marxism’s educational goal. What the members of the Frankfurt School said about education was that it does not matter whether children in schools learn any skills or any facts. All that matters is that they emerge from school with certain “attitudes” on certain questions.

[Jacquerie]

<>Like immigration, this is an issue where the next conservatism cannot wait until 2008. We need to get cracking now.<>

[metmom]

Homeschool and Another Reason to Homeschool ping.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I agree that leftist initiatives must be countered in any decent homeschool curriculum but not in a reactionary fashion. Marx, Darwin, Freud all should be taught and critiqued. There is no benefit to turning out counter-counter-cultural dummies that are just as jingoistic and ignorant as their public school counterparts. Teach these ideas alongside Biblical truth, creationism, God’s plan for our lives and healthy debate.

The scientific method can stand the rigor and still point to truth. There is no need to poo-poo caring for the environment because that is one of the Biblical roles of man to ‘steward’ the earth. In some quarters I have seen ‘environmentalist’ rejection take the form of buying dozens of gas engines and bragging about all the pollution you generate. Still others revel in excess and waste.

At the bottom, worldly ideals are immoral and equate humanity with rocks and insects and plants. We are degraded to the level of empty shells and taught that whatever we desire is fine - as long as nobody is harmed. The state defines harm and endorses the vice and perversion that fills the void. Thoughtful teaching and consistent example go a long, long way to drive home the truth that we are, indeed, created beings with eternal purposes.