Taxpayers Against Agendas in Public School

There is a meeting regarding this, "Humane Public School Meeting. Mark Williams (KFBK radio host) said the address is 5957 Grenback on 10-27. he suggests calling Ann Silberman for sure of date and time, I have provided the URL. Anyone familiar with Yale Wisnack(?) he is apparently a protege of Peter Singer the Princeton Professor that equates animals with humans, he says we should be able to kill our child after it is born if there is something wrong with it............. Please! if you can go to the meeting and try and stop this stuff, if it is not stopped it will spread.

Neglected to say that apparently San JUan Unified is an excellent school district, but is being undermined.......

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't attendance at a charter school at the option of the parents? If so, then presumably the parents want their kids to be taught to love Bambi and Thumper. Which is fine with me, as long as it's also ok to start a charter school where kids are taught that the NRA is defending our rights, and they can learn how to hunt.

Support school choice canidates. Why the government schools are still open is beyond me. When a business out lives it's usefullness, it goes bankrupt. There's no reason at all to keep the government schools open any longer.
This article is proof the government is no longer in the education business. It's becoming a vehicle to teach Earth and beast worship.

Which is fine with me, as long as it's also ok to start a charter school where kids are taught that the NRA is defending our rights, and they can learn how to hunt.

And if this animal worship institution is taxpayer funded, so should the NRA center be tax payer funded.
We also need more Conservative learning centers, tax payer funded, to teach the children how not to destroy themselves through liberalism.

INTREP - EDUCATION SUBVERSION

GREAT first post, Burlem!

By posting this reply to "Homeschol_list" and "Education News" -- I am indexing this thread for these two "bump lists" -- so that people who may want to know about this can find it more easily.

See also, some OTHER threads marked for the attention of these two "bump lists" at:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/involved?group=154
"Homeschool_list"
and
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/involved?group=68
"Education News"

And, see also the ORIGINAL "bump list" thread:

Free Republic "Bump List" Register
Posted on 09/30/2001 4:46 AM PDT by John Robinson

I have created a public register of "bump lists" here on Free Republic.
I define a bump list as a name listed in the "To" field used to index articles.
Free Republic Bump List Register
CLICK HERE for the rest of that thread

See also, from www.taaps.net/sanjuan.html:

The Issue
Our current focus is on this story first published April 10th in the Sacramento Bee. Please click on the link to read it.
Why TAAPS is Concerned?
Upon first sight, this charter school idea seems simple. It's touted as a school where weaker children will be safe from bullies, where community service will be emphasized, and where tolerance of others is insisted upon. It seems like a California-style, feel-good idea; harmless enough.
However, in reading deeper, one starts to see the real agenda behind this school. TAAPS is concerned that this school will be using our taxpayer dollars to teach children in the philosophy of "speciesism," which is a founding belief of the animal rights movement.

What is speciesism?
"Speciesism" is defined as those who discriminate against members of other species, or "non-human" animals. It is a idea originating from philosopher Peter Singer, and is followed by animal rights activists all over the world. Peter Singer has been called "the most influential living philosopher" by New Yorker Magazine, and has authored numerous books, including "Animal Liberation," the book that is the gospel of the animal rights movement.
Animal rights activists who follow the philosophies of Singer believe the most important moral consideration in deciding worth is not whether a being can reason or talk, but whether it can suffer. Thus, they make no distinction between persons and non-persons. "Persons" are all beings that feel, reason, and have self-awareness. Accordingly, fetuses and impaired human beings are not persons in Singer's view and have a lesser moral status than animals.
(Peter Singer famously caused an uproar over his statement that disabled babies can and should be killed up to 28 days after their birth.)
Animal rights activists almost universally believe in the philosophy of speciesism. Humane studies in schools revolve around the idea of human impact on animals and the speciesist philosophy. According to the Animal Protection Institute, "Animal rights is a concept based on the belief that humans have a moral responsibility to treat animals with respect, and that the interests of humans and animals should be considered equally." "The failure of humans to consider an animal's needs/interests as equal to those of humans is an expression of prejudice called speciesism." The concept of Animal Rights and speciesism is intrinsically linked.
Speciesism has been hotly debated among philosophers for 30 years, and has moral, ethical and religious overtones.
Why TAAPS believes speciesism will be taught in this school.
One has only to read the initial Bee article to see that, despite protests that the school will not be dogmatic, speciesism is the moral philosophy upon which it will be founded.
Yale Wishnick is listed as the person behind this Charter School. The article paints him as "an organizational development specialist for the California Teachers Association." However, it neglects to mention that Wishnick is an animal rights activist. He is a board member for Psychologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - as is Peter Singer. This is a group similar in philosophy to PETA and other animal rights groups. He has spoken at numerous animal rights conferences.
According to a Humane Society newsletter, attending Wishnick's initial charter school planning meeting were more than 40 teachers, parents, and community, environmental, and animal protection groups.
Why were animal protection groups attending this meeting about a public school, if animal rights dogma will not be the standard? Why is the humane society even interested in the idea of this school if it will not espouse animal rights?
Let's break down some of Wishnick's comments from the Bee article and see how they relate to the philosophy of speciesism.
In the article, Wishnick says, "The lesson is you don't learn about living things by tying them down, controlling them or dominating them."
Wishnick posted a message to an online group directing people to a webpage discussing a symposium he was holding on "humane" education. One brochure on that site is called "End Domination and Control."
Some quotes from that brochure:
Since the beginning of history, humans have tried to maintain their dominance over others. Some suggest that racism, sexism, homophobia, and speciesism are the same. As humanity began to grow intellectually and socially, it became apparent that many feeling beings were being discriminated against -- that is, having rights taken away from them -- because of the class to which they belonged.
and
In order to help ourselves, we must learn to protect both other humans and non-human animals. How does humanity intend to solve differences among its own species when it cannot learn to make peace with the other animals on earth? Humans need to start thinking and living in terms of co-existence, as opposed to dominance.
In the first paragraph,the speciesist doctrine is clearly espoused. And, the terms dominance as used by Wishnick, and which is sprinkled liberally among the animal right literature, is part of the speciesist nomenclature.
As an aside, please take note of that site. As of this date, Wishnick is listed as the email contact on the site, and is presumably responsible, or at least answerable, for the content. That site contains material that is objectionable to most people. Comparing chickens to holocaust victims is a form of extremist thought. It is also one that has been used in a controversial ad campaign designed by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and which has been roundly condemned as being outrageous. PETA has placed these horrendous ads where school children congregate, and Wishnick has put them on this site - or is at least complicit as the point of contact. He clearly shares a radical animal rights agenda based on speciesism, one which does not protect the sensibilities of young children.
Back to the Bee article, he is quoted as saying, "Social studies would explore the social, political and economic forces that encourage prejudice based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or on the basis of species."
Again, it's clear that the speciesist philosophy is going to be the foundation of this school. Wishnick has taken his expertise as a CTA consultant and married that with his philosophical animal rights beliefs to promote the idea of this "Humane" Charter school.
The word Humane School is deceptive. It means humane according to the tenants of speciesism. In just using those words, without an understanding of the speciesist philosophy, TAAPS is afraid many parents will not understand the true agenda behind this school.
Why TAAPS believes Taxpayers should not support a speciesist, animal rights agendized school.
Despite assertions that Animal Rights dogma will not be taught in this charter school, it seems quite clear that that is impossible. The curriculum appears to be based on the concept of teaching animal rights and the concept of equality between animals and humans. The entire point of the school seems to be to end "violence" towards animals by teaching very young children the philosophy of speciesism.
Speciesism is a moral and philosophical belief system. This claim of equality among animals is not a claim of fact, but is a moral prescription. Morality and philosophical belief systems should be left in the confines of the home or relegated to the private school system, not taught in public, taxpayer-supported elementary schools. The charter school system was designed to encourage innovation and flexibility in educational methods in order to achieve good academic outcomes. It was not designed as a mechanism of promoting philosophical ideologies. We believe that Taxpayers should not be required to support alternative belief systems such as Speciesism or Animal Rights.
UPDATE

The School Board had a hearing on this Charter Proposal on August 26th. I spoke to the board expressing my concerns, but they are going to vote to approve on October 14th. Here is the text of my speech.
At the meeting, I received a copy of the charter proposal, and it is every bit what I feared it would be - an animal-rights based indoctrination center - not a school! Animal rights and speciesism will be incorporated into each and every class taught to our vulnerable kindergarten to sixth graders. Click here to read excerpt of what these people plan to teach our children!
Links about Speciesism

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Animals and Ethics.
SPECIESISM AND THE IDEA OF EQUALITY, by Bonnie Steinbock, From Philosophy, vol. 53, no. 204 (April 1978): 247-256..
Debra Saunders on Humane Education.
Think teaching speciesism will make children kind and gentle? Read this viewpublished in USA Today.
Indefensible Ethics: Debating Peter Singer, Father Richard John Neuhaus
An argument about speciesism from the Ottow Citizen. Animal rights activists faults Christianity for the mistreatment of animals.
A philosophical overview of Speciesism which discusses similarities to racism and sexism, thoughts on moral relevance, and conditions of natural behavior.

© 2003 - All rights reserved.

Hi folks,

I'm the person behind TAAPS. I wanted to let any interested parties know that there will be a public hearing on this subject in Citrus Heights, Monday October 27th at 6:15. 5959 Greenback Lane. I am certain that the people behind this school are holding this meeting in order to spin it so that they can hide their true agenda to the public.

I would encourage any Free Republic Sacramento members to attend this meeting and let the CTA and San Juan District know that your taxpayer monies should not be spent so agendized groups can get their hands on the minds of our children.

justapixel wrote:

"Hi folks,
I'm the person behind TAAPS.
I wanted to let any interested parties know that there will be a public hearing on this subject in
Citrus Heights, Monday October 27th at 6:15.
5959 Greenback Lane.
I am certain that the people behind this school are holding this meeting in order to spin it so that they can hide their true agenda to the public.
I would encourage any Free Republic Sacramento members to attend this meeting and let the CTA and San Juan District know that your taxpayer monies should not be spent so agendized groups can get their hands on the minds of our children."

Welcome to Free Republic, justapixel!
(member since Oct 19, 2003)

I live in Los Angeles, so **I** cannot be at your meeting on Monday, but perhaps some OTHER FReepers can join you there. :o)

Sacramento Area ping.

See also, from www.sacbee.com:

Charter would push humane studies

The San Juan Teachers Association wants to foster a safe environment.

By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, April 10, 2003
The state teachers union and the San Juan Teachers Association are formulating a charter school proposal to create what they describe as the first humane education school in the country.
"The idea behind humane education is that you must respect that which is weak," said Yale Wishnick, an organizational development specialist for the California Teachers Association who is working on the proposal. "Treating those who are weaker than us in a compassionate way makes you more human."
The proposal, in its preliminary stages, has not been submitted to the San Juan Unified School District board, but proponents have been talking with administrators.
Charter advocates say they hope a "Humane Education Charter School" for 300 students in kindergarten through sixth grade could open in 2004. No specific school site has been selected, and the project has yet to be given the go-ahead by the district.
Wishnick said the new school would aim to reduce violence through the teaching of respect, compassion, responsibility and community service.
"We know that there are dozens of programs to prevent violence, but not enough impact is being made," Wishnick said.
Fighting and bullying still occur at schools, he said. Sexism, homophobia and racism also are problems.
"The thinking is if you have a school where the environment is based on compassion, then children will feel better about themselves and do better academically," Wishnick said.
Tom Alves, executive director of the San Juan Teachers Association, said the union is eager to show that small schools are better than large ones and that the humane charter curriculum could promote a safe environment.
At the core of the school would be a philosophy that animals and people need to be respected to have a peaceful society.
"So we are putting together this school where respect for the environment, nonhuman animals and each other's rights is tied to responsibility," Wishnick said.
In a humane education science class, dissection of a frog would be considered inappropriate. "How can you learn about the frog by killing the frog?" Wishnick asked. "The lesson is you don't learn about living things by tying them down, controlling them or dominating them."
Asked if that means the school would endow animals with a status equal to humans, Wishnick answered that the school would be free of dogma.
"We are not in any way making judgments," he said, "because the major piece of the school is critical thinking. We will not be preaching. We are not looking at rules, animal rights or regulations. We are simply saying all of life is precious."
A report describing the charter school gave other examples of possible curricula:
* In math classes, students would be encouraged to find the real cost of caring for animals, veterinary care and programs to limit pet populations.
* Reading classes would include role-playing, essay writing and journal keeping.
* Social studies would explore the social, political and economic forces that encourage prejudice based on race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or "on the basis of species."
* Fine arts would stress "equifinality" -- that problems can have more than one solution and questions more than one answer.
A meeting on the proposal was held April 2 for parents who might want to send their children to the school. For more information, parents may call (916) 723-2822.

About the Writer
---------------------------

The Bee's Bill Lindelof can be reached at (916) 321-1079 or blindelof@sacbee.com.

"The idea behind humane education is that you must respect that which is weak," said Yale Wishnick, an organizational development specialist for the California Teachers Association who is working on the proposal....
From www.marxists.org - 1997 Letters:

From: Yale Wishnick
Organization: California Teachers Association
I am responsible for developing dialogue groups. Clearly, the work of Hegel is an essential underpinning. I would be delighted to participate in a discussion group.

Hmmm...

What kind of person posts at www.MARXISTS.org?

Thank you all...I won't even try to post the way you all do, my that is "pretty" (smile)
Speciesism is a "religion" of sorts, perhaps we can have religious charter schools......yeah right!
We can have someone teach the kids that they are no better than a chicken, but we cannot teach them about God.

the philosophy of speciesism and Animal Rights.

Well, actually, I would think Animal Rights is the opposite
of speciesism, which elevates the human species above all
others in creation based on the mythology of an ancient
band of desert dwellers, much as racism elevates one race
over another.

I've enjoyed your enlightening comments on the Mark Williams KFBK Night Talk Live. I'm pleased that a member of MarkTalk.com brought the topic to Free Republic (Thanks Burlem)

Sadly, a dozen+ replies for a forum with 20,214 replies to articles posted yesterday (click this) isn't encouraging.

I linked your site on ours. The counter is starting to move a little. The benchmark was 1,086 this morning... lets see what happens over the next few hours or days. We need to get this out there and STOP THIS MADNESS!! It's domestic terrorism targeted at our kids! Watch your counter and it's referral stats. Here's what we put up today and emailed to a few hundred people.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Does the ability to have dominion mean that man is superior to the animal kingdom? Was it His plan for man to able to make use of it for his benefit? Not so says a public school district in California. Read more on this taxpayer funded PITA mandate.

Now, the positive news, thanks to you and Mark Williams ACTION is happening. The show has hit home to the very cowards that watch this proposed assault on God and our kids take place. This letter was faxed to the Sacramento Bee and is being distributed to a wide audience AT TAXPAYERS EXPENSE. It's also on the San Juan Unified School District's website. (Just click here) This link, by the way, was provided by a teacher in that district who is bringing veterans into her school in two weeks for a Living History Lesson Honoring our Veterans. Veterans Day 2003 - Attention Northern California ^

As a MarkTalk member notes: The following is a letter sent out to all SJUSD staff today. Damage control? Rationale? So you think they really wanted this school?

October 24, 2003

SENT VIA FAX

To the Editor
Sacramento Bee
P.O. Box 15779
Sacramento, CA 95852

There appears to be a misconception about the action taken by the governing board of the San Juan Unified School District when it approved the Humane Education Learning Charter School (HELC). A recent radio talk show host on KFBK was particularly misinformed about the legal obligations of the board and the facts surrounding the board’s approval of the charter petition. He stated that the board should have denied the petition, the public did not have a chance to voice its opinion, the charter establishes a religion, and the board should not have voted for it. He also stated that three schools are being closed, and somehow seemed to draw a conclusion that there was some connection between the charter petition and school closures.

California statutes, to which the board is subject, state that charter schools are to be encouraged, and the statutory approval process is written specifically to eliminate any discretion on the part of local governing boards in the approval or disapproval of a charter petition based on whether the board agrees or not with the emphasis of the charter school. The law states that the board “shall” approve the charter unless it makes specific factual findings specific to that charter petition that the petition fails to address one of a myriad of stated criteria. Those criteria do not include the board simply not liking the charter proposal. District staff spent many hours reviewing the petition to determine whether it contained all of the required elements set out in the law. Staff concluded it did. Consequently, there was no factual bases on which the board could rely to legally deny the petition.

The board is required to hold a public hearing within thirty days of receipt of the petition to assess public support or opposition. At our board’s public hearing in August, which was advertised in accordance with law, one person spoke in opposition to the petition. The public has the right to comment at every board meeting, and since August, one additional member of the public has addressed the board in opposition. At the board meeting scheduled for approval of the petition, one of the members who previously spoke against the petition repeated her opposition. No other members of the public addressed the board, either for or against the petition.

The third misconception is that the charter is religious in nature. The basic tenet, as stated in the charter, is that children who are taught to be compassionate toward other living creatures, whether human or otherwise, grow up to be better citizens. Hopefully compassion is not the exclusive domain of religion, and being or teaching compassion is a far cry from establishing a religion. At the public board meeting, one member asked about the board’s authority if a charter petition came forward that was establishing a religious school. The board was advised that since such a school would violate the California and United States Constitution, the board would have the legal authority, and indeed, responsibility, to deny the petition on grounds it violated the law. On the other hand, the district’s legal counsel advised that to deny the charter solely on the basis of disagreement with the content of the charter, in the absence of a statutory basis, would probably violate the First Amendment rights of the charter school proponents.

The talk show host also said the whole board should have voted against it, as one of the board members did. The board’s vote was 4-0-1, meaning that one member abstained from voting. None of the members voted against it, as they recognized their legal obligation, whether they liked the concept of the charter school or not.

While radio talk show hosts certainly have the right to voice their opinions, they should at least do so on the basis of accurate information and not mislead the public as to facts and law.

Sincerely,

General S. Davie, Jr., Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Board of Education

You're hitting them where it hurts! Keep up the pressure on Mark's Show... the audience is huge and made up of people who will do more than just talk about it. God bless you for shining the light of truth on this treachery in education. I wonder how they feel in Harmony, Florida, where the same charter school flourishes while farmers lose their family farms to God's critters.

Pings are all well and good... bumps too!

WHO WILL STEP UP and attend this meeting so the California Teacher's Association (Host Site) can't get away with lying to the audience. ANYONE WILLING TO JOIN ME THERE? Or are we all too busy to confront the enemy head on? Mark Williams has already promised to air a live report from anyone who goes with the courage to take a stand and report the truth!

Thank you for your comments. I do hope that this gets widespread attention. It's time to stop the abuse of our tax dollar.

There is no reason why parents can't teach their children animal "rights" at home if they so desire. There is no reason the Humane Society cannot start a private school if they believe children should learn speciesism at age six. Taking much needed money away from the current system to start up a school based on a politically-charged, philosophical belief system is wrong.

The nature of public schools has been changing focus from education to social engineering for some time, and this school is just the most egregious example of that - and this is where it has to end, in my opinion.

So, please keep bumping this thread and trying to get the word out. Thanks!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't attendance at a charter school at the option of the parents?

As far as I know you're absolutely correct. So what's the point of this post?

I'm all for vouchers, but if anyone thinks he's a voucher backer and is upset by this post simply hasn't thought the topic through. (IMHO)

Ref your post "I'm all for vouchers, but if anyone thinks he's a voucher backer and is upset by this post simply hasn't thought the topic through. (IMHO)"

I'm not sure who you meant by the use of "he's" in this statement. To whom were you referring? As to parents making the decision to send their kids to a charter school, this issue isn't about their right to do so... it's what lies are being put forward to bait them versus the real agenda here. We're questioning that agenda and will demand the matter be investigated before sucking off a couple million bucks from kids who need books and facilities. Only people with something to hide can't handle the light of day being shined on them. That won't happen if everyone bends over for the CTA union agenda.

Charter would push humane studies

The San Juan Teachers Association wants to foster a safe environment.

By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, April 10, 2003

By Bill Lindelof -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, April 10, 2003