Posted on 10/09/2008 5:22:05 AM PDT by kindred
A federal court decision approving mandatory public school instruction for children as young as kindergarten in how to be homosexual is being allowed to stand, drawing a description of "despicable" from the parent who unsuccessfully challenged his school district's "gay" advocacy agenda.
The U.S. Supreme Court without comment has refused to intervene in a case prompted by the actions of officials at Estabrook Elementary school in Lexington, Mass., who not only were teaching homosexuality to young children, but specifically refused to allow Christian parents to opt their children out of the indoctrination.
The case on which WND has reported previously involves Massachusetts father David Parker, who with his wife now have withdrawn their children from public schools, for which they continue to pay taxes, and are homeschooling.
The decision by the Supreme Court leaves standing the ruling from the appeals court for Massachusetts, where Judge Sandra Lynch said those who are concerned over such civil rights violations "may seek recourse to the normal political processes for change in the town and state."
Earlier District Judge Mark Wolf had ordered that school officials' work to undermine Christian beliefs and teach homosexuality is needed to prepare children for citizenship, and if parents don't like it they can elect a different school committee or homeschool their children.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Let’s teach them how to share heroin needles. It’s just as safe and wholesome as fagggotry!
The “opt-out option” is there in essence. The parents can opt out by changing schools. It doesn’t seem fair, but unless public education becomes mandatory and assigned, the Supreme Court really can’t get involved.
So the Massachusetts court is saying “keep paying your taxes, shut up, and either let us indoctrinate your kid, or put him in private school/homeschool.”
Fine by me, I think government schools are wrong and would never use one, but it irks me that my money pays for them.
Public School parents do have a say, by the way. They have the right of assembly, and can organize and educate fellow parents and community members about the content of the curriculum.
This is one thing libs do better than conservatives.
Women marched to get the vote.
Blacks marched to get civil rights.
Conservatives can march to get “opt-out” options for sex-ed.
A lot of times these cases get bumped because of technical reasons and yet headlines and summaries often give the impression that a court looked into the merits of a case and ruled for one party or another. As I read this, the appeal to the Supreme Court was turned down. The Supreme Court accepts only a small proportion of the cases appealed there, for a couple of reasons: first, a lot of cases don’t belong there and the court has a prejudice against ruling on a case unless it is absolutely necessary; second, because a whole lot of time and effort is taken up by criminal cases which get automatic appeal to the Supreme Court (so, yes, criminals get more rights than the law-abiding).
In this case I don’t have the decision here but it appears it might have been dismissed as moot. That ruling doesn’t mean there aren’t legitimate issues to be raised but if a party is no longer personally involved in the case, the court will not let it make the case for those still involved. Any plaintiff has to have a direct and personal interest in the case and, since the Parkers have taken their children out of the public school system, they no longer have that direct and personal interest. I’m not even sure it is possible at this point to substitute another party in their place.
It is time to form a NEW Continental Congress. We, the People, have been ignored by our representatives for far too long.
If ever there was a reason to homeschool.....
This one has to be at the top of the list.
If the public education establishment wants to encourage homeschooling, this is certainly the way to go about it.
My thoughts exactly. It is a matter of record now. A judge saying you should put your kids in another system of education. The man should sue the government for the taxes that he has paid into the system.
ping
Well, depends on how you frame this phenomenon. I guess that how to be-instructions were not passing, so there’s a wide range of possible connotations and I heard nothing about which were preferred....
These days, I’m a bit tired of doomsday hymns...
That's not really true.
It at least protects those children who are educated in those settings.
I sure do object to my tax dollars going to support that system, but as long as there's no choice in the matter, I'll do what I can, and that's keeping kids out of situations like that.
Sodom, USA.
I agree. As sad as it sounds, there is no constitutional documentation or precedence for SCOTUS to judge on. It is precisely the reason that Roe V. Wade was a bad ruling. Nothing in the constitution says anything about abortion and the case was heard by proxy under the guise of privacy and freedom of choice. The court should have kicked that one back and called BS on the premise of the case.
The only recourse for citizens is press local legislatures for a law or constitutional amendment. This will give the courts something to rule on. It would take years in any event and I highly doubt politicians are going to try and pass laws on specific curriculum in public schools.
The citizens of Mass need to come together if there is a majority that object. Otherwise, they need to relocate to another state.
This is a case where the government has too much power. Legally, citizens have to get their kids in education. If you decide to rely on the government for your kids education and you involuntarily pay the taxes for the service, you have to live with whatever the government says is best for your kids.
It must be OK because China does this for education and Olympic athletes. What could possibly be wrong with this approach? Take the youth and form them into what is best for the country in the opinion of the government.
The latest Obama-nations with public school curriculum: Homosexual agenda indoctrination, Man Made Global Warming indoctrination, No God Allowed policies, American Revisionist History lessons.....
That's a little much. Clearly getting children out of the government controlled indoctrination centers is beneficial for several reasons: (1) one can indoctrinate their children with the right ideas; (2) children are in a more natural and healthier environment--home, not an institution/prison; (3) children will have a better selection of friends, and we know that bad company corrupts good morals; (4) the state will have fewer heads for which they will receive funding (starve the beast); (5) others will see the superior "product" by non-government educational choices; (6) homeschooling shows that expensive educational facilities are not needed for excellent results; (7) attrition will provide grounds for reducing government school funding; and it may lead eventually to a complete separation of school and state.
But until then, leave the government system now.
I don’t have any handy examples, but WND is infamous for slanting and twisting stories and leaving out facts that don’t fit the thrust of their take on it. WND is no more reliable — and probably much less so — than the NYT. Many Freepers refuse to use it as a believable source for anything.
This is another reason why this election is not about McCain or Obama. It’s about who they appoint to make or not make awful decisions like this. There is no way in hell I want my tax money used for this garbage!
I believe that is the solution.
When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
If you’re on Metmom’s ping list, you’ll know that every week brings multiple more reasons to homeschool. Most of them fall under one or more of your headings.
I’d add, it’s just a nicer and more natural way of living. I firmly believe no third grader should sit at a desk all day, that nine year old kids should be able to spend hours and hours playing legos or making mud pies. Most time at school is wasted on logistics and busywork. Homeschooling eliminates that waste.
I have an idea, we could form a “secret society” and stop registering our babies into the system.
In my former state the government school brown shirts ask their prisoners ( oops! "students") if they know of any children who are not in school. The government school brown shirts then notify the truant police in those districts.
So....Unless you plan to live in a cave, your plan will not work.
Homeschooling is the most natural and healthy way to rear a child to a maturity.
It is a shame. There will always be children that must be institutionalized for their schooling. We need orphanages too, but no one is claiming that this is the best way to rear a child.
Yes, some children will need to be institutionalized for their schooling. Their parents are too poor, too stupid, too ill, too mentally unbalanced, too ill-educated by their own government education, too illiterate, too stressed,..or...these parents just may not like their kids.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.