Posted on 08/09/2011 8:10:03 AM PDT by ZGuy
Eighteen children filed into a small church one evening last week to learn about the principles of American liberty, including lessons on the failures of communism, the Constitution's biblical roots and gold's superiority to government currency.
During the five-day Vacation Liberty School, talks, skits and activities mixed conservative values and early American history, including stories about how colonists' prayers once helped turn back a threatening French fleet and the principle of equal opportunity, but not necessarily equal results.
It marked the latest of a growing number of Vacation Liberty Schools, volunteer-run programs for children mostly ages 10-15 that resemble a mix between vacation Bible school, U.S. history and "tea party"-style conservative ideas that supporters say aren't taught in public schools.
They're run by members of conservative commentator Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project, a group that holds to a series of nine principles, including "America is good," God is "the center of my life" and "My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government," which "cannot force me to be charitable."
"What we need to do is get this country back on track," said Penny Lister, of Perryville, Ky., who brought her 9-year-old son, Jacob McCowan, to the Danville, Ky., session to "learn about responsibility."
The first Liberty school was held in Georgetown, Ky., in 2010 by 9/12 members including Lisa Abler, who fashioned a curriculum and made it available for free online on the Vacation Liberty School Web site.
An estimated 1,000 children have attended 40 similar schools across the country this year in states including Florida and Michigan, most using a curriculum developed in Kentucky, according to Eric Wilson, head of the Kentucky 9/12 Project.
The lessons on founding-father history and virtues, peppered with patriotism and faith, have proved a draw for 9/12 members, "tea party" followers and other conservatives, said Wilson, whose 9/12 group has about 3,000 members in 13 chapters that meet monthly.
"There's a growing liberty movement in the past couple of years," said Wilson, who said demand for the schools is rooted in a desire to teach the "self-governing leadership and personal responsibility" that "this country was founded on."
The schools, held for about three hours a day, are mostly free, though some charge nominal fees. They are funded primarily by volunteers and participants and held in churches. They have garnered media attention in several states, and some criticism.
'Very troubling' Joseph Conn, a spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the teachings are "clearly biased toward a particular religious and political viewpoint" and part of a larger movement to teach "a Christian version of American history," which he said tends to "take history and rewrite it. We see it as very troubling."
But 9/12 members contend the material is "fact-based" and uses original documents, including the written words of the founding fathers.
Wilson contends they steer clear of politics, and are not a form of political indoctrination.
"People say it's politically driven — it's not," Abler said. "I look at it as revealing the truth."
Abler said her curriculum is based on the 1981 book "The 5,000 Year Leap," by the late anti-communist author W. Cleon Skousen, who advocated private property, minimal government regulation and the belief that the U.S. Constitution is rooted in the Bible.
Skousen's work has been criticized by scholars and groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has called it a "recipe for turning the United States into 50 little theocracies."
Abler said the curriculum has gained a strong following, especially after Beck highlighted the effort last year on his TV show — saying the schools gave him "great hope" because children weren't hearing enough about faith, the Constitution and founding fathers.
Beck, who has been criticized by some for promoting conspiracy theories, had his Fox News show canceled this year.
Shared values The weeklong curriculum includes themes of hope, charity and sustaining liberty in the Revolutionary War, and founders such as George Washington and Ben Franklin.
According to the curriculum, it also includes lessons such as "understanding false extensions of separation of church and state," "faith's role in the Revolutionary War," "avoiding the enslavement of debt" and how charity should not be forced through the government or "enable dependency."
Emily Knetsche, 12, said she enjoyed learning about the economy and lessons on "relying on yourself." Her mother, Lisa Knetsche, said she heard about the school from friends.
"The values are in line with what we teach in our household," she said. "We want our kids to understand that we need to defend the Constitution ... to get back to our roots."
Carolyn Underwood, whose homeschooled children, Mattie, 11, and Michael, 10, attended the classes, said she appreciates what was being taught partly because it fits into the American history she's teaching at home.
their curriculum is available to download free. i think it’s great!
I hope they have a good tax lawyer.
I heard about this last Saturday. Our Republican Women usually put on a Constitution Day event. They’re thinking about utilizing this information & doing a camp prior to school starting instead.
You don’t need to teach “Tea Party Values”
Just teach freedom, personal responsibility, fairness and common sense, and people will organize their lives accordingly.
That’s a great idea! It needs to go viral.
“You don’t need to teach “Tea Party Values”
Just teach freedom, personal responsibility, fairness and common sense, and people will organize their lives accordingly.”
You’re contradicting yourself. The 2 are synonymous. :)
Thanks! I just downloaded their curriculum for my home-school kids.
http://www.ivorynotebook.com/vacation-liberty-school/
I hope they grow in number quickly and thrive, BECAUSE....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykYzgfzhhRk
Wonderful. These kids will teach other kids. They'll tell their friends all about it. Hopefully, it'll make it's way to their little face book pages.
The accusers would have to prove that they were advocating voting for a specific candidate or party.
Yeah, they used to teach that in American History and Civics classes when I was a kid. Funny how it has fallen out of the mainstream.
Would this be something Dearest Nephew might be interested in?
Not a frickin minute too soon.The commies will boil over this. My kids did the same type thing this summer. Loved it!
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