what do I do?

me ^ | 08/11/2008 | me

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

I recently recieved a welcome letter from my daughter's teacher. My daughter is going into kindergarden at a catholic school. The letter included the phrase "learning how to help save the planet" which of course means global warming. My wife and I believe that global warming is a hoax built on junk science.

I don't want my daughter brainwashed by this liberal bullcrap. what should I do?

[Petronski]

...but I’m not interested in endless go-around.

ROFLMAO

[BibChr]

What use providing humor to one without the sense to sense it?

[stuartcr]

Geez, the kid’s only in kindergarten, and you’re worried about a teacher telling them to be concerned about the planet? Can’t you still be a good parent let the kid enjoy her childhood and her schoolmates a little?

[stuartcr]

The kid’s only in kindergarten, do you think she should be worried about controversies? She probably doesn’t even know what they are.

[steve8714]

So, he COULD be more hateful?
I just don’t recall the “hate the Catholic Church” passage in Scripture. You know, the Church with all the martyrs?

[NonValueAdded]

rofl

[maine-iac7]

Have you had any kids in Kindergarten lately? It’s not the kinder we attended when we were kids.

Precisely the problem

[maine-iac7]

Private Catholic schools are now enemy camps? Jeeze

and where did I say that?

Jeeze

I am talking about ANY school that that pushes the liberal political agenda down our kids throats, particularly starting in kindergarten,

and last I heard, the Pope had come out against Global Warming being taught in RC churches.

Everyone is not out to castigate the Church - back off and cool down.

[BibChr]

GBISL

[RogerD]

"learning how to help save the planet"

One of the important lessons in the Bible is that imperfect people still serve God's will and His plan. I find that reassuring, since I am far from perfect - there's no reason to give up on doing good despite my flaws. I teach my kids how much David accomplished, along with his one or two major transgressions. I teach them about Joseph - who seems to have enjoyed boasting in front of his brothers until he got on their nerves. Similarly Saul/Paul had an awkward start with Christians, Peter denied Jesus, John had an ego the size of Obama's (although with far more justification), and almost everyone else in the Bible is presented with clear flaws.

My point? Use this as a teaching opportunity, a chance to show your daughter that everyone can do good even though we all have flaws or make mistakes. You can talk about all the useful and important things she learns from kindergarten while pointing out that her teacher may be mistaken or may have been tricked on this one topic. I'm not saying this is the only answer, and I have no doubt that the previous 230 posts have about 400 different answers, but it strikes me as a good option. You will never find a perfect teacher, including yourself as a homeschooling teacher.

After you weigh all the options, you will decide that one of them is the best choice, but that doesn't mean you tolerate the bad with the good, or at least I didn't as a parent. In most cases, you get to respond to whatever flaws your top choice has. For this particular issue, my response would be to teach my kids at home in response to each lesson or comment on global warming. I do a lot of research on this very issue, and I discuss it with my kids on a regular basis. I'd far rather have them as informed skeptics than try to raise them in a vacuum without ever mentioning that hypothesis. First, you can't completely isolate kids from the AGW claims, and second, there will be other claims in the future that our children will have to evaluate on their own. The important lesson is not global warming itself but thinking for themselves, at least in my opinion.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

well, I'm actually feeling a little revelations 7:6 right now.

[BibChr]

“well, I’m actually feeling a little revelations 7:6 right now.”

And the really sad thing? You won’t even know how classic a statement that is, from an RC, and in this context.

[According2RecentPollsAirIsGood]

A different private school. I am not being sarcastic or flippant. I know it was probably important to pick a catholic private school for you, but the RCC in general has bought into the global warming hype. You need to get a good secular private school, or there are some good LC-MS (lutheran/missouri synod) schools out there that are conservative and don’t teach junk science.

I went to Lutheran school (LCMS) from 7th to 12th grade. I know that's not the age we're talking about here, but many of the Lutheran schools, at least those in our vicinity were K-8 so you do get an impression of the whole school being in the same buildings regardless of grade level.

There were two major things I noticed about Lutheran schools. One is that they're typically not anywhere near as expensive, but also not as well funded as Catholic schools. This matters more in the upper grades, as there weren't as many AP and higher level classes offered as I might have liked. At least at my school. Still, we had a cooperative learning system set up with one of the LCMS colleges that allowed me to knock out 12 credits by actually taking a college classes. That was unique and helpful. With a little extra effort on my part, though, I was able to get into two USNAWR top 12 schools, and just graduated from one. All this applies more to anyone who's looking for high schools.

The other thing I noticed about LCMS schools, and this applies across all ages and is what really matters here, is that they are usually unabashedly conservative. Looking back, I can't think of a single teacher I had in my six years that I could just tell was a liberal. All were very pro-life and unashamed to talk about their faith and very pro-American. There was no revisionism as far as I can remember in history class or forced liberal interpretations of literture. Hell, my economics teacher was a die-hard libertarian (and I've always been eternally thankful for that). Also, since the schools are not publicly funded, the administrators have discretion to use their brains to address problems instead of following idiotic no-tolerance policies like in public schools. This is not something to be taken lightly. I'd probably have been expelled from many public school for some of the goofy, harmless things I did.

I used to complain that I didn't find my school rigorous enough for my tastes, and that that made me lazy for college. That was just one school, though, and I probably could have done a lot more myself back then. In retrospect, though, I've become very glad that I did not have to deal with this indoctrination that goes on everywhere else. My teachers actually helped to cement some of my conservative beliefs. At least, this has been my experience with Lutheran schools. I turned out pretty well, I think.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

ladies, am I going to have to separate you?

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

the larch
the giant redwood
with my best girl by my side
we’d sing
sing
sing

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

um

Of the tribe of Aser [were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim [were] sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses [were] sealed twelve thousand.

and your point being is?

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

well according to the American King James Bible, Book of Lamentations, Chapter 2, Verse 15, word 17 and I quote:

the

[BibChr]

And that was from where?

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

the Bible . . . maybe you have heard of it? It's the story of This guy named God and he makes everything, but everything he makes tends to tick him off because they make really stupid choices. Eventually, He sends down his only only son to fix things. He leaves and gives the church to the Romans. Later doofuses come along who would rather memorize quotes than actually live the book's message. Sound like anyone you know?

[Petronski]

Don’t feed the trolls, I mean, unless it’s for sport.