Home education revolution! Samuel Blumenfeld warns of damage to kids from public instruction

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Friday, May 17, 2002 | Samuel Blumenfeld

[JohnHuang2]

The only effective group of citizens today in open opposition to big government are the home schoolers. They are the only Americans willing to take on the public education system that props up the entire statist enterprise of big, intrusive government. Forget about conservative politicians. They are more concerned about conserving their legislative privileges than rolling back increasingly intrusive government

Although President Bush has said nice things about home schoolers, he is doing more to expand federal control over education than any previous Republican president. His call for standardized testing is, in reality, a call for a federal curriculum, which will be used by the establishment to continue dumbing down the nation.

In the last two months, I've spoken at four home-school conventions in liberal New England, and there is no doubt that those who attend the conventions are revolutionaries in the true sense of the word. They have rejected the tax-supported school system, which is the chief instrument the totalitarians are using to construct a socially controlled society.

Only by reasserting the need for educational freedom can this nation restore its adherence to the principles of a free society. Leading in that fight is the Home School Legal Defense Association, founded by Michael Farris and other home-schooling attorneys, to defend the rights of American parents to educate their children at home in accordance with their own values. Two years ago, Farris founded Patrick Henry College to educate home schoolers in constitutional law and to train them to serve as aides to conservative congressmen.

The fact that parents can still legally take their children out of the government schools and educate them at home is an indication that this revolution can be won peacefully. The simple fact is that the home-school movement has reached critical mass and cannot be destroyed without causing a civil upheaval, and no politician can afford to let that happen.

Why are so many parents home schooling? Because they've come to the realization that the schools are destroying the brains of American children. It all starts in the first grade where teaching methods are used to deliberately cause dyslexia and reading disability. The method is popularly known as whole language, or the sight method, in which children are required to memorize a sight vocabulary. That is, they are required to memorize English printed words as whole configurations, like Chinese characters. Sounds harmless enough, unless you understand what that kind of memorization results in: a holistic reflex.

What's wrong with a holistic reflex? It becomes an obstacle to learning to read phonetically. An alphabet is a phonetic system in which letters represent language sounds. To become a fluent reader, you must develop a phonetic reflex, not a holistic one. With a phonetic reflex, achieved through phonics drill, the reader can easily see the phonetic structure of the words he is reading and discern the syllabic units that make up the word. But a reader with a holistic reflex cannot see the phonetic structure of the words, because he has the automatic habit of looking at words as whole configurations.

In other words, the holistic reflex and the phonetic reflex are mutually exclusive. And it was Ivan Pavlov, in his pysch lab in Moscow in the 1920s, who proved that when an animal is subjected to two mutually exclusive reflexes, it has a nervous breakdown. All of this is known to American psychologists, for the results of Pavlov's experiments were published in 1932 in a book, "The Nature of Human Conflicts: Researches in Disorganization and Control of Human Behavior," by A. R. Luria, professor of psychology, State Institute of Experimental Psychology in Moscow. It was translated by an American student of Pavlov's, W. Horsley Gantt.

The other day, a mother called me on a radio talk show. She complained that her son was having trouble with reading. It turned out that the school was teaching phonics and also requiring the child to memorize a sight vocabulary. I told her that her son was experiencing a collision of reflexes, which was causing his confusion and difficulty. I told her to get my Alpha-Phonics program and teach her child to read at home.

The literacy scandal is only one reason why parents are now home schooling. There are over four million kids on Ritalin, academic chaos in the classroom, a curriculum of boredom, pornographic sex education, school massacres and more. If you love your kids, get them out!

[ladylib]

I was "thrilled" when I walked into my local middle school and saw one-world posters plastered all over the walls. Unfortunately for the school district, the only reason I was there was to vote on a budget increase. Guess how I voted?

[Black Agnes]

AIE, was this in NJ?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

As a homeschooling parent, I really appreciate these remarks.

As a non-homeschooling parent, I don't.

The only effective group of citizens today in open opposition to big government are the home schoolers. They are the only Americans willing to take on the public education system that props up the entire statist enterprise of big, intrusive government.

This is a load of fetid dhingo's kidneys.

I do appreciate your remarks Boxsford about us non-homeschoolers, but I am here to say that not all public schools fit the bleak picture that Samuel Blumenfeld paints. My children attend schools in our town that encourage parent involvement at all levels of the curriculum and administration. It is not run by liberals. There are no Gay Student Associations. There are no metal detectors and not one student has ever been shot or knifed. Not all public schools are factories designed to turn out good little statist robots and I get peeved at those that frequent these threads that see the world of educating our children as black and white. Vis á vis, homeschool your kids or they have to dwell in the sewer.

Some schools suck and some schools are the standard to which all conscientious parents and educators strive. I am proud to say that the schools in my town are striving to set the standards.

The principal of our Middle School is a Conservative with vision and a passion for what he does and has 35 years experience as an educator at EVERY level. He is a jewel and we are lucky to have him. This Commonwealth that so many believe is a liberal sewer, is lucky to have him. His attitude is infectious among the faculty...and I've met all 125 of them. 95% of them I would be proud to call friend. They are quality people.

I jot down these thoughts to let everyone here know that though the public education system has problems, the schools that get the attention do not represent the majority. And not all the problem schools are urban schools. Some of those are shining examples of what education should be in this country.

I do not state these points to brag or belittle. I state these things only to point out that homeschooling is not an option for everyone and some of the public schools in this country are places to be proud of.

I'm out.

[ladylib]

I've heard of schools sending homework that hasn't been introduced in school. Why do parents put up with that? Perhaps parents could inform the school that if the teacher can't be bothered to teach new material and the parents are expected to, the parents might as well pull their kids out and homeschool them. It would save the taxpayers big bucks too.

[ladylib]

Yes, it was. In Bergen County in fact.

[ladylib]

I think he said "Never let SCHOOL get in the way of learning." He was right. He also said something to the effect that "God made idiots and then he made school boards." Can you imagine, school board members were idiots even in his time. Some things never do change.

[ladylib]

Chelsea Clinton went to the prestigious Sidwell Friends school in Washington, DC. Hillary Clinton wants your child to participate in School-to-Work (to meet the workforce needs of the community). I don't believe students at Sidwell Friends wear uniforms. I don't believe that they participate in School-to-Work. I might be wrong, but I don't think so. When parents spend a chunk of change for their child's private education, they don't want the government dictating what their child will do for a living. Hillary wants public school students to wear uniforms (orange jumpsuits for the boys, pink nylon dresses for the girls and perhaps a hairnet?) Hillary feels that she is qualified to choose a private school for her daughter. She doesn't feel that the average parent has enough sense to choose a school for his/her child. Enough said?

[Boxsford]

Yes, I agree with you about there being some worthy public schools out there, but the number is dwindling and this you must admit. Those of us who do homeschool have learned and experienced first hand the many benefits to doing this aside from the academics. I think one of the greatest being the diminished and in some cases a total lack of peer pressure. Our family is closer than ever before and I have heard this over and over from other families that they have grown closer with the time they spend together. Brothers and sisters become best friends and a higher value is placed on family rather than family being pitted over friendships. I do not believe, however, that this cannot be done with families in public schools~ as my sister in law is an example of this. But, I would imagine it is more frustrating to fight that constant battle and tiring.

Imagine yourself, BSR, in a situation where the school your child attends is liberal (and all that entails)and does promote the gay agenda. It would be a tough road for you to be constantly acting as watchdog to that school For the most part, BSR, I've seen more kids harmed by public school than good done. I've seen some pretty low standards. Hope you see how very blessed you are to be where you are with your kids!

[Boxsford]

You're right. I don't think it's deliberate so much as ignorance and incompetence.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Imagine yourself, BSR, in a situation where the school your child attends is liberal (and all that entails)and does promote the gay agenda.

Oh, I can imagine it. A couple of years ago, before my first kid entered middle school, I went down to the school armed with detailed information on what a number of organizations promoting the gay agenda (PFLAG, GLSEN, etc...) were doing in schools across the nation. I went to see the principal to discuss exactly what the schools policy was regarding these types of groups. I had myself twisted in a knot before I spoke with him. The information I got from that meeting regarding his and the school's policies and curriculum very quickly put my mind at ease. It was also the catalyst that pushed me to get involved with ALL of my kids' teachers and what/how they were teaching. They were actually glad to have a parent interested in this stuff and were proud to share their work with me. It was cathartic in a way.

I am concerned for the state of other schools that have problems across this great nation, but I am very glad to have my little corner of it gliding along nicely.

[Boxsford]

I'm glad for you as well. And, that you are an interested parent in your child's education.

I'll tell you what happened to my oldest son when in high school.(I have since homeschooled my other two younger children from day one) He was required to read a book, given to all the students in the class by the teacher, on jobs/career choices. My son told me about the book so I picked it up and started to read it. I could not believe what I was reading. There was an entire chapter devoted to prostitution as a viable career choice! I called the school and asked to speak to the teacher. He had no comment to me just that he has been having his students read that book~ for years! So, I called the principal and told her about the book and how offended I was that it was offered to these young adults. I said that it made no sense to suggest a career that is illegal and morally corrupt. She said she was offended too but not for the same reasons. She said that she looked at the book and said that she couldn't believe that the teacher was using such a dated book where the secretaries are using dated office equipment and that that was unacceptable.

Bottom line, the school is still using that book as far as I know and I was the only parent to say a word against it. Made me wonder how much stuff I missed finding out about.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I wish I could say ...unbelievable. But I do believe it.

[EdReform]

BTTT

[EdReform]

FYI...