Free Republic

Common Core backers are sneaking a social and political agenda into nationalized curriculum, say critics, who now have new ammo in a writing lesson plan for teachers that they say gives a slanted perspective of the gun debate. A study guide dubbed, "The Battle Over Gun Control," authored by KQED, a northern Californian affiliate of National Public Radio, and the nonprofit, taxpayer-subsidized National Writing Project, states that "moderate gun control" measures introduced following the Sandy Hook school massacre were deep-sixed by the "powerful political influence" of the NRA. Second Amendment advocates say the wording, in supplemental material designed to help...

Common Core backers are sneaking a social and political agenda into nationalized curriculum, say critics, who now have new ammo in a writing lesson plan for teachers that they say gives a slanted perspective of the gun debate. A study guide dubbed, "The Battle Over Gun Control," authored by KQED, a northern Californian affiliate of National Public Radio, and the nonprofit, taxpayer-subsidized National Writing Project, states that "moderate gun control" measures introduced following the Sandy Hook school massacre were deep-sixed by the "powerful political influence" of the NRA. Second Amendment advocates say the wording, in supplemental material designed to help...

From John Dewey circa 1915 to Bill Ayers a century later, we hear the same progressive spiel. There must be drastic change, and perhaps much destruction and death, in order to create a more just society. A dubious trade if you stop and think about it. Lenin gave the same deal to the hapless Russians. Dewey was a professor of education; Ayers, once a famous terrorist, is now also a professor of education. So what will be the impact of their philosophy on the classrooms of America? The short answer is that children will get a lot more indoctrination, and...

Much has been written about Arne Duncan’s surprise announcement on October 2 that he would be leaving his post as Secretary of Education. A longtime friend of Barack Obama from Chicago, Duncan has also been the longest-serving member of the Obama Cabinet. Duncan’s announcement came only days after a glowing profile in Politico described Duncan’s undersecretary getting choked with emotion and crying when he talked about how Duncan was “fighting for students.” The article also noted that Duncan left “an unprecedented national stamp on a policy area with a long and strong tradition of local control.” Pundits who favor a...

What is Initiative 42?

Here in Tennessee, the public battle over Islamic indoctrination in public schools rages on. Last month, I reported that parents in my home county were upset after their Middle School-age children were forced to recite the Shahada – the declaration that there is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet. Following this revelation, my old colleagues at the American Center for Law and Justice filed open records requests with Tennessee school districts, demanding to see copies of policies, communications, and curriculum related to instruction in Islam and other world religions. Incredibly, several school districts flatly refused to comply with the request....

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on people in Tennessee to oppose a bill that would prevent public schools from teaching the principles of Islam and every other religion until students reach the 10th grade. Tennessee state legislator Sheila Butt, a Republican, proposed the bill late last week in response to a grassroots campaign across the state by parents — primarily evangelical parents — against what they perceive as an inappropriate focus on Islam in history and social studies courses in taxpayer-funded middle schools. House Bill 1418, if it becomes law, would prevent the teaching of all “religious...

Money section get to the mind early... in schools... As the proud parent of two elementary school-aged children, I am extremely concerned about my children being used as guinea pigs in the Department of Education's misguided quest to reinvent the mathematical wheel. A spokeswoman for the department, Jessica Hickernell, was quoted as saying, "It's a transition, so it takes awhile." While "awhile" may seem perfectly acceptable to Ms. Hickernell and the Department of Education, I could not disagree more as I recognize the elementary years as, unarguably, the most influential ones in shaping their entire educational future.

Perception is everything. Wars are often won or lost based on how the actors perceive one another’s strengths and weaknesses, not so much how strong or weak they are in reality. So it goes with any agenda item. When people sense a shift in public opinion on an issue, a fair number will shift right along with what they perceive. Thus, power elites can shape behaviors and attitudes by applying various techniques of crowd psychology, focused on propaganda and silencing dissent. ... Effective propaganda also keeps you in the dark about the fact that you are being manipulated. You Can’t...

After my last two columns on Donald Trump, several people have written to ask what I think about some of the other Republican presidential candidates. So I thought I’d address that question this week. Hey, I’m nothing if not responsive to my readers. Please excuse me if I don’t mention everyone. I’ve only got 500 words. Ben Carson. No question, Dr. Carson is manifestly the smartest person in the race, on either side. His slogan should be, “It’s just politics, folks. Not brain surgery.” I don’t necessarily agree with him on every issue, but I believe he’s a man of...

Val Kittington is a Military Veteran of the U.S. Navy. She claims to be Pro-God, Pro-Gun, Pro-Life, Pro-Military, Pro-Israel, Pro-Constitution, Anti-Obamacare and Anti-Common Core.

Jeb Bush is qualifying some recent criticism of fellow Floridian and GOP rival Marco Rubio. Last week the former Florida governor said that the young senator does not have the “skills to fix things” as president. What’s with the change of emphasis? As CNN’s Sara Murray reported Sunday, some donors to Bush’s campaign are not pleased with prospect the super PAC supporting Bush, Right to Rise, will aim its fire at Rubio. “They actually like Rubio,” Murray said of the Bush donors. “They think he could be a good second choice if Bush can’t get his poll numbers up, they...

So far, there are two Republicans I will NOT vote for under any circumstances if they are the nominee in 2016. One is Jeb Bush. The other is this jackass John Kasich. While pandering to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, John Kasich said: Ohio RINO John Kasich compares enemies of ObamaCARE to ISIS I mean, look at Medicaid expansion. You know how many people are yelling at me? I’ve gone to events where people yell at me. You know what? You know what I tell ‘em? I mean, God bless ‘em, I’m telling them a little bit better at...

Too often, our children are prohibited from learning the Christian principles America is founded upon. This is thanks to liberal teachers and political correctness. But schools seem to have no problem teaching Islam–and one student’s mother in Bakersfield, California is furious about it! Her son is in the 7th grade, and was given a hand out entitled “Islamic Beliefs and Practices” where students were taught to memorize the 5 Pillars of Islam and view a YouTube video. The mother made it clear that her son will NOT be participating. She first shared details of the assignment on KGET-TV 17 Facebook’s...

On Friday, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced he would be stepping down after nearly seven years on the job. This makes it a good moment to assess Duncan’s legacy, especially since his tenure has been shrouded by more than its fair share of puffery and overheated PR. This was predictable when it came to the usual Obama cheerleaders (Tom Friedman wanted Duncan to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state). But it also showed up at times as generous, even fawning, laurels tossed by the likes of David Brooks, Jeb Bush, Newt Gingrich, and Lamar Alexander. ... Duncan —...

John King Jr. was a miserable failure as Commissioner of Education in New York. He waylaid his failure in New York into the assistant’s job in the US Department of Education. He will be the new Secretary of Education. King came to New York as an extremely well-educated egghead with little educational experience and none in public schools. He implemented Common Core in a bizarre manner and blamed the horrendous results on New York’s “ignorant” children. Even though New York’s standards were the highest in the nation, he claimed the students were not used to high standards. He tied...

When you think of places one might call “ground zero” for Islamic extremism in the United States, several places spring to mind. Perhaps New York City or Michigan — where one major city has earned the moniker “Dearbornistan” — would be your choice. However, according to an expert on Islam in America, the answer is a surprising one — the state of Tennessee, where she says Islamist indoctrination is happening on a massive scale in the school system. “Tennessee is ground zero for Muslim activism in the United States,” Cathy Hinners said at a panel at the Values Voters Summit...

Education Secretary Arne Duncan—an advocate for reform and, at times, a target for criticism from the left and the right—will be stepping down from his post in December. Duncan is one of just two remaining Cabinet secretaries who have served in the administration since the beginning of President Barack Obama’s first term. The other is Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Obama lauded Duncan’s efforts at education reform saying “America’s going to be better off for what he has done.” During his tenure, Duncan occasionally drew the ire of liberals and conservatives for such as initiatives the Race to the Top competitive...

 There’s nothing necessarily wrong with children learning about Islam. But learning about Islam to the exclusion of Christianity, and that Allah is the same God worshipped by Jews and Christians, has a lot of parents angry. Several Walton County parents say their children are being forced to learn about Islam, and want the option to exclude their children from these lessons. The teaching of Islam has banded together a group of upset parents. “My daughter had to learn the Shiad, and the five pillars of Islam, which is what you learn to convert, but they never once learned anything...

Well, it may not work terribly well but Common Core sure is expensive. “The treatment of textbooks as mountains of words is one of the signature elements of Common Core,” Peter Wood of the National Association of Scholars (NAS) pointed out at the National Press Club Monday. In the past half-decade, the 26 states aligned with the Common Core has dropped to 7 but the price tag keeps increasing. “The Pioneer Institute estimates that the 7-year cost of Common Core is $16 billion,” Silicon Valley engineer Ze’ev Wurman said at the same Press Club event Wood spoke at. “The pro-Common...