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Ashley Cries Out
A few days ago I urged my daughter to write a letter to the editor
of the paper in our town of Hot Springs. I asked her to compare
and contrast the differences between private school and public school.
This was the result. She emailed it to the editor late on Friday
afternoon.
Our webmaster posted this to Free Republic and there were 100 replies
to the post: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/973225/posts
He states: 100 replies!!! a few are a bit off topic but the avg
response on this board for articles is 10-15
Her letter will also be published in the statewide paper The American
Family Voice Newspaper by Loretta Weston next month, October.
A expanded version will soon be published on www.newswithviews.com
in the coming week or so, so please watch for it.
I removed Ashley from public school last summer after a pornographic
video was shown in her 9th grade biology classroom. You may read
the account here: http://www.endteacherabuse.org/Sanders.html
and http://www.learn-usa.com/sopt014.htm
When I went to the school to question the principal and teacher
about it, and asked for a copy of the video, the principal said
they would have to screen it before I got a copy. Why didn't they
do that BEFORE THE CLASSROOM WATCHED IT?
To: Melinda Gasaway
Editor of The Sentinel Record
Hot Springs, AR 71913
Dear Editor:
This is for all the parents and their children who attend public
school. I have gone to public school all my life, until last September
when I began private school. The differences are incredible! I will
attempt to inform your readers as to  what
children in the government’s schools are doing every day. Reading,
writing, and arithmetic were the three basics every school used
to go by. Are they what you think of when you think about what your
child is learning? Throughout most of my attendance In public school,
the kids in my class only read one or two books throughout the whole
year, until I was privileged with going to an AP class. The Advanced
Placement courses have now been replaced with IB classes, which
is short for the International Baccalaureate Organization, a part
of UNESCO, United Nations. In this class, we were assigned numerous
short stories to read, mostly about the myths of other countries,
and some about their religions. This class was intended to be a
higher-level class, in which advanced students could “maximize”
their learning capacity. Learning about the religions and cultures
of other countries, and not names like Henry van Dyke, Washington
Irving, O. Henry, or even Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, names which
I never heard until I attended private school. These authors, among
others such as Mark Twain and Emily Dickinson are purely American,
and the basis for all literary writings in America to date. Why
were they never taught to me? Even in the advanced class we never
read “Rip van Winkle.” Instead, we were assigned books
like “The Giver” by Lois Lowry, which gave the details
of killing babies and living in a world where no one was special
and a person’s worth was based on his/her ability to conform
to the group. Was I being conditioned?
When my mother was in school, she was taught phonics. In public
school, I was taught to memorize the look of words and how they
sounded. I was taught to remember the answer, not understand the
question. I didn’t
have spelling or vocabulary words to learn past the sixth or seventh
grade. Why not? In my private school, everyone has spelling and
vocabulary words, in every grade, every week, to understand and
learn how to use them in
sentences. Words like philanthropy, misanthropic, and ameliorate
were never taught to me in public school, despite the so-called
“advanced” classes I was in. My mother, however, insisted
on my having vocabulary words, even though it was not provided in
public school. Learning arithmetic has taken on a whole new meaning
in public schools. It means that the more advanced students are
made to wait for the others to catch up, and the advanced students
are given “busy” work. The textbook often goes unfinished,
and the students are passed anyway, because they tried their best.
Grading on a curve is commonplace in public schools, so the students
don’t know if they’re doing anything wrong. They are taught
to be mindless and to accept whatever they are given. I took Algebra
in the eighth grade in public school, geometry in the ninth. When
I changed to private school, I retook Algebra because my new school
taught it differently, with more of the textbook. This year I’m
taking trigonometry and Algebra II, both of my own choice. I know
I’ll be getting the most out of them because we won’t
be waiting for everyone to catch up like we did in public school.
I can learn at my own pace. Most kids in public schools are uncontrollable.
How can any learning actually take place? Respect for authority,
integrity, and honor are not words generally practiced by students
who attend public school. If the administrators were to enforce
the rules they have, they wouldn’t need to make more. Total
control is the only thing gained when making more rules than needed.
I was amazed at how well-behaved the students at my private school
were. Not only did they work hard, but were courteous, polite, and
obedient. These things are a direct result of the proper atmosphere
that this school provides. Christian values are taught, along with
studying the Bible, which, needless to say, is strictly taboo in
a public school. Although I had some great teachers in public school,
which are extremely hard to find, they could do nothing with the
curriculum they were given from their superiors, not to mention
the state, and the Department of Education, which is a part of the
federal government. The department itself is unconstitutional; “The
powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.” The United States as is written here means
the federal government, or national government. The Constitution
gave no such power to the federal government as to run a federal
department of education. Therefore, it is unconstitutional. The
Constitution, since 1787, is and has been the Supreme Law of the
land. I encourage all those who care about their children and grandchildren
to go searching for the answer. There is a lot of information available;
but you may have to look no further than a book by Charlotte Iserbyt
called “The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America”. It gives
a detailed account of what really happens in public schools, why,
and where the corruption comes from.
Students: no one can tell you who you are. If you don’t
think for yourself, someone else will, be it a strong-willed friend,
the media, or even our own government. Some people would have us
believe that we’re too young to do anything about it, even
if we wanted to. Well, there is one thing we know how to do, and
that’s spread the word about what is going on; you have to
learn more about it. Even though it may be difficult to fund attending
a private school or homeschooling, it is the only immediate way
to stop what is being shoved down the throats of America’s
youth. Soon even these may be forbidden. The way to avoid being
institutionalized while attending a public school is not easy, but
what is the most important thing? Is it more important to play football
or be a cheerleader and end up flipping hamburgers in a fast food
joint, or actually learning something that will be valuable to you
the rest of your life?
Defend your mind, and ask questions. Don’t take anything for
granted. Public school is not going to change, because it is running
exactly how the government wants it to. Follow the money. I am a
Christian. This is not the time for believers to stick their heads
in the dirt and hope that everything goes all right. The remnant
of Christ’s followers exists today as foretold in the Bible.
This is the time for believers in Christ to rise up and defend the
rights our Forefathers died so that we may keep. I will stand and
fight until the end, because I owe it to my country. What will you
do?
Sincerely,
Ashley Anderson
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