Illinois high school requires parents to self-identify as liberal or conservative

How's this for creepy? Maybe Common Core is only supposed to be about imposing common standards on everyone, but way too many companies are taking advantage of it to push some questionable agendas in their curriculum planning. Take this high school government assignment from an Illinois high school. It sends home a survey asking parents to self-identify their beliefs on highly charged political issues with a poorly-written survey.

Just look at the first question, for example.

"Government should encourage rather than restrict prayer in public schools."

It's clear to me that they are trying to hit all the hot button topics and write things in a way they think will provide a clear divide between left and right. But really? Could they be more stereotypical in this? I'm a soc-con for the most part. I don't think it's the government's place to restrict prayer in the schools. If a Valedictorian wants to give a prayer as part of his or her speech, that's his or her call, for example. If students want to meet for a prayer or Bible study club after school (or any other religiously affiliated group), they should be able to. Students should not be made to take a class in religion or say prayers as part their daily routine. In other words, they should not be forced to by staff or faculty.

So, how can I answer this question? There is no simple answer to it. The rest of the questions have similar problems.

And I find it a little worrisome that instead of learning basic civics and the mechanics of how our government works, these students are instead learning about right/left and how to get matched with political parties. I don't recall my high school government teaching us that. We had a mock court case and a mock legislature where we learned how bills because law and cases were argued.

reply to post by ketsuko


I don't see how a parent's political persuasions should affect a child's education. This is a set-up.

reply to post by ketsuko


When it comes to school work you just pencil any answer that satisfies the question asked.

Honor roll and Deans list every term by telling them what they wanted to hear despite how dishonest or insincere the answer.

So in this case send it back answering every question with "the public school is glorious, praise be to the public school" whether you mean it or not.

Kid get a check mark and you don't get flagged for further harassment.

From what I've seen of common core class materials school will be just as easy to game as it ever was.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

So in this case send it back answering every question with "the public school is glorious, praise be to the public school" whether you mean it or not.

I usually agree with you. But in this case I have to say "Hell no!".

Acquiescing, to government controlled brainwashing and control does NOT solve our problems! Standing up to and against corrupt policies is our only option at this point. When it get so far out of control and to a point where we either choose to obey or die, then the tactic you suggest may be valid. Until then, stand up for what you believe in and make damn sure what you believe in and are fighting for is protected under the Constitution!

Your tactic is not without merit, however at this point, I do believe it is premature and does nothing more than give the "elitists" in charge more authority rather than reducing the authority they already have......

reply to post by ketsuko


Not really possible to answer some of these questions anyway.

Example - Question number one: Neither.

There is no "neither answer is correct" for these questions.

reply to post by ketsuko


Not exactly a subtle piece of work is it? Worse than that, its been borrowed, or bought*.
How could any parent, never mind the high school kids themselves have a decent relationship with the school.

* Copyright, the center for learning used with permission. Not for resale.

reply to post by seeker1963


True. But for households that really believed that this wouldnt arise as an issue in the first place since you wouldnt be sending your kid to government school.

Going to a government school and complaining about the indoctrination is like going to Burger King and bitching about the lack of pizza.

Get those kids adversarial as early as possible so they can get sucked into the Two Party Illusion and fight amongst themselves their whole lives while the politicians game them and keep going to the bank. Nevermind that the US can't even crack the top ten for quality of education. Let's argue about "prayer" and crank out tens of millions more total morons.

Really just a half-baked idea, but does it make any sense to go to a School Board meeting and start "What the Hell-ing" all over the place? Perhaps notifying the local paper of it might encourage them to send a reporter to the meeting?

It would be primarily for the purpose of asking what this has to do with the child's education, who will see it, is it part of the curriculum, or just some nutty teacher, and will the faculty and board members do the assignment and publish their results individually and publicly?

But then, I'm just in a feisty mood.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

Going to a government school and complaining about the indoctrination is like going to Burger King and bitching about the lack of pizza.

There is much truth to that statement! However, how do you homeschool a child when the system has been manipulated to the point that mom and dad are working two jobs each just to feed the kids and keep a roof over their heads?

The destruction of the family unit is also part of their plan! Parents have to work to survive, the children become a product of the STATE!

As much as I hate the criminals that devised this breakdown of our society, I have to give them credit for their brilliance and deception in accomplishing it!

reply to post by charles1952


You could.

And you'd end up like this guy:

Pull your kids out. Stop supporting public school programs.

reply to post by ketsuko


I actually had my daughter bring home something as intrusive as this, if not moreso, this year. I should've scanned it but the assignment was to discover our family's "culture" and requested information included religious beliefs, political ideology, associated peer groups, economic status, and more. When I balked at doing it and blurted out that I wanted to write "MYOB" over the entire assigment, my youngest frowned and said she'd get a bad grade if I did that.

Emotional and educational blackmail. I thought that the route that I ended up taking was pretty good. A whole lot of nothing firm at all and full of contradictions. Pretty freaking intrusive but at least I had the advantage of being able to write things in my own words. If I was one of these parents, I'd added another line hat says "none of the above" and start checking off those lines.

reply to post by ketsuko


Just send it back saying that your political leanings are none of the schools business.

ketsuko
and the mechanics of how our government works,

Your government works? You could of fooled me

RedShirt73
reply to post by ketsuko

 

Just send it back saying that your political leanings are none of the schools business.

Since this is in Illinios, you would be tagged as a right winged, gun totting, tea party nut job.

Their words, not mine.

Then again, if it were my child, I would send the assignment through the shredder, put it in a brown paper bag and have him return it to the teacher the next day.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere

Dear thisguyrighthere,

Thanks a lot for fixing the link.

Yeah, you do have to be a little careful, but look at how many people are seeing the video. My idea is still half-baked, though. Just tossed it out as a quick thought.

With respect,
Charles1952

My dog ate my survey
Luckily we have him subscribed at Obamacare

reply to post by WhiteAlice


One of the commenters at the site where I acquired the original link suggested that parents should send back the survey with a Nolan diagram with the school administrators penciled in as totalitarian/authoritarian.

reply to post by ketsuko


You don't answer the question and you send a letter to the school telling them they are overstepping their boundaries, their job is to teach children reading writing and arithmetic, not to survey parents for their political beliefs, their job is to teach basic knowledge , the only specific knowledge they are to teach is the specific classes that you sign your child up for

We home-school our son.

At the pace he is going, he has finished 5th grade and is starting on 6th grade work.

He is 10.

Public education has become a sad farce.