Ms. Burmesch and a team of colleagues will develop a critical literacy inquiry based unit of study to help their first and second grade students understand the role that power plays in their lives. The teachers will learn how visual and technology, particularly web site and pod cast development, can be used by students to create activist messages that make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others. The students will creates their messages around issues important to them.
The preceding paragraph is from the NEA Foundation web site describing a grant awarded to a team of teachers in Muskego, Wisconsin. Yesterday Redstate.com broke this disturbing story of how Ms. Burmesch and other teachers are using the NEA grant to make activists out of first and second grade students.
The story confirms — once again — that NEA is not about education. It’s about getting and keeping power — even if involves indoctrinating your young sons and daughters about the “role that power plays in their lives”. Unbelievable.
For those of you who didn’t know, the National Education Association (NEA) is the parent group of the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE). So if you’re a member of NCAE, by definition, you are also a member of NEA. To access some of the whacky things the NEA Foundation is funding in North Carolina, click here.
It does sound like a valuable lesson. That no matter how powerless you feel you can do something to make yourself powerful. Of course the conservatives do not want our children to think for themselves (theirs don’t) Bravo and FYI NCAE is an association you do not have to join but I would say the 55.000 voluntary members they do have are just exercising their rights – guess that is against the POPE agenda
Organizations and their members have every right to express their opinions. However when an organization pushes its views on children in the classroom, it deserves greater scrutiny. Such is the case here. I’m sorry, but I don’t see many first and second graders decrying their lack of power. That usually comes with maturity and a developed sense of responsibility. Training school kids to become activists is indoctrination. Doing so — so that these kids can “think for themselves” — is a tortured logic which makes the majority of parents and educators recoil in horror. NEA has a right to express its views. It doesn’t have a right to politicize the classroom and use children to further the ends of a far left teacher organization.
I find it confusing that so many conservatives apply what amounts to a dbl. standard when indoctrinating kids. Taxpayers support religion, schools with religous affiliations all of which seek to
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indoctrinate kids- with taxpayer support NEA may grant funding for projects but your dollars do not support it-I think perhaps some hyperbolizing by Mr. Lubeke of the lessons intent I myself do not read too much into it if one of my kids teacher’s mention religion; even if their values differ from mine so I see no harm in encouraging children to express their desires much like a certain highly lauded Tea-Party mob -and yes I know these are kids but kids are expected to think critically and independently now and they need to understand we are a country made up of many and you have to learn to speak up for your beliefs if you expect to keep the right to have them.
In Florida 84% of students in the tax credit “voucher” program attend religous schools paid for with tax dollars. The majority of these schools use textbooks and curriculum written by Bob Jones Univ. ( a genersous term in this case “university”.
or by A Beka or ACE. All of these support an extreme view of religion – an evangelical- very judgemental view- completely lacking in real academic content. They are part of David Barton’s team- and their mission enabled by the right is to misinform our children on US history. I am sure Mr. Luebke will be writing on this horrible use of our public tax dollars very soon LOL!!!