Brooks Agnew – Homeschooling has been on the rise in America for decades, even before its benefits were emphasized by the government attacks on freedoms during the COVID pandemic. Now a commentary posted at America Out Loud is blasting bureaucrats for blaming parents for the continuing migration by students from public schools to homeschools.
Podcaster Dean Bowen writes there, “The Washington Post editorial board recently stated, ‘Where there’s no oversight, there’s no guarantee that children will learn skills considered foundational in public education and essential to adult life.'”
Bowen jumps in, “I strongly disagree. Many public schools are making the exact point, only in reverse. Where there is government oversight, there is no guarantee that children will learn skills considered foundational and essential to adult life. Some would say where there is government oversight, there is a guarantee that the children will not learn those skills. Parents who love their children are going to be sure their kids have the skills necessary to live a full life.”
He said those in position to make policy simply blame “other educational options” when it’s clear that crowds are fleeing public schools.
He cited the problem that has developed even in mostly traditional states like Kansas and Missouri.
“The raw numbers are a loss of 16,000 students in Missouri and 18,000 in Kansas. Those numbers are huge. If you were to drill down into the individual school districts, you would see an enrollment loss in specific schools anywhere between 20%-65%. Those numbers are unsustainable,” he said.
At the same time, “Missouri has seen a homeschool increase of 34%. The Kansas Department of Education has a department which oversees homeschool registration. Bert Moore, who runs that department, says, ‘Thousands of the state’s families decided to stick with homeschooling after getting a taste of it during the COVID pandemic.'”
There are other indicators of the situation, too.
A report from Liberty Sentinel explains how a teacher in Maine told students to write their “Declaration of Independence” from something problematic in their lives, like “parents.”
Or “government, racism, sexism, homophobia, inequality, ‘any form of control/authority,’ and more.”
“Now is your chance to officially declare yourself independent from something… anything!” read the assignment description. “Think of something that is problematic for you in your life. Free yourself from whatever is causing you stress, making you unhappy, something with which you struggle, or is difficult for you to deal with.”
One word that was banned from such declarations? “School”
The report explained, “Educational liberty advocate Shawn McBreairty, host of the Maine Source of Truth podcast, first exposed the scandalous assignment on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘This exercise teaches nothing but further narcissism,’ he explained, showing images of the homework. ‘Another ‘teacher’ who is nothing but a taxpayer paid activist for the far-left democrats. Pull your kids now.'”
At the College Fix was a report that today’s new scientists are “less capable” then their predecessors because of “the continued embrace of diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM combined with a broad decline in academic standards.”
“From easier math classes in high school to the elimination of standardized tests to extreme grade-inflation to DEI tropes that elevate lived experiences and ways of knowing over facts and data, the trend represents a pressing problem for science professors working to protect STEM and preserve its standards and meritocracy,” the report confirmed.
Reported Alex Small, of California State Polytechnic University-Pomona, “The K-12 system is walking away from standards at all levels.”
And at Discourse Magazine, a report noted, “School segregation has risen from the grave—disguised under a different name.”
“An increasing number of school districts are offering ‘affinity classes’ that cater to specific racial groups. Schools have long offered racially segregated options for electives such as African American history or mentorship programs.
But the idea has begun to expand to the wider K-12 curriculum: One school district in Evanston, Illinois, has drawn the media’s eyes recently for expanding affinity course options, now offering segregated courses in the core curriculum, like math and English. Technically, anyone can join, but each class is expressly designed for—and targeted at—a particular racial group,” the report said.
SF Source Brooks Agnew Feb 2024