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  1. biology trumps everything – educrats, etc.

    May 12, 2015 by Tunya

    BIOLOGY Trumps Everything: Teacher Unions, Marxists, Academics, Passionate Education Leaders, Textbook Publishers, Snake-oil Salesmen, Education Gurus & Charlatans, Misled Politicians, Unemployed PhDs, Social Engineers, Totalitarians, Teacher Trainers, Political Junkies, etc., etc.

    Watch this video from Ontario showing the mixed ethnicity of parents protesting the new, untested, soon-to-be imposed without consent or consultation, SEX EDUCATION — http://on.aol.ca/video/thousands-protest-ontarios-new-sex-education-curriculum-518766302

    The Parent Veto is an awesome thing and is constantly under attack by usurpers of parental primacy in education. In 2011 when a surge of votes propelled Alison Redford to instant Premiership of Alberta it was claimed that promises to the teacher establishment was the key to her success. It was easy for her to quickly find $107Million in extra education funding and to scrap Gr 3 & 6 standardized tests. The third demand, abolish the parent veto, was never accomplished due to parent backlash.

    The parent veto doesn’t have to be written into law or legislation. It is there as a biological right in the Free Western World.

    As the American 2016 Presidential election machine gears up watch for the family rights backlash against the views of the leading Democratic contender, Hillary Clinton. Her statement that education is a “non-family enterprise” encapsulates the welfare state mentality perfectly and will “enjoy” a well deserved backlash from all stripes on the political spectrum.

    The empowerment bestowed on parent protests against imposed, flawed, developmentally inappropriate, sex education is a signal that the sleeping giant of family rights in education is awakening.

    Even now, sophisticated preemptive programs are being assembled by education establishments to mount “leadership training” programs to cut parents off at the pass!

    http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/2015/RevisedDraftISLLCStandards2015.pdf

    By careful reading between the lines we see yet another barrier, an enforcement layer (trained leaders), being mounted to continue keeping sovereign parents at bay while shifts and “transformations” are being inflicted on children.

    Yes, parental priorities about their children’s reading and math and knowledge, etc. will also rise up from the general dumbing-down so presently evident in public schools. The sex education protests are a taste of future parent sovereignty asserting its own place.

    [To SQE, Huff Post, FB, and below to ISC 20150512]

    Yet One More Layer For Assured Transformation — Education Adjusters

    Thanks, Robin, for the link to the CCSSO Revised. What sent me into "orbit" was the visual imagery that popped into my head about "adjustments" — screws tightening !
    The yet-to-be trained "leaders" will “make adjustments as necessary” or appropriate for the "well-adjusted" student. I had to respond to a Canadian story on Huff Post and wove in this link — hope you don't mind my long comment below:

    Category Opinions in media, Parent Tribal Memory, Teacher Unions, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  2. Schools as tools

    May 5, 2015 by Tunya

    Schools As Tools For Coerced Cultural Change

    In the binary scheme of things educational, there are TWO main visions of how schools should be run. One is the progressive view held by most in the organized government education establishment and includes those all the way from teacher training to teacher unions. The other view is the traditional view held by many parents who see the older ways as effective and respectful of the parental role in guidance and decision-making about schooling.

    The Ontario protest against the new sex curriculum by so many parents, to the extent of withdrawing their children from schools, is not a new issue in Canada about the parental role.

    In 2011 when Alison Redford became premier of Alberta it was claimed that she obtained her surge of votes when promises were made to the teacher union for 3 things — immediate restoration of $107 million to education funds, scrapping standardized tests for Gr 3 & 6, and repeal of the parental veto.

    Amazingly, the first two were quickly accomplished but parents across the province seriously protested the third item. The parent veto still stands.

    What is important to note is that the third is a cultural change item and has nothing to do with the issues of school funding and testing which do affect teachers. It is the ideology of the progressive establishment intruding into curriculum content that was challenged by parents.

    Similarly, it is the ideological agenda of the progressive establishment which is currently being challenged by these parent protests in Ontario.

    Thankfully, the parents are standing up for the integrity of their children’s minds and development and for their own role in overseeing values questions.

    Of all the professions we have in society it is the teaching profession over which parents should be most vigilant. To twist the mind is to twist the child and the adult in the long term.

    It’s in the Bible and I have seen teachers on the Internet acknowledge at rare times their respect for the injunction: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1, NIV Study Bible)

    Here’s another interesting quote for parents to be aware of and it’s from Israel. Much as the nation desires a national curriculum it does allow home education for this exception: “The Ministry of Education will grant a child exemption from mandatory schooling and permit home school if the parents have a core value system that differs from the local school.”

    Thankfully we are seeing awakened parents becoming aware and assertive about cultural changes being engineered without their consent.

    Category Obstacles, Parent Tribal Memory, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  3. Manifesto for education ?

    May 4, 2015 by Tunya

    PERSPECTIVE NEEDED — Policy, Philosophy, Practical Economics

    After viewing this presentation one might just think differently about questions that trouble us.

    https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IDN6GC5umKRIYBkHazM5yOxP15iC2w8FhS9we7zD-j0/embed?hl=en&size=m&slide=id.p4

    Without quibbling about small details, this graphic (not sure what its TITLE is) could, hopefully, pull us out of our privileged navel-gazing to consider our issues against a broader perspective.

    POLICY — In nation states, who does policy?

    In democratic settings is it the elected representative politicians, the dynamics of catering to influential vested lobbies, strong central control vs subsidiary local decision-making or other forms of problem-solving that should provide the governing mechanisms?

    PHILOSOPHY — Do social norms arise from belief systems or practical daily realities?

    Where do values that fuel action come from? Live and let live or . . . ? Do they need to be entrenched and declared in Constitutions and Charters of Human Rights and Freedoms?

    PRACTICAL ECONOMICS — Do the notions of truth and science inform decisions? On a binary continuum do things veer to the objective or the subjective?

    In the field of education it is so heartening to see so-called “research” being seriously questioned. Increasingly we are seeing an emphasis — a movement — on “evidence-based” indicators in choosing methods, approaches and policies — very different from mission statements about “changing the world”. Once goals are agreed upon it’s the demonstrable results that matter when proven standard practices are followed.

    [NOTE: GRATITUDE FOR LITERACY — At this stage, and after viewing the above-recommended presentation, we should be so grateful that we are enabled through reading to grapple with the complexities of the day and the uncertain futures ahead. For the sake of posterity we ought become humble pioneers — based on knowledge we know and learn from history and the written word — in developing guiding principles for the current and future eras.]

    Category Opinions in media, Parent Tribal Memory, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  4. Democracy – open to stealth

    April 30, 2015 by Tunya

    [Thoughts on “Democracy”.  Letter to Editor, submitted but not published.]

    Dear Sirs: North Shore News, re editorial “The Biggest Loser” – May 15, 2009

    Having been a candidate in the last three elections in the past 8 months (federal, school board, provincial) I would like to pass on a few observations:

    1. Of the 18 provincial North Shore candidates I scored the lowest number of votes. However much that shows disfavor with my philosophy (minimum government) it does not equal a zero value — to me anyway..

    2. I think people do not equate democracy or even freedom with voting at general elections. I felt that many people did not vote because they accept the status quo – there was no urgent need to switch, especially in mid-stream of serious economic problems.

    3. Though many really do crave a voice in decisions that affect them, STV was not seen to be of immediate benefit. The delay before any real changes could happen was discouraging. Benefits were too far away in the distant future, with no assurance of voice anyway.

    4. Voting, in my opinion, is neither a duty nor a privilege, and non-voting is not a shame. Compulsory, government-mandated voting (under duress of fines) is coercive and unthinkable and shouldn’t even be mentioned in editorials in Canada.

    5. No, democracy is NOT just about elections, with the opportunity to “throw the bums out” from time to time.

    6. BUT, democracy still can be stolen from under our feet by stealth and persistence. Here is one example I am familiar with:

    My long experience with education made me very frustrated about the why’s and wherefore’s of the obstacles to meaningful reform. This was so upsetting until I discovered an incredible expose of our own Ministry of Education which documents the effective takeover by the BC Teachers Federation. Please read the paper easily found on the Internet, “The Decline and Fall of the BC Ministry of Education” by Dr. Thomas Fleming of the University of Victoria. Through assiduous application of “cold war” tactics the teacher union has become a seeming “parallel” de-facto government in education. Regardless of which political party is in Victoria this makes no difference. Since 1972 the militant union pursues its relentless agendas. It is an eye-opener to read this short paper about how parents, public and ministry have acquiesced to this aggressive extra-parliamentary power.

    The newly re-elected government has promised a review into education. This is an opportune time to exercise our democratic rights to present complaints and suggestions.

    If I was active in other fields, I wonder how many other pieces of research I could find where our so-called democratic institutions are eroded or being undermined by stealth, either through organized lobbies, business arrangements, union aggressiveness, or other forces beyond citizen oversight.

    No, apathy is not a threat to democracy when people fail to vote in elections. But democracy is seriously compromised when we, citizens and media, fail to keep our governments accountable or we turn a blind eye to opportunists seizing power behind our backs.

    Sincerely, Tunya Audain,

    Category Opinions in media, Teacher Unions, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

  5. State of Parent involvement in schools

    April 27, 2015 by Tunya

    The State Of Parent Involvement In Schools

    Today I found my talking notes for a workshop I led at a conference — Stereotyping and Discrimination in Education — Nanaimo, BC, Nov 13, 1976 (39 years ago). It was co-sponsored by the local teachers’ union and Malaspina College, with funding from the Office of the Secretary of State (Ottawa).

    My topic concerned parent involvement in education of their children. We had a handout to aid discussion. These are some of the items:

    Q: Are there conditions in the formal education system that could be detrimental to the education of children, and which parents should know about, and take a part in correcting?

    A: Yes, parents should be concerned about the following:
    – 1) teacher union/school board collective bargaining
    – 2) student suspensions
    – 3) student records, student labeling, mislabeling
    – 4) vandalism, “disrupted” youth, alienated youth
    – 5) stereotyping of parents
    – 6) “innovations”, experiments, psychological and pseudo psychological techniques
    – 7) down-grading of the basic skills
    – 8) absence of meaningful standards, evaluation, assessment
    – 9) lack of parent participation in education
    – 10) teacher education often unrelated to the realities of the classroom
    – 11) poor information services, little two-way communication between the system and consumers (parents, students, public)

    Q: Are there ways that parents can be more involved?

    A: Yes, here are a few suggestions:
    – 1) formation of parent or school advisory councils in every school
    – 2) useful information services, genuine two-way communication

    Q: What is the basic minimum each parent should expect now in their child’s school?

    A: 1) Easy, comfortable access to the child’s school, teacher and principal
    2) All information the school has on the child, all information on the programs child involved in
    3) No negative effect or reprisal to the child because of parent’s involvement

    Are parents any better off now, 40 years later? Seems like parents still have a very shallow role in school affairs generally and with regard to their own children.

    [published as comment on Educhatter, 27 April '15)

    Category Education Reform, Parent Tribal Memory, Uncategorized | Tags: | No Comments

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