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LT GOV DAN PATRICK THROWS TX HOME SCHOOLERS UNDER THE BUS!

Nov 18
Posted by Ginger in Featured Post
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UPDATE: SENATOR LARRY TAYLOR HAS FILED SCHOOL CHOICE SB 3. PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED IN AUSTIN, TUESDAY, MARCH 21 9am ROOM E1:028

Unfortunately our “supposedly” conservative Texas Lt Governor Dan Patrick and many of our Texas Senators and Representatives are throwing the future generation of Texas Home School families under the bus.  For months now Lt Gov Dan Patrick and other senators and representatives have been making their rounds across the state in hopes of selling their legislative priority of “School Choice” which will ultimately change the landscape of home schooling in Texas.  Though the words “School Choice” sound great please do not be deceived. This “School Choice” initiative should alarm any freedom loving home school family.

 

dan-patrick

Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick

The proposed Legislation that has yet to be filed intends to set up a State Funded Education Savings Account (ESA) for any student approved. NOTE: This is not you saving your own money like a Health Savings Account. This is the state funding quarterly an undetermined dollar amount to your (ESA) account. This money can be used to attend private school, purchase “STATE APPROVED” curriculum, classes, computers, etc, etc.

 

WHY HOME SCHOOL FAMILIES NEED TO BE CONCERNED

 

  1. With state funds comes govt control and STRINGS with yearly mandated state or norm reference testing. “What if they fail the test are they still eligible for funding”?
  2. ***With testing comes the Data Mining of your child. For those unaware there is a TEXAS STUDENT LONGITUDINAL DATA SYSTEM where public school students personal information is stored and available to 3rd parties. Billions of dollars have been spent from the federal level in collecting student data across the US. Most parents are unaware of this un-nerving fact. Due to a change in the FERPA law there is no longer student privacy.
  3. The funds can only be used to purchase state approved material. Will we able to continue to purchase Christian material in educating our children? If “yes” how long will that last? BELIEVE ME THE LIBERAL ACLU WILL BE ALL OVER THIS!                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  4. NOTE:  In 2011 the state passed SB 6 allowing School Districts to purchase any curriculum they wanted being text books, online learning, etc WITHOUT STATE APPROVAL.  With THE SCHOOL CHOICE program you can only purchase  TEACHING MATERIAL FROM STATE APPROVED VENDORS. Who are these approved vendors and who is approving them?
  5. Current home school or private school students will not be eligible to apply for the program. Students would have to enroll and attend public school for and undetermined amount of days prior to being eligible for the funds. A child has to be in the system one year prior to being qualified for the program (They have to get you into their student data system first.) Remember this is DATA. DATA DATA DATA!   EX: If you are a current homeschooler and you have a 2nd & 3rd grader they would not be able to receive funding. You have to put them back in the public school system for one year to be qualified. Now if you have a child entering K or 1st grade they would qualified.
  6. ESA accounts will be audited annually (randomly) by a State office to review the “educational expenses” parents pay for with the account in an effort to prevent fraud and abuse. (talk about up front and in your business)

 

Just a few thoughts.

  1. This is just another Socialist liberal wealth redistribution plan under the disguise of “School Choice” More SOCIALISM.
  2. Many of the same state legislators  that have our public schools in shambles today are now pushing school choice. Check out this blog about Senator Larry Taylor who chairs the Texas Senate Education Committee and the role he has played in Texas Education. He did read my blog and left the following comment for me. I did ask hoping he would respond why was my post  considered a conspiracy and that he thought I created in my own mind. I have yet to receive a response. larry-taylor-school-choice
  3. Our legislators have been spending months with paid lobbyist promoting this agenda. Seems to me they are more concerned with funding their pockets and not with their constituents.
  4. You will hear repeatedly the verbiage “This will EMPOWER THE PARENTS to become more involved in their child’s education. I don’t know about you but I was empowered to pull my kids out of the public school without state $$$. Parents who are going to be involved in their child’s education do not need state funds to empower them.

 

 

A MUST SEE… THE REAL GOALS OF SCHOOL CHOICE!!

 

Action Needed

 

  1. Find out who your local Senators and House Reps are and tell them NO to School Choice. Here is a link to find out who they are. http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.asp
  2. Call Lt Governor Dan Patrick’s office @  (512) 463-0001   EMAI: @ LTGConstituent.Affairs@ltgov.state.tx.us
  3. Join this facebook group TEXAS FOR HOMESCHOOL FREEDOM.
  4. I will talk about this more later but I have been very unhappy with the position that Texas Home School Coalition has taken on this initiative. They have come out supporting it and have censored those of us that do not agree by blocking us on their facebook page. I personally left a message for Tim Lambert and have yet to hear from him. I finally called and asked them to refund my membership money which they did. Call and let them know your concerns as well. Ph# (806) 744-4441
  5. Educate your friends and family as to what is taking place.

 

 

UPDATE 1/25/17

I attended the school choice rally in Austin yesterday (Tuesday). I stood there in shock as our Texas Lt.Governor Dan Patrick proclaimed to all these children mostly minorities that “You have to be rich to have school choice” (see video below).  Wow. Did he go to Bernie Sanders Training classes? And we wonder why the younger generation today has the give me mentality that the government owes them everything.

 

 

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PARENT ALERT “GIVING TUESDAY” CURRICULUM WARNING

Dec 16
Posted by Ginger in Featured Post
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Most parents want their children to grow up to be kind, compassionate, charitable adults. So when schools sponsor activities which foster giving, most parents are supportive.

In the past few years, a new “giving program” has been developed called “Giving Tuesday.” The group’s website states:

“We have a day for giving thanks. We have two for getting deals. Now, we have #GivingTuesday, a global day dedicated to giving back. On Tuesday, December 2, 2014, charities, families, businesses, community centers, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.”

Sounds good. After all, the Christmas Season has always been known in America as our most charitable time of year.
“Giving Tuesday” even provides k-12 school curriculum free on their website to help teachers and schools develop “giving” programs and “encourage” everyone – students, staff, parents and the community – to participate.
Sounds like something most Texas parents could support.

But when President Obama issued a “Giving Tuesday” message and Harris County Department of Education (HCDE -the federal government’s back door into Texas public schools) pushed “Giving Tuesday” and linked to the “Giving Tuesday” website for schools to “get ideas,” I decided to look deeper. After all, it wasn’t just a coincidence that Arne Duncan visited HCDE in person.

(Note: HCDE is a leftover government entity from 1889 and a past era of Texas education when counties operated our public schools. It still exists only because of a loophole democrats passed back in 1995. HCDE does not answer to the Texas Education Agency, the Commissioner of Education, or the County Commissioners so they have made themselves the federal government’s liaison into Texas public schools. They by-pass TEA and push the federal “cradle to grave” programs across the state.)

 HCDE not only posted the link to the “Giving Tuesday” website, they encouraged Texas public schools to participate saying:
  • “Giving Tuesday” Get Your Campus Involved
  • Teachers will want to know about #GivingTuesday, a global   day for giving back….
  • As a teacher, you can encourage your students and parents to take action
  • Organize an event on your campus
  • Announce a new fundraising initiative for your school that day
  • Please don’t forget about #Giving Tuesday Dec. 2
  • Share your #Unselfie.

But a closer look shows the “Giving Tuesday” free curriculum teaches “lessons” that would not be acceptable to many parents, and certainly not to any conservative ones.

What is this curriculum teaching?
Here are some quotes from the lessons:
 
Investigate the idea of Privilege in order to raise awareness about the way that both you and others DO and DO NOT experience Privilege in your communities.
Text: “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was “meant” to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.” – McIntosh, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”
1. What does McIntosh mean by “white privilege”? Why is it invisible?
2. What might be in that “invisible package”? Create a list.
3. Why does McIntosh state that white privilege is “meant” to be something that one does not recognize?

ANSWER: “Charity is just writing checks and not being engaged. Philanthropy, to me, is being engaged, not only with your resources but getting people involved and doing things that haven’t been done before.” — Eli Broad
In contrast to 19th century “charity,” which had been destined for the needy (it was a form of social welfare), philanthropy of the 20th century was “for mankind.” The shift from charity to philanthropy occurred when the Rich partnered with progressive elites of the academic world, local governments, and professional associations. They all worked together to generate progress in science, education, human rights and public health…The “foundation” was created at the beginning of the 20th century as a way to channel big money to important social causes designed to promote human progress…Our nation has come to view philanthropy as both a quintessential part of being American and another means of achieving major objectives. American citizens embrace the idea that with rights come duties; we have the duty to work for social justice as members of a larger community.

Do research on the Internet to find out how BIG philanthropy has helped and will continue to help everyone—even those who donate the money. You may want to begin with the following names: Johns Hopkins, John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie,
George Soros, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet.

Prior to the airing of a BBC documentary in October 1984, Americans had heard very little about the Ethiopian famine. Since the Reagan administration was reluctant to send provisions directly to this socialist regime, it actually cut its food assistance – to zero – in 1984…After it aired, the BBC film shocked the world: 10 to 12 million people were starving or on the verge of starvation in Ethiopia….The LIVE AID rock concerts in London and Philadelphia in July 1985 sought to raise money for the starving of Ethiopia. An estimated global audience of 1.9 billion, across 150 nations, watched the live broadcast. Famous singers such as Elton John, Madonna, and Phil Collins participated…Mass fundraising efforts led to the distribution of 20,000 tons of food to two million people each month…After the concerts, the Reagan administration changed course and approved $45 million for USAID to buy and transport 80,000 metric tons of food…This event led to the passing of the African Relief and Recovery Act (1985), whereby aid for “rehabilitation” was deemed by Congress to be legal – even in socialist countries. Funding for irrigation projects, seeds and tools, and training in health skills became possible…
Using the following historical notes, teach students about the backlash against President Johnson’s approach to eradicating poverty in the United States.
“In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched a War on Poverty: his goal was to create better schools, health, homes, and job opportunities. To attain this goal, the federal government created programs like Head Start, Legal Services, the Job Corps, Medicaid and improvements in Social Security. It was the responsibility of the government to lend a helping hand to the poor. Yet ever since this War on Poverty, conservatives have championed the idea that the poor are responsible themselves for their own poverty with bad attitudes and faulty lifestyles.”
How can you persuade others that your ideas are valid, relevant, and infused with a sense of purpose – without coming across as pushy and without offending your audience?
“Giving Tuesday” states that the purpose of teachers using their curriculum is NOT to foster charity in the hearts of school children, it is to use the students to FUND RAISE. 
Quotes from the curriculum guide:
1. The primary goal of this curriculum is to generate a genuine and authentic commitment to service in your school community by energizing students about fundraising for a specific cause in preparation for #Giving Tuesday….
(You can read the entire curriculum here.)My Observations

Besides being extremely biased, left leaning material, which may be objectionable to many Texas parents, it is questionable if this curriculum is even legal in Texas.
Texas Education Code Sec. 29.906 outlines character education restrictions for Texas public schools. “Charity” (not philanthropy) is a character trait listed in the statute and requires curriculum be approved by a school district committee before being used in the classroom. This committee must consist of:
  • parents of district students;
  • educators; and
  • other members of the community, including community leaders.

Statute also includes the following statement:

This section does not … authorize proselytizing or indoctrinating concerning any specific … political belief.

Texas Education Agency makes no mention of the  “Giving Tuesday” curriculum.
But “Giving Tuesday” was still encouraged by Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) – with a link to the website offering the free curriculum.
In a quick search, I found two other Texas School districts which mention “Giving Tuesday”:

 
 

Humble ISD participated through their Education Foundation and offered the link to the “Giving Tuesday” curriculum on their website

An Austin ISD press release states, “Schools put philanthropy curriculum into action…”

If your school district participated in “Giving Tuesday,” you can file a request for public information to find out:

  • Which curriculum was used
  • If the curriculum was pre-approved by your school district committee and
  • Who serves on your district’s committee

You can get more involved by volunteering to serve on your district’s Character Education Committee in the future.

A final note: Texas Representative Debbie Riddle has been trying to close the loophole which allows HCDE to continue to operate. Last Session she authored HB945  (with Fletcher/Miller, Rick/ Elkins/Toth) but the Texas House Public Education Committee blocked her efforts.
You may contact the Texas House and Senate Education Committees as well as your own representatives and let them know Texas conservatives want the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) closed.Colleen Vera
www.TexasTrashTalk.com

Posted by texastrashtalk at 3:56 PM 0 Comments
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Students Hate Project Based Learning aka PBL

Sep 30
Posted by Ginger in Featured Post
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pblThe progressive radical transformation of education today is called Project Based Learning. It is a teaching philosophy where the teacher is no longer as the progressives say “a sage on the stage” She/He becomes more like a coach, facilitator, and friend within this learning environment.  PBL is being implemented in Common Core states as well as those that did not adopt common core such as my home state Texas.  Project Based Learning is a  Marxist teaching philosophy based on the collective. Texas Parents need to wake up as to what is going on in your local school. Texas school districts have been implementing PBL with the use of CSCOPE and other curriculum tools for some time.

 

Students are not beginning to voice criticism about Project Based Learning on Social Media. We need more parents and students to voice their criticism of PBL as well using the hashtag #HATEPBL.

 

ramon

 

 

 

gun pbl

today

Comparison Chart between a Traditional Education and Project Based Learning

PBL COMPARISON

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