Tag: Education

What is Happening in Our Schools? (Part Three)

There was a time when I (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) thought I’d heard and seen it all, but clearly, I haven’t. Being a former teacher, I have always taken note of what is happening in our schools because I care about our youth. I’ve devoted most of my life working with youth, and I hope I’ve impacted their lives for the better. Seeing what’s happening in our schools is discouraging. My last two posts were about, ‘What is happening in our schools,” so here is what I’ve learned since my last blog post.

Global News talks about a Controversial West Kelowna billboard which had to be taken down. The billboard reads: What are your kids really learning in school? That is a question all parents should be asking. A Fox News article, A message from parents to schools — stop sexualizing our kids, says:

In recent months, parents have grown more and more upset by curricular content within public schools, demanding changes for the sake of their children. While their concerns include issues like critical race theory, they have also expressed outrage at sexually explicit materials in schools, easily accessible by young children…Schools have moved beyond the initial boundaries of “sex education” to ask our children for intimate details about their lives, making it seem as if young teenagers and even children should have sex. 

Parents are outraged here in Canada like in the United States. Schools seem to be presenting sex as a normal thing for children. Why are schools doing this? I discuss one possible reason in my last post. Many argue that it is Christians and conservatives that oppose sexually explicit materials in schools, but, Muslims, Christians and Sikhs protest against the sexual indoctrination of kids in BC schools. Yet, school boards try to silence concerned parents as, Ottawa school trustees shut down parent critical of trans policy. Parents are being bullied. (#bullying, #antibullying)! The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (The Charter) says Canadians have freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression… Based on what I’ve observed, ‘The Charter’ is a spineless document. This is why the National Post says, Canada was designed as a free country, but no longer is, so even Mainstream Media admits Canada is no longer a free country.

Even more disturbing is a School board in B.C. collecting photo ID, personal data of concerned parents. As I said in my previous post, Big Brother is watching you. Watch Tucker Carlson’s interview a Canadian Catholic school student arrested for saying men and women are different.

Then there are the B.C. child educators who will soon be learning how to ‘decolonize’ daycares and implement ‘gender-diverse’ curriculums. The article speaks of instruction being given to early childhood educators on how to use “intentional language to better include gender diverse children” saying these children are “worthy of being embraced and celebrated.” These public policies and training practices are being given to daycare workers who work with preschoolers; children 6 or younger. Do these children even know what gender is? I doubt it. This is indoctrination, the repeating of an idea or belief to someone until they accept it without criticism or question. Then there is the Ontario school board that focuses on divisive woke race-based hiring.

Watch this video of a school board that cuts off a Mother, only to have her son step in to point out the hypocritical board policy. This student explains that if he tries to google an “inappropriate” website he is immediately flagged, yet he can walk into his school library and find sexually explicit materials. That is hypocrisy! If you’re going to have sexually explicit materials available in school libraries, then allow students to access porn sites. Please understand, I am not advocating for that. I am merely pointing out the hypocrisy of these policies. Canada’s insanity is making world news as Tucker CANNOT believe what the school did to this girl after she made the wrong complaint. This girl was suspended for complaining about a trans person-with male genitalia-in the girl’s change room. As Mark Twain once said, “Truth is stranger than fiction.” Listen to Tuckers interview. It is eye opening.

Another controversy schools will face in the not so distant future is the use of ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools that can generate humanlike stories, essays, poems and other written forms, according to the opinion piece, Educators: why not embrace artificial intelligence writing tools. Let’s make cheating even easier, why don’t we?  This will become an educator’s nightmare, but there are those who like this technology as a mother whose teen son struggles with a learning disability urged him to turn in an essay written by ChatGPT. I am so grateful I don’t have to deal with AI technologies.

Many Canadians believe critical race theory (CRT) isn’t prevalent in Canadian schools, falsely believing critical race theory is just an American issue. The article, Critical Race Theory In Canadian Schools, suggests otherwise. I touched on CRT in schools in my previous post. What is CRT all about? The article, What Is Critical Race Theory? describes CRT as a “way of thinking about America’s history through race,” and it focusses on the idea that racism is systemic in a country’s institutions. This theory argues that a country’s institutions work to keep white people in a powerful position. Those against CRT say it is trying to rewrite American history, and tells white people that they are innately racist, and should feel guilty because of their white privilege. Those in favour of CRT argue that students get an incorrect picture of American history without this curriculum, and that it is damaging for students to think that racism, discrimination, and past injustices have no affect on society today.

You’re likely wondering what I think as a former educator. CRT should not be taught in our schools.  The problem with CRT is it focuses on what divides us—our differences—instead of what we have in common. No matter what a person’s beliefs, skin colour, or culture is, we are all united as humans. We need to focus on what unites and not what divides us. You may not think my view as worth much being I belong to the “privileged race,” so listen to what this African American says about CRT. He speaks truth.

CRT is indoctrination, and as the gentleman in the video says, it “keeps racism alive.” The Association for Psychological Science says, Young Children Are Especially Trusting of Things They’re Told. “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth” is a law of propaganda which is often attributed to Joseph Goebbels who was Hitler’s Reich Minister of Propaganda. Watch the video of Black ELEMENTARY Students Forcing White Kids To Pledge that black lives matter. That is what happens when kids become indoctrinated by CRT.

I’ll reiterate what a censured teacher said in an interview with the National Post who said, “Teaching is now a political act that involves indoctrinating children instead of educating them. There’s a lot of reason to be afraid. We are in a kind of cultural revolution and people really do need to pay attention.”

This insanity isn’t just affecting our schools. Parents are furious about ‘naked man’ entering a girls’ locker room in a Calgary swimming pool. I wrote about this in my last post. Then there is the Storytime drag protester to spend weeks in custody. This is a story about a Calgary man who protested a drag show geared towards kids who was denied bail after refusing to distance himself from future shows and drag performers. These protests prompted the mayor to outlaw protests by increasing enforcement at Calgary city hall. This new law prompted Calgary cops to plot to grab anti-drag protester. The Charter says Canadians have freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, but that’s only if you have the “right” viewpoint. In the province of Saskatchewan, there’s Steadfast support of Saskatoon’s trans community at a city council discussion. Saskatoon’s city council chambers were filled to capacity when people came to speak on the topic of public change room access for trans people. Listen to the video where an 11-year-old expresses fears about the policy.

Ontario considering banning TikTok in public schools. This is not a bad policy as the app has consequences for children. There are concerns about potential data breaches, and for the mental and physical health of children. The article refers to a survey that says many young Canadians believe excessive use of social media negatively impacts children’s mental health. Why just target TikTok? What about other social media platforms?

American Politician, Tom Allen said, “I think we have a moral obligation to our children that can be easily summarized: number one, protect them from harm.” Kids are being harmed with these absurd policies. As I said in my last blog post, “leave them kids alone.”

What is Happening to Our Schools?

Those of you who read my (#blogger #blog #somseason #YA #authors) blog know that I am a retired school teacher. Over the years, I’ve participated in and supervised many school events that were fun and brought joy to students. We’ve just had Valentine’s Day, and at one of the schools I taught at the High School Student Council would organize events like sending a flower, along with a message, to their boyfriends or girlfriends, to someone they secretly liked, or to someone they admired. Even I received a flower on occasion. This tradition made people feel special and appreciated. I always thought it was a wonderful activity, so you can imagine how shocked I was to read about an Ontario school who banned Valentine’s Day. What is so wrong with Valentine’s Day?  It’s a day of tradition where one’s beloved is honoured. Their reasons for prohibiting this day are lame to say the least.

Then there is the BC elementary school cancels Mother’s Day, introduces ‘The Grownups Who Love Us Day’. Why are they trying to erase motherhood and fatherhood from our culture? The school’s reasoning behind the name change is so that all students can feel included in card-making. They claim students with one parent or with a deceased parent are excluded. I went to school with classmates whose mother or father had passed away. It wasn’t an issue then, so why now?

Then there is the New Brunswick (NB) school that silences Oh Canada, Canada’s National Anthem. That’s insanity. NB is a province in Canada. Apparently, Oh Canada is no longer a daily morning event at Belleisle Elementary as the school’s principal dropped it to accommodate parents who didn’t want their children taking part singing the anthem. The principal wouldn’t say why the parents objected to their kids taking part, citing privacy reasons. I guess the “squeaky wheel gets the grease.” The trend nowadays is if something offends just one person, you ban it. As American conservative political commentator, Rush Limbaugh says, “It’s impossible to go through life not offending people. All you have to do is basically have an opinion on anything, and you’re gonna offend people,” or as English-born American political activist, Thomas Paine said, “He who dares not offend cannot be honest.” Stop banning things for a few whiners.

Something is terribly wrong. It seems our schools are becoming places where fun and tradition are banned, but some things schools are doing border on craziness. A Hamilton high school students fired from a hospital co-op placement over “OK” hand gesture. The student’s employer alleged that an “OK” hand gesture she made in a social media photo was a symbol of white supremacy. What? It usually denotes approval, agreement, and all is well or “okay.” Who decided it was a hate symbol? The best one yet is Math now racist according to Ontario court. Say what? Apparently Math Proficiency Tests are “unconstitutional” as it impairs non-white teacher candidates. I’m baffled! Ban proficiency tests, because they’re unfair to immigrant teachers, and allow the quality of teachers to decrease. Seems logical. I’m being sarcastic of course.

Spirit days were huge in the schools I worked in. We had crazy hair days, pajama days, crazy hat days, dress as your hero days, formal dress day, to name a few. They were fun for both teachers and students. Yet, an Ontario school board bans spirit days, wacky hair days for woke reasons. You see, fun days are banned because the school board claims spirit days need to be reimagined because many are racist, ableist (discrimination based on disability), exclusionary and push colonialism. Pardon me? Are they saying crazy hair days are racist or exclusionary? I guess the bald students are excluded, but in my 35 years of teaching, I never taught a student without hair. I worked with colleagues who lacked hair though. Forbidding kids to have fun in school is bullying (#bullying, #antibullying) plain and simple.

A University lecturer is disciplined for wearing Indigenous costume as teaching aid. Yes, you read that correctly. The professor dressed up as an Indigenous person because he was discussing a book about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He says he dressed up as an Indigenous person to get his students’ attention, and had reportedly worn other costumes in the weeks leading up to this incident while teaching other lessons. His behaviour was deemed inappropriate although the article fails to say how it’s inappropriate. I guess creative teaching is banned. No wonder students are bored. Then there is the Ontario teacher who is allowed to keep license after criticizing WOKE ideology, but we live in a country where free speech is allowed, right?

Where things really get bizarre are the positions taken by authorities regarding sex education and gender issues. Take for example the Waterloo school board trying to obliterate debate over sexualized children’s books. The board decided not to post the video of a controversial public meeting where a long-serving teacher was cut off for questioning the value of two highly sexualized children’s books in school libraries. Another School Board cuts mom’s mic for reading GRAPHIC assignment given to daughter. I guess it’s okay for 15-year-olds to read these assignments but inappropriate for a mother to read it to the School Board whiling expressing her horror. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

Then there is the Ottawa school board gender guide that says teachers can’t question washroom preferences. The board orders teachers to accommodate students who wish to use the opposite sex’s change rooms, affirming that “self-identification” is the only determinant of a student’s gender. When I was in school, students were disciplined for going into the opposite sex’s washrooms. I guess it’s okay in today’s schools. Most disturbing is the Masturbation homework given to B.C. junior kindergarten students. Yes, you read that right; kindergarten students. Kindergarten students are as young as 4 years old. The teacher sent home a masturbation worksheet taken from a guide called “Body Smart: Right From the Start.” When I was teaching, we would have been severely reprimanded, if not fired, for doing such a thing.

Then there is the university Professor who says let’s ditch the term pedophile for ‘minor-attracted person’. I have nothing to say about that, except to quote author Mike Lew who said, “The rape of a child is a violent act of contempt, not an expression of sexuality or affection.”

Edmonton, an Alberta city, is embedding “anti-racism” into the kindergarten-to-grade 6 curriculum, as explained in the news article, Edmonton to teach kindergarteners “anti-racism” curriculum. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is controversial to say the least, and that’s a whole other blog post. True North columnist Sue-Ann Levy says, “School boards…are already trying to indoctrinate kids as young as kindergarten with this very dangerous CRT philosophy, which is divisive and racist in its selectivity.”  I couldn’t agree more. CRT is indoctrination.

The National Post columnist, Rex Murphy: Toronto school board takes lunacy to a whole new level. He talks of a Toronto School board who is contemplating censoring a Jewish trustee who complained about anti-Semitic materials. What is there to say about that?  I guess it is okay to have students read anti-Semitic books as well as sexualized children’s books.

A new Leger poll reveals reports that Canadians agree with Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre that Canada is broken. The poll says 67% of Canadians agree with the statement made by a Canadian politician who stated that “it feels like everything is broken in this country right now”. I have to agree! Canada’s schools certainly are broken. American football player, Justin James (J.J) Watt, said, “What I remember most about high school are the memories I created with my friends.” I guarantee you those memories were not teacher lessons. Memories came from fun. Stop taking the fun out of schools. Stop this madness!

Was I One Those Teachers Who Smothered Creativity, or Indoctrinated Children?

A commentary on our education system.

Several months ago, a news article came across one of my news feeds titled, We are born creative geniuses and the education system dumbs us down, according to NASA scientists. My immediate reaction was: No way was I a part of a system that “dumbs down” kids. I made them smarter. The truth was, this headline disturbed me, and when I first saw it, I ignored it and never bothered to read it, thinking I’ll read it some time later. Well, later is here, and I read the article. Here is the jest of the article.

Scientists gave a test that looks at the ability to come up with new, different, and innovative ideas to 1,600 children between the ages of 4 and 5. What they found was that 98 percent of children fell into the genius category of imagination?  The scientists were so astonished that they decided to make it a longer study and tested the children again five years later when they were ten years old. The result? Only 30 % of the children fell in the genius category of imagination. When the test was given at the age 15, the figure had dropped to 12%. Curious about adults, they tested them as well. Shockingly, only 2% of adults are still in contact with their creative genius after years of schooling.

The results were replicated more than a million times, implying that the school system robs us of our creative genius. That is especially disturbing to me because that means I played a part in it. I was a school teacher for 35 years. I had to ask myself: Did I really “dumb down” kids? I refused to believe it, but these results suggest otherwise. This bothered me, so I set out to prove otherwise.

The Huffpost’s article, How Schools Are Killing Creativity, says this about schools.

You were bullied, made fun of, and you had this teacher that told you to stop dreaming and live in reality. So what did you learn at school? You learned to stop questioning the world, to go with the flow, and that there’s only one right answer to each question. The “whys” you have always wanted to ask are never on the test, and they are omitted from the curriculum.

I had to admit, there is a lot of truth in that. I taught in a system that gave standardized tests which counted 50% of the student’s final mark. My focus as a teacher was preparing students for the government test, so I’ll be honest, all creativity went out the window. We didn’t have time to create and look at a diversity of viewpoints. We taught only what we had to in order to  prepare students for the test.

Benjamin Greene, founder of Britain’s biggest brewery says, “The biggest atrocity of all is to indoctrinate our children into a system that does not value their creative expression, nor encourage their unique abilities.”  I would have to agree, and sadly, I had to admit I may have contributed to it.

During my research, I came across numerous articles suggesting that our school systems indoctrinate children. This was even more disturbing to me, as in my mind, there was no way I was a part of a system that indoctrinated kids. I was preparing them for life and the “real world.”  Was I naive?

Most dictionaries define indoctrination as, “The process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.” American Journalist and author, Peter Hitchens said, “Is there any point in public debate in a society where hardly anyone has been taught how to think, while millions have been taught what to think?” Do our education systems teach children what to think? Having been in the education business, I would have to say yes.

Curriculum presents a point of view, and even though we as teachers try to teach kids to think critically, they are reluctant to do so. Students resist thinking critically, unless forced to, and with standardized tests, they didn’t have to for most part. Richard Dawkins, in his book, The God Delusion said, “Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.” I must agree. I believe we as an educational system have failed to teach our students how to think for themselves, or at least do it well. Instead we teach them “facts” to learn for a test.

American astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “When Students cheat on exams it’s because our School System values grades more than Students value learning.”  Therein lies the flaw with the education system. There were thousands of times during my career when students would say to me, “Just tell me what I need to know for the test.”

American journalist, H.L. Mencken said, “The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed a standard citizenry, to put down dissent and originality.”  Are we teaching kids to be submissive? If we are, I am troubled!

I taught in the Catholic School System, and so I had to ask: Do Catholic schools indoctrinate? Catholic Answers’ article, In Defense of Indoctrination, does not hesitate to admit that Catholic schools indoctrinate, for it states:

…indoctrination itself is not wrong, because children have to be taught something in order to grow up to be functional members of society. The question is, what should they be taught? This means that Catholics and other Christians should have the right teach their children about God and his moral law without being unfairly labeled as practitioners of “indoctrination.”

Maclean’s article, Why are schools brainwashing our children? maintains that education systems in the Western world are “brainwashing” young children to be social activists, saying,

Increasingly, faculties of education in Canada and much of the Western world are preparing their student teachers to weave social justice throughout the primary school curriculum…as well as into a range of cross-curricular activities, events, and projects. The idea is to encourage kids to become critical analysts of contemporary issues, empathetic defenders of human rights and gatekeepers of the beleaguered Earth.

Is that a bad thing? Depends who you ask.  An article by The Federalist, says,

Many people have long suspected that governments sometimes attempt to indoctrinate their people to increase the government’s own power and influence. Unfortunately, ambitious governments will not stop at merely controlling what their people can do; they must control their minds.

The article goes on to say,

Few people seem to have a clear definition of indoctrination, and thus call anything they dislike indoctrination (e.g., “Leftists professors are indoctrinating their students,” “Those fundamentalist Christians are indoctrinating their kids,” or “Facebook is indoctrinating its users.”).

What is the solution to indoctrination then?  This same article states:

The only real solution to indoctrination, then, is good teachers. Good teachers (which include parents, mentors, and other knowledgeable adults) train students in methods of thought while supplying the stuff of thought. They teach a person to evaluate an argument properly, find actual solutions to problems, and determine what is true and what is false.

I tried to be one of those teachers, and it’s true! Most of the articles related to indoctrination and the education system are critical of the system’s use of a LGBQT Inclusive Curriculum, or promotion of a liberal agenda, or a conservative one, or a sex-education curriculum that they believed promoted promiscuity, and on and on. All maintained that the school system is indoctrinating children. According to the definition of indoctrination, they are. The reality is, you cannot remove viewpoints from school systems, as every curriculum designer, and every teacher has their point of view.  Is that Good? Depends on your perspective.

As far as I am concerned, if teachers are ‘indoctrinating’ kids to stand up for human rights and to protect the planet, then I am proud that I was one of those teachers. I say bravo to the teachers who do so. If our educational systems are stifling creativity and teaching kids to be submissive, then shame on them. As The Federalist article says, teachers must be allowed to teach their students “to evaluate an argument properly, find actual solutions to problems, and determine what is true and what is false.”