Berit Kjos has researched well the information she presents in Brave New Schools, a 308-page book published just last year. Because some of the material she presents is so incredible (although well-documented), let’s look first at some thoughts from her introduction.
When my oldest son entered the public school system over two decades ago, our local elementary school seemed safe and friendly. A fatherly principal welcomed him, and friendly teachers used the same teaching techniques that had taught me to read and multiply long ago: phonics, drills, memorization. . . . How could I suspect that these proven teaching methods were about to be replaced by classroom experiments using children as guinea pigs for social engineering? I had no way of knowing that truth, facts, logic, and history would soon be replaced by an unrelenting emphasis on myths, feelings, imagination, and politically correct stories (7).
Public schools are not what they used to be; they have changed in a number of ways in the past thirty years. The author of Brave New Schools recounts some of the recent innovations and the philosophy behind them. Her chapter titles are listed below.
1. “New Beliefs for a Global Village”
2. “The International Agenda”
3. “A New Way of Thinking”
4. “Establishing Global Spirituality”
5. “Saving the Earth”
6. “Serving a Greater Whole”
7. “Silencing the Opposition”
8. “What You Can Do”
The first chapter begins with a scene that is becoming more and more familiar in classrooms around the nation. Imagine you are there to observe (15).
“Come to the medicine wheel!” The teacher’s cheery voice beckoned the Iowa fourth graders to a fun Native American ritual. “And wear your medicine bags.”
Jonathan grabbed his little brown pouch and hurried to his place. His favorite teacher made school so exciting! She brought Indian beliefs about nature into all the subjects-science, history, art, reading. She even helped the class start The Medicine Wheel Publishing Company to make writing more fun.
She taught Jonathan to make his own medicine bag-a deerskin pouch filled with special things, such as a red stone that symbolized his place on the medicine wheel astrology chart. This magic pouch would empower him in times of need, such as when taking tests. Jonathan wanted to show it to his parents, but his teacher said no. He didn’t know why.
Sitting cross-legged in the circle, the class chanted a song to honor the earth: The Earth is our Mother. . . .”
The reader may well wonder at this point, “Exactly what class is this, and why are parents not to know about their children’s school activities?” Although it might possibly fall into the category of history, it sounds more like multi-culturalism, in which everyone’s beliefs and ideas are rated as equal.
A few months ago I inadvertently tuned into Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. The “clergyman” school teacher was attempting to baptize the Indian boys he was teaching, much to the anger of at least one Indian parent, who shoved him down at least twice (which action no one protested). In fact, the show’s hero and heroine considered it an outrage that he taught the Indian children the Word of God, period. “Don’t try to make them something they’re not.” [There’s a great line. All people are sinners; the very purpose of preaching is to change people.]
But the situation was resolved by the end of the program. All the Indians sat in a circle and shared their traditions of how the world began. Even the teacher/minister was invited to participate (such magnanimity!). He joined the group: “I was taught that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
By this action the Bible is relegated to being just another man-made tradition, equivalent to the oral traditions of the Indians. This is the way that multi-culturalism works in the classroom. Everybody’s ideas and theories are given credence equal to the Truth. In other words, there is no such thing as Truth, right or wrong, good or evil, or any other absolutes.
Coincidentally (?), many schools have added studies in Indian lore to their grade school curricula. Some parents are beginning to wonder, “How can public schools promote Native American rituals but censure Christianity (22)?”
Many classrooms have added a little New Age flavor with their use of dreamcatchers, which are magical spider webs inside a sacred circle. If there is an amber crystal in the center, it means proper spiritual alignment with the energy of the universe (23). Isn’t it marvelous? Our nation’s young people may not be able to read, write, or do simple arithmetic problems, but they will probably be able to chant and perform incantations.
Parents need to begin scrutinizing their students’ textbooks and teachers closely; some members of Pearl Street have already discovered things similar to these in the schools in this area. [Of course, a great deal depends on the individual classroom teacher-what materials she decides to use, what she decides to emphasize.] More information will be provided next week.
Robert Muller and Alice Bailey
The author of this book visited Arlington, Texas a few years ago to see the original Robert Muller school. The director asked her, “Are you familiar with Alice Bailey?”
“Yes,” I nodded, well aware of the occult messages she channeled from her favorite spirit guide. “Didn’t she write books full of messages she received from the Tibetan Master, Djwhal Khul?”
Then she was given several of Alice Bailey’s books to look through, including Education in the New Age. Then she read from the Robert Muller World Core Curriculum Manual.
“The underlying philosophy upon which the Robert Muller School is based will be found in the teaching set forth in the books of Alice A. Bailey by the Tibetan teacher, Djwhal Khul. . .” (41-42).
Some might wonder, “So what?” The point is that Robert Muller’s World Core Curriculum is being recommended to various school systems and is being used by some in one form or another. And the core teachings of it come from Alice A. Bailey, a prominent and prolific New Age writer earlier in this century.
In other words, the moving force behind some of the new educational approaches is not a desire to teach the facts which students need to know; it’s to teach them about evolution, reverencing animal life on the same level as human life, reverencing Gaia (the ancient Earth goddess), emphasizing oneness on earth and a one-world government. The plan of these systems, to state it even more plainly, is to teach values-values that are contradictory to Christianity and what most parents believe.
“The New Paradigm”
This book contains several helpful charts such as the one on page 58 which compares the old and new paradigms (educational models) for teaching. The old system emphasized content, but the new one encourages being open to every kind of idea. The old paradigm graded performance; now the emphasis is upon having a healthy self-image (hence the apathy about correct answers in Outcome Based Education [OBE]). The old educational philosophy stressed analytical, linear thinking; the new one leans more toward intuitive strategies. Consider the writing assignment below given to tenth-graders.
You’re going to consult an oracle. It will tell you that you’re going to kill your best friend. This is destined to happen, and there is absolutely no way out. You will commit this murder. What will you do before this event occurs? Describe how you felt leading up to it. How did you actually kill your best friend? (55).
What kind of composition course is this? Apparently, it is one that goes beyond even “values clarification.”
Potpourri
Below are just a few of this book’s many quotes or comments that serve to alert parents concerning things currently happening in some of our nation’s schools.
Dr. Shirley McCune, addressing the 1989 Governors’ Conference on Education: The revolution. . .in curriculum is that we no longer are teaching facts to children (53).
Benjamin Bloom (“the father of Outcome Based Education”): the purpose of education and schools is to change the thoughts, feelings, and actions of students (66).
A father, looking at his child’s homework, discovered: . . .cutting down trees is the moral equivalent of genocide. . . (115).
Reaction to The Giver (the 1994 Newbery Medal winner): Stunned, Laura stared at her teacher. Would they really kill a baby if it didn’t weigh enough? The horrible image of the tiny infant, murdered and thrown down a chute like a piece of garbage, made her sick (135-36).
This is just a smattering of the objectionable materials and philosophies now being introduced to the public schools. Parents need to be informed about these matters; many children have become quite frightened and disturbed over such frightening ideas.
What has happened to the concept of bringing students in and teaching them the fundamental facts and skills they need to function adequately in the modern world? Teachers should not be asked to advance “politically correct” philosophies. Certainly, they have no right to teach values different from those of the parents, much less to do it surreptitiously. Many in the educational hierarchy obviously have an agenda to pursue rather than education goals to accomplish. Teachers have more important work to do than playing psychological games with their students. When teachers and textbooks return to an emphasis on fundamentals, perhaps high school graduates might know that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves (an apparently inconsequential fact which some history textbooks already omit).
The author also discusses the Certificate of Mastery (CIM), which may in some states soon replace the diploma and the new grading scale: A, B, and I.P. (In Progress) (214-25). Indexes include a “Chronology of Events” in the field of education and a “Glossary of Educational Terms.” The book provides many helpful hints in dealing with teachers and school systems. The author repeatedly mentions that a favorite ploy used on parents who complain about the curriculum is to tell them, “Nobody else has complained about it.” This book is well worth whatever it costs and can probably be obtained at just about any book store (Harvest House).