A few weeks ago, when I finished the book reviewed in last week’s bulletin, I knew some other people would be interested in its contents. One of those was Bronwen McClish. Within a few days she had revealed to me some interesting and valuable information. I asked her to put in writing what happened; the following words are hers.
When Gary introduced me to Brave New Schools by saying, “This book will really scare you,” I was skeptical. After all, I thought to myself, I had read similar works-such as Child Abuse in the Classroom by Phyllis Schlafly and The Closing of the American Mind by Allan Bloom-and, while alarming, they weren’t actually SCARY.
However, I read Brave New Schools, and the more I read, the more frightened I became. As the single parent of a 10-year-old daughter, I prayed fervently that I would be given wisdom and courage to fight this “New World Order” in the schools when I encountered it. (I thought junior high would likely be the first time I did.)
The very day I finished reading Brave New Schools Paige came home from school and informed me that in Social Studies this six weeks the subject was the Mayan civilization. She and her classmates had made “pretend” sacrifices to the Mayan rain god (in a game) in order to appease him!! To say that I was horrified was a gross understatement. I gathered my scattered wits and explained (as calmly as possible) that as Christians, we don’t “play at” worshipping idols because God is the ONLY God, and even “pretending” to worship a false god is tantamount to mocking the Almighty.
After that misunderstanding was straightened out, I talked to my parents and Gary, confirming my original impulse that a parent-teacher conference was imperative. I practiced what I was going to say to Paige’s teacher, who heretofore had been wonderful. My mother went to the conference with me, and we both dreaded it.
When I stated that, as a Christian, I was VERY concerned about the idea of children even pretending to make a sacrifice to a so-called “rain god,” and that I did not want Paige doing this activity or anything similar in scope, the teacher apologized and stated that this particular unit study on Mayan culture had “sneaked up” on her. She said she had tried to make it as harmless as possible and to emphasize that it was “just pretend.”
My mother pointed out that if children were encouraged to play games of this sort and take an active role in pagan “sacrifices,” they might well come to equate a Mayan rain god with the Creator of the universe.
Paige’s teacher agreed and again apologized. She stated that “the curriculum was full of this sort of thing!” She added that she is usually aware of and omits the New Age slant, “but sometimes it just slips by me, like this did.” She was very sympathetic to my concerns (and my mother’s) and assured us that she would try very hard not to let anything like this happen again.
This teacher is a faithful member of an Evangelical denomination; after talking extensively with her, my mother and I were reassured that she is wise to the New Age cloak of “diversity” and “multi-culturalism.”
We were lucky this time, this year, with this teacher. But there is no sense of complacency-only growing concern and alarm for my child’s education in the Brave New Schools.
–Bronwen McClish
Although one wonders how this teacher can be wise to “multi-culturalism” and let pagan sacrifices “slip by,” at least this teacher was open to discussion on this matter. She did not take refuge in the common excuse of, “Well, nobody’s ever complained about it before.”
But here we have teachers who are being given this multi-cultural stuff to teach. Not all of them will have the scruples to delete some of the objectionable activities out of the program. While it might be of interest to study Indian civilizations, there can be no justification for offering sacrifices to the rain god. Certainly these ideas should not be taught from the perspective that what they did was valid. Their sacrifices did not bring rain or bountiful harvests; much of what they practiced involved superstition, and it should be presented that way.
Regardless of what the curriculum includes (and some of them are getting pretty bad), the teacher has the final determination in how to present the material to her class. She may teach the information as an ancient curiosity or with the idea that some of these things might work. The danger is that superstitions might be placed on a par with truth and evidence. And if parents do object, she might vindictively tell the class, “We were going to practice pretend sacrifices and make a dreamcatcher, but unfortunately some ‘Christian’ parents won’t let us.” Imagine the fourth or fifth graders going, “Aww,” and thinking how bad Christianity must be to keep all the “fun” stuff out of school.
More parents will undoubtedly be facing the same situation that Bronwen described; they too need to speak the courage of their convictions. Private schools and home-schooling are viable options for many, but not all. Conscientious parents will monitor what their children are learning, realizing that their offspring are their responsibility, not the NEA’s.