John A. Stormer has written other books: in fact, many people probably still have a copy of None Dare Call It Treason. This latest effort was published just last year by Liberty Bell Press in Florissant, Missouri 63032 (P. O. Box 32, if ordering direct). Everything that is stated is documented; there are 345 endnotes in the back of the book, and it is also indexed.
The subject matter is American education, which may not sound like a spiritual topic, but it certainly is relevant when our children are taught moral values and ethics that conflict with their parents’ values, as well as those of Christianity. If schools could achieve some semblance of neutrality relating to values, such a goal would not be objectionable; but no attempt is being made along those lines. Instead, some have in mind actually subverting Christian values. Consider the following paragraph, for example:
Every child in America entering school at the age of 5 is mentally ill because he comes to school with certain allegiances to our founding fathers, toward our elected officials, toward his parents, toward a belief in a supernatural being, and toward the sovereignty of this nation as a separate entity. It’s up to you as teachers to make all these sick children well–by creating the international child of the future (70).
Who would make such an insane and arrogant statement–one which in essence says that parents teach their children the wrong values and it is therefore up to schools to straighten them out? Who could be so pompous as to call patriotism and religion symptoms of mental illness? The person who spewed out this venom is Chester M. Pierce, M.D., a professor of education and psychiatry at Harvard. These words were part of a speech he gave to educators at the Childhood International Education Seminar in Denver, in 1973 (70).
We may be tempted to think this radical statement is not typical of today’s educational philosophy, but there is much more evidence to consider before making such a hasty judgment. Certainly, many teachers do not hold such views, but they may be diminishing in number. Already, some teachers unabashedly defend secular humanist doctrines, such as evolution, amorality, and a one-world society. Many others who reject such ideas may nevertheless follow curriculum guidelines, not realizing some of the ways they are actually propagating humanistic philosophy.
The first chapter answers the question, “What Are Schools Doing to Our Children Academically?” The author cites a case in which a student is receiving an A in Algebra, but cannot solve a simple mathematical equation. The book that was being used minimized the need to develop mathematical skills since computer programs and calculators can do that sort of work. Furthermore:
The “algebra” book has “lectures” on endangered species, air pollution, facts about the Dogon people of West Africa, chili recipes, a discussion of hot peppers and the role zoos should play in society (2).
This textbook was protested before the United States Senate by Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) on June 9, 1997 (1). This incident also gave rise to a December, 1997 Reader’s Digest article: “Why Our Kids Can’t Do Math.”
Many more examples of academic deficiency are noted in this chapter. [During our Vacation Bible School I asked 5th-6th graders when Columbus sailed to America, which does not seem unreasonable for that age group (considering that Columbus Day remains on most calendars). They placed it in the late 1700s, which would actually fall after the Revolutionary War. Children cannot be blamed for their ignorance. They cannot know what they have not been taught.]
Chapter 2 deals with the crucial issue: “What Are the Schools Doing to Our Children Morally?” Most of this material deals with the emphasis in many schools of teaching sexuality too early and presenting homosexuality as normal. The author mentions that 1200 copies of It’s Elementary–Talking About Gay Issues in School (which we lowlighted in Spiritual Perspectives published on July 4th) “have been sold to educational institutions for teacher training” (22). Parents in Massachusetts sued Falmouth High School for putting condom vending machines in school restrooms. “The Supreme Court refused to overturn a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling which allowed the policy” (27). Parents should consider carefully the words of Texas Federal District Judge Melinda Harmon, who ruled that “parents give up their rights when they drop children off at public school” (27).
Chapter three explains how some are “Using America’s Schools To Create ‘A New Social Order.'” This goal is a long-standing one, and the author traces some of its history back into the 1930s with John Dewey, George Counts, and Harold Rugg. It is informative to see the origins of some of the current trends.
The fourth chapter demonstrates how current textbooks are undermining marriage, family, home, the sanctity of life, work attitudes, absolutes, honesty, authority, and the existence of God. A book called Homemaking Skills for Everyday Living tells girls as young as the sixth grade that some people have a “till love do us part” attitude toward marriage, that marriage is a “short term goal,” and that divorce is “an acceptable way of solving” marital problems (43-44).
Other books encourage adolescents to experiment sexually. The Sex Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS) has guidelines for all ages of school children. Enumerating them here would prove too embarrassing, but the following recommendations for children ages 5 through 8 will set the tone for these guidelines. At this tender age boys and girls are to be taught that they “have body parts that feel good when touched” (50). No teacher or program has any business discussing these matters with youngsters (and it is usually without parents’ knowledge or permission). Homosexuality is also a part of SIECUS’s recommendations. For the 12 to 15 age group, students would be taught that sexual “orientation cannot be changed by therapy or medicine” (50).
Some books, in their enthusiasm to promote a one-world society, actually have captions under photographs in textbooks, which read, “United Nations troops going ashore on D-Day” (72). That would be a pretty good trick, since the United Nations was not even formed until 1945 (D-Day being June 6, 1944). Others omit significant events altogether. One textbook quotes the Declaration of Independence in the following manner: “All men are created equal…with certain unalienable rights” (81). What was omitted? Those three dots take the place of “that they are endowed by their Creator.” Must we rewrite history in order to get every vestige of God out of the public schools?
Some textbooks are replacing B.C. and A.D. with new abbreviations, B.C.E. and C.E., standing for “before the common era and the common era” (89). If the academic world adopts these designations, how long will it be until there is a bill in Congress, calling for change?
Chapter five, “The Revolution We Lived Through,” recounts the recent history of the past forty years and is followed by “The New Generation of Reformers.” Lamar Alexander, who just recently dropped out of the 2000 Presidential race is one of those. He related his vision of the new American school as being one that “would be open year round–open from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m.” and “serve children from age three months to eighteen years of age.” (104). The features of the “Goals 2000” program are also discussed, and they are frightening.
The seventh chapter deals with the School-To-Work program (it goes by a number of other names, also). Part of this approach involves “helping” youngsters decide on their careers–even before they reach high school, and setting up files that will follow them, not just through school, but through life. This material must be read to be believed.
Many people have heard of this controversy, but chapter eight provides a wealth of information about “Using Outcome-Based Education to Modify Children’s Behavior.” Dr. Benjamin Bloom, the “grandfather of OBE,” admits: “The purpose of education is to change the thoughts, feelings and actions of students.” No less a personage than Congressman Henry Hyde has charged the Goals 2000 program as a catalyst “for dumbing down our schools and changing the character of the nation through behavior modification.” (135). The means and details of such then follow.
Chapter nine is titled “Schools Are Being Transformed Into Mental Health Centers.” The practices set forth in this section concern yet more things that are attempted without parental consent and, “If a permission slip is sent home and placed in the student’s file, and a refusal is not returned within seven days, treatment is deemed to be ‘authorized'” (157).
Chapter ten does not discuss things that might happen if certain humanists had their way (as some of the material in this book does); it describes what has already happened to the talented and gifted children who have participate in Arkansas’s “Governor’s School,” instituted by the Clintons in 1979. Each year 400 top juniors participate in an intense six-week summer program at Hendrix College. “Students live on campus and are forbidden to have visitors except on Sundays or to leave the college grounds except for the 4th of July weekend” (159). The material in this chapter needs to be read in its context by all; it is too volatile to simply print a quote or two from. The following words from a former student in the program will have to suffice: “If my parents had known what was going on there, they wouldn’t have let me go” (162).
Chapter 11 concerns the NEA and its agenda. In 1967 NEA Executive Secretary Sam Lambert said: “The NEA will become a political power second to no other special interest group” (168). The NEA is controlled by radical liberals who do not reflect the views of a great percentage of teachers or the vast public of this nation. For example, “the NEA board of directors endorsed the Carter-Mondale presidential ticket over Reagan-Bush by a vote of 118 to 4” (174). More than 40% of teachers voted for Reagan-Bush, and an even greater number of the general population did. The 118 to 4 vote shows that the NEA is out of touch with the general public and extremely one-sided in its thinking. The NEA’s political action committee in 1996 spent $1,202,880 on Democratic candidates and $5,350 on Republicans (174).
The NEA supported the Communist Sandinistas in Nicaragua and were duly praised by the Communist Party U.S.A. (173). When reading through the material in this chapter, it becomes clear why American education is on the decline. In 1994 the NEA joined a coalition involving Penthouse magazine (Larry Flynt) and several gay and lesbian organizations (178). The public needs to know what the NEA stands for.
Stormer closes his book with suggestions about what people can do to change things. He does not advise that Christian parents either home school or send their children to private schools. His philosophy is that Christians ought to be salt and light and reform the system we have. In an ideal world we could agree with this approach, but then in an ideal world we would not have this problem. Most parents have not learned to deal with being demonized by educators and those in authority (not to mention any “objective” news coverage) as “right-wing extremists” whenever they try to make a stand for decency. Parents in some locales may become sufficiently organized to make a difference, but a few small victories here and there will have no appreciable effect on the NEA. We recommend the John Galt approach (from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged).
Let the secular humanists bear the fruits of their own policies. Let the parents who want to sue when God’s name is mentioned or dress standards are enforced have the public school system. Let them be taught that we are but descendants of apes and that human life has no value. When “Columbines” are occurring with greater frequency and other problems are out of control, maybe they will admit their philosophy has failed.
In the mean time, why not set up an alternative school system that seeks to restore the educational quality and values that we once had in this nation–one which neither asks for nor receives government money or vouchers? (It could be a national organization that allows local control.) Some will say this is too drastic a solution–that the public schools need students who can function as salt and light. But how many are converting those children to Christianity, and how many children of Christians are being converted to the world? Youngsters are not generally equipped to face the constant barrage of negative peer pressure, although some succeed. Regardless of the solutions, this book should stimulate thought–and hopefully action as well.