The public-school-mission-field myth

by Olivia St. John                                                                                        Vol. XX, No. 8, October 2007

Dear parents:  

The public school's downward spiral into moral oblivion continued last week when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1441, mandating that all organizations receiving any kind of state funds, including faith-based groups, portray homosexuality, bisexuality, and transexuality in a positive light. As a gemstone of all government intrusions, the measure also requires Christian schools to contradict their deeply held beliefs or forfeit government tuition assistance for their students. And this is only the first of four bills aimed at California schools by homosexual activists.

According to Ron Prentice, executive director of the California Family Council, many faith-based organizations doing excellent work will now be "forced to either discontinue taking funding or give up their principles."

"This isn't legitimate education; it's indoctrination on steroids," said Jan LaRue, Chief Counsel for Concerned Women for America.

With the above in mind, I have a few questions for you, parents of America.

Why do you continue to place your children in public schools when the practices of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality are becoming a centerpiece of so-called education?

Why do you fool yourselves into thinking that attending public school is an opportunity for your children to live in the "real world" and to be "properly socialized"?

I don't know about where you live, but in my state a teenager recently went on a shooting rampage on his local high school campus and, according to WRAL News, is now being held on "three counts of possessing weapons of mass destruction, two counts each of having a gun on educational property, injury to personal property and assault with intent to kill and inflict serious injury, and one count of discharging a weapon into occupied property." In schools where I live, teen boys push girls against their lockers in sexual play and toy with condoms in the halls while the teachers turn a blind eye. And I don't live in California.

If that's socialization, then thanks, but no thanks.

Or perhaps you're like some parents I've spoken with who insist their children are conducting great evangelistic crusades on their public school campus. The alarming fact is that, according to Dr. Robert Simonds with the Center for Excellence in Education, only 15 percent of Christian students in public schools keep their faith by the time they graduate from high school. Contrast that figure with the 98 percent of Christian homeschooled students who keep theirs. This isn't just in California. This is nationwide.

James Dobson with Focus on the Family, along with other prominent voices, is now urging parents to pull their children from the public schools.

What are you waiting for?

If you're concerned about your child influencing the world for good, then home education appears to be a good alternative. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, 71% of homeschool graduates participate in ongoing community service activities, compared to 37% of U.S. adults of similar ages. In fact, 76% of homeschool graduates surveyed between the ages of 18 and 24 voted within the last five years, while just 29% of the corresponding U.S. population could make the same claim.

Religious freedom is under harsh assault not only in California, but across the entire country as organizations like the National Education Association continue pushing homosexual agendas. This is a burning crisis. It has reached fever pitch, and liberal eyeballs are watching to check your temperature and see what you're going to do about it. Are you like the frog sitting in hot water as it boils your family to death?

As a parent, are you willing to give up your principles so that your child can attend public school and live in this so-called "real" world of distortions and lies?

If you're a pastor, what are you doing to help your congregation in this assault?

CWA's LaRue warned of worsening conditions if churches as a whole continue doing so little to oppose these assaults on traditional values. "Pastors, do we hear your voices speaking out to save the next generation from being led into an immoral and unhealthy lifestyle?" LaRue asked. "Some of you need to stop pretending that moral issues are only political. Stop hiding behind an illusory wall of separation between church and state and start speaking truth to government."

Another California bill awaits the pen of Gov. Schwarzenegger. According to Citizenlink.com, SB 1437 would mandate that all California public schools teach the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons and promote a positive portrayal of alternative sexual behavior to children as young as 5 years old. SB 1437 would also make it illegal to speak "adversely" of alternative lifestyles, effectively restricting freedom of speech in California's schools.

My final question to those of you with children in public schools is this: Should your child's moral, spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being depend on the fickleness of a governor's pen?

If not, then what are you waiting for?

It looks like the last school bell has rung and it's time to go home.

Home to homeschool.

[Reprinted with permission of WorldNetDaily.com]