[July 27th] - "Oh, if our educational system was more like the 'continent' countries" one teacher friend said to me recently. "Continent countries?" I asked. "Sure, y'know, France, England, like that. There system is more student-inclusive then ours -- they have the opportunity to experience more than our kids do."

Roger that.

I recently read an article written by a British undercover reporter who posed as a substitute teacher at several secondary schools in their public school system. She was stunned. I am aghast. When I think of the British, I always picture the "stiff upper lip," very proper and well dressed types that I remember during my visits there when I was younger and living in the Middle East. Not any more. I don't want to bore you by repeating what she wrote. Click on the link above and read her story, and then tell me if you think that American education should take a page from the British.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 9:13 AM 0 comments

[July 25th] - Just when you thought it was safe to send your kids back to the classrooms this fall, the battle over ebonics has returned.

The San Bernadino School district has decided to again make African American slang part of the educational process. School officials indicated that by making the classroom "more fun," they would be better able to keep the kids interested in their studies.

Uh-huh.

I ran a business for 15 years, and when job seekers sat down for an interview, I never looked at their resume or job application. I was interested in how they communicated, how they held themselves. A high school graduate with good communication skills would always get the job over a college graduate who couldn't speak well. Now, young men and women who are already being taught in a system bereft of concern for its student's long-term well being, are reinforcing a way of talking that outside of their neighborhood is indicative of poor education and poor communication skills. By using the ebonics system, the San Bernadino school district will ultimately be making it harder for these young kids to succeed in college and ultimately thrive in our society's business world.

C'mon, San Bernadino. Aren't we making it hard enough for these children to succeed as it is without adding ebonics to the growing list of roadblocks they must face? Wassup wit dat?

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 2:32 PM 0 comments

[July 24th] - Since the September 11th attacks, Americans have tried to understand why young Muslim men carry so much anger towards the United States. Many, including the federal government, have surmised that Muslim schools are teaching a bastardized version of both Islam and the Koran. Mulahs, it is believed, latch onto these young boys at their most impressionable period, and "create" these men of hate who are so willing to kill both themselves and others in the name of a perverted religion. This may or may not be true. I have never been to one of these schools, so I cannot say with accuracy if this happens. However, doesn't anyone else find it curious this same type of one-sided education is happening right here in our own back yards, and yet no one says a word?

Today's students don't have much of a chance. Gone are those special teachers who knew so much and taught so creatively that they both educated and entertained. Today's new teacher's are often provided a lesson plan to follow. Certain words and phrases, many ideas and beliefs are taboo. The discussion of abortion is fine as long as the teacher's lesson plan supports "Roe V. Wade" and doesn't provide equal time to those who disagree. Homosexuality is also a teachable subject. Many teachers and school districts bring in representatives from Gay and Lesbian organizations to offer their point of view. Of course, it would be "mean spirited" to offer the view that homosexuality is somehow wrong, so the students only get one side of this story. History text books are excised and scrubbed of reality because certain words and images are "stereotypes" and "anti" somebody or something.

I believe that students, especially in high school, deserve the opportunity to be exposed to as many ideas and beliefs as possible, even ones I don't like. That's democracy. But it's not democracy when the other side of an issue is abridged or erased altogether as a result of political ideology. Bring in a gay man, bring in someone who disagrees with the gay lifestyle. Let a feminist teach the class for a day, give the same opportunity to a "traditional" woman. Offer both sides and then discuss the new information. But that's not happening. Because of the seriously liberal bent of the NEA and most of it's state affiliates, no effort is given to fairness. It's all about the politics. Kids don't understand this. Kids, especially younger ones, can't tell when information is missing from a lesson plan They don't know that part of the equation is missing.

It is the responsibility of all teachers, regardless of their ideology, to present all pertinent facts when discussing a subject of importance. To do any less is to do what many Americans blame the Muslim teachers of doing, which is to indoctrinate, and not educate. If we don't like it happening in Riyadh or Beirut, Cairo or Mecca, then we must stop it from happening in New York and Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami.

It's the only right thing to do.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 10:48 AM 0 comments

[July 23rd] - My teacher friends always say the same thing when we discuss the National Education Association. Out here in Idaho, teachers who fully support the NEA are few in numbers. But many apologize for the union's actions and tell me that we must look past the NEA, and see the good the Idaho Education Association does. Now, they're right of course. As Vice President in 2003-04, and President the following year of the IEA Student Program at Idaho State University, I have attended many meetings in Boise with the IEA leadership. They are wonderful people, all of them. But to be part of the IEA, you have to also be part of the NEA, and that therein lies the problem.

At the recent national meeting, the NEA voted on dozens of resolutions that would effect the policy of the association. The first 14 resolutions had nothing to do with education. What was more important than the children? The NEA voted to investigate companies as to their position on Social Security privatization. They voted to sponsor "political training" for candidates who were "friendly" to the NEA and their policies. They also voted to demand a military withdrawal from Iraq. My personal favorite: Join other union organizations in an "Anti Wal-Mart" campaign. What?

Although as a conservative, I don't agree with very much of the liberal dogma that comes out of the NEA, I nonetheless support the right of any person or organization to espouse their views. I'd rather listen to someone I don't agree with than the sounds of silent contempt. But this isn't the "National Liberal Political Association." The NEA's sole responsibility should be to create the best possible educational environment for the young men and women of this country. Anything else doesn't matter. In states like Washington, where belonging to the union is mandatory, the NEA's radical agenda doesn't matter in terms of recruitment. But in "right to work" states like Idaho, being part of the union is optional. The last numbers I saw indicated that just under 60% of Idaho teachers belong to the IEA/NEA. In talking to the teachers who are not members, the answer is almost universal: "I'm not going to be part of an organization whose politics is so different from mine."

Not only is the singularly liberal NEA not helping children with their political agenda, they are driving away potential future members. In regions of the United States where Americans are the most religious are the regions where the union has lost the most of its membership. New professional organizations are growing nationwide to offer politically neutral havens for teachers. I am a member of the IEA/NEA because I wanted to see for myself if my preconceptions were true about them. In my opinion, they were. I am also a member of the NWPE, a professional organization based out of Spokane Washington.

After three years of feeling like "a fish out of water" with the NEA, I am "home" with the NWPE. Again, I have only good things to say about the IEA and its leadership; I cannot and will not be associated in any way with the NEA. I support other teachers who choose to be part of the NEA, and I hope they support my decision not to be a part of the organization.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 9:11 AM 0 comments

[July 12th] - The National Education Association has taken another step to create a stronger association with the Gay & Lesbian community. Representatives of the local and regional associations voted this past weekend to create a new and more sophisticated strategy to combat what they perceive as a "attacks" against NEA policies that provide a safe and friendly environment for Gays and Lesbians within America's schools. The "Washington Times" quotes the chairman of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus of the NEA, who asserted that "extremist groups are using increasingly sophisticated and aggressive tactics to attack school districts with affirming GLBT policies, curriculum, and practices." As is usually the case, when a conservative member of the meeting rose and and reminded the caucus that the NEA continues to ignore groups who represent "ex-gays," that being gay is not in and of itself a rigid lifestyle, the member was booed from the floor for several minutes before NEA President Reg Weaver brought the discussion to a close. A member of the meeting said that the NEA believes that members who speak out against the NEA's pro-homosexual ideology are "plants" from the religious right.

No. They are parents and concerned teachers who don't want sexual choice politicized in the school system.

The NEA does not represent the vast majority of American families and many of its teachers. They represent the far left of the Democratic party, a group whose goal is to change the value system of America from within the schools. How do I know this? Because I have been a member of the NEA for three years.

I am a student at Idaho State University. I will begin my teaching career in a year or so. I have joined the IEA/NEA to see if my concerns about the union were correct. I was Vice President of the student program, and became President last year. Much of what I heard at the Presidents meetings seemed like it came right out of the Democratic handbook. Don't get me wrong, the people were wonderful; each and every one of them were top notch teachers. But even in Idaho, the long arm of the NEA reached out and touched a few on the left who made if difficult to be a moderate or conservative and still remain part of the union. There are just so many jokes about George Bush's intelligence that a person can take. There are just so many standing ovations for John Kerry that one can listen to. I respect the right of anyone to support any candidate, but not once did a conservative in these meetings feel comfortable saying something positive about the President or his party.

The people the NEA are going to fight regarding it's pro-Gay & Lesbian stand are the parents of the children they are entrusted to teach. We are the "radical element" that they are preparing to "go to war" with. In 1972, a socialite lamented in a post election party, "How could Nixon have been re-elected. I don't know a soul who voted for him." Nixon Won 49 of the 50 states. This is the problem with the NEA. They don't "know" any conservatives and they don't care to. The NRA has the same problem. When you don't come in contact with those who disagree, you believe that those who disagree with your views are irrelevant and radical.

I can live with the Gay & Lesbian lifestyle being taught in my local schools as long as both sides of the story are being discussed, but the NEA simply won't have any of that. And so, another layer of the union has been peeled away because more and more teachers don't feel comfortable supporting their singularly monolithic views. I am now a member of a professional teacher's organization, the NWPE based in Washington State.

One day, the president of the NEA is going to have a meeting and nobody will come. The NEA does many good things; I just hope they stick to teaching the children and not indoctrinating them.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 10:46 AM 0 comments

The following comes from the New York Times. In a recent survey of academics, 7 out of 8 are Democrats. This number is three times higher than it was in the 1970s. With those types of statistics, there has to be a liberal bias, right? Each and every one of those liberal professorial types must be working hard to transform their "middle-of-the-road" students to radical Berkeley types. Right? I mean, each of those six care only about creating a bunch of "mini-me's" to take over in the decades to come. Isn't that so?

As a conservative, I want very much to be able say with statistical accuracy that all of these Democratic teachers and professors are using their position to change the future of our country. But I can't. Oh sure, some of them do, maybe many of them, but it's not part of some predetermined plan created by the liberals. Liberals by design are more radical, more "in your face" then conservatives. They tend to wear their politics on their sleeves. The stories we hear about professors who force students to write anti-Bush essays are true, but they don't happen very often, and they aren't limited to the liberal left. A professor at Bob Jones University once forced a student to write over and over that "Darwin is a loon." It comes from both sides Is it bias? No. It's passion.

I am a junior at Idaho State University. Even here in the most conservative state in the union, we have liberal professors. My first was Dr. Shein, an English professor. She was funny and she was smart, and seemed like a good professor. During the first week, we got on to the topic of Native Americans and British Settlers. She referred to the colonizers as "European Invaders." I went quietly ballistic. Throughout the semester, I worked hard, but never forgot what she said. I listened to every word she said for more proof of her "bias." But a strange thing happened. She taught me how to think differently. She showed me how to see things from a different perspective. I never agreed with much of what she said politically, but I learned to respect her views. That was something very new for me.

So this liberal professor, this one of the six out of seven, taught me not how to be a liberal, she taught me how to think like an adult, to see and respect both sides. If this is the scary liberal professor my conservative friends have warned me about, then there is no reason to be concerned. Dr. Shein, and professors like her, are doing their job by making their students think. Sure, castrate the bad ones, but don't blame all the professors for the act of a few.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 1:27 PM 0 comments

This afternoon, yet another article was published about yet another survey that showed yet again that "abstinence only" sex education programs don't work. It was created and paid for by a group led by Planned Parenthood.

These groups have the best interests of our children in mind. However, the kids don't use the information as these groups suggest they do.

The picture above shows several high school girls having a weekend party. Of course, alcohol is part of the fun. The blonde girl is holding a "sex information" booklet that is given out through their school. Those that think that our children will use these guidelines as "protection" don't much remember what it was like to be a kid. Look at the faces of these girls. I chose this image out of the dozen or so in the group because you can't make out whats on the pages. The others, however, were very graphic. In very basic, coloring book type of line drawings, the book shows how a girl should "handle" touching a man. The girls see the book as an owners manual for their sexuality, a tacit approval by adults to pretty much do whatever they want with their bodies.

The article I read this afternoon underscored that abstinence doesn't work, that our schools should provide not only the "how to" instruction about sex, but provide the necessities to make "safe sex" safe.

Look again at these girls. None of this is about not getting pregnant or passing along sexually transmitted diseases. It's about being as free as possible, as young as possible, to enjoy ones sexuality.

And that's not the place of our schools.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 7:39 PM 0 comments

[July 3rd] - Speaking at the NEA's annual meeting, union President Reg Weaver announced that the NEA believes that the starting salary for the typical teacher should be $40,000 per year. Think about that for a second.

A young man, barely 21 and with a 4-year degree, working 9 months a year, should begin his career earning $40,000 a year, or about $28 an hour. Now don't get me wrong, I'm about a year away from getting that 4-year degree, and Lord knows, I'd love to earn $40,000 a year as I learned how to do my job. But it makes no sense, and this is precisely the reason that so many teachers in right-to-work states are leaving the unions and joining professional organizations. The president of the largest teachers union says he is going to use all of his "political clout" to make this happen, yet he admits that he has no idea how much this might cost a school district.

Well, let's consider Mr. Weaver's proposal on one elementary school here in my community. This school has 26 teachers. The starting wage here is $27,500. To be fair, you'd have to increase all teachers salary or first year teachers would be making more than 10 year veterans. So if a first year teacher earns $13,000 per year more, then all teachers would have to have a similar increase. This one elementary school would require an additional $338,000 a year. Of course, Reg Weaver knows this will never happen, but it's a good "red meat" issue for his members.

But it makes the union and union members seem unreasonable. It takes a highly specialized degree to earn that kind of money in the first year of any career, and I can say that, three-quarters of the way through my degree, that there is nothing specialized about it. It's a good degree, but not the kind that's worth $40,000 a teacher's first year.

I love teachers. I look forward to being one. But teacher's need to be reasonable. Let's begin by telling Reg Weaver that perhaps, just perhaps, he's off base about this whole "starting salary" idea.

# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 7:05 PM 0 comments