government schools Archives - The Florida Capital Star

Commentary: Rome’s Best Emperor Shunned Government Schools

December 18, 2023 Florida Capital Star Staff

The great classical scholar Edith Hamilton noted that the ancient Greeks frowned upon their Roman counterparts in regards to education. The former adopted public (government) schooling while the Romans left education to the family in the home. The snooty Greeks thought Romans were backward and unsophisticated. The Romans, of course, conquered the Greeks.

For most of the five centuries of the Republic, Romans were schooled at home where virtues of honor, character, and citizenship were emphasized. Not until the Republic’s last century or so did anything resembling government schooling emerge. Moreover, it was never so centralized, universal, and mandatory as it is in our society today. The English academic and cleric Teresa Morgan, in a 2020 paper titled “Assessment in Roman Education,” writes, “In no stage of its history did Rome ever legally require its people to be educated on any level.”

Massachusetts Pro-Family Group Warns Sex Is on School Calendar ‘All Year Long’

August 22, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

LGBTQ activists are seeking to ensure Massachusetts public schools are celebrating their agenda’s events throughout the academic year, Massachusetts Family Institute (MFI) warns parents.

“Sex on the school calendar has become commonplace all over the nation,” a downloadable document from MFI states.

Catholic Education Soaring in Popularity

July 28, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The annual conference this month of the Institute for Catholic Liberal Education offered an atmosphere of overall joy and confidence as Catholic schools committed to the teachings of the faith reported they “could not keep up with the demand” for their services, Mark Bauerlein, contributing editor at First Things, wrote this week.

Bauerlein appeared to revel in the stark contrast between the upbeat environment at the Catholic education conference which, he noted, featured tables run by “organizations dedicated to Western civilization, the liberal arts tradition, and Catholic study” that “offered materials blessedly free of the negative politics and rhetoric that fills the discourse of the National Education Association, the ed schools that train teachers, and all too many school boards.”

Former Mississippi Governor Points to Success of Legislation Leading State’s Fourth-Graders to Become Top Reading and Math Achievers

June 30, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Former Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant (R) is celebrating the “comeback story” of his state’s fourth graders, who ranked on 2022 national test scores as the nation’s top performers in reading, and second in math, following the enactment of literacy legislation he spearheaded that saved the state from its “dead-last ranking in the United States.”

U.S. 13-Year-Olds Show ‘Historic Declines’ in Math and Reading

June 23, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Math and reading achievement for 13-year-olds in the United States is at its lowest level in decades, according to test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) examination, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

According to results released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average mathematics score for 13-year-olds plunged nine points between the 2019‒20 and 2022‒23 school years, while the average reading score declined four points over the same time period.

New York State’s ‘Best Practice’ Document Urges Schools to Keep Child’s Gender Transition from Parents

June 20, 2023June 20, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

The New York State Department of Education (NYSED) published a “legal update and best practice” document last week that encourages schools to keep a child’s claim of a new gender identity from parents.

“The student is in charge of their gender transition and the school’s role is to provide support,” the document states. “Only the student knows whether it is safe to share their identity with caregivers, and schools should be mindful that some TGE [transgender and gender-expansive] students do not want or cannot have their parents/guardians know about their transgender status.”

Nickelodeon’s ‘Transformers’ Cartoon Pushes Trans Agenda on Children

May 13, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Nickelodeon’s Transformers: Earthspark cartoon has recently fallen prey to woke transgender ideology as the franchise that, for years, has caught children’s attention with creative and action-packed battles of good guys vs. bad guys, now includes discussions about “pronouns,” and “non-binary” beings.

In one clip from November, Morgan Malto, the lead nine-year-old character, instructs Optimus Prime, an old-timer robot, on why robot Nightshade uses different pronouns.

Heritage Author Asserts Goal of Leftist Lawmakers’ Demand for Ethnic Studies Curricula in Government Schools Is Erasure of American Culture

May 3, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation says leftist lawmakers in Democrat-led states such as Minnesota and California are feeding into a culture of victimization and identity politics with their plans for mandatory K-12 ethnic studies curricula, the goal of which, he says, is actually to erase American culture.

In an op-ed at the Washington Examiner Tuesday, Mike Gonzalez wrote that what is most disturbing about the leftist call for mandatory K-12 ethnic studies curricula in government schools is that most of the lawmakers proposing these bills are actually “not in the least bit interested” in learning about the minutiae of the hundreds of ethnic cultures represented in the United States. Rather, “they care only about American culture — or, at least, how to erase it.”

Massachusetts Boy Confronts School Board After Allegedly Being Punished for ‘There Are Only Two Genders’ Shirt: ‘Why Do the Rules Apply to One Yet Not Another?’

May 1, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

A 12-year-old Middleborough, Massachusetts school boy recently defended his First Amendment rights to his school committee after allegedly being sent home from school for making others feel unsafe by wearing a shirt that says, “There are only two genders.” A video of Liam Morrison’s confrontation of his school committee was reported Sunday at the Libs of TikTok Twitter account.

Dr. Mark McDonald Tells Parents What They Need to Do to Save Their Children from Government Schools

March 14, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Los Angeles-based psychiatrist Dr. Mark McDonald said “America’s schools are broken” beyond repair and have now become “dangerous” centers of leftist indoctrination – a problem parents must solve by changing their lifestyles, if necessary, to save their children.

Government School Districts Plan K-12 Closures as Student Enrollment Plunges

February 14, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Some of the largest public school districts in the nation are planning to close K-12 schools as they face plummeting student enrollment rates. “Nationwide, public school enrollment fell by more than 1.4 million students to 49.4 million between fall 2019 and fall 2020—a decline of roughly 3%, according to data from the U.S. Education Department,” reported the Wall Street Journal in January. “The following school year, enrollment failed to return to prepandemic levels and remained roughly flat.”

Black Lives Matter at School ‘Week of Action’ Gives Leftist Teachers Free Rein to Push Social Justice Activism in K-12 Schools

February 8, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Radical Marxist teachers are celebrating Black Lives Matter at School’s (BLM at School) “Week of Action” February 6-10 in thousands of K-12 government schools. The national BLM at School movement spends the first week of February – named as Black History Month – “organizing for racial justice in education,” its website touts.

Trump Delivers Plan to Protect Children From ‘Chemical, Physical, and Emotional Mutilation’ of Gender ‘Insanity’

February 4, 2023February 3, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Former President Donald Trump announced a plan Tuesday to protect the nation’s children from the “child abuse” of “chemical, physical, and emotional mutilation” at the bidding of radical gender ideology.

“The leftwing gender insanity being pushed on our children is an act of child abuse – very simple,” the 2024 presidential contender began laying out his vision. “Here’s my plan to stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth.”

Ex-LGBTQ Activist ‘De-Programming’ Children Indoctrinated in Government Schools

January 10, 2023January 9, 2023 Susan Berry, PhD

Former LGBTQ activist K. Yang says she is now actively working to “de-program” children who have been indoctrinated in woke gender ideology in public schools with funding from the New York State Department of Public Health.

In an interview Sunday on Fox & Friends Weekend, Yang explained her conversion from an LGBTQ activist who helped indoctrinate young children in government schools in the tenets of gender ideology.

Baltimore Public School Teacher Boasts ‘Indoctrinating’ Middle School Students with Taxpayer Money

December 14, 2022December 13, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A Baltimore public middle school teacher danced and celebrated in a TikTok video in which she boasted she was “indoctrinating” her students with taxpayer funds.

Fox News Digital reported the teacher is Alexa Sciuto, who teaches Spanish at Pine Grove Middle School in the Baltimore County School District.

Teacher Posts That Confusing Students About Gender Identity Is Enjoyable

December 3, 2022December 2, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A Louisiana elementary music teacher posted to social media that confusing young students about gender identity and “ignoring” their questions is enjoyable.

Blaine Banghart, a teacher at University Elementary School in Shreveport, part of the Caddo Parish Public Schools, explained in a Facebook post that it has been enjoyable to purposefully confuse young students about gender identity, Fox News reported.

Transgender Psychologist: ‘Serious Error in Judgment’ for Schools to Hide Gender Transitions from Parents

November 29, 2022November 28, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A transgender psychologist from Berkeley, California, has filed an amicus brief against a Maryland school district that allegedly hid children’s gender transitions from parents.

“It’s well established that one of the most important factors in helping gender-questioning children is family support,” the psychologist, who now uses the name Erica Anderson, Ph.D., told Fox News Digital. “So to deliberately deprive a child of support at a time potentially when they most need it is, I think, a serious error in judgment.”

Black and Hispanic Catholic School Students Outperformed Those in Government Schools on Nation’s Report Card Assessments

November 3, 2022November 2, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Results of national education assessments released last week showed unprecedented drops in academic achievement in fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading scores, but black, Hispanic, and low-income Catholic school students outperformed their counterparts in national, charter, and public school averages.

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as the “Nation’s Report Card,” revealed a dramatic decline in test scores from 2019, when students were last tested.

Data Expert Predicts ‘Homeschool Boom’ After CDC Committee Votes to Add COVID Shot to Children’s Routine Immunizations

October 22, 2022October 21, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Data journalist and pollster Rich Baris posted to social media he predicts a “homeschool boom” following the news that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory committee unanimously voted to add the COVID shot to the children and adolescent immunization schedule, a move that will likely lead many states to require COVID shots for school attendance.

Baris, also known as “The People’s Pundit,” tweeted Wednesday, “Parents will flip the F–k out, with good reason. Homeschool boom.”

New York State Board of Regents’ Regulation Requires Private Schools to Provide Education ‘Substantially Equivalent’ to Government Schools

September 21, 2022September 20, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

A new regulation announced by the New York State Board of Regents requires all of the state’s 1,800 private and religious schools to provide an education that is “substantially equivalent” to that offered by public, government-run schools.

The Board of Regents passed the new regulation last week unanimously and without debate, reported WABC.

Chicago Children’s Hospital Partners with Local School Districts to Push Radical Gender Ideology

September 8, 2022September 7, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Chicago’s largest children’s hospital is working with local government school districts to provide training materials that promote radical gender theory and LGBTQ activism.

Education researcher and author Christopher Rufo reported at the New York Post Monday he obtained documents from a whistleblower that show Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago has provided school administrators throughout the Chicago area with gender theory and LGBTQ activist materials to be distributed to teachers, administrators, and staff for ongoing employee training programs.

Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Blames Abysmal U.S. Student National Test Scores on Trump

September 2, 2022September 1, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The Biden education department announced Thursday that U.S. students’ plummeting scores in reading and math during the COVID-19 pandemic is all due to former President Donald Trump.

“Today’s data confirm the significant impact the prior Administration’s mismanagement of the pandemic has had on our children’s progress and academic wellbeing,” said Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona Thursday, following the report that U.S. students showed their steepest decline in decades in math and reading scores during the COVID school shutdowns.

Catholic School Enrollment Surges After Government School COVID Lockdowns

August 24, 2022August 23, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Enrollment in Catholic schools in the United States has risen for the first time in two decades after teachers’ unions worked with the Biden administration to keep government schools locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The enrollment rise since last year by 3.8 percent, or 62,000 students, in Catholic elementary and secondary schools, is also the largest surge recorded in at least 50 years by the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), the Associated Press reported in February.

Teachers’ Union Boss Randi Weingarten Says Conservatives Are Working to ‘Undermine’ Teachers

August 6, 2022August 5, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten said Wednesday at a union conference that conservatives are “working consistently” to undermine teachers.

“Conservatives are working consistently to undermine educators in this country,” Weingarten said at the New York State United Teachers conference this week. “They’re in the same race as we are between fear and hope, aspiration and despair, democracy and autocracy. And they’re doing this because our members worked so hard during COVID.”

School Choice Gaining Favor over Teachers’ Unions and Socialist Bureaucrats

July 29, 2022July 28, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

“School choice is good for everybody but unions, socialist bureaucrats and the tired education establishment,” libertarian John Stossel wrote Wednesday at the New York Post.

The author and journalist observed the “silver lining” of the COVID pandemic is that parents discovered alternatives to public schools and, as the statistics are telling us, they continue to act on that discovery by removing their children from them – in droves.

Michael Bloomberg Blames Teachers’ Unions for Keeping Money Flowing to Traditional Government Schools and Away from Charter Schools

June 7, 2022June 6, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Former Democrat New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says teachers’ unions were responsible for keeping schools locked down during the pandemic, a move that has enabled a mass exodus of students from traditional government schools throughout the country.

Given the generally poor academic achievement of America’s students, the steep drop in enrollment means states are now paying more to educate fewer children, and, “paying more for failure,” he asserts.

MSNBC: Homeschooling a Racist ‘Evangelical War’ to Undermine Integration Policies

May 17, 2022May 16, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

An opinion author at MSNBC has condemned homeschooling as a racist tool of evangelical Christians seeking to undermine public schools and policies that promote integration.

“It should come as no surprise that evangelicals, fundamentalists and other religious conservatives have fought against public education since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education,” Anthea Butler wrote at MSNBC in a column published Thursday.

‘Clueless’ Republicans Allowing Biden’s Education ‘Equity’ Plan to Usher in Even More Critical Race Theory in Government Schools

May 7, 2022May 6, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The Biden administration’s education “equity” initiative is doubling down on ramming Critical Race Theory down the throats of K-12 government school students – all with the help of “clueless” establishment Republicans, wrote Jane Robbins Wednesday at Townhall.

Surge in Homeschooling Families Continues after Schools Reopen

April 19, 2022April 18, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

The number of families homeschooling in the United States has remained significantly above pre-pandemic levels even though government schools have reopened.

The number of homeschooling students increased by 63% during the 2020-2021 school year in 18 states that shared data, AP reported. That percentage then dropped by only 17% in the next academic year.

Biden Education Department ‘Declares War’ on Charter Schools as School Choice Becomes Overwhelmingly Popular in America

March 30, 2022March 29, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

As more families and teachers flee government schools, the Biden administration – bound to the teachers unions – has now “declared war” on charter schools, as Robert Maranto, editor of the Journal of School Choice, wrote at National Review Monday.

The Biden education department is now on a path to sabotage the federal grant program that funds charter schools, public schools that are privately managed, with its proposal of new rules that appear to actually deter applicants from seeking grants.

Kerry McDonald: Parents’ Demand for More Education Options Has Been Met with Greater Innovation in Providing Alternatives to Public Schools

March 22, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Senior Education Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) Kerry McDonald told The Star News Network the time is ripe in America for greater innovation and entrepreneurship in providing new education models for parents exiting the government school system.

Many parents got an up-close look at what their children are learning in public schools for the first time during the pandemic school closures and subsequent remote learning, leading them to consider education alternatives.

Corey DeAngelis: More School Choice Creates Greater Incentive for Teachers’ Unions to Push Student-Focused Policies

March 18, 2022March 17, 2022 Susan Berry, PhD

Corey DeAngelis of the American Federation for Children

In an interview with The Star News Network, nationally known school choice advocate Corey DeAngelis said teachers’ unions would be incentivized to push for more student-focused policies in public schools if school funding followed the child and more states adopted school choice programs.

DeAngelis, the national director of research at the American Federation for Children, is also an adjunct scholar at the Cato Institute, and a senior fellow at the Reason Foundation.