Who do you think has more money?

Apple computer or the California Teachers Association? Apple donated $100K to the "No on 8" campaign, whereas the CTA donated $1 million. The CTA is the BIGGEST contributor of all. Bigger than Apple. Bigger than Levi's. Uh, what's wrong with this picture??? I thought the schools were in a budget crisis? Last time I had a budget crisis, I focused on what was important. I paid the bills I needed to pay and cut out the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.

So either there's no budget crisis...or the No on 8 is REALLY important to them. So why would it be really important? Com'on these are the questions one logically has to ask! There's a slippery slope that we're playing on here. The bottom line is that it IS important for the CTA to cram liberal ideology like this down our kids throats, directly or subtly. I know parents, I've heard it. "But they have to get my permission to talk about to my kid about sex". And "I love my kid's teachers." Fine. And I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. But a lot is taught outside the formal curriculum.

Am I a radical? Do I think your kid can survive California public school. Absolutely. But one of the keys to power in any situation is influence. And for a small kid, the authority figures on the top of the influence pole are the parents and the teacher. It's pretty hard for a small child to decipher good and bad influence so you'd better be on top of it.

I'd say I don't really remember too much subtle mind molding until about the 6th grade. Maybe to that point the education was fairly pure or maybe I just don't remember, what 11 year old or lower boy would? Begin 6th grade though and the slant was steep at times depending on the teacher. Once I hit college, forget it. Just keep your mouth shut and get through the class.

So when do I "let 'em go" so to speak?" (the kids that is) You know I don't quite know yet. If I had all the answers I'd be writing books and getting paid rather than blogging (mostly for me :-) This much I do know, I'm certainly training my kids to stick up for themselves and their beliefs. Don't believe me...fine, ask Dash. And we constantly look for new ways to let more rope out.

Next year they want a new bond measure to tax me for more money in our district? Pack that, take your money that's supposed to be used for education and salaries and use it for just that.

So I leave you with a few quotes:

"Who dares take on religion, free enterprise, patriotism, and motherhood?
We do -- and we must!" ("Guidelines for Academic Freedom in the Public
Schools," CTA, 1984)" (25 years ago, long time planned)

"We are going to go right on trying to discredit you in the eyes of your children, trying to strip your fundamentalist religious community of dignity, trying to make your views seem silly rather than discussable" the late Richard Rorty, professor at Wellesley, Princeton, Univ of VA, and Stanford