Education in Alabama!

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Permalink Reply by Norma Jean Link on October 28, 2009 at 5:17pm

Have you heard of 'No Child Left Behind'. It dictates that all children must achieve at the same rate and you and I know that some people are smarter than others and some people will never get there, but they should be helped. The Federal Government is very much into the education of our children. The states do get Federal money and they are told what they have to do in order to get it. It is sad and maddening that they take money from us and dictate what we have to do to get some of it back.

Our chilren are being indoctrinated with socialist thinking in our schools. Freedom Lover

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Permalink Reply by Denel Wardell on October 29, 2009 at 12:50pm

I think "No child left behind" was a joke. First of all, it was just more government involvement in our school system. I do not agree with Federal government involvement in the school system. Second, it was like you said...they did not take into account that individuals are different, therefore it could not work, period. It is socialism straight-up. But it has been happening throughout the schools, and activities for children for years. I remember the big argument I had with the soccer group when they said at the first meeting one year that we were no longer keeping score. That it didn't matter if anyone won or loss, but that all got to participate. What is that? Even though their way was what won out in the decision, the kids still kept score, and they still paid attention to which teams were "winning" the most. I think that is just natural competitiveness. And I got in trouble for not telling the kids they weren't suppose to do that.

I am trying to work hard on state sovereignty, which requires the state to be less dependent on federal funding for anything. But in Alabama, we have a bigger problem than federal funding for our schools. We have to contend with the corruption in Montgomery that allows Paul Hubbard and the AEA to dictate legislature. This is the very first fight I will have in Montgomery when I am elected.

Our children have been being indoctrinated for over 50 years...people just don't see it! That is why I homeschooled. I wish we could go back to a system that didn't include the government, but did include the parents. I am receiving lots of ideas, and will be working on this a great deal over the next year, while I campaign. Thing is, we have to ween ourselves from the government and the socialist views. We have too many people that depend on the government, and will fight us every step of the way. So we have to work to ween them until we can pull them back into our Republic form of government and away from socialism. This is not going to happen overnight. So I can not just jump in there and say we are going to abolish the socialist program. I will get shut down before I even get started.

We think the conservatives are starting to have a huge reaction to the socialist agendas. Just wait until you see the socialists reaction to the conservative agendas! They are a lot more organized than we are. And the next thing you know, I will be some horrible monster that is against children. Watch, it will happen.

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Permalink Reply by Gwyn Wyn on October 30, 2009 at 12:52am

Private schools do not want to accept vouchers if it will mean Gov't involvement in their schools. My child goes to private school and it is wonderful that they can pray, read from the Bible and display the Ten Commandments. Her school has a beautiful Ten Commandment display.

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Permalink Reply by Denel Wardell on October 30, 2009 at 11:36am

I definitely agree with that, Gwyn. I can see the point of the private schools...that could be an issue. Maybe there is another way. I am hearing lots of ideas from different places. I have a year to work on it, but I need to get elected first. Before I can have any frontline affect on the legislation.

We need to work to reverse the government involvement in the schools. We are not going to be able to stop it all at once. Too many people do not even understand that it is a socialist program. And still more do not care. This is going to take time...and we need to be chipping away at whatever we can in the meantime.

If you have any ideas, I would love to hear them. You can email me at denelforthepeople2010@gmail.com if you don't want to post them in here.
Thanks,
Denel

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Permalink Reply by Denel Wardell on October 30, 2009 at 12:27pm

I have been getting a lot of comments about my rant on the "Education in Alabama".

I do not pretend to have all the answers. I do not pretend to know the perfect solution at this moment that can be practically implemented. I honestly believe that public schools are socialistic in the fact that money is taken from everyone, whether they have children in the public school system or not, in order to pay for those who are in the public school system.

Isn't this one of the main issues with the Health Care plans being proposed in DC? Why is it ok to force people to pay for a school system their children (if they even have any) do not participate in, but it is not ok to force people to pay for a health care system they do not want?

Unfortunately, the public school system is a huge part of our lives now. We are not going to be able to put an end to it all at once. Too many people do not even realize it is a socialist program. Still even more do not care. It is going to be a process to remove this socialism from our society, if we truly want to do that. I do...but do you?

One person pointed out to me why vouchers won't work. I must say, I think they have a point. If you have vouchers to allow the money to follow the children, then you are taking what would be considered "government funding" to entities that are not the public schools...such as private schools, or homeschools. Would that allow the government to get a foot in the door of these entities? I think it would. Then the government can start dictating the curriculum and practices of those entities...like telling a private Christian school that if they accept these vouchers, they can no longer teach the Bible in school. Or telling a homeschool mom that if she takes the voucher, she must purchase a science book that teaches evolution. See the problem?

We need other solutions...while we chip away at the socialism of the program. I heard an idea the other day of erasing the district lines, allowing parents to choose which public school their child goes to. I think this is a great idea that can be implemented immediately while we work on other ideas. We do need to restructure the budget to ensure curriculum and teachers are at the top of the budget, not the bottom. If they are at the top, they are not the first things to get cut when there is a need for budget cuts.

Please, everyone, as I said before...I do not pretend to have all the answers. So, if you have ideas...practical ideas...please email them to me. I will start pulling ideas together, prioritizing, and making a plan of action to work on when I get to Montgomery. As I begin to form the plan of action I will keep it posted on my website, http://denelforthepeople2010.com. You can email me at denelforthepeople2010@gmail.com. Please put in the subject line "Education Reform" so I can separate those emails from all the others I get.

Please do not email me to bash me. You can do that in here if you want. But please don't send it to my email, because I will just end up blocking you. Constructive criticism or ideas are always welcome...but do not attack me. I am just a regular wife and mom trying to stand up for my community.

In Liberty,
Denel

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Permalink Reply by Gwyn Wyn on October 30, 2009 at 3:24pm

I appreciate what you're trying to do. God Bless You! It is a monumental task. And I'm afraid you are right that not enough people care. Many don't seem to care that we're moving toward Socialism/Communism. I'm at a loss as to what to do about it because it does get exhausting contacting congressmen/women who don't seem to care or listen. God is in control though and we can pray to Him for answers/solutions and for His will to be done. Thank you for what you're trying to do. Don't get discouraged.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Dugan on October 31, 2009 at 1:35pm

Denel, maybe instead of the voucher money going directly to the schools, it could be a tax credit or refund for the parent/taxpayers themselves which could, in turn, be used by them to pay their private school tuition.

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Permalink Reply by Denel Wardell on November 1, 2009 at 8:00am

That may work, but I think there should be some way to be sure the school is getting the money before the parent gets the credit. There are just too many dishonest people...and I am afraid that the schools, and ultimately the students would suffer with that.
Then, if you have some accountability system set up for proof the school received the funds, then the private and home schools have the same argument as for the vouchers.
See what our government has become?!? People have to pay double for schools because they can't trust their government to butt out!
Let's keep working on the ideas, though. There has got to be a solution...pray for God to make it clear.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon Dugan on November 1, 2009 at 2:28pm

Well, the way it would work is that the parents would show on their tax forms that they had paid the school already.

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