Betsy and Dick DeVos funded the Student Statesmanship Institute in Michigan, which literally indoctrinates young students into what it considers a “Biblical world view.”
This video lasts for several minutes. Don’t stop watching at pauses. It is likely to be deleted soon. Save it if you can.
Listen to the leader praise Lenin, Hitler, and Stalin for their ability to brainwash the young. Watch the students chant their allegiance. Hear the leader express the hope that the young people indoctrinated into Biblical values will one day fill the Michigan legislature, both chambers.
Do not be fooled. DeVos and her family are funders and patrons of the Religious Right. They are intolerant. Did she defend federal protection of the rights of transgender students? I doubt it. The students in this video are taught certainty, not respect for the views of those who are different.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Sister Betsy exhibits all the arrogance of the Internal Colonial Missionary she is, on a mission from her personal notion of God to convert the heathen savages.
ugh.
Trump and his team have to go. After this debacle, there will have to be changes in our government that allow for lines to be drawn and ousters to occur, short paths through impeachment and removal in special cases.
Agree
So a Christian worldview is a problem for you Diane? Why is that a threat? Why does it evoke fear?
It’s the fear of intolerance. Fear of labels. Fear of the loss of separation of church and state. Everyone deserves the same rights regardless of their beliefs.
These Christian youth leaders will respect other world views while firmly holding to theirs.
Polly,
I saw no evidence that these children were being taught respect for others’ views. They are being turned into parrots and indoctrinated
Listen to the leader praise Lenin, Hitler, and Stalin for their ability to brainwash the young.
He didn’t praise them for their ideologies but that they understood how to change a culture by starting with the children.
#Notmyrolemodels
They all changed their culture.
Not by teaching children to think but by robotic conformity
Not good for democracy
As in COMMON CORE. Interesting
To indoctrinate political and/or religious ideology in innocent, vulnerable young minds? And DeVos is now in charge of what?
The irony of “praising” staunch proponents of atheism like Lenin and Stalin seems to be completely lost on these people.
According to Marxist-Leninist theory, “religion is the opium of the people,…Promoting passive acceptance of suffering on earth in the hope of an eternal reward” (Wikipedia)
Polly
Well Polly you discredited any argument you were going to make when you took the shot at Common Core
Not that I agree with anything you say. But the fact that you equate Common Core with some sort of Left Wing Ideological attempt to brain wash future generations of Americans, rather than a wrongheaded approach to education is very revealing.
I like the waving hands in the DeVos film the best
Common Core, a product of right wing and Neoliberal Governors, until it wasn’t politically correct anymore.
NoReformNeeded
Pretty much , with roots in the Business RoundTable Way Back in 1989? . The most powerful Corporate lobby in the Nation .
In fairness to the bozo in the video who said those words, whoever edited the video chose to omit everything the bozo said leading up to that punchline. Too bad, I’d like to know what the lead-in was.
Because it’s filled with intolerance, hatred for anyone and anything different, and is used to control a populace. It’s all about control. Don’t you know any better? Belong to a religious group if you want, even if it’s hateful, it’s your right, but don’t force it down other people’s throats.
I think Gandhi probably said it best.
Jon, for those not familiar with it, I assume you meant Gandhi saying, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
He also said at one time, when asked what he thought of Western Civilization, “I think it would be a good idea.”
Both quotes still apropos, all these many years later.
Sorry, when it comes to Quotes Overheard On The Internet I usually try to track them down before passing them on, but I was rushing off somewhere when that came to mind. Wikiquote lists both of those as “Disputed” but does gives additional data of interest in itself —
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi#Disputed
Well, if Bara Dada (supposedly) said it, I’ll take that, too. Either way.
I think Graham Nash said — and sang — it best in his song “Cathedral”
Quote: “The bible makes it clear: homosexuality is a sin.”
These kids are being POLITICALLY indoctrinated in a camp to hate those who are different. Sounds like Trump and Betsy are on the same page.
Biblical view says to hate the sin and love the sinner. I adhere to that.
Polly,
What is the sin? Being Jewish? Muslim? Atheist? Buddhist? Gay?
Of those you listed, .homosexuality is the only one that , according to the New Testament, constitutes sin.
Atheism isn’t a sin? Sweet!
How high minded, Polly, or was it just drilled into you?
Is it not supposed to be a personal choice?
My reply is to this:
“Biblical view says to hate the sin and love the sinner. I adhere to that.”
Polly needs to be more precise. She should be explaining that her religion holds that homosexual ACTS are sinful. BEING homosexual, having homosexual preferences and urges, are not inherently sinful. They simply predispose someone towards sin — but we are all predisposed towards sin.
Right, Polly?
Your concluding statement is correct. We are all sinners.
And is not Gluttony also a sin?
How much do you weigh, Polly? Did your Gluttony result in the just punishment of Type 2 dabetes?
It is a problem for anybody with a brain that works properly. Religion is man made BS to control the masses. You can’t see that? Read some history books on the subject and not that made up fake bible thingie.
I am a Christian, and this approach scares me. It does not leave any room for the love that Jesus asks of his followers. We are to love each other, so that others may know Jesus through our compassion. This appears to be indoctrination and love only for those whose beliefs are identical. That is not the message of Christ I am familiar with.
Polly,
It is not a problem that they have a Christian world view, it is their particular version of Christianity – which they claim is based on the Bible yet is not shared by many millions of Christians – which they believe should be forced upon all of us, whether or not we agree with those supposedly Christian tenets, e.g. no separation of church and state, teaching creationism instead of science, that homosexuality is wrong. Those three beliefs, just for starters, should evoke fear in every public school educator.
Polly,
For hundreds of years, Christianity and the Bible was used to justify slavery, torture, and colonialism. Be very, very careful that you confuse one particular religion with goodness, mercy, charity, compassion, and love. As a lifelong Methodist, I am grateful that I was taught to question authority and fear blind obedience to a religious bureaucracy that enables institutionalized evil. One can act as God’s agent in the world WITHOUT the divisive hatred and prejudice that’s found in many fundamental Christian sects.
“…Christian worldview is a problem…? Why is that a threat? Why does it evoke fear?”
1. James Muffet: “…what I want is to repopulate the Michigan House & the Michigan Senate with alumni from my program.”
2. “…no law regarding an establishment of religion…” I forget the source for this one. Apparently you have, too.
Any other questions?
Your “Christian world view” discriminates against all of those whom you deem to be “not Christian,” including Mormons, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, etc. THAT is why it is a problem
Polly,
You can adhere to any worldview you want. That’s the beauty of a society with no establishment of religion. Our Founding Fathers were well aware of Europe s history of religious wars, of Protestants and Catholics killing one another. They could not imagine a time when a civilized Christian nation would round up millions of Jews and send them into gas chambers, then incinerate them.
In their wisdom, the Founders created a nation where there was no establishment of religion, but one where people were free to practice their religion so long as they did not threaten anyone else.
I don’t want to impose my religion on you, and I don’t want Betsy DeVos to impose hers on me.
Isn’t that fair?
DeVos et al espouse Dominionism which is ,in my opinion, not a correct interpretation of scripture. I speak only for myself and not in defense of DeVos.
Religion and faith are separate. Faith is individual. Between me and my Lord, Jesus.
So Polly is confident about scripture when it comes to sexual orientation, but on other issues she deems not to be correct interpretation of scripture, she relies on her opinion. It seems, to Polly, that not only is faith individual, it’s also malleable, negotiable, and subject to selective ignorance.
When quoting scripture, there is another important element to take into account. The difference between the Old Testament and the New.
Too many fundamentalist Christians only pick out the verses that fit their biases and ignore all the rest.
I’m sure that members of the KKK did this all the time while they were hanging African Americans and burning crosses on the lawns of their homes.
“The Klan takes direct action against those who do not share its beliefs or those who it simply views as inferior based on its readings of the Bible. Klansmen recognize the differences of other groups and translate them into justification for hate.”
http://home.wlu.edu/~lubint/touchstone/KKK-Fisher.htm
This fits Betsy DeVos and her family.
We’re talking about a specific fundamentalist no-other-worldview-or-religion is correct here, not about Christianity in general (the kind that loves one’s neighbor, cares for the poor, forgives, etc.) This video demonstrates the fundamentalists’ desire to create a theocracy that would denigrate, oppress, and even eliminate other religions, beliefs, and outlooks that do not conform to straight, white, “Christian” values. The use of Stalin, etc. was not accidental, but purposeful–they were bent on ELIMINATING “enemies.” Let’s further consider that this form of extreme Christian fundamentalism thinks that the world is only 6,000 years old, that dinosaurs and people co-existed, and so on and so forth. If those things become the basis for education in this country, we might as well also teach alchemy and astrology. So, Polly, that’s what evokes fear in me.
Dianes article posted this morning 2/27/17, “How to flip the States to Preserve Progressive Values” by using “Flippables”, young people training to run for office in order to preserve liberal Progressive Values is different? How?
“Progressive values” include being open to all views, faiths, etc., maintaining the separation of church and state, the prominence of science, and other valued ideas that have brought us out of the dark ages over the last several hundred years. This SSI thing is a promise to return us to those times. There’s no comparison.
But if you REALLY are open to all views, then you must also be open to the view that views different from your own are invalid and should be stamped out.
What are we going to do? I’m going back and forth between throwing my hands up Ms trying to stay involved to fight.
This is ridiculous. Hitler? Stalin? These are the models you cite?
Im
Hitler’s quote about the youth”He alone who owns the youth gains the future” . So the organization is modeled after the Hitler Youth? The Hitler Youth was created because Hitler wanted to control the minds of the German children. No other youth organizations were permitted.
Nowhere does this Christian youth group state that they intend to exist to the exclusion of all others.
Their leader says plainly that he hopes they will one day control the Michigan legislature. To what end? For power and control and to impose their Xtian ideology on others. Should atheists and Jews and Muslims get out of Michigan?
Exclusion takes many forms—Are they taught to embrace differences? How about engaging and socializing with others who have diverse points of view?
Hi, Diane:
We posted the transcript of this video, along with our report about it below.
http://www.exposedbycmd.org/2017/01/23/betsy-devos-biblical-capitalism-transcript-interview-gathering-2001/
http://www.prwatch.org/news/2016/11/13180/5-things-know-about-billionaire-betsy-devos-trump-choice-education
Lisa from the Center for Media and Democracy
this related video I meant to write.
Like religion and science, religion and government do not mix.
“Unmixable Religion”
Religion is unmixable
With government and science
It leads to quite unfixable
Reality defiance
I noticed that Polly has not responded to Diane’s question: What is the sin? Being Jewish? Muslim? Atheist? Buddhist? Gay?
Here is another Devos presentation at the 2015 SXSWeducation convention in Texas. DeVos calls public education “an industry,” says our government “truly sucks,” and that you (dear educators) are stuck in the industrial age with a factory model of education. She also said that public education is a closed market, a monopoly, a dead end. Take a look at the comments too. One suggest she might be a good Secretary of Education.
This is the South by Southwest presentation in 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_2nH4aLLDc
I did reply… homosexuality is the only one of those listed that, according to the New Testament , is a sin.
Luke 19:27:
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
As well as Matthew 10:34:
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
I watched it until I got sick.
but what struck me, is dickie-devos pointing to Stalin, Hitler and Lenin and explaining that they knew that a citizenry had to be reached when they were young.
i say this all the time. I said this as a comment when I posted the WP article byCarol Burris,
Democracy depends on shared knowledge! ed hirsch
Click to access hirsch.pdf
No where,- do I EVER read how the GOP (with it’s ‘deficit reduction’) has defunded the INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION,SO THAT across the nation, the schools failed, and the blame was placed on those “incompetent teachers.” Thus hundreds of thousands EXPERIENCED professionals WHO GRASPED WHAT learning looked like, were thrown out, and thus, the schools failed.
What a surprise.
Thus, like every dictatorship, they ‘GET ‘EM YOUNG’, and THUS, CAN rewrite history so that Lies are the NEW TRUTH and education goes the way of health care, enriching the oligarchs and ending income equality for our people… because (make no mistake about this) public schools are the only road for all our people to learn the CRITICAL THINKING skills that enable them to move out of poverty.
See my series on privatization with links to the Ravitch site.
https://www.opednews.com/Series/PRIVITIZATION-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-150925-546.html?f=PRIVITIZATION-by-Susan-Lee-Schwartz-150925-546.html
You might also be interested in checking out the SSi website. http://ssionline.org/
btw, it’s interesting, in the context of this conversation, to note the logo (hint… remove the “i” and what do you get? 🙂 Please know that I’m not suggesting any connection; just having a little fun.
On the other hand, the SSI approach also reminds me of Jesus Camp https://freedocumentaries.org/documentary/jesus-camp
Wow.
In the first link below, DeVos is asked, “Why not just fund Christian things? Why get involved in politics? Why get involved in public education?” (Questions paraphrased)
And she says:
To impact our culture in ways that are not the traditional funding the Christian organization route, but that really may have greater kingdom gain in the long run by changing the way we approach things. In this case the system of education in the country.
I copied and pasted that.
She can’t ever say she didn’t say it.
I don’t get why she cares about public education… oh wait. She doesn’t. It’s just an opportunity for her to profit. I think it’s called “Biblical Capitalism” so that means it’s okay with Jesus.
This is nothing but scary. Brainwashing, indoctrination….ugh.
Also, I did download and save a copy of this video in case it disappears. If anyone needs it….
Don’t get trumpets confused with the facts. They’re beyond hope. As they say, you can’t fix stupid.
Would the new federal block grants that give vouchers for religious schools in the states that have no accountability for religious institutions really be free to do what they want with tax payer funds? Would any religions be excluded? Would we further fund the Gulen affiliated charters and did the FBI come out with a report on them yet?
Instead of peaceful relationships between religions what will this cause?
A State sanctified preferred religion with competition between religions?
Is the anti immigrant push to make sure that new Americans are the right religion to keep the in crowd in power? Would a good religion then be judged by numbers of practicers that would double as a political base thereby assuring power? Sad, very sad.
Deb,
We have to wait and see the details of the Trump-DeVos proposal. But you can be sure that if the law says that the state can’t have federal funding unless it has vouchers for religious schools, it will be challenged in court. If it stands, then every religious group must be included, not just the ones that DeVos favors. The money will go to every religion that applies. We will end up funding yeshivas and madrassas and Christian fundamentalists with money taken from local public schools.
Well, if that should most unfortunately take place, then I will start a parochial School of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and challenge them to fund my school, as well. We will take all comers, ELL’s, special needs kids, whoever.
May the Sauce be with you. R’Amen.
(Yes, this is snark. Sort of.)
Exactly 100 years ago, this was a hot issue in The Netherlands. For decades, a so-called ‘School struggle’ had been bitterly fought over the equalization of public financing for religious schools; christian school to begin with.
These religious schools had already existed for a long time, but were all privately funded. The outcome of the ‘School struggle’ was that all schools, whatever their denomination, would receive equal public funding according to their number of students. That means: ‘special’ (i.e. privately owned) and public (government owned) schools alike.
(On a curious side note: this victory for the christian Right was the result of a pragmatic exchange with women’s suffrage, a political desire from the Left.)
Regulations and examinations were virtually equal for all public-funded schools too; so in a way this constituted a mixed charter and public school system avant-la-lettre (1917). One glaring difference that exists to this day is that christian schools are allowed special demands for hiring (religious) teachers (e.g. no ‘practicing homosexuals’), and are allowed to refuse entry to children who do not fit their bill.
Because there are many religions in The Netherlands, the educational landscape is a colorful tapestry of catholic, protestant, reformed, reformatoric, jewish, islamic, anthroposophic and even more types of schools. Some are stricter, some are more liberal or even ‘only in name’ catholic. At the time, about two-thirds of all schools were in some way religious, and one third secular (state-owned).
The strong decline of christian society (‘secularization’) from the 1960s on led to a shrinking number of ‘strict’ religious schools, more ‘oecumenical’ schools, and the spreading of children of all kinds of backgrounds across all kinds of schools (in The Netherlands, parents can choose any school they want for their children and that is available to them). Yet the arrival of immigrants of mainly islamic backgrounds has led to an increase in the number of religious schools. All of these schools are publicly funded, and parents do not have to contribute one dime; not for education, nor for books or excursions. Some schools do charge money, but this is only voluntary by law.
This system of privately owned religious schools (and other ‘special’ schools such as montessori, dalton, jenaplan, what have you) alongside government-owned public school has lasted up to 1997. In the 1990s the neolib wave struck in Dutch politics, hence education; resulting in the privatization of all former public schools.
So the situation is that virtually all Dutch children attend free-of-charge, publicly funded schools, who are all owned by private school boards. These boards must answer to the Education Secretary regarding their results and some basic rules & regulations. Yet all schools enjoy a large curricular, organizational and pedagogical freedom; there is a ‘common core’ of no more than a few pages; there are hardly any external high-stakes tests; exactly two, one at the end of primary school (12y) and one at the end of secondary school (16-18y).
I do understand that there is little reason to envy the recent political change in the US when it comes to defending the status and values of public education. And believe me, there are several aspects of Dutch education that worry me, too. Yet I hope to show you that even in a seemingly worst-case-scenario in which all public schools are turned into privately-owned voucher or charter schools, not all hope is necessarily lost.
Isn’t it remarkable that even in a comparibly more ‘liberal’ or even ‘socialist’ Dutch society, we’ve already had a whole century of experience with a majority of privately-owned ‘charter’ schools? And that in a comparibly more conservative, entreprenurial USA, a strong state-owned public education system has survived the tides up to present day? Apparently, societies are more complex than what they seem.
Michael,
Please correct me if I am wrong but I was told by a Dutch scholar that only educators may open schools, not anyone has the urge to open a school. In many of our voucher systems, there are no required educational qualifications, and such schools may be opened and run by non-educators. Is that the case in the Netherlands?
If the states have to approve vouchers/educational savings plans to get federal funds, then the State of Michigan would have to change it’s constitution. We fought vouchers the last time…I know it would be a battle this time because the specter of Betsy DeVos as the Secretary of Education has raised the awareness and the ire in many across Michigan and the country.
Deb: Here is the summary (It’s been on the ‘net for weeks)
Choices in Education Act of 2017
This bill repeals the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and limits the authority of the Department of Education (ED) such that ED is authorized only to award block grants to qualified states.
The bill establishes an education voucher program, through which each state shall distribute block grant funds among local educational agencies (LEAs) based on the number of eligible children within each LEA’s geographical area. From these amounts, each LEA shall: (1) distribute a portion of funds to parents who elect to enroll their child in a private school or to home-school their child, and (2) do so in a manner that ensures that such payments will be used for appropriate educational expenses.
To be eligible to receive a block grant, a state must: (1) comply with education voucher program requirements, and (2) make it lawful for parents of an eligible child to elect to enroll their child in any public or private elementary or secondary school in the state or to home-school their child.
No Hungry Kids Act
The bill repeals a specified rule that established certain nutrition standards for the national school lunch and breakfast programs. (In general, the rule requires schools to increase the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat or fat free milk in school meals; reduce the levels of sodium, saturated fat, and trans fat in school meals; and meet children’s nutritional needs within their caloric requirements.)
[from congress.gov]
There is no issue about religious schools, with respect to school choice/vouchers. The Supreme Court settled it in 2002 (I have promised not to cite this case anymore)
The (federal) proposal does not take any funding from local public schools.
Charles,
I know you don’t understand education financing, so let me say it slowly.
Any money for choice or block grants is money taken away from public schools.
There is no new funding for choice. There is subtraction only.
Did you understand that?
Diane, I don’t know if M Cousijn will answer, but I recently looked into Netherlands’ ed system. MC’s post is incorrect that all schools are owned by private school boards. About one-third of Dutch children attend public or openbare schools run by municipal school boards. The 2/3 remainder are independent schools (except for an insignificant number of non-govt-funded private schools) owned by independent school boards. The govt funds & is heavily involved in the admin of independent schools. For example govt not only sets salary of teachers but determines how many are assigned so as to guide class size. Govt sets minimum reqts on subjects to be taught, & has an extensive inspectorate (hundreds of inspectors making some 10k inspections annually) to insure that govt policies are followed. The primary flexibility is in curriculum implementation (materials & style of pedagogy) & govt is hands-off re: religious content. Corporate and individual ownership are not permitted, nor is advertising. Transparency/ publication on manner & results of inspections.
Independent schools are founded by groups of parents (minimum no reqd depending on town size). Govt assigns a guide from Ed Ministry to guide such groups (perhaps this is what the Dutch scholar meant). SpecEd and poor students get more govt funding per-pupil.
The problem with funding madrassas, yeshivas, and creationist Xtian schools is that it institutional uses separatism. Parents can choose religious schools if they want but government should not encourage segregation. It is our goal as a society to diminish segregation, not subsidize it
Q Any money for choice or block grants is money taken away from public schools.
There is no new funding for choice. There is subtraction only.
Did you understand that? END Q
I disagree. The (Federal) proposal does not take any money from local public schools.
If the federal proposal is approved (in its present form), then the states, who choose to participate, will receive block grants from the feds.
Then, if the participating states choose to, they can then enact school choice programs. The states will have the choice to augment the federal grants with state money. Then, the states can get that money from the funding they have for public schools, or come up with additional money, and continue funding their public schools with existing funds.
Many voucher recipients will choose to redeem their vouchers at their public schools, or not participate in the voucher program at all. See the situation in Indiana, where only a very small number of families are participating in choice.
So, this program does not necessarily take funding from public schools. And on the federal side, when the block grants are funded and disbursed to the states, no money is taken from local public schools.
No, Charles. You are wrong. No new money will be appropriated for education. The money now designated for Title 1 (poor kids), special education (disabilities), and other current programs will be converted to block grants that states can use for vouchers, charters, etc.
This is money that currently goes to public schools for specific purposes.
The block grant will be comprised of money currently funding public schools.
There is no new money, only a redirection of existing funds.
Please find a statement from the head of the Appropriations Committee or Mick Mulvaney of OMB supporting your belief that this administration will expand federal funding for education by $20 billion
Q Please find a statement from the head of the Appropriations Committee or Mick Mulvaney of OMB supporting your belief that this administration will expand federal funding for education by $20 billion END Q
I do not believe that there is such a statement. The figure of $20 Billion is the amount that has promoted for some months, starting back in the campaign.
see http://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/donald-trump-school-choice-proposal-227915
I do not believe that the Choices in Education Act of 2017, will necessarily expand federal funding for education. Many thousands of proposals for legislative action are submitted each year. Few ever make it to the President’s desk without undergoing significant changes.
Several scenarios are present. The Congress could kill the bill in committee. The Congress may choose to incorporate some existing features into the new legislation. The Congress is not restricted to funding school choice, by re-allocating existing funding programs. They may decide to come up with new sources of funding. Anything can happen.
Charles,
This is the last time I will respond to the same comment. I have done so many times.
There will be billions more for defense, no new money for education.
There may be cuts for education.
The existing federal money will be turned into block grants to use for choice. The money will be taken away from its present recipient–public schools–and given to private nonpublic schools. There will be less money for public schools, where the vast majority of children are enrolled. Most children will have a worse education because of the diversion of money to inferior choice schools.
I’m wearing out with the prospect of how much more money will be pumped into the military. There are so many problems that could use this money. Cutting the EPA is most damaging.
Here is an article which appears in Reuters and then the Huffington Post;
………………….
Trump Budget Plan Boosts Pentagon, Trims State Dept, EPA
Reuters
Trump, in a speech to conservative activists on Friday, promised “one of the greatest military buildups in American history.”
The White House on Monday will send federal departments a budget proposal containing the defense spending increase President Donald Trump promised, financed partly by cuts to the U.S. State Department, Environmental Protection Agency and other non-defense programs, two officials familiar with the proposal said.
One of the officials said Trump’s request for the Pentagon included more money for shipbuilding, military aircraft and establishing “a more robust presence in key international waterways and chokepoints” such as the Strait of Hormuz and South China Sea.
A second official said the State Department’s budget could be cut by as much as 30 percent, which would force a major restructuring of the department and elimination of programs.
The officials requested anonymity because the draft budget had not been made public yet. The White House had no immediate comment….
Some defense experts have questioned the need for a large increase in U.S. military spending, which already stands at roughly $600 billion annually. By contrast, the United States spends about $50 billion annually on the State Department and foreign assistance.
The amounts that Trump is proposing to add to the Pentagon budget and trim elsewhere are not yet publicly known….
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-budget_us_58b3901ce4b0a8a9b783662f
Diane, re: Dutch school system “institutionalizes separatism… government should not encourage segregation. It is our goal as a society to diminish segregation, not subsidize it.”
Completely agree. The only upside I see to what they’re doing is the support/ encouragement of high public involvement in their society’s education. A remarkable number of folks belong to large parent/ citizen organizations where ed policy is discussed– & the policies are progressive & child-centered & frequently adjusted to keep up w/social mores. But this no doubt reflects the Netherlands’ history as a mixed salad– early intl trading-hub/ asylum for political & religious extremists/ dissenters/ exiles. In our country, it’s the opposite of what’s needed.
Dear Diane,
You are informed that in The Netherlands, ‘only educators may open schools’. This is not true. Literally anyone in The Netherlands may open a school, as long as certain quantitative demands are met. The most important of these demands concern the number of pupils (a minimum is set) and the qualifications of the teachers. Any school may be opened by anyone, as long as there is a basic trust in the board members and their plans. The school will be publicly financed from the start, and will have to meet the demands in five years’ time in order to get publicly funded in the long term.
The members of the school board do not need to have ‘educational qualifications’. Schools may be opened by ‘non-educators’. We have no term ‘educator’ nor have defined any qualifications for ‘educators’. We do have qualifications for ‘teachers’, but that is probably not what you mean.
Hello bethree5, yes ‘M Cousijn’ will answer 🙂 but with a z in his name. Let me go into your arguments.
“MC’s post is incorrect that all schools are owned by private school boards. About one-third of Dutch children attend public or openbare schools run by municipal school boards.”
You are wrong. In the past 20 years, ALL Dutch school boards have turned into private boards. There are no ‘municipal school boards’ anymore. Your source is outdated. The present situation is the result of the ‘privatization’ that changed our former ‘public services’ 1990-present, including public transport, public health service, public energy supply, and public education.
We still use the term ‘public education’ (‘openbaar onderwijs’) for school of no particular denomination, i.e. no religious specialty (like catholic, jewish etc.) or educational specialty (like montessori, jenaplan etc.). But this does not mean that these so-called ‘public schools’ are state-owned. They are not.
‘Govt not only sets salary of teachers but determines how many are assigned so as to guide class size.”
This is total nonsense. I don’t know where you have your information from, but please, reject it. Since the privatization, the government is not involved in salary negotiations, and does not ‘set’ any salary. The government has no say in how many teachers a particular school should have, according to the number of pupils. All of our private school boards are free to create classes of 24, or 28, or 32, or even 36 pupils; any number they want. Our government counts on the parents choosing the schools of their preference; and class size counts in this respect.
“Govt sets minimum requirements on subjects to be taught”
This is true. It is part of the very small ‘common core curriculum’ that we have in The Netherlands. Every primary and every secondary school is obliged to teach a number of ‘subjects’ like ‘Dutch’ or ‘calculus’ or ‘physics’. But that is all. The number of hours is free, and the contents is nearly free, and schools are free to organize these ‘subjects’ in any way they want.
“Govt has an extensive inspectorate (hundreds of inspectors making some 10k inspections annually) to insure that govt policies are followed.”
This is a laugh. In practice, every school is ‘visited’ by an ‘inspection team’ every three or four years. Since there are hardly any obligatory ‘govt policies’, the inspectors CANNOT ‘insure that they are followed’. Inspection visits are ridiculous – and let me tell you this from 30+ years of experience. Only inspectors believe in the value of inspections.
The ‘inspectorate’ being ‘extensive’ is a laugh too, since the ‘inspectorate’ has been trying to limit the number of inspections for years. There are about 10.000 primary and 1600 secondary and tertiary schools in The Netherlands. If every school is visited every 3 years, the ‘extensive inspection’ will have to make 4.000 new visits a year, or 12 per day. Of course this requires ‘hundreds of inspectors every year’. Most importantly, this ‘extensive inspection’ is meaningless to the schools themselves.
“The primary flexibility is in curriculum implementation (materials & style of pedagogy) & govt is hands-off re: religious content.”
I have read this sentence five times, and still do not know what it means. If you wanted to say that Dutch schools have a lot of curricular freedom, then I agree.
“Corporate and individual ownership are not permitted, nor is advertising.”
Total nonsense. There are LOTS of public advertisements for schools in all kinds of media. Schools even put flyers in my mailbox in order to get my attention. Private ownership is the norm in the Dutch educatioinal landscape, since government does not want to own any school any more.
“Govt assigns a guide from Ed Ministry to guide such groups (perhaps this is what the Dutch scholar meant)”
You are not very precise about what you mean, but yes, there are certain rules about the number of pupils a school attracts. By the way, these rules are dependent on the number of people in a particular municipality. These rules are quite generous: if a school in a small town happens to have only 12 kids in some class, it is still being publicly funded, even though other schools will get less money (i.e. 30 kids in a class). This is to make sure that every child will get proper education.
. SpecEd and poor students get more govt funding per-pupil.
I should not have watched this while eating. Barf.
There are 100 Bible verses about False Prophets
Here are a few of them
Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
2 Peter 2:1
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Mark 7:6-9
And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
Deuteronomy 18:20
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Romans 16:18
For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Good ones, Lloyd. I also gave Polly a couple of passages from the New Testamant, especially:
Luke 19:27:
But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
Where it is clearly stated that, if you do not believe that God/Christ should “reign over” you, then you should be slain.
(And I’ve read most of the New Testament in its original Greek. But that’s a subject for another day.)
Thanks, Lloyd. I’ve been sharing these with “Christian” friends, who apparently don’t believe they have been deceived. Apparently, they have forgotten that the audience of the Bible is the Christian, not the non-believer. So many warnings, yet so much disregard of them.
Nimbus, you can also share with your Christian friends:
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Matthew 25: 40-41
And:
“He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.”
Proverbs 14:31
What about this one from the New Revised Testament?
SomeDAM poet 1: 1
Beware of false prophets (eg, Pat Robertson and other late night televangelists) that try to convince you that one religion and belief system is the one righteous and true one and that all others are little more than devil worship.
From the Newest Testament
100, that’s a suspiciously round number . . .
I know. But what about the 29 Bible Verses about Abortion?
Here are a few of them.
Hosea 13:16
Samaria shall bear her guilt, because she has rebelled against her God; they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open
Proverbs 6:16-19
There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
But what about eating your children? There are twenty versus about that.
Deuteronomy 28:53-57
And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the Lord your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. The man who is the most tender and refined among you will begrudge food to his brother, to the wife he embraces, and to the last of the children whom he has left, so that he will not give to any of them any of the flesh of his children whom he is eating, because he has nothing else left, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your towns. The most tender and refined woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because she is so delicate and tender, will begrudge to the husband she embraces, to her son and to her daughter, her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns.
My working theory is that all “thou shalt not”-type passages in the old testament are evidence that a lot of people were engaging in the proscribed conduct at that time the passages were written. I.e.., the fact that the OT has so many passages about abortion/infanticide suggests that there was a high incidence of abortion/infanticide among Jews at that time. Hence the need to lay down the law, again and again.
A conservative Jewish friend of mine, now gone due to leukemia, once told me on a long trek in the mountains, 14 miles with a 5,000-foot elevation gain, that the Old Testament was only history and that the religion you belonged to didn’t matter. He said, how you lived your life was what counted.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. (Emerson, if you didn’t know.)
Very disturbing. What has happened to the concept of separation of church and state?
It’s called “brain-washing” or re-education. Really? This guy puts Stalin and Hitler in a good light? He must’ve imbibed a barrel of the DeVos kool-aid.
Christianity isn’t bad. Christians who foist their worldview on the whole of society are.
A poor choice but not a sin as far as i know
There are 58 Bible Verses about Mind Control. What The DeVos family is doing is wrong and there are passages in the Bible that make it wrong.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Not the will of Betsy DeVos, the will of God
Galatians 5:1
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Indoctrinating children makes them slaves.
Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
2 Peter 2:1
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
Thank you, Mr. Trump, for choosing Betsy DeVos to be the new face of corporate education reform.