Fresh Conservative

Jamie Hope (aka Conservative Chloe) just e-mailed me about an exciting new website that Brett Tatman, Jamie and a number of colleagues have set up and that I've linked to my blog roll. It is called "Fresh Conservative".

Jamie has already written several excellent blogs. In "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" Jamie discusses rather frightening proposals of State Senator Irma Clark-Coleman (D-MI) for Michigan to follow the totalitarian pattern of Spartan education (also advocated by Plato in the Republic) of brainwashing, er, educating children in state-run schools starting from early childhood. Coleman has recently proposed to reduce the starting age for kindergarten by one year. With a totalitarian, would-be "philosopher-king" like Barack Obama in the White House*, we can rest assured that the the crackpot idea of universal 0-5 education stands a good chance of passage at the national level as well. Little children must be taught to goose step and give Democrat Party, palm up salutes as young as possible. Moreover, the program would end day care and related small businesses. Jamie notes that:

"Birth-to-grave education is contrived by the global elite as an underhanded attempt to grab our children at birth, and indoctrinate them into their “global citizenship” idealism. It is an affront to America to allow not only the destruction of our small businesses, who care for children in a loving environment, but to force our children into government controlled indoctrination camps, where they will be taught international philosophies, instead of American values. The elitists know that if they can teach our children their ideologies from birth, undermining their parent’s morals and religious beliefs, they will backdoor their way into the minds of our youngest, indoctrinating them with their global idealism."

The fact is, the public schools have failed as institutions. They have failed for the following reasons:

(1) The education theories used in public schools have too often depended on distortions of John Dewey's ideas on progressive education. They do not work. When the "creativity first" approach is used in math and writing, and the "look say" method is used in reading, students fail to learn. The worst victims of the failed "creativity first" theory are inner city children, large numbers of whom have been crippled for life by the education system.

(2) America's school teachers are greedy, selfish and incompetent. They have failed in what should be their mission, educating the young, and replaced that mission with "ME FIRST"; "PAY ME MORE"; and "I SHOULDN'T BE EVALUATED". Their teachers' unions have used every specious argument in the book to deflect the harm that they have done to education.

(3) The schools have too often engaged in ideological brainwashing, left wing propaganda and politically correct double talk and have failed to provide a common culture or a competent education to children.

(4) The schools are run by teachers and administrators who are themselves poorly educated and, even if (2) were not the case, lack the education needed to educate others, including children.

0-5 education would be a disaster for several reasons. First, it would give the ideologically motivated bigots who dominate our school system five additional, formative years to convert American children's minds to their left wing ideology. Second, it would deny children the additional time with their parents crucial to withstand the prejudices and incompetent education to which they are currently subjected in grades k-12. Third, as bad as the current crop of schoolteachers are, and as unqualified, there is no doubt that expanding the base of selfish, bureaucratic slime that works in education would reduce the quality of the teaching staff well below its current dismal level.

Rather than add five destructive years to the time children spend in public schools, a voucher system should be established and all schools should be privatized.

But Jamies doesn't stop with education! In a post on gay marriage entitled "We Are Not Homophobic" Jamie points out that:

"In response to Maine rejecting gay marriage, once again, many in the homosexual community have deliberately, or ignorantly, labeled those who oppose this measure as homophobic. Being a Christian, allow me to clarify this psychological diagnosis for the gay community. We are not afraid of you."

Jamie points out that she disagrees with gay marriage on religious grounds, not because of homophobia. In my view, there is a greater degree of Christophobia on the part of New York Times-style left wing extremists as there is homophobia among mainstream and moderate Americans who believe in God.

Fresh Conservative is an impressive website and I am looking forward to reading more of their stuff.

*Hope writes that Obama has already backed 0-5 education: "In a White House press release dated March 10, 2009, 'President Obama is committed to helping states develop seamless, comprehensive, and coordinated ‘Zero to Five’ systems to improve developmental outcomes and early learning for all children.'"