Truth in love blog

Creativity Lives! You Really Don’t Have to Be Graphic To Be Effective

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 13:16:47 -0600

Have you ever asked, “where are the creative filmmakers?” Or how about, “did they really have to be that graphic to get their point across?” Well here’s a commercial that answers both questions. It is one of the most creative, beautiful, thought provoking and powerful pieces of video I’ve seen. My only criticism is the absence of wedding rings (you probably wouldn’t have caught that, and I may have just ruined it for you, but I look for it since there’s a trend toward avoid them in commercials... and I already confessed my love for cultural apologetics and film analysis). Nevertheless, this is head and shoulders above the rest. Enjoy!

VB

Daddy’s Little Girl (February ’10 Edition)

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 05:28:44 -0600

“STRENGTH AND DIGNITY ARE HER CLOTHING”
By
Jasmine Baucham

Last summer, I spent a week in Louisiana with a dear friend of mine who was there for the summer nannying for her aunt and uncle. I had never been to New Orleans before, and hadn't seen my friend for several weeks; also, it was my first time away from home alone (my family had to leave me in Houston with friends once, when a spur-of-the-moment sinus and double-ear infection kept me from hopping a plane to Georgia with them, but that was the closest I'd gotten until then). I was nervous and excited to board the plane with my friend's dad and to head off to new and exciting places.

Three days later, I was as sick as a dog, calling home to tell my parents that I had ruined the carpeting and smeared the vinyl in a stranger's car. My dad kept me on the phone for twenty minutes, making me laugh with his intense worry, trying to joke off the waves of nausea that kept me from watching Food Network for two days. After a few minutes, I asked where Mama was so that I could repeat my story.

Daddy paused. "Um... she's right here."

"Can I talk to her?"

Another pause. "Uh... not right now."

Now, I was worried. "Why not?"

The last pause. "We're in the emergency room. She didn't want you to worry."

* * *
When you look at my mama, several words probably come to mind. Beautiful is one. Elegant is another. Radiant. Youthful. Poised. Something you might not think of is strength. But my mother is a strong woman.

My mother grew up in a turbulent home where she was taught that children are a burden, not a blessing, that certain adults want to prey on their innocence while others don't have time for them; she was taught that men treat women like objects, and that women should learn how to fend for themselves, or they will be trampled upon by those who are meant to protect them.

In spite of all of this, the Lord's hand was on my mother's life. She met my dad at a college dance (he petitioned her to step out onto the floor with him; she flatly refused). They got to know each other over the next few weeks; six months later, they were married. Ten months after that, I was born. I always tease my dad that I've almost known Mama as long as he has. Almost. ;-)

My mama was a public school teacher for seven years. She came home for a year before my dad announced, upon returning from a trip to England, that we were moving to Oxford. I was right there when he said it. I watched my mother nod her head. "Well, all right then."

Less than a year later, we landed on foreign soil, hailed a taxi, and pulled up to the home that my dad had procured in a harrowing last-minute transaction days before we arrived. She homeschooled us that first year in England -a seven-year-old and a ten-year-old -without a support group to speak of, starting from the ground up.

She's amazingly intelligent, my mother, and far less passionate and emotional than the rest of us -her level-headed practicality has anchored each one of us in the dramatic moments of our lives (yours truly especially). One thing she's got an abundance of -something that seems harder and harder to come by these days -is common sense. That first year of homeschooling took a lot of practicality -a lot of common sense -and a lot of patience. The kind that can move mountains. Rebellious, stubborn, headstrong, ten-year-old mountains. =)

Once back in the states, a new adventure awaited my parents. For years, they'd been talking about having more children. They researched every avenue before announcing that we were going to be adopting a baby soon! I wasn't there when they walked into the agency and announced that they wanted to adopt, when the social worker behind the desk said, "all right, how many?" or when my parents replied, "We're thinking ten is a good number." I didn't see her eyes bulge, or watch her rush out to grab her supervisor in excitement. But I've heard the story a thousand times.

My mom and dad were serious. 2004 brought news of Elijah David's birth. 2007 brought us Asher Augustine. 2008 brought us Judah Benjamin. 2009 brought us Micah Alexander. Who knows what 2010 may hold? But my mom is up to the task. She's already making plans. She says having a baby is like riding a bicycle. With eleven years between Trey and Elijah David, she proved her mettle. My mama wrangles her sons like a well-oiled machine. My mom is a home-keeper extraordinaire who proves that being a homemaker isn't for wimps.

My mom is full of life. She is laugh-out-loud hilarious. It's her keen observational skills, her common sense, and her down-to-earth country girl flavor that gives her humor such a riotous edge. Many times, she isn't even trying to be funny. But when she pokes fun at the things that we all notice, but can't quite put into words in that sweet, southern Dallas accent of hers (an accent that none of the rest of us -Texans thought we may be -quite have), she brings joy to our home.

My mom is full of life. She's a fighter. Not too long after Asher came home, she was diagnosed with lupus. Soon after that, she was diagnosed with advanced osteoporosis. Still later, arthritis in her lower back. When I got that call from Louisiana, she was in the hospital with some complications from the treatment of one of these ailments. And I was miles and miles away, calling home because I caught a stomach bug.

My mom is selfless. She didn't even want me to know she was sick, because she thought it would ruin my trip. And when I cried myself to sleep every night aching to be home, she rallied her strength to get on the phone and talk to me and soothe me -big old, nineteen-year-old, stand-up-in-the-middle-of-the-road crybaby that I was. And she said, "Jas, you can't be afraid to leave home. When Johnny comes and claims you next Tuesday, you've got to go and know that you can't stop bad things from happening to me. The Lord protects me. Your dad is always here for me." She says things like, "I'm glad none of this is hereditary. I wouldn't want you to have to deal with these things later in life." Last week, when everyone in my home except for me had a nasty flu bug, she said, "I'm sorry I'm so sick today, and that you have to help around the house more."

My mom is humble. She hates the spotlight, so much so that her own daughter can't get an interview. =) She cringes when she finds out there's a picture of her on the internet. She shies away from center stage. She'll kill me when she reads this blog post. =) But that doesn't keep her from encouraging each one of us to shine boldly and brightly for Christ, and it doesn't stop her from keeping her prideful children's visionary feet planted firmly in the realm of reality.

My mom is beautiful. It's an all-encompassing adjective. She's gorgeous in all of her particulars, from the inside out. She's a keeper of her home who gives this place a joyful atmosphere. She's an example who is more to me than any words could express. She loves her family with everything she has to give. She is intelligent. She is articulate. She is hilarious.

This Saturday is Mama's birthday. During her birthday week, everyone at our home tries to find ways to show her how thankful we are for her, day by day. Today, I thought I'd formally introduce you to the amazing woman who is my mommy. In the heartfelt prose of her lyrical daughter, my love for her is matchless and depthless. She is beyond amazing. I've wanted to be like her all of my life -the older I get, the more desire increases, day-by-day. This is a Proverbs 31, Titus 2 woman who understands the beauty of her femininity. She's radiant with the love of Christ.

Happy birthday to Mama. January 23 all those years ago (not too many years =) brought her mother a beautiful blessing. All of the years since then have shaped her into a woman who has blessed so many more people than I think my grandmother ever imagined. But the Lord knew just what was in store for his precious daughter. And we -her family -are so blessed to stand beside her as we see what the Lord has in store for all the years to come.

JB

Read Jasmine’s Blog Here

Asher’s Birthday Trip

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 23:51:34 -0600

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 30, 2010 is Asher’s third birthday. That may not mean a whole lot to you, but it means a great deal in the Baucham house. We make a big deal of birthdays. And since there are so many of us now, we don’t even have to invite a bunch of people over to have a nice party. This year, along with his Spiderman cake and Thomas the Train shirt, Asher is getting a special gift from daddy... He’s going with me on a ministry trip to Chicago. I’m headed up to do a Men’s Retreat for Wheaton Bible Church, and for the first time in his life, Asher gets to tag along all by himself. It’s going to be a blast!

Yet, some people (mostly those who have three year-olds) wonder why I would take on such a task. Here are five good reasons:

1. Because I Try Not to Miss Birthdays

I try to keep my travel to a minimum. It is my primary source of income, so I have to do it, but it cannot be allowed to interfere with my duties as a husband and father. Part of those duties, as far as I’m concerned, is making sure I am here for special days as much as possible. As such, I don’t typically miss birthdays. Since this event falls on Asher’s birthday, and January is the hardest month for me to book the way I would like (after taking December and early January off), this was a great way to both do the event and make the birthday.

1. Because It’s the Coolest Gift I Could Think Of

Asher loves his daddy. However, sometimes I think he loves flying even more. The kid lights up like a Christmas tree every time we start heading east on Beltway 8 (the road we take to the airport). We can be headed to the Zoo and Asher will blurt out, “Are we going to the airport?” When we do have occasion to fly as a family, he is absolutely giddy the entire time. In fact, we decided not to tell him about his birthday present from Dad until the day before because he would have driven us all crazy.

1. Because I Love My Son

Not only does Asher love his daddy, Asher’s daddy loves him. I love all my children. I wish I could take them all with me. I also enjoy spending time with them individually. This is a tremendous opportunity for me to just love on Asher. This is an absolute treat.

1. Because Yesterday, Trey was His Age

My son, Trey, who has traveled with me full time since he was thirteen, was Asher’s age not that long ago. In fact it seems like yesterday when I had to reach down and grab his little hand as we crossed the street. Now he’s a six foot tall, sixteen year-old college sophomore (in two weeks, Lord willing) with hopes, dreams and aspirations that will be lived out in his own family on tomorrow (at least that’s how it seems). Time flies when you’re raising kids. Asher won’t be a little boy long, and I don’t want to miss it.

1. Because I’m Not A Very Good Father, But I Want to Be Remembered As One

We all struggle with our own inadequacies. Every man can give you a list of the things he wishes he did better. When I think of how important the job of a father is, and how much is required of me, I can’t help but see how short I fall. However, I know that all children grow up with less-than-perfect fathers, but they also grow up with memories from the moments when Dad got it right.

My father was not there for me. He did not raise me, nor did he spend much time with me in the grand scheme of things. Nevertheless, when I think of my father, I don’t think about the things he didn’t do; I think about those times we did have together. I think about those words of wisdom he spoke to me that still impact my life to this day. I think about pictures of me sitting on his head as a little boy. And when I think about those things, I’m grateful.

Like my father, I too will die someday. And when I do, I’d like to think that my son, Asher will sit and tell his children stories about the day his Dad took him to a Men’s Retreat in Chicago on his third birthday and he had the time of his life.

VB

The Continuing Collapse: January 2010 Special Report

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:51:56 -0600

One of the most common objections to our criticism of the government education system is the idea that “some people don’t have a choice” since they “can’t afford” to do anything other than ship their children off to the local government school. Well, this news bulletin should put that nonsense to rest. If a family is truly committed to keeping their children out of the clutches of the immoral, unsafe, anti-Christian government schools, they’ll do whatever it takes. I don’t say that because I take people’s hardships lightly; I say it because I’ve seen it done. Just this past Sunday I had the privilege of speaking to a woman who has been visiting our church for the past couple of weeks. She is a single mother with seven children... AND SHE HOMESCHOOLS! Then there’s the family in this story who’s struggles go far beyond the financial. I’ll never complain about our homeschool struggles again... well, I will, but when I do I’ll be ashamed.
VB

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY OUT OF CHARACTER FROM THE CONTINUING COLLAPSE
(Some Good News)

By Bruce N. Shortt, J.D., Ph.D

A federal judge in Tennessee today granted political asylum to the Romeikes, a German Christian homeschooling family from Bissinggen, Germany, who fled persecution in August 2008 seeking political asylum in the United States.

As many of you may know, the German government has been aggressively persecuting Christian homeschoolers using Nazi-era laws. Moreover, the German government has used its power in the EU to create a legal and administrative environment that has become increasingly hostile to homeschooling throughout Europe.

In his decision Judge Burman recognized that homeschooling is a fundamental human right:

“We can’t expect every country to follow our constitution,” said Judge Burman. “The world might be a better place if it did. However, the rights being violated here are basic human rights that no country has a right to violate.”
Burman added, “Homeschoolers are a particular social group that the German government is trying to suppress. This family has a well-founded fear of persecution…therefore, they are eligible for asylum…and the court will grant asylum.”
In addition to its repercussions in Germany and across Europe, Judge Burman's decision is a blow against the elements of the educational establishment and the political left in the United States that would like to eliminate homeschooling or regulate independent homeschooling out of existence.
As a final word, The Continuing Collapse would like to point out that cases like these are not won in a vacuum. Judge Burman was obviously influenced by the now widespread perception that homeschooling is a legitimate educational alternative. That perception has been created over the years by homeschool parents, by the selfless work of homeschool leaders at the state and local level, by those who have promoted homeschooling throuugh the media (magazines, radio talk show, television, internet, etc.), and by our national organizations such as NHERI. In this particular case, HSLDA was the tip of the spear, and we should all give thanks for the tremendous job it has done in this case. The ultimate glory and thanks, of course, are due to God.

For more details see:
http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Germany/201001260.asp

The Continuing Collapse: January 2010

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 08:26:09 -0600

WELCOME TO THE CONTINUING COLLAPSE!

By Bruce N. Shortt, J.D., Ph.D.

January, Anno Domini 2010

"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it, misdiagnosing it, and then misapplying the wrong remedies."
(Groucho Marx)  
Here richly, with ridiculous display, The Politician's corpse was laid away. While all of his acquaintance sneered and slanged. I wept: for I had longed to see him hanged.
(Hilaire Belloc)
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM
THE CONTINUING COLLAPSE!

       2010 is now upon us. Will this be the year that Christians begin to stop offering up their children as living sacrifices to the Moloch of government schools, or will it simply be another year of evasions and lies by parents, pastors, and church leaders?

     Will it be a year in which churches announce that they will be offering low cost, academically effective, Christian education alternatives to the children of the church and the church's community, or will it simply be another year in which churches waste money on little used buildings, expensive sound systems, and entertainment?

    Will it be a year in which the denominational leaders and leaders of parachurch ministries who always find time to speak out on political issues finally address with urgency the spiritual, moral, and academic crimes being committed against children by government schools, or will it simply be another year of silence or dishonest talk about school reform, "salt and light", and how "some government schools are different"?

    Will this be the year that homeschoolers become serious about homeschool evangelism, creating a network of thousands of First Class Ministries Homeschool Coops (http://www.firstclasshomeschool.org/pages/home.html), and joining forces in the hundreds of thousands with HSLDA's Generation Joshua (http://www.generationjoshua.org/dnn/), or will we continue to ignore the gathering storm and to huddle in our homes in the naive hope that the strife will pass us by?

    The Continuing Collapse asks you to make a New Year's Resolution that you will be a prophetic voice in your community speaking to the need for Christians to be faithful in the education of their children. No other issue is as critical for the future of our children, our families, our churches, and our culture.

Whether you do it gently or boldly, talk to everyone with children in government schools, pastors, and Christian leaders about why we must get our children out of the Father of Lies' schools, become active with Generation Joshua, join HSLDA (www.hslda.org), start coops, and don't forget to work to defeat school bond levies (712-758-3660, ccs@iowatelecom.net)!

By the way, as a New Year's bonus for those to get to the end of TCC, you will be introduced to a remarkable Christian, Jim Tour.

AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULAR PROGRAMMING - MORE GOVERNMENT SCHOOL FOLLIES...

        In its last issue, The Continuing Collapse recounted a "sortie" into the heart of darkness - a school of education. That tale, replete with detail on the beliefs and colorful folkways of those who indoctrinate our highly trained education professionals, was met by disbelief by some. Surely, they said, the adoration of the views of Gramsci and other hard leftists couldn't be possibly be widespread in teacher training programs.

       In other words, those who cannot bring themselves to confront the fundamentally anti-Christian, evil nature of the government school establishment resorted to the old "isolated case" dodge. Nevermind that those who David Horowitz calls the "tenured radicals" of the academy openly confess their anti-Christian, leftist worldview, or that accrediting organizations for schools of education such as NCATE for years have openly discussed making enforcement of ideological purity among prospective teachers a criterion for accreditation for a school of education, most Christians, and particularly pastors, simply don't want to believe that schools of education are nothing more than re-education camps on American soil and that most of the Christian graduates from such programs leave having absorbed a false worldview that makes them a clear and present danger to children.

      Fortunately for confronting the "doubters", the scandalous situation in schools of education is now bleeding into the mainstream press. Below we have a reporter for the Minneapolis "Red Star" Tribune reporting that in Minnesota the left isn't satisfied with force-feeding leftist propaganda to credulous 18 to 22 year-olds as if they were so many geese having their livers bloated so that they can be used for making pate de foie gras. No, they are now moving toward "total quality control" by demanding that no one who has failed to absorb or who refuses to adopt the ideology of the education establishment be allowed to become a teacher.

     Please read all of the following story by following the link.

Teachers Must Denounce "Exclusionary Biases"
and Embrace the Vision. (Or else.)
By KATHERINE KERSTEN, Star Tribune
Do you believe in the American dream -- the idea that in this country, hardworking people of every race, color and creed can get ahead on their own merits? If so, that belief may soon bar you from getting a license to teach in Minnesota public schools -- at least if you plan to get your teaching degree at the University of Minnesota's Twin Cities campus.

In a report compiled last summer, the Race, Culture, Class and Gender Task Group at the U's College of Education and Human Development recommended that aspiring teachers there must repudiate the notion of "the American Dream" in order to obtain the recommendation for licensure required by the Minnesota Board of Teaching. Instead, teacher candidates must embrace -- and be prepared to teach our state's kids -- the task force's own vision of America as an oppressive hellhole: racist, sexist and homophobic.

The task group is part of the Teacher Education Redesign Initiative, a multiyear project to change the way future teachers are trained at the U's flagship campus. The initiative is premised, in part, on the conviction that Minnesota teachers' lack of "cultural competence" contributes to the poor academic performance of the state's minority students. Last spring, it charged the task group with coming up with recommendations to change this. In January, planners will review the recommendations and decide how to proceed.

The report advocates making race, class and gender politics the "overarching framework" for all teaching courses at the U. It calls for evaluating future teachers in both coursework and practice teaching based on their willingness to fall into ideological lockstep.

The first step toward "cultural competence," says the task group, is for future teachers to recognize -- and confess -- their own bigotry. Anyone familiar with the reeducation camps of China's Cultural Revolution will recognize the modus operandi.

The task group recommends, for example, that prospective teachers be required to prepare an "autoethnography" report. They must describe their own prejudices and stereotypes, question their "cultural" motives for wishing to become teachers, and take a "cultural intelligence" assessment designed to ferret out their latent racism, classism and other "isms." They "earn points" for "demonstrating the ability to be self-critical."

The task group opens its report with a model for officially approved confessional statements: "As an Anglo teacher, I struggle to quiet voices from my own farm family, echoing as always from some unstated standard. ... How can we untangle our own deeply entrenched assumptions?"

The goal of these exercises, in the task group's words, is to ensure that "future teachers will be able to discuss their own histories and current thinking drawing on notions of white privilege, hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and internalized oppression."

Future teachers must also recognize and denounce the fundamental injustices at the heart of American society, says the task group. From a historical perspective, they must "understand that ... many groups are typically not included" within America's "celebrated cultural identity," and that "such exclusion is frequently a result of dissimilarities in power and influence." In particular, aspiring teachers must be able "to explain how institutional racism works in schools."

After indoctrination of this kind, who wouldn't conclude that the American Dream of equality for all is a cruel hoax? But just to make sure, the task force recommends requiring "our future teachers" to "articulate a sophisticated and nuanced critical analysis" of this view of the American promise. In the process, they must incorporate the "myth of meritocracy in the United States," the "history of demands for assimilation to white, middle-class, Christian meanings and values, [and] history of white racism, with special focus on current colorblind ideology."

What if some aspiring teachers resist this effort at thought control and object to parroting back an ideological line as a condition of future employment? The task group has Orwellian plans for such rebels: The U, it says, must "develop clear steps and procedures for working with non-performing students, including a remediation plan."

And what if students' ideological purity is tainted once they begin to do practice teaching in the public schools? The task group frames the danger this way: "How can we be sure that teaching supervisors are themselves developed and equipped in cultural competence outcomes in order to supervise beginning teachers around issues of race, class, culture, and gender?"

Its answer? "Requir[e] training/workshop for all supervisors. Perhaps a training session disguised as a thank you/recognition ceremony/reception at the beginning of the year?"

When teacher training requires a "disguise," you know something sinister is going on....
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/70662162.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:Ug8P:Pc:UiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr
So there you have it: Rigid adherence to Gramscian marxism (the "race, class, and gender" analytical framework), Maoist style self-denunciations, and Stalinist enforcement of ideological purity - all to be hidden under the rhetorical camouflage of "cultural competence".
But what about the "Lake Woebegone states"?
You know - the states where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, all the children are above average, and all the schools are different"? From WND:
Candidates for certification to teach in public schools in Texas are being told that they will be held accountable for any "heterosexist" leanings and must become agents working to change society, according to one candidate who was alarmed by the demands.
The applicant, who requested anonymity for fear of repercussions, told WND part of the teachings on multiculturalism required him to read several online postings about the issue inside the education industry.
One warns that "teachers and administrators must be held accountable for practices deemed to be racist, sexist, heterosexist, classist, or in any other way discriminatory." And a second warned that educators must not define education as the basic skills.
"How do we create a better world? How do we do more than simply survive? As educators, we must help people to become committed to social change," the article demanded....
The traditional teaching approaches, it continued, "must be deconstructed to examine how they are contributing to and supporting institutional systems of oppression."
It demands that the "transformation of society" be part of a school's goals....
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=120622

CALIFORNIA'S SB 777 COMES TO RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA
As The Continuing Collapse presciently predicted over a year ago, California's SB 777 (aka "Zelda's Revenge") is spreading insidiously into the heartland. Assiduous readers of TCC know that SB 777 included provisions banning any form of "discrimination" in California schools on the basis of "sexual orientation" or "gender".
The "gender" provision was particularly of interest because of its postmodern definition  - your gender is whatever gender you identify with, not the gender you were assigned at birth based on "stereotypical" characteristcs.
Now we find that the highly trained education professionals in South Dakota are eager to show that they, too, are "up-to-date":
Four words in a proposed Rapid City school district discrimination policy have ignited a passionate debate among community and school board members.
A proposed change to add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the policy drew a record number of community members and five legislators to the board's meeting Thursday night...
A majority of the community speakers Thursday night asked board members to strike the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" and replace them with "other human differences."
"Our current policy must protect the rights of all students, not just special interest groups," said local pastor Dale Bartscher, who is affiliated with the South Dakota Family Policy Council. "That includes fat, thin, short, if they have blue hair, whatever."
A line of almost a dozen community members and legislators echoed the sentiment with personal stories of being bullied or bullying students for things that were not on the list - for having red hair, for being the new kid, for coming to school as a cowboy - smelling like the farm and the morning chores you just came from - as was Charles Kruse's experience.
"Are you going to add cowboys?" he asked.
But district employee Peggy Bias said some people need "things spelled out."
"Imagine sitting next to people who harassed you every day," she said, especially for a student "trying to learn the quadratic equation."
Approving the new policy wouldn't mean board members agree with the specific beliefs, she said.
Michael Pyle, of South Dakota Young Democrats, said it could affect what kind of teachers come to the district. Several other districts in the state, including Sioux Falls, include sexual orientation, he added. "They haven't caused problems," he said of the policies, "but served as a welcome mat for diverse teachers. When teachers aren't worried that they're going to lose their job because they're gay, they send a message to students they're OK, too."
The policy before said in its dealing with staff, students and the public that it will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, gender, religion, national background, handicap and other human differences.
Board members anticipated "other human differences" to be replaced with sexual orientation, but administrators did not propose that change. The policy in place before the Sept. 3 meeting was recommended by the Associated School Boards of South Dakota and removed the terms at the center of the debate, said school attorney Chris Palmer. But the policy didn't have procedures attached to it, which prompted the proposal to go back to the policy with the attached procedures....
Board members continued to work on the policy for 3-1/2 hours after the start of the meeting, with about half of the 50 people staying to hear the outcome...
The meeting came down to a battle over words with members denying several motions - all of the disagreements hinging on a word or two.
Board members Suzan Nolan and Bret Swanson argued that "sexual orientation" had to be listed, while other board members including Sheryl Kirkeby argued that "other human differences" was needed.
The board finally settled on a list including race, color, ethnicity, national origin, pregnancy, marital status, religion, creed, age, sex, citizenship, political affiliation, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation and status as a veteran.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_986eafe6-eb91-11de-a7bc-001cc4c03286.html

TCC trusts that you recognized that neither side of the debate made any sense, primarily because the debate was waged on the left's terms - in this case, worrying about who the most "worthy victims" are. If victims we must have, TCC would have liked to have had alchemists, albino hairdressers, and embalmers included in the list.

Pastors...if these things are going on in Texas and South Dakota, do you really think that your "schools are different"?

BUT MA'AM, I WAS JUST TRYING TO GET ALL THE FACTS

(BY THE WAY, YOU WOULDN'T HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY PICTURES
FROM THE INCIDENT, WOULD YOU?)

Few things are more darkly comical than how most parents and pastors continue to believe that the vast majority of our highly trained education professionals are like Dear Old Mr. Chips and Our Miss Brooks. Somehow, the extensive data and reporting on the widespread sexual and physical abuse of children by highly trained education professionals just doesn't seem to penetrate the consciousness of those who benefit from aid-to-dependent parents, better known as "free" public schools.

Here we have a story about a mother who suddenly discovered the prurient and fascistic tendencies of her local government school superindendent.

MYFOXNY.COM - A New Jersey woman is in court Wednesday for a disorderly conduct charge after she cursed out a middle school principal.
Cindy Schwalb says a boy pulled down her 13-year-old daughter's sweatpants in front of other students at Hasbrouck Heights Middle School.
Schwalb says she went to a school board seminar about bullying and got upset when her daughter's case wasn't given the attention she felt it deserved.
Schwalb says she became enraged when the district superintendent starting asking her questions, including one about whether her daughter was wearing a thong.
Superintendent Joseph Luongo says it was a fair question, "I had to find out what body parts were actually revealed."
She later cursed out school principal Edward Bocar in a hallway.
Schwalb calmed down and apologized and left the building without further incident.
Still, the district filed a complaint against Schwalb. Detective Sgt. Joseph Rinke, who also sits on the school board, filed the report. School officials said the meeting wasn't the place for Schwalb to express her concerns.
Luongo said, "Parents should be smarter than that."
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_jersey/100113-mother-arrested-for-cursing-at-principal

TCC wonders which body parts of the 13 year-old girl would have to have been exposed for the matter to merit the superintendent's attention? Or perhaps he viewed the merits of the incident as turning on what underwear the girl was wearing...or perhaps he genuinely needs remedial lessons in anatomy so that he can understand what was likely to have been exposed.

And still Christians place their children under the authority of an institution riddled with people like this superintendent....And just look at this story from "nowhere" Texas...

TEXAS SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER GIVES "MOTIVATIONAL" TALK...

WHAT EVERY 8TH-GRADE GIRL NEEDS TO KNOW.
(In the judgment of the government school establishment)

Why wasn't she arrested? More to the point, why are there any students left in the government schools in Hitchcock, Texas? Read the story and you will understand why TCC asks these questions.

HITCHCOCK — What was supposed to be a motivation speech to a collection of sixth- through eighth-grade girls at Crosby Middle School instead turned into an explicit sex talk, including descriptions on how to perform oral and anal sex, Hitchcock school officials said.

The motivational speaker turned out to be a Hitchcock school board member, Shirley Price.

Hitchcock Superintendent Mike Bergman said the Jan. 15 pep talk was supposed to be a motivational speech.

Price, who was born with physical handicaps, still managed to earn a doctoral degree and also won a seat on the school board.

Bergman said when Price was introduced, she asked that the school’s principal leave the room. Most of the teachers remained, but they did not step in when Price’s speech turned inappropriate, Bergman said.

“Somehow she got some story that she heard that students were having sex on campus and went into a speech about sexual type things,” Bergman said. “There was no motivational speech at all.”

The speech reportedly turned graphic and included instructions on how to perform oral and anal sex and included several curse words, Bergman said.

Students apparently were told to keep the contents of the speech secret, Bergman said....
http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=09d6b6ece4ddb7b7

IF THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA READ THE CONTINUING COLLAPSE, THEY WOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT
THIS OVER A YEAR AGO...
So, Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education and Dear Leader's basketball buddy, is finally being exposed as just another empty suit prancing about as a highly trained education professional.
What is the truth about Arne's Chicago government school miracle? If you get an education in Chicago's government schools, it's a miracle.
CHICAGO -- Soon after Arne Duncan left his job as schools chief here to become one of the most powerful U.S. education secretaries ever, his former students sat for federal achievement tests. This month, the mathematics report card was delivered: Chicago trailed several cities in performance and progress made over six years.
Miami, Houston and New York had higher scores than Chicago on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Boston, San Diego and Atlanta had bigger gains. Even fourth-graders in the much-maligned D.C. schools improved nearly twice as much since 2003....
Yet questions have arisen this year about the magnitude of Duncan's accomplishments. The Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, which represents business, professional, education and cultural leaders, concluded in June that gains on state test scores were inflated when Illinois relaxed passing standards and that too many students still drop out of high school or graduate unprepared for college. The Consortium on Chicago School Research, a nonpartisan group at the University of Chicago, reported in October that Duncan's closure of low-performing schools often shuffled students into comparable schools, yielding little or no academic benefit.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/28/AR2009122802368.html?wpisrc=nl_politics

Please do not think, Dear Reader, that The Continuing Collapse is merely indulging in a much merited gloat. No, there is indeed a serious point.

Arne Duncan, heretofore portrayed as a miracle worker - a veritable latter day educational Annie Sullivan - by Dear Leader's friends in the media, is now collaborating with the rest of Dear Leader's Administration to implement a national curriculum by offering "Race to the Top" grants. The following story shows how determined they are doing it.

Texas and Alaska, by the way, turned the RTTT grants down. Dear leader wasn't pleased and is trying to end-run uncooperative governors by offering the money to highly trained education professionals at the district level.

President Obama’s federal education dollars appear to have found a way around the states opting out of the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition by allowing districts to apply directly for funding. In a press conference on January 19, President Obama announced an additional $1.3 billion for an expansion of RTTT to districts.President Obama may have been referring to Governor Rick Perry (R-TX) when he explained the reason for the expansion of RTTT, “So innovative districts like the one in Texas whose reform efforts are being stymied by state decision-makers will soon have the chance to earn funding to help them pursue those reforms.”

Governor Perry opted out of the RTTT competition on the grounds that the program will increase the federal government’s role in public education. He said at his press conference on January 13, 2010, “If Washington were truly concerned about funding education with solutions that match local challenges, they would make the money available to states with no strings attached.”
Last year, Perry declined to participate in the Common Core State Standards Initiative spearheaded by the National Governors Association because the Texas State Board of Education had already adopted the nation's first state standards to be tied to college-and-career ready curriculum standards for core subjects. ...
http://www.examiner.com/x-16799-Dallas-Public-Education-Policy-Examiner~y2010m1d23-Race-to-the-Top-expansion-possibly-aimed-at-Texas

ARNE'S AND BARRY'S "RACE TO THE BOTTOM"
RTTT is "educational Obamacare", an effort to federalize education through taxpayer funded bribes given in exchange for accepting federal control over curriculum and standards.
Thus, we have a pincers movement by the left. On the one hand, at the local and state level our highly trained education professionals are attempting to eliminate all vestiges of dissent by teachers from the education establishment's leftist worldview. Their goal is to give themselves a level of totalitarian control over government schools and the children institutionalized in them not to be found in the Western Hemisphere outside of Cuba.
On the other hand, the federal government left is moving quickly to seize final control of the content of government school education. The purposes here are not merely ideological, but also crassly political.
Readers of The Continuing Collapse should recall Dear Leader's address to school children last September and the "curriculum" so helpfully provided by the executive branch to our highly trained education professionals (e.g. telling government school employees to have children write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the President achieve his goals).
Apart from the ideological and political components of RTTT, it is quite clear that the academic requirements of RTTT are another manifestation of the left's worship of "equality", even if it means lowering standards. Here are some of the details:
By ROBERT HOLLAND
...Members of Congress have had to vote on complex health-care-overhaul details they have not studied and sometimes not even seen. Similarly, states seeking to win juicy shares of the $4.35 billion in one-time education grants dangled before them by the Obama administration must agree to adopt a set of national education standards and a national test.
State and local school systems had until this past Tuesday to have their so-called Race to the Top (RttT) applications filed with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. His office has stated clearly, in writing, that states will have no real shot at this slush fund unless they have agreed to adopt “common standards” and “common assessments.”....
Texas and Alaska are the only two states that have declined to hop aboard this Race over the Cliff.
Meanwhile, the common assessment — a national test — is currently just something Duncan vows to purchase with a spare $350 million from his federal stimulus stash, employing yet another handpicked consortium to write the test for all American children.
In short, states must accept the national standards and national test — essentially a national curriculum — sight unseen if they want the federal largess...
It’s doubtful the national standards will be more rigorous than what most states now have. Hoover Institution scholar Bill Evers (a former U.S. Education Department official) and Palo Alto engineer Ze’ev Wurman (a key player in developing California’s exemplary math standards) recently observed that the “readiness” standards for English largely are a set of “content-free generic skills.” The standards favor the reading of workplace manuals much more than classic works of literature.
The math content may be “even worse,” say Evers and Wurman. While many colleges require applicants to have completed at least three years of math (including Algebra I and II and Geometry), the CCSSI standards require only a smattering of math beyond Algebra I. Students in schools adhering to these standards could find themselves ineligible for admission to any half-decent college or university.
School reformers have cheered the Obama administration for using RttT to pressure states to be more receptive to independently managed charter schools and use student test scores in evaluating teachers. But if the feds are calling the shots via standards-setting and enforcement, charter schools will be accountable not to local parents but to Washington power brokers, and teachers will teach to tests manipulated by national special interests and be held accountable for results having nothing to do with academic excellence....
http://www.projo.com/opinion/contributors/content/CT_holland22_01-22-10_P3H34U2_v29.3f8da91.html

GOVERNMENT SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR THE DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

(Because no matter how bad their school districts are, they can always say: "At least we're better than Detroit.")

DETROIT (WXYZ) - The results of a national test indicate Detroit public school children performed the lowest of all eighteen participating cities, and the reaction from officials now charged with leading the district can be summed up in one word: disappointed.

Scores released Tuesday indicate students posted the worst math results ever recorded in the 40-year history of the prestigious National Assessment of Educational Progress, a standardized test that serves as a nationwide yardstick in measuring student learning.

Sixty-nine percent of fourth-graders and 77 percent of eighth-graders scored below basic skill levels in math.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story/DETROIT-SCHOOL-TEST-RESULTS-Failing/RPAmCSBYVUSrnBJX5KlEgw.cspx

As appalling as Detroit public schools are, fairness requires The Continuing Collapse to point out that in relation to school districts in other large cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta, D.C., Philadelphia, and Houston, Detroit's main failing is that it the least adept of the large urban districts at cheating on standardized tests.

Consequently, The Continuing Collapse suggests that Detroit hire Houston's Mabel Caleb as a test score improvement consultant. Despite being implicated in a standardized test cheating scandal a few years ago, she has been promoted and got a raise that brought her base salary to $123,500.

Of course, she is now being investigated for financial irregularities relating to the federal free and reduced price lunch program, but if she parlays that into a raise and promotion, Detroit could also hire her as a financial consultant.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6828770.html

YET ANOTHER "SOCIAL JUSTICE" INNOVATION FROM OUR HIGHLY TRAINED EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS

One way of leaving "No Child Behind" is making sure than no child moves ahead.

Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.
The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse....
Sincular-Mertens, who has taught science at BHS for 24 years, said the possible cuts will impact her black students as well. She says there are twelve African-American males in her AP classes and that her four environmental science classes are 17.5 percent African American and 13.9 percent Latino. "As teachers, we are greatly saddened at the thought of losing the opportunity to help all of our students master the skills they need to find satisfaction and success in their education," she told the board...The full plan to close the racial achievement gap by altering the structure of the high school is known as the High School Redesign.
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/berkeley-high-may-cut-out-science-labs/Content?oid=1536705

THE BRITS ARE BEGINNING TO GET IT, WHY AREN'T WE?

Could it be because the Brits don't go to church and so don't have pastors telling them that their children are "salt and light" or that their schools are "different"? Just kidding...I think.

The proportion of children sent to private schools has risen to a 12-year high despite billions of pounds of extra spending on state education...
In one London borough, 56.5 per cent of secondary pupils and 52.1 per cent of primary are privately educated.
The figures, released under the Freedom of Information Act, are based on a census in January 2009. They show private schools weathered the early effects of the credit crunch and increased their market share despite a hike in fees estimated at 40 per cent in five years.
But the success of private schools during 12 years of Labour rule has triggered claims that the party has failed to reform state schools.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1239963/Government-spending-schools-soars-parents-flocking-private.html#ixzz0bQYpfGKr
A CHRISTIAN, A SCIENTIST, AND AN INSPIRATION
Despite the dishonest blathering by the secular jihadis about the incompatibility of Christianity and science, Christians continue to make major contributions to science, as they always have. Here is a story from the Houston Chronicle about one of the most important living scientists, Rice University's Jim Tour.
As a teen pumping gas on a highway north of New York City, Jim Tour dreamed of becoming a state trooper. It beat filling tanks.
The notion of Tour as a highway cop is almost laughably discordant with present-day reality. Three decades later, the trim, intense, 50-year-old Tour has established himself as one of the leading, if not premier, scientists at Rice University.
And he's learned to dream big.
Four years after Nobel laureate Rick Smalley's untimely death, it is the prolific Tour who as much as anyone has carried on Smalley's groundbreaking legacy in the science of nanotechnology.
Confirmation came last month when, among the more than 720,000 scientists who authored chemistry papers in academic journals during the last decade, Tour found himself among the 10 most-cited authors in the world.
This means the 135 papers he wrote during the last decade had one of the 10 highest rates at which other scientists “cited” them in the references of subsequent research papers.
And small wonder. Tour's work spans an incredible breadth, from building tiny cars and trucks out of molecules, to making computer memory from graphite, building tiny missiles that carry drugs to tumors and trying to cure radiation sickness.
“He is just incredibly creative as a chemist,” said Wade Adams, director of Rice's Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology. “He makes molecules dance.”
But it's not all about the chemistry. Though Tour is clearly passionate about chemistry, he is passionate about God. In a world that increasingly associates scientists with atheism or agnosticism, Tour derives his inspiration from deep faith.
He wakes up each morning at 3:30 a.m., he says, to spend his first two hours with his Bible. “I read the Bible from Genesis Chapter 1 to Revelation Chapter 22, and when I'm done I start again,” Tour said. “I've been doing this for over 30 years. There is this amazing richness. I take a passage and I say, ‘Lord speak to me.' And then it just comes alive.” ....
“Besides his extraordinary abilities as an instructor, he is also a mentor of leaders,” said Jorge Seminario, an engineering professor at Texas A&M University who studied under Tour at South Carolina. “In every step of his leadership, he is teaching his associates and students how to be organized and look for the success of the project.”
And, finally, Tour credits his success to his faith. When he speaks about this, Tour's angular features sharpen. He closes his eyes. His voice becomes more emotive. “I believe, fundamentally, that God creates us all,” he said.
Colleagues say that Tour, a Messianic Jew who attends West University Baptist Church, does not wear his religion on his sleeve, but that he will bring it up if asked. And if asked, he does not hold back.
As part of those views, Tour says he neither understands nor accepts the notion of macroevolution, that new species evolve on their own.
“I've asked people to explain it to me, and I still don't understand it,” he said. “I hear their explanations and I don't understand it. I understand better than most people how molecules come together, what they can and cannot do. … And I don't understand how macroevolution occurs.”
Tour does not espouse “intelligent design,” which holds that certain features of living things are best explained by God, but he says not accepting macroevolution has caused problems for him in academia.
“When appointments are not made, when fellowships are not granted on this basis, that hurts,” he said. “I'm willing to stand up and say I don't see any clothes on that emperor. I'm being very open. That bothers a lot of people. I don't know why. I'm telling you it's just been in the recent past. I've been a professor now for more than 20 years. I never saw it before.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6795911.html

That's a wrap for this edition of The Continuing Collapse. So, TCC bids you a fond "adieu" and asks you to:  REMEMBER:
 1. Feel free to circulate The Continuing Collapse.  2. If you aren't hearing about at least some these government school problems from your pastor, why is he your pastor?
3. FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS SEND THEIR CHILDREN TO GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS.

“I had motive for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption. The philosopher who finds no meaning in the world is not concerned exclusively with a problem in pure metaphysics, he is also concerned to prove that there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to do, or why his friends should not seize political power and govern in the way that they find most advantageous to themselves. … For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political.” (Aldous Huxley [evolutionist, leftist, and grandson of T.H. Huxley, known as "Darwin's bulldog"]: Ends and Means, pp. 270 ff.)

 “Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don’t mean to do harm – but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.”
T.S. Eliot