(CNSNews.com) – The Catholic bishop of Harrisburg, Pa., has apologized for offending anyone with his recent comments that Hitler and Mussolini “would love” the public school system in Pennsylvania, because it is similar to what they sought to create in their totalitarian states.THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The good bishop is right, and the ADL needs to BACK OFF. As far as I'm concerned, they lost all credibility years ago. What the bishop said is true. America's public schools are a government-run education MONOPOLY. It's a monopoly that must be broken up. It breeds corruption, greed, laziness and injustice. I can't even begin to tell you all of the horror stories I hear from parents who send their children to America's public schools. Bring in the vouchers and give it directly to the parents as reimbursement for tuition paid. This way it keeps the government out of the Catholic schools, and forces it to deal with the child's family instead -- which is the child's primary caregiver and educator anyway.
But in a statement issued by the diocese of Harrisburg, Bishop Joseph McFadden did not retract comments he made during an interview on Jan. 24 with WHTM-TV, the ABC affiliate in Harrisburg...
full story and video here
I propose a challenge to any state in the Union, and I dare you to say it won't work. I propose the state enact a law, that simply says if a parent chooses to send a child to a religious school, private school or accredited home school program, than HALF of the money that would have gone to the public school for that child will still go to the same public school, while the other half will go directly to the parents in the form of reimbursement for tuition paid. In other words, all the parent has to do is present the receipts, and the state will pay for them all, up to half of the money that would have been given to public school had the child attended there. Since most religious schools are able to educate students for approximately half the money it takes in a public school, this should be enough to cover all (or most) of the tuition for a religious school. Meanwhile, the other half of the money goes to the said public school. This way EVERYBODY WINS. The parents get some much-needed financial help in exchange for the tax dollars they are already paying into the system, while the public school gets more money to educate with and less students to deal with.
Yes, it is a perfectly fair and reasonable proposal, but I predict neither the government nor the teachers' unions will support it. Why? It's simple really. If the public school system were really about educating our children, than they would accept this above proposal in a heartbeat. However, it's not really about education now is it. From the government's perspective, it's about indoctrination, making sure the overwhelming majority of future American citizens are taught exactly what the government wants them to know, and not what the government doesn't want them to know. From the teachers unions perspective, it's about keeping the racket going for the sake of teachers and their unions. They want to insure a maximum amount of revenue coming into the schools and class size or effectiveness doesn't really matter. You see a teacher gets paid the same no matter how many students can't read, write or do simple arithmetic. That pay keeps the union dues current. That's all that matters folks. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! Listen to the good bishop in the story above.
4 comments; post here:
Sir Knight,
There is a term that has imerged over the last decade or so that has been utilized by educators within the faculty of theology whose degree I am nearing completion. It describes perfectly the observations they have made, and continue to make, concerning the vast majority of students that pass through the halls of learning; it is 'compliance syndrome' - Characterised by an inability to question, critically anylise and think for themselves. both liberal and orthodox lecturers alike in moments of honesty with the mature age students of gen X, boomer, and even a rare example of the builder generation, find gravely disturbing. This, and a lack of skill in written and even verbal expression (among students for whom English is the first language in a vast majority of cases. As one tutor of my generation stated to a classs passionately four years ago now, language is the key to empowerment; loose the ability to express yourself to the full (in the language of the land, in this instance, as it is the first language of 90% of the student body) and you lose your power, opening yourself up to being robbed of the ability to learn, think, express, question and so much else for oneself. This is exactly what is happening in the vast majority of state schools here (and even a not insignificant number of independant schools also).
'We are the Borg, You will be assimilated', 'your cultural and biological distinctiveness will be added to our own', 'Resistance is futile'... Sound familliar????
In a note of irony, the international students we have coming from Africa and the subcontinent (Christians from some of the most difficult nations in which it is to be Catholic Christian) are articulate, erudite and incredibly well spoken in many cases making better use of English than their first-language student 'cousins'.
Blessings to you, your family and your wonderful blog ministry.
In Communist strategies of the Stalin era, priority was set for: eliminating parental and religious rights, and mandating public school only education. Their purpose was to weaken the family and the church and strengthen the state. Sounds a lot like secular progressives in the US to me.
In Communist strategies of the Stalin era, priority was set for: eliminating parental and religious rights, and mandating public school only education. Their purpose was to weaken the family and the church and strengthen the state. Sounds a lot like secular progressives in the US to me.
Bingo. In order to orchestrate political change you first must change the culture. This has been discussed quite often at the Constance Cumbey blog, how education is used as a vehicle for "cultural change." There are a number of researchers who have done work in this area. I will dig through my research notes and see if I can find something to post that is useful and relevant.
There is a woman in my local parish who grew up under communism. She has spoken about the indoctrination she, and all the students, received in the school. One was powerless as a parent to resist its influence.
She has told the story of how she got her Catholic faith, about how after the Iron Curtain fell, the teacher walked into the classroom, turned to the students and said: "Today, for the first time, you are going to hear the real history of your own country."
Luciana
As many Catholic schools are closing in PA, I am pretty sure the teachers in the Catholic Schools are lazy, uncaring, etc. If you were not, they would have doubled in money and size.
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