2020 | Week of July 13 | Radio Transcript #1368
How K-12 schools will operate this fall in The Badger State is anything but certain. But this we know: collective formal education will happen, whether virtual, in person, or as a combination of the two. Culturally and financially—at least from the government schools’ perspective—we are way too far down the road to hope that everyone would or could homeschool.
I will say I am concerned about how private schools are being dealt with regarding the pronouncements from the State Department of Health and the Department of Public Instruction. Private schools aren’t really any different from privately owned businesses, which have been given a great deal of freedom regarding whether they open and if masks are required. Unfortunately, state law and even the recent State Supreme Court decision don’t seem to give that same freedom to private schools of any sort.
So, no matter how the instruction happens—whether virtually or in a physical classroom—what can parents anticipate their children will learn in our state’s government-operated, government-controlled, citizen-funded public schools?
Recent events compel me to focus on just two specific areas of instruction that I am convinced will be consistently and purposefully presented.
First, the transgender agenda will be promoted as part of the curriculum, beginning in most schools as early as K4. Will it arrive with trumpets and great fanfare? Probably not. But it will be there in how innocent questions are answered, in the books that are read to classes, in accommodations made for students who claim they identify as the opposite sex, in discussions regarding kindness and tolerance, and in the older grades, even in the actual textbooks or other curriculum resources.
An online article posted recently, entitled “The Transgender Movement is destroying a generation of young women,”[1] points out that young girls are being targeted by those pushing the gender-change craze and much of the push is happening in schools because of the indoctrination that begins at very young ages. Over time, the message particularly resonates with pre-adolescent and adolescent girls, who are unusually sensitive and vulnerable, especially when it comes to what their friends seem to be thinking and doing.
With such exposure comes great risk of both young girls and young boys making irreversible decisions about taking hormones and even having surgical procedures for a confusion that has nothing to do with biology or physiology but has everything to do with one’s emotional, mental and spiritual condition. Add to this that in too many schools, parents are basically kept in the dark about what gender their children are identifying as at school, and you have a disaster in the making—a disaster involving the life of a child.
Second, if your child is enrolled in a Wisconsin public school, I hope you are asking if anything from the 1619 Project is included at any point in the educational program. Some are saying, and I believe rightly, that the riots and the destruction of memorials and statues across the country are simply an extension of the 1619 Project which was launched last summer nationwide.
The 1619 Project is revisionist history with a name. Basically, this is another attempt to expunge the truth about the founding and building of our country. This Project claims and promotes America was founded from the beginning to protect and promote slavery and that all white people should apologize for being white. Obviously, there’s much more to this Project that is now in public schools in all 50 states; but suffice it to say, it is a complete and dangerous rewrite of our history.
To be fair, this is just another revisionist history approach that is in our schools. For years, public school textbooks and the majority of teachers have taught that America is just an imperialistic, misogynistic, racist, homophobic, domestic and international bully. Our founders and leaders, if they are included at all, are at a minimum misrepresented and at times outright demonized and vilified.
I believe we have at least one generation, which encompasses about 25 years, steeped in liberal, progressive, socialistic, humanistic ideology, mostly compliments of our public schools—with little to no meaningful pushback or alternative answers from families or churches. It’s caught up to us in a big way of late.
However, it’s not too late for parents to protect their school-aged children. The choice on where and how parents provide formal education for their children rests squarely on the parents. My prayer is parents will be willing to look at this choice with eyes wide open and will truly act in the best interest of their children. Protecting children and providing for their good is part of being a good steward of these precious God-given gifts.
This is Julaine Appling for Wisconsin Family Council reminding you the prophet Hosea said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
[1] https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/the-transgender-movement-is-destroying-a-generation-of-young-women
Julaine Appling has taught on the junior high, high school, and college levels, and for five years was the administrator of a private school. In 1998 she was asked to become the Executive Director of Wisconsin Family Council, where her mission is to advance Judeo-Christian principles and values in Wisconsin by strengthening, preserving, and promoting marriage, family, life and liberty. In addition to regularly being interviewed for Wisconsin television, radio, and newspapers, she is the host of "Wisconsin Family Connection," aired weekly on almost 50 radio stations in Wisconsin including the VCY America radio network.
Learn more at WIFamilyCouncil.org
