United Liberty

As attention is being drawn to Barack Obama’s speech to kids in government-run schools, there is now a story out of Utah where parents are upset over the showing of the “I Pledge” video to their kids:

Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called “I pledge” on Aug. 28. The video opens with an image of President Barack Obama and part of a speech in which he says, “Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.” The video then features celebrities making pledges about how they will help the president and the world — and that’s where some say the problem lies.

Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks, smiling more, and caring for the elderly are noncontroversial. But other pledges, such as “to never give anyone the finger when I’m driving again,” “to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid” and to advance stem cell research cross the line, some say.

“Showing the video in a public school is completely inappropriate,” said Jennifer Cieslewicz, whose daughter is a first-grader at the school. “I don’t believe a video such as this that promotes certain values should be shown to elementary students, especially without parents being aware.”

Chris Williams, Davis School District spokesman, said school principal Ofelia Wade and school PTA leaders decided to show the video as part of an assembly about the school’s theme for the year, service. He said the PTA board chose the video and Wade did not see it before it was shown in the assembly.

A judge in New Hampshire is forcing a child to attend a government school because she needs to be exposed to what he deems are appropriate social settings:

The mother Brenda Kurowski Voydatch seems to be a Christian who is instructing her daughter Amanda in her faith, as good parents should. The father Martin Kurowski, however, seems ambivalent at best toward the Christian faith, and also seems unwilling to participate in Amanda’s homeschooling when he has custody of her.

The disagreement has led to the court getting involved, and Judge Lucinda V. Sadler has ordered Amanda to attend public school full time.

The judge’s opinion makes it clear on Page 7 that academic performance is not an issue: “it is clear that the home schooling Ms. Voydatch has provided has more than kept up with the academic requirements of the Meredith public school system.”

It goes on, on the same page, to make it clear that the agenda is not the student Amanda’s education, but her “socialization.” Apparently our education system has the dual role of social engineering: in the minds of elitists like this judge, one must have their heads properly filled with socialist mush before the job of educating a child can be considered complete.

The article points out that the child had already been attending some classes at a local government school, things that can’t be done in the homeschooling setting.

I really doubt a higher court will hold this ruling up (you can read the judge’s order here), but you never know. No government should tell a parent how to educate their child, especially when the judge acknowledge that her education isn’t the problem. So what if she isn’t being exposed certain social settings?

Even political bloggers take a break for holidays, so we at United Liberty wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy reading some of our past stories.

Prophets of the Past

Housing Bailout Cheats the Smart Poor

Huckabee: The Anti-Libertarian

Young People Find Obama “Way Cooler” than McCain

Obama Hood

I received an e-mail from a family member that detailed protests by disability rights activists of Sen. John McCain. Here’s some of it:

The 2008 election campaigns have included rhetoric about tax breaks for middle income families, and media coverage has included stories about families who have children with disabilities. Left out of all the election rhetoric are the candidates’ positions on and commitments to those babies with disabilities who grow into adults with disabilities who all-too-often survive on extremely low incomes (less than 30% of the median income). These extremely low incomes are often the fixed benefit amounts of SSI and Social Security.

In 2006, according to Priced Out in 2006, the federal SSI benefit was $603/month and the average cost nationally of renting a studio/efficiency apartment was $633/month.

Over at Facebook, there are alot of user groups for nearly all political issues, from abortion to Serbian nationalism. I found the presence of discussion on school choice was extremely lacking, however. In an attempt to change that, I have created a group called “1,000,000 Strong for School Choice.” Follow the link and you’ll be able to join. If you have any questions or experience problems, e-mail me at mopowell07@gmail.com.

In Sweden, parents are enjoying the freedom of being able to choose where their students go to school:

STOCKHOLM, Sweden: Schools run by private enterprise? Free iPods and laptop computers to attract students?

It may sound out of place in Sweden, that paragon of taxpayer-funded cradle-to-grave welfare. But a sweeping reform of the school system has survived the critics and 16 years later is spreading and attracting interest abroad.

“I think most people, parents and children, appreciate the choice,” said Bertil Ostberg, from the Ministry of Education. “You can decide what school you want to attend and that appeals to people.”

As most schools in the Atlanta area are beginning their ‘08-‘09 school year and summer vacation ends, I am reminded once again about the money pit that is public/government education. As we dump our tax dollars into it, we are getting less of a return on our investment with each successive year of unacceptable results.

A local school system, which will remain nameless, averaged spending over $13,000 per student in 2004 (the most recent year I could find information). Their academic reputation is certainly not one that would influence me to send my child there. In fact, the superintendent’s focal point for the 2007-2008 school year was identifying gang members and prohibiting their freedom of expression through symbols, gestures, and colors. It is not a focus on ensuring the best education for the students in the county’s educational system. It is not a focus on teaching methods to reach the students. It is not a focus on achieving something, but rather a focus on something that can be easily eliminated in a school choice scenario.