September 16th was Mexico’s independence day, so principal Sam Williams of Velasco Elementary School in Clute, Texas had a good idea. Last Friday he brought in some Mexican parents to help, handed out Mexican flags to the kids, and had the pledge of allegiance to the flag recited in class. Unfortunately, it was a pledge to the Mexican flag.
Mr. Williams didn’t realize there was a problem until an Anglo parent called into local talk radio (go to Hot Air for the audio from Chris Baker’s talk radio show) to complain about what happened. That lit a fire under Mr. Williams’ asparagus, and now he’s feeling a little sorry for himself.
Folks, these are your tax dollars at work. Or the tax dollars of Texans, anyway.
Though there could be some of Uncle Sugar’s dollars involved — it might be a new federal program, after all, one in which no child is left behind saying Prometo lealtad a la bandera…
Hat tip: Florida Cracker.
“Multiculturalism” or, more properly “transnational progressivism” in action yet again.
What’s needed is a dose of nationalism, with a pinch of religion, and I’d throw in a dash of evil old imperialism as well. Every time our leftie enemies pull a stunt like this, or let Chavez or Mad Jan talk too much: they make our case for us.
This is clearly the work of Il Diablo.
You may be closer than you think about the federal connection, but the real problem here is what our educational system and the people teaching our children has become.
Our children are our future and they are to a large extent going to reflect what and how they are taught.
Homeschooling is looking more and more attractive to me for my Sweet Sarah.
Trouble is, I’ll have to find a qualified (in more ways than just education) teacher, because I’ve only got a fifty some odd year old GED and she deserves much better than that.
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
At Everman high school, they took the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) tests, something several grades do in order to judge how our students are doing. The white students scored about 75 on average, the mexican students scored around 50, the blacks scored around 33. The principal said something about the black students’ scores bringing down the average for the school, and she lost her job, forced to resign.
Yet this yahoo can make the students recite the pledge to Mexico and KEEP HIS JOB? One more example of political correctness gone awry. Please, even if you don’t live there, email this principal demanding his resignation. I would rather have a principal who understands math than one who DOESN’T understand patriotism any day.
Papa Ray, start looking for Independent Study Programs in your area. They will help you organize your homeschooling effort. They can range from just giving you the curriculum, to ISPs where parents takes turns teaching different subjects in a group setting.
They also have them (at least in Kalifornia) through the local school districts. You get assignments, and meet with a teacher once a week.
“but . . . but . . . it’s diversity!”
/(end sarcasm)
Papa Ray, a 50 year old GED has more educational value than a five year old high school diploma these days, and it’s probably just as good as any four year college degree of recent vintage.
Homeschooling is not remotely the same as public schooling, you’re not doing the same thing at all, so you don’t need the same tools. That one to one ratio is wonderful.
Most homeschooling parents and grandparents aren’t the primary educators anyway, they are only helpful facilitators.
But that’s not why I signed in to comment.
This multiculturalism thing, she is everywhere. Last week my youngsters were at the library participating in a program to welcome our growing hispanic community. The older ones went to help out. The youngsters went to play. They came home with some crafts they’d done there, including a very colorful poster with the words, “Viva Mexico!!”
I do not wish ill for Mexico, but I thought at a program to welcome immigrants to this state, we might instead do posters of this country’s flag, or the state flag, or posters saying, “Welcome to America!”
Zoo, a perfect example of the problem. They SAY it is about being multi-culti, but when it’s all over and done with, it’s Viva Mexico, and we want our own way of doing things here, which is suspiciously like it was down there. In other words, we’re supposed to open OUR minds and hearts to them, but not the other way around.
Re: the education thing:
Headmistress, you said, “a 50 year old GED has more educational value than a five year old high school diploma these days, and it’s probably just as good as any four year college degree of recent vintage.”
I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I recently dropped out of college, simply because I couldn’t take it anymore. Nonsense, liberalism, busywork, pointless papers, an education system all about “open minds” that punishes you for having a different opinion, etc. My parents, of course, want me to ‘suck it up’ and run with it to get my degree, but honestly, I’ve been ‘sucking it up’ for something like 10 years now. I realized around the time I became a teenager the absolute madness prevalent in the modern education system.
For instance, in my 10th grade english class, the teacher (who would party with the students on the weekends) was required to have us read the Scarlet Letter. That, unfortunately, seemed like too much work for him, so instead he purchased the Book on Tape version and fast-forwarded to ‘the good parts,’ then gave us the test with the answers already written in and told us just to memorize it for next week. Not kidding. This was also not the exception to the rule.
In many, many classes, I lost major points for not taking notes. When I was tested on the material I knew everything I was supposed to, but because I didn’t write it down – which, when I do, I actually learn less – I got a worse grade in the class than a kid who did but got a C on the test. Absurd.
For an example more along the lines of the leftist bias, in a sophomore history class in college, I actually flunked a paper because I didn’t agree with the teacher. She literally made up reasons to give me less points.
I simply could not take another speech about evil Western colonialism, white oppression, the evils of Bush and Fox News (we actually got points for watching ‘Outfoxed’…in an abnormal psychology class), et al., or any more of a system that truly cared for nothing but playing to the lowest common denominator and allowing the most unintelligent student in class the chance to get 100%. It’s supposed to be higher learning. Some people will, by that fact alone, fail, if they actually live up to their standards, but that was unacceptable.
Oh, and by the way, I went to UND, University of North Dakota, one of the reddest states in the union. I shudder to think what class must be like on the coasts (I have an idea though: a friend from High School, going to school in Seattle, is majoring in COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING.)
I’m going to go cry now.
You all have said some great, and greatly alarming things. But here’s what I wonder:
In forcing the kids to pledge allegiance to Mexico, has the principal violated some law? After all, if their allegiance now belongs to Mexico, it can’t belong to the USA.
I know, I know, we’re “making too big a deal out of this.” But shouldn’t someone make a big deal out of an educator who doesn’t seem to know that a pledge of allegiance isn’t a part of a mutlicultural hoedown but rather is how people, well, PLEDGE their ALLEGIANCE to a country?