PARENTAL RIGHTS

Parental rights are representative government. Parental rights are freedom. Parental rights are what this country is all about. Parental rights are what we need to fight for.

I went to a Montana Board of Public Education meeting the other day and I thought "Anyone viewing this meeting would understand how Hitler got control over Europe, or how Stalin got control over the Soviet empire". We all need jobs and as winter comes on here in Montana we all are apt to feel vulnerable to the elements. We all worry about our security, our home and our food. Losing a job is a terrible thing. Some people are brave and are willing to work harder and to take risks. Some people need to follow, to be sheep, to get that government job and allow the powers at be to control them in any way. They are not going to ask questions or to challenge anything. They are going to go along so that they can get that security that we all crave.

I watched as the one parent there was told to sit down in the middle of her testimony. I watched as one board member told her she was ignorant because she did not realize that Montana had the most freedom in education of any state. Why anyone who wants to can just leave!! We had to sit there and we could not answer back that THESE ARE OUR SCHOOLS!! WE PAY FOR THEM!! WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO LEAVE!! THE SCHOOLS SHOULD SERVE US!! THE PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD IS OUR SERVANT!! We could say nothing, and I know that this scenario is played out across this country. The government workers are so loyal. They are so bought in. They are furious with anyone who tries to upset their apple cart. The outsiders who question things are just trouble makers!! The board members? They are picked because of their compliant natures. What an honor- I am on the State Schoolboard because I will keep my mouth shut and go along. They have their jobs and their futures to look out for. One board member did mention that maybe they should wait for the legislature to act before they went forward with the mandated preschool curriculum and mandated training requirements for preschool teachers. In the end she voted for everything exactly the way the Office of Public Instruction and the Governor wanted her to. The vote was unanimous as it always is.

I learned something through this whole exercise. I learned that doing your homework- doing the research- is important. It didn't change their vote, that was arranged long before the meeting, but it did in some small way hold them accountable. My testimony will be in the record and the legislators that I correspond with will know these things too. Fortunately, a legislator that I know asked me to go to the state law library and research about how the Montana State Board of Education came to be. So my husband and I did this. The state board was created in our constitution in 1972 to hold the Office of Public Instruction accountable and to protect LOCAL CONTROL!! Our very superior acting ( that's the only thing superior about her I can tell you), state superintendent, Denise Juneau , called on her legal council to show us all how the state board was perfectly within their rights to mandate curriculums. He got out the very book on constitution and commentary that my husband and I had done our research in! He skipped over all the parts about the board being established to protect local control which was stated over and over, and read one little sentence that said the state board had supervisory powers. Then he very pompously took his seat. I'm guessing he was very surprised to find that I had been reading the same book. I used to think that lawyers knew special things. This guy really disillusioned me - he didn't even know as much as I did about the governance of this board. I shared my information with the board and gave them copies from the book with all the statements about the state board protecting local control underlined. I know what I'm dealing with here- but everything has a beginning and at least our superintendent and her legal council didn't get away with just lying this time- for once.

I looked right at Denise and asked her how this board changed from its supervisory role to one of CREATING THE CURRICULUM!! There was no answer of course, that's how these things go. I accused the Montana State Board of Education of being the rubber stamp brigade. Then, something REALLY AMAZING  happened.

One of the board members, Mary Jo Bremmer, stated that she didn't like being called the rubber stamp brigade. After all, they couldn't be expected to know all this and do all this research so they relied on their experts!! Their "experts" are  the people who work for the Office of Public Instruction!! In other words, she sees her role as just voting the way they tell her!! This poor woman doesn't even know that she's supposed to question the Office of Public Instruction and hold them accountable. She really believes the board was created just to rubber stamp!! Do you see what I mean about Hitler and Stalin? It takes true vigilance and courage to keep a nation free.

Meanwhile one of Denise Juneau's lackys brought out her "research". She said that these preschool programs were like almost 100% successful everywhere!! Not one person asked her where she got her research or for a copy of it. The board just had such a lack of curiosity and the audience was only allowed to sit and listen. Shortly after that they voted unanimously to approve the mandates.

Meanwhile, Denise tried to show that what the board was doing was representative of the people by calling on her very supercilious lieutenant to tell us all how many letters of support they had!! So much easier than elections and all that stuff. Just have the supporters of the program (people looking for the paycheck) write letters in support!! See? We really don't need that old OVERWHELMLINGLY REPUBLICAN LEGISLATURE do we?

You know, the funny thing is, and I hope I'm wrong, was that it appeared that the board members hadn't even read the curriculum mandates!! I related to them, from the document, how three year olds would be assessed and how they would be teaching them analytical thinking and algebraic reasoning, and how all of this was so age inappropriate, and it was like talking to a deer in the headlights!! Well, anyway, Denise told us- how dare we criticize, they'd been working on this for two whole years and we could have brought our complaints up earlier, it was too late now!! She knows, really knows, the public had no idea of what she was having her staff cook up (copy from Washington D.C.). You see, I just do things behind your back and then I feign shock when it comes out and you don't like it.

It's a funny thing about these people and PARENTAL RIGHTS. If you read the document they just have so much, respect for PARENTAL RIGHTS, and they just want to include them and collaborate with them and even do home visits in their houses!! They just don't want them to vote or to speak up though. They want the parents to be servile and do as they are told, THEN they'll be their best friend! Just don't make waves, it makes everything so difficult you know. Just give us your children and your tax dollars and WE'LL TELL YOU WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE TOO STUPID TO MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS AND THE TEACHERS ARE TOO STUPID TOO!! WE KNOW EVERYTHING THAT'S BEST FOR EVERYBODY AND YOU HAVE TO JUST SIT DOWN AND LISTEN AND DO AS YOU ARE TOLD!! Did I miss something or is this the definition of Fascism? Stand up for your rights parents. These are your schools paid for by your tax dollars and these are your children. These bureaucrats are there to serve you. Keep America free and don't stop holding these people accountable. PARENTAL RIGHTS ARE FREEDOM.