Elementary School Students are taught that Gender is a Spectrum

Children and teachers in all grades at Redwood Heights Elementary School in Oakland, California received instruction in anti-bullying from a group called Gender Spectrum. Fox News, reports that Joel Baum, director of education and training for Gender Spectrum, taught that "Gender identity is a spectrum where people can be girls, feel like girls, they feel like boys, they feel like both, or they can feel like neither."

To read the Fox News report, click here.
To read the Advocate.com report of the story, click here.

Not Freedom, but Lack of Standards

The end of the year mosaic at the Black Pine Circle school included a communist hammer and sickle, the wording "capitalism will fail", and a marijuana leaf, all painted by students.

The school, which prides itself in providing an K - 8th grade environment "maximally free of all the'isms'" prevalent in the world around them, is in Berkeley California, and charges $17,000 for its 10 month term.

Some have stated concern that 13 year old's would express such sentiments. We see it differently.

We feel that it is hardly surprising that some children of this age would choose to express what others might consider to be shocking or rebellious wording or symbols. We do not think that this is the issue.

We would suggest that the issue is that in its effort to provide "freedom" for students to think what they will and express whatever they wish, what this school has developed is not freedom, but rather a lack of standards.

Although possible, it is rather unlikely that the child who painted the marijuana leaf had participated in a reasoned discussion regarding the pros and cons of recreational drug use or medical marijuana use. More likely than not it was just a childish statement of being "cool".

Similarly, the children who painted the hammer and sickle with its attached anti-capitalistic slogan probably have not studied either political philosophy or economic theory to a degree where a legitimate opinion could be formed.

Assuming that the school curriculum did not encourage the students toward communism or drug use, its administrative policy can still be said to have failed the children in allowing them, in this their parting comment to the community and younger children at the school, to paint these symbols into their class mural.

They have taught the children that there are no standards other than what they set for themselves.

This is a very dangerous precedent to establish in such a young mind. This is not how communities are built or sustained. This is not the way to foster future good citizens.

To read the Fox News story, click here.

- TMB thanks DF for alerting us to this story.

Hunger Real for Some Kids in the U.S.

For some children in the U.S., the impact of the recession is very very real. CBS News reports that there are approximately 15.5 million children in the U.S. without sufficient food. As the recession continues, the number of children in poverty is expected to rise.



To read the CBS News story, click here.

3.5M Kids Under 5 On Verge Of Going Hungry

Feeding America, a not-for-profit advocacy group, is reporting that 3.5 million children under the age of 5 in the U.S. are at "risk of hunger".

CBS News coverage of this story goes on to say that 11% of household have insufficient food for "an active, healthy life."

Feeding America's uses 2005-2007 data from the the Census Bureau and the Agriculture Department.