Are Today's Schools Orchestrating Their Own Demise?

What will K-12 education look like in 10 years?

by Sue Greenwald, MD

There are forces in play that could possibly forecast the end of schools as we know them. Nebraska may be a few years behind the states that have gone all-in for CRT and sexuality indoctrination like Illinois, Oregon or California, but the signs of trouble are visible here in our state as well. Let me review a few of them:

Setting the Table

In the past 2 years, an estimated 4.9 million people have walked across our southern border. The exact total is unknowable since wide swaths of the border stand unguarded while border patrol agents are busy “processing” illegal immigrants. To put it into perspective, by the end of this year, the new migrant population in America, just since January 2021, might exceed the populations of Nebraska and Iowa combined (5.2 million). This trend appears to be only the beginning of what will be an unprecedented population explosion of people who have no particular allegiance to the United States of America.

Literacy in our native population is at an all-time low. One room school houses did a better job of teaching students to read and do math. Half of our 8th graders are not proficient in reading or math according to our state tests.

Trouble in Paradise

Students are being taught to blame each other for their victimhood based on skin color, and to hate America for past sins. New graduates from teachers’ college believe that Critical Race Theory is “history” because their education in civics and history is lacking. The Nebraska Dept. of Education has made it their PRIMARY GOAL to apply an “Equity (CRT) Lens” to every decision. Veteran teachers are required to sit through in-services to deconstruct their white privilege. The Neo-Marxism and Comprehensive Sexuality Education is coming in through the “Social Emotional Learning” that permeates the school day. Meritocracy is de-valued, and moral relativism is prized by SEL.

The lewd books that parents object to in the middle school and high school libraries are written, in some cases, at 3rd to 6th grade reading levels with “accelerated reader” points assigned.

Sexual and gender identity indoctrination has become a primary goal of the education system nationally. Students who can barely read are well versed on a variety of gender options. The NEA, in conjunction with the ACLU, has put out a teacher’s guide on how to navigate the new gender landscape. It states:

“The expression of transgender identity, or any other form of gender-expansive behavior, is a healthy, appropriate and typical aspect of human development. A gender expansive student should never be asked, encouraged or required to express their gender in a manner that is not consistent with their self -identification or expression. Any such attempts or requests are unethical and will likely cause significant emotional harm.”

As if our hard working and dedicated teachers don’t have enough on their plate, they now have to worry about losing their job over the ethics of “mis-pro-nouning” some confused child, or risk irretrievably damaging the psyche of the student who is following a “healthy, appropriate and typical aspect of human development.” Gender confusion is Typical Human Development? Really? I must have missed that class in medical school.

In case you miss the point, the NEA has also put out this helpful guide to sex acts for teachers to share with their “queer” students. It can be accessed by a QR code printed on a button that teachers can wear in case an urgent need to share sex arises in the classroom. Queering Sex Ed includes topics such as fisting and rimming, sexting and much more.

Teachers, traditionally the recipients of public trust and respect, are having to pick sides in the identity politics war. Those who pick the “wrong” side are driven out from some schools with mask and vaxx mandates and the intolerance of their supervisors. Parents don’t know who to trust, so they trust no one. It’s no wonder that experienced teachers are leaving in droves, and many schools’ administrators are assuring that new hires will be on board with the woke agenda.

Anyone who has ever looked at “Libs of TikTok” fully realizes that where there is a shortage of available personnel, the schools are less and less particular. Pedophiles, or “Minor Attracted Persons” may be more likely to circumvent the screening process.

Parents are the Enemy

Parents who are not on board with the program are threatened with losing custody of their children, or having FBI files created on them, with electronic surveillance rivaling that of a foreign spy. The NEA, and other education lobbyists, have an answer for those pesky parental “bullies”. Lie to them. Counselors are being trained to transgender students behind parents’ backs. Schools are adding “transgender closets” and encouraging students to live a double life. In California, students can consent to medical treatment at age 12 without parental knowledge, and Planned Parenthood, one of the largest purveyors of cross-gender hormones, is moving right into the schools.

The final nail in the coffin would be the Biden Title IX rule that would tie federal lunch money to enforced locker room anarchy and the end of competitive sports for girls. No sane person is going to send their daughters into that atmosphere. If that decision stands, school districts will face the choice between losing the federal lunch money or losing a good portion of their female students.

Parents are going through the stages of grief: Denial, Anger, and in some cases Acceptance. But in many cases, Anger has become Action and they are voting with their feet.

Options are Readily Available

There are other options on the horizon. Homeschooling is increasing by 10% per year from it’s current rate of 6.73%. Many excellent online curriculums are readily available.

Some outstanding teachers have left a toxic environment to educate their neighbors in “home school pods” or “microschools” reminiscent of the old one room school houses. Enterprising teachers are starting “online schools”.

Parochial schools are thriving like their heyday in the 50’s and 60’s

Lawmakers are getting on board with school choice options. Property taxes tied to public school funding have never been popular, but they will be even less tolerated as parents seek alternatives to an educational system that disregards their values.

Consequences

Here is the concern: where will all the tens of millions of newly immigrant children go to school? They will obviously land in public schools. In 10 years will they be the only children being taught to hate America and obsess about their gender? Will they be the only children being taught to disrespect the flag and throw bricks at people they disagree with? Imagine the dystopian nightmare that could result from that. Will citizens continue to support public schools with their taxes once they have fled from them? If those schools are creating a criminally inclined population of welfare dependents, the answer will be no.

The “social justice” movement finds value in dividing people; by immutable characteristics as well as by invented reasons for claiming victimhood. Our shared history as well as our shared humanity is debased. This destructive and widely enforced cultural climate can not possibly be successful in absorbing millions of foreign children. For all people, whether they are native or immigrant, true social justice comes from literacy.

Previous generations of public schools have embraced the “melting pot” vision of America, and helped newcomers to assimilate. The common thread of respect for our faith, our communities, our country and our liberty united people of all backgrounds. It would be in our national interest to bring that culture back.

Author’s Edit on 12-12-22: Since I wrote this in October, there are an estimated 5.5 million illegal immigrants that have entered across the southern border during the Biden Administration. The invasion already exceeds the combined populations of Nebraska and Iowa (plus an extra Lincoln sized city), and is accelerating.

The author is a retired Pediatrician and co-founder of the Protect Nebraska Children Coalition

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