Stop the NAMECALLING!
The political and educational scenes are becoming more hostile every day.
It’s time for both sides of both issues to stop acting like children – and try a little courtesy instead.
Homosexual Activist Appointment by Department of Education
Looks like the education agenda of Obama’s administration is leaning further left.
I thought you might be interested in the latest appointment by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
I learned about it from Family Leader and wanted to share it with you.
Quoting from Family Leader:
“Kevin Jennings, founder of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) has been appointed by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to be Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. GLSEN is the foremost national group promoting policies to force affirmation of homosexuality in schools, beginning in kindergarten. For example, GLSEN once sponsored a conference at Tufts University that was advertised to “youth only ages 14 to 21″ where three homosexual activists led a workshop graphically guiding the students on gay sex practices.”
“Under Jennings direction, GLSEN has sponsored the Day of Silence at schools, has pushed for Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, and taught workshops on How to Promote Queer-Friendly Activism in Your Schools and in Your Lives.”
“The author of the forward to the disturbing book Queering Elementary, which argues for the teaching of sexual “identity” (what you could easily call “indoctrination,” “initiation” or “brainwashing”) to the children in the elementary education stage of life, Jennings has spoken publicly telling the religious right to “Drop Dead.” (emphasis added)
“His plan is clear when he said, “I’d like five years from now for most Americans when they hear the word GLSEN to think, “Ooh, that’s good for kids.” … Sane people keep the world the same…old way it is now. It’s the [crazy] people who think, “No, I can envision a day when straight people say, ‘So what if you’re promoting homosexuality?’ or [when] straight kids say, ‘Hey, why don’t you and your boyfriend come over before you go to the prom and try your tuxes on at my house?’” … That is our mission from this day forward.”
I guess I’m one of those people on the religious right, but I have no intention of “dropping dead”.
The article goes on to tell how Mr. Jennings counseled a young boy who had been molested by a male teacher and did not report the fact to the authorities, the school, the boy’s parents, or any other agency as required by law. And he says he’d do it again.
I want to get your opinion on this appointment and offer you a way to appeal it, if you choose.
Family Leader has posed a petition on it’s site to
Tell Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to withdraw Kevin Jennings’ appointment.”
You can read the entire article at Family Leader and choose to sign the petition, or not.
Things, they are a’changin’ . . .
Brennan
Merry Christmas!
Time to be Grateful
How to Get Rid of a Troublesome Teen
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Teenagers Can Be A Real Handful!
- Is your teenager giving you problems?
- Do you find yourself arguing constantly about clothes? curfew? anything?
- Does your teen grumble about chores?
- Are they constantly badgering you for a car, or to drive?
- Is this beginning to look like another school year from Hades?
- Finally, are you just plain tired of being the parent of a teenager?
Well, I may have found the solution to your problems!
All you have to do is move to NEBRASKA! That’s right, NEBRASKA!
Broadly-Expanded SAFE HAVEN Law
Seems it took a little while for Nebraska to pass a SAFE HAVEN law protecting unwanted infants. In fact, Nebraska was the very last state to adopt the law. However, when they finally did it, they did it up in a BIG WAY!
Nebraska’s new SAFE HAVEN law actually goes farther than the laws as enacted in other states. Instead of just allowing parents to abandon unwanted babies at hospitals with no questions asked, it actually goes beyond infants and potentially permits the abandonment of anyone under 19.
While lawmakers may not have intended it, the month-old law allows for the real possibility that frustrated parents of adolescents could actually drop off misbehaving teens.
However, Nebraska lawmakers sincerely wanted to extend the protection to all minors, which in Nebraska is age 19.
Senator Tom White was quoted as saying,
“All children deserve our protection. If we save one child from being abused, it’s well, well worth it.”
Why SAFE HAVEN?
In other states, SAFE HAVEN has been enacted to focus on preventing the abandonment of newborns, so that babies can be left in safekeeping, without prosecution to the abandoning parent. The idea is to prevent babies being dumped and left to die, or outright killed. SAFE HAVEN laws were designed to protect newborns.
What Nebraska has done, which is a BIG THING, is extend that protection to any unwanted or at-risk minor.
ON A VERY SERIOUS NOTE: It is important to remember that SAFE HAVEN laws do not protect the parent, or caregiver, from prosecution, if abuse has occurred. Thank goodness!
Thus far, according to reports, no children in Nebraska have been dropped off under the new law.
A Great-Grandmother’s Point of View
Just a bit of advice from a happy great-grandmother:
All the battles with your teenagers are so WORTH IT!
If you hang in there and keep loving them, no matter how awful or rebellious they seem – or how much they tell you they hate you, eventually they get past this stage.
When they grow up and realize the heck they put you through, they’ll be real sorry!
Ah! Revenge is sweet! Heh! Heh! Heh!
Best of all, they become wonderful people who will become your best friends.
And they sometimes give you grandchildren. And that’s the best reward of all!
Brennan
Pistol-Packin’ School Marms?
Teachers With Guns! Here to Stay?
History was made in Harrold, Texas on the first day of the new 2008-2009 school year.
For the first time anywhere in the USA, teachers are legally authorized to carry concealed weapons INTO school and the story is making the national news.
Needless to say, there are very vocal supporters and opponents of this latest step towards preventing school violence, as seen first at Columbine and repeated too many times across the entire nation.
Parents are either in favor, or extremely opposed, to the idea of teachers carrying weapons.
One parent was reported as saying that teachers are trained to educate, not carry guns.
As a card-carrying concealed weapons person myself, I know that you have to undergo stringent testing to receive a permit. But I also know that shooting a target is not the same thing as shooting a person.
Students seemed curious as to who was “carrying heat”, but most said they didn’t feel threatened by the fact.
The idea is to try to prevent further Columbine/Virginia Tech massacres by having a responsible person on site to react if someone starts shooting. The hope is that not knowing whether an armed person is close at hand or not, might give pause to shooters attacking a school (at least in Harrold, Texas).
With violence on the rise against students and teachers,
“Harrold Superintendent David Thweatt said the board approved the policy in an October open meeting that had been publicized. He said the decision was made after nearly two years of researching the best school security options at the school, just off a busy highway and 30 minutes away from the sheriff’s office.”
“When you outlaw guns in a certain area, the only people who follow that are law-abiding citizens, and everybody else ignores it.”
One teacher interviewed expressed ambivalence towards the idea and stated,
“If this stays in effect, it will only last until a student gets shot. Especially with attacks on teachers by students.”
According to the article, teachers received additional training in crisis management and hostage negotiations.
How do you feel about teachers carrying concealed weapons in schools?
Are you for it or against it?
For the full story, Click Here!
Til next time,
Brennan
Best Parenting Post of the Day!
Games Parents Play!
Dear Readers,
As you know, I almost always write my own posts but today I HAVE TO make an exception.
A friend sent me a shout on DIGG (you may have heard of DIGG! TeeHee!) I simply HAD TO share this FABULOUS post on parenting! Kudos to Gomestic.com!
Go read 10 Games Parents Play With Their Children. I guarantee it is worthwhile reading. And while you’re there, DIGG IT UP! This needs wide distribution.
PSSST! Pay special attention to #10 on the list!
I’ll talk to you again tomorrow. Now GO! ENJOY! DIGG!
Brennan
Educating Treehouse Builders
Inspiring Learning Through Play!
One of my readers, Coz mo, has some very lucky nephews. They have an uncle who has taken the time to teach them how to build a treehouse during vacation!
What a WONDERFUL learning experience for those boys! And they have developed skills they can take with them through their entire lives, as well.
What are some of the things they learned?
- How to cooperate for a desired goal
- Measure twice & cut once (or suffer the consequences)
- Building a sturdy foundation
- How many inches in a foot?
- Why being accurate is important
- Work can be fun and rewarding
- And many other lessons about math, lumber, nature, goal-setting and cooperation
I went digging through some photo albums for pictures of some treehouses that my brother, sister and I built (and played in joyfully) years ago. I think you can tell by the photos that, in the first one, we had very little adult assistance, and in the second one we were more concerned with a private play space than an attractive appearance.
Coz mo did not share any pictures of the treehouse that he and his nephews built but I do have pictures of a couple of treehouses built by friends, with lots of adult input.
Slight difference in the results, huh?
What’s the Learning Point Here?
Wouldn’t you have liked to learn more about building a shelter, and normal home maintenance and improvement skills when you were young? Too many grow up not knowing which end of a hammer is the working end. Or, they only learn that it’s a handy weapon. SAD!
Did you ever dream about having the perfect treehouse?
Would you love to be able to express your creativity?
Summer is the perfect time to help children develop those skills.
Talk about creativity:
Remind you of Fairy Tales?
How about expressing creativity in another medium:
Why not paint with your youngsters?
Or creating a perfect Dream World:
Teach them to visualize.
Or a total fantasy:
The sky really IS the limit to our imaginations!
And, who knows, maybe if you get them inspired when they’re young, they’ll grow up and build you your very own Dream Treehouse:
I want it!
Worth thinking about, isn’t it?
Brennan
CyberCoder: Hero & Life-Long Learning
Life-Long Learning & My Hero!
I want to wish everyone a Happy & Safe 4th of July!
I also want to take this opportunity to thank, and give a pat on the back, to a dear friend!
You, my loyal reader, may have noticed that my site disappeared temporarily, then reappeared, then disappeared again.
To say I am not technically-savvy would be an understatement! But I have a good friend who is not only technically-savvy, he’s a genuinely good guy, as well as talented.
David Cooley, AKA CyberCoder, not only straightened-out my site, he upgraded it to the latest platform and cleaned-up all the behind the scenes mess I had. I now have a new hosting site, scads of room for expansion, and the most modern tools at my fingertips. Now, if I can just stay healthy enough to utilize them.
Since I have the latest and greatest hosting upgrade, I have to continue with my Life-Long Learning, and figure-out how to do stats and all that stuff again. But it’s good to keep challenging the brain, no matter how young or old we are.
But more about Cybercoder:
I absolutely adore David! (With the complete understanding of my husband – after all, David’s just a kid compared to us old-timers.) Over the past few months, I’ve had an opportunity to appreciate his humor and his viewpoints.
David is multi-talented and BIG into music, so I thought I’d take an opportunity to thank him for his gracious help and tell you about his sites.
If you want an eclectic blend of tech info and tunes, check out his sites:
musicramble.com
Go enjoy the holiday and David’s sites, and I’ll be back after the weekend.
Happy Holiday!
Brennan
Sorry I’m Sick!
I hope to be back in a couple more days!
Wish me luck!
Brennan
