Some public schools try to turn children against their parents with scary classroom stories or lessons about child abuse. Public school authorities have increasingly decided that they are children's first line of defense against child abuse. This new attitude falls under what is now known as "protective behavior curriculum."
The assumptions behind this curriculum are that every child needs to be warned about and prepared for possible dangers of verbal, physical, and sexual abuse because allegedly every child is a potential victim, not only of strangers but of his or her own family.
Increasingly, school authorities instruct teachers to ask children questions about their parents' behavior and actions toward them at home. The questions amount to asking kids to spy on their parents and report incidents that make them feel "uncomfortable." Some school authorities use such tales by children to investigate or file charges of child abuse against parents who often did no more than yell at their children or spank them lightly.
In effect, to allegedly protect children, some school authorities now consider all parents as potential abusers, use children to invade parents' privacy, or make kids afraid of their parents. Often, children are disturbed and emotionally traumatized by the insinuations school authorities put into their heads.
The following incident described by Charles J. Sykes, in his book "Dumbing Down Our Kids," illustrates this disturbing anti-parent campaign by many public schools across the country:
"I first became aware of the protective behaviors curriculum when a mother called me to tell me of an experience she had with her daughter. Her child, an elementary schoolgirl, had come home in tears. When she saw that her mother was home and waiting for her, she rushed to her in relief. AI wasn't sure you'd be here, she told her mother. Her mother reassured her that she would always be there for her. In school that day, her daughter told her, her class had discussed "bad" touching including spanking.
"In the course of the discussion, children had been encouraged to share with the teachers and classmates whether they had ever been touched in that way and the girl had said that her mother had spanked her. The children were also told that people who engaged in bad touching would be taken away and put in jail. For the rest of the school day the girl was terrified that her mother who had spanked her would now be taken away and locked up for her bad touching."
Parents, it might be wise to periodically ask your children if their teachers ask them personal questions about your family or how you discipline your children. Turning children into spies against their parents or making them afraid of their parents is not what parents pay school taxes for.
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children." Contact Information: Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Email: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com, Phone: 718-447-7348. Article Copyrighted ? 2005 by Joel Turtel. NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
ohare limo service Grand Rapids ..All babies cry, but if yours cries a lot, isn't... Read More
the woes of being a parent of an ADHD child.....Like... Read More
Working with adults (as well as children and teens) for... Read More
Spending quality time with your children doesn't need to cost... Read More
Q. My daughter is a junior in high school and... Read More
Q: A parent writes in to ask, "You write a... Read More
Emotional OverloadMany single parents say they deal with a variety... Read More
Many public schools not only fail to educate our children,... Read More
Recently I took my two children to a popular new... Read More
Parents looking for a quick fix usually choose troubled teen... Read More
Last night Tom's daughter, Sue, came out of her room... Read More
What Children Look for in a Friend?Is this child fun... Read More
For parents, keeping our kids safe is a constant top... Read More
You have just received a call from your child's teacher... Read More
Often I will hear parents say, "I just ignore Jr.... Read More
LOS ANGELES (May 19, 2005) - With Memorial Day weekend,... Read More
Are you a parent concerned about passing values on to... Read More
Q: Whenever we tell my daughter "no," she just bugs... Read More
We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don't, at... Read More
The citizens of the early Roman Republic enjoyed an education... Read More
Non-compliance is the family therapist's big word for your child... Read More
You need to smart to be able influence adolescents. You... Read More
There are many parenting styles. Yours may be very different... Read More
There may really be a real monster under your kid???s... Read More
There are a LOT of alternative treatments for sale out... Read More
executive chauffeured services Barrington Hills ..Many young people don't know how to study efficiently and... Read More
What Children Look for in a Friend?Is this child fun... Read More
There is little doubt that reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic are... Read More
It can be hard being a parent with a teen... Read More
Learning responsibility is an ever widening and lifelong process.As thinking,... Read More
On a recent Saturday evening, I noticed a young teen-age... Read More
A strange thing happened to me today. Or more precisely,... Read More
Is there a difference between lazy and unmotivated? Why do... Read More
Every children in the world whishes to have toys and... Read More
Not too long ago my teenage daughter approached me with... Read More
There is a new stage of development for parents to... Read More
Is your babysitter watching the kids and your k9 family... Read More
You know that children can get into trouble. The older... Read More
'And all because of a damned cat! It's only a... Read More
While youth gangs are nothing new -- they've been traced... Read More
All too often, children with learning disabilities are seen through... Read More
There are only two ways to get more money:1) Increase... Read More
Q. With the school year just beginning, what can we... Read More
The time you will need to teach your children the... Read More
Ah, potty training! Go to a local bookseller and you... Read More
"All that I am or ever hope to be, I... Read More
A great many parents are concerned that the electronic games... Read More
It was no contest. Given a choice between a ball... Read More
What is the mystery of motherhood? I know that when... Read More
When my daughter was born, I must admit there was... Read More
Parenting |