How Conservatives Sabotage Public Schools

[@themulchmuncher1111]

I live in Florida and I was a Senior in High School last year. We had just gotten a new librarian at the school, and she made so many fundamental changes to the students lives. She reorganized the entire library and got hundreds of new books, using her own money and book drives to get them. She got all sorts of books, like history books and comics and manga, teen dramas and adult fiction, and so on. She revived the dying Yearbook class / club, and had one of the best yearbooks in the school made. More students took classes to help her run the library, and she even did a free book drive at the end of the year, where students could come in and take as many books as they wanted. Before she arrived, the school library was barely touched, but she revived it in a handful of months, and the students were coming back to the library because it had things they enjoyed! But of course, this is Florida, so things cant have a neat, happy ending. There was some sort of committe that was going around from High school to High school to see what was on the shelves. In the county I live in, there was a small group session held, and the school librarians were asked to vote on weather or not these books the committe found and didnt like should be banned. My schools librarian was one of the ones who voted no, and the vote just barley failed. The books were not banned. However, the way that the librarians voted were somehow leaked to the public. My librarian was harressed endlessly and sent death threats almsot every day. She was harassed in person many times for "indoctrinating the children" (keep in mind 1/4 of the students there are legally recognized adults now). She had to conpletely remove herself from all scocial medias and had to hide herself inside her own school, and had to worry for the safety of her family. The point of the story: Ron Desantis and anyone who backs him doesnt give a rats ass about any of the students at my high school. They dont care about students and children, period. The previous year, the library was dead; book checkouts were at an all time low, no one ever went to the library unless it was for a class or to get on a library computer. When the new librarian arrived, it was like night and day. She made books much easier to access, and everyone actually enjoyed going and getting books. She made it a beautiful, friendly, and safe environment for everyone. She almost singlehandedly revived two dying aspects of our school because *she gave a shit about the education of the schools students.* But according to Desantis and his croonies, shes looking to indoctrinate your students because she voted not to ban books enducating students about racism and LGBTQ matters. And this is exactly why I hate and despise Ron Desantis. Hes willing to completely ruin someones life over a god damn book.

[@MrMezmerized]

What an incredibly sad story. And no doubt there are many like her. I´ve seen a few similar stories about toxic environments in this comment section, also from teachers. I am sure things will eventually get better. The question is how much gets destroyed before the turning point. In conservative states probably a lot.

[@MagicBus-ct7fe]

What a happy ending 😍😍😍fock her pervert. if the parents don't want these books. Then they shouldn't exist. We know what type of LGBTQ books she had. Books like flamers or I'm jazz. you are young and very very stupidd to understand this. But kids can't make choices for themselves. Also if you hate Desantis so much. Then you should try to convince the vast majority of Florida to not vote for him. which you can't because how in the world you gonna defend your side?

[@RevShifty]

There are mobile banned book libraries popping up across some states just to try to keep that love of reading alive. It won't help you specifically much, but it might help someone currently in your shoes and give wonderful people like that former librarian other places to go to help share their own love more.

[@scotthullinger4684]

Guess what? Racism and LGBTQ are important topics. But ... But they are NOT nearly as important as just good old fashioned academics. You know, reading, writing, and arithmetic. THOSE are the things which most students are currently incapable of comprehending. Learn the basics before you learn the advanced. Concern yourself with the rest ONLY when you've become a university student, and even then, keep in mind that such things lack importance when compared to countless other things in your life which actually DO matter very much, even if at this moment you don't believe it's true. And learn what that word "indoctrination" actually means before you use it -

[@RevShifty]

@@scotthullinger4684 Real life doesn't stop just because you have a math class after lunch. All education matters, there is no such thing as a purely social or purely academic education and there never has been. And for a lot of those kids, school is going to be the only time and place they'll ever learn about something like that, which becomes especially important when you realize that a lot of those children are going to be LGBTQ+ themselves and come from far less than supportive home environments. So you're not only demanding things that have never once actually existed, you're asking them at a time in history where they literally couldn't ever exist regardless. They can either get a real education on such topics while at school, or the hilariously uninformed sideshow version that the internet offers. One prepares them for real life, the other prepares them for being bitter, emotionally stunted dorks who couldn't ever get out of their own way. Only one leads to potentially fully functioning adults participating in society at large, though.

[@JABRIEL251]

The sad thing really is... we need teachers, but this country does everything to disincentivize being a teacher. The pay is shit, the hours are long, the union is basically nonexistent, and you have asshole parents and politicians who constantly attack you (sometimes physically). I have a friend from Germany who is a teacher and it shocks me how much better they are treated. "Children are our future" and by treating teachers like shit here, we know what we think of our future....

[@KingOfThePirates101]

Agree. It's sad. I was on Facebook not too long ago and there was a question saying which profession deserves a higher pay. Glad to see that a lot of people say Teacher, but an almost equal amount says that Teachers shouldn't deserve the higher pay because they're indoctrinating their kids.

[@AA-cf4es]

Just don't f@cking teach kids that you can mutilate your body into changing sex and you'll def won't get attacked. Because yes, if a teacher would say something so mysoginistc and full of gender stereotypes, I'm throwing hands

[@quiveringmoist7558]

I was a teacher in America and it sucked. The amount of liability you have versus the compensation is insanity. I'm responsible for 200 kids a day and I'm paid poverty wages. I moved to Asia and the kids and parents are more respectful and they care about their education. Maybe one day I'll go back when America figures it out, but it's only gotten worse since I left.

[@quiveringmoist7558]

​@@KingOfThePirates101the pledge of Allegiance and America is number 1 is indoctrination but no one complained about it then.

[@InfinityKrompt]

Spent 11 years working in the school system, or getting my degrees in education, and I walked away from it all because I just could not handle the bullshit. And this was back in 2017. I can't imagine how bad it's gotten now.

[@charliefinn8978]

my coworkers telling me that they send their kids to charter schools and then in the next breath saying public schools are underfunded. bestie the call is coming from INSIDE THE HOUSE

[@cherrypieconsumer4982]

Lmao

[@hannakawlewski9269]

They need to answer the call lolll

[@delanib1701]

But, sometimes it's a chicken and egg thing. My sister wants to send our bi-racial niece to a private school because the local schools are crap. Sure, she's going to be part of that problem, but at the same time, she wants her kid to get a good education and not be bullied. So what do you do?

[@jalapeno1119]

​@@delanib1701Her kid is still gonna get bullied. It's a fact of life. Kids get bullied.

[@charliefinn8978]

@@delanib1701 I would send my kid to public school. In my experience minorities are much more common (and there for have more people to relate to) in public school.

[@Lance_G]

The fact that we are not willing to pay to educate our future generations because it takes too many tax dollars from the nearly bottomless and genuinely unaccounted military budget is insane to me.

[@RevShifty]

That's exactly why anyone whining about how much money 'goes to public schools' without ever once looking ar where the rest of their money goes or how much actually goes to public schools (as opposed to charter schools) can all kiss the furriest part of my ass. They're whining about the wrong thing, and don't have nearly the clue they're trying to pretend they do.

[@torbjornlekberg7756]

Unfortunately, I think it goes deeper than that. Uneducated people are easier fool and pull into religious indoctrination, so as step further into wide scale brainwashing it is an effective method. Altho the neoliberal greed obviously also plays a part.

[@pascalsch14]

Could also just tax the rich more, strong shoulders should carry more

[@Jinchuricki27]

Shows you where the country's priorities are. They value death far more than an educated prosperous society.

[@trevordillon1921]

@@pascalsch14we could, or we could just NOT give 200 billion more dollars to the annual military budget. Like, I’m all for rebalancing the whole economic equation. I don’t think taxing the rich comes even close to the amount of reform necessary to do that. That said, if we’re gonna start small, how about we just take all that money we are now actually spending on nuclear weapons again, and just not fucking do that.

[@scarpfish]

"But there’s a reason. There’s a reason. There’s a reason for this, there’s a reason education sucks, and it’s the same reason that it will never, ever, ever be fixed. It’s never gonna get any better. Don’t look for it. Be happy with what you got. Because the owners of this country don't want that." - George Carlin

[@joseayala2940]

I was thinking of George Carlin in the first seconds of this video commenting on American Education.

[@leona2222]

100%

[@DSAK55]

Ignorant people are easier to corral

[@ButWhyMe...]

Capitalism is like that.

[@Novusod]

It is a big club and you ain't in it. This of course starts with the schools. The rich go to one kind of school and poor go to another. Public schools are terrible so why should kids be forced to attend these failing schools. Parents should have the option to send their kids to private schools. The good schools should not just be for the rich. Vouchers allow students living in poverty to attend the same schools that the rich go to. This is only way to level the playing field and reduce inequality between rich and poor.

[@noheroespublishing1907]

"The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant." - Maximilien de Robespierre

[@waywardboi]

Unfortunately the GOP doesn't know that... or maybe they do, if they are watching those that follow them they have to know that.

[@RiotKurhein]

@@waywardboi they know it and actively work towards destroying public education.

[@golfsucks555]

Yep.

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

And the GOP knows this well. An uneducated public is far easier to exploit. There’s a reason that Donald Trump loves the uneducated.

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

@@waywardboi This is absolutely intentional. The less educated the populace the easier it is to lead them around by the nose. There’s good reason that trump supporters are less educated. They don’t have critical thinking skills and they don’t ask inconvenient questions.

[@sarahskileth6925]

So glad i'm no longer in school because of this insanity

[@LeejaMiller]

absolutely same

[@ohitsthem7601]

Samee

[@stoodmuffinpersonal3144]

I'm still scared

[@sarahskileth6925]

​@@stoodmuffinpersonal3144so am i

[@mechengr1731]

Yeah, but I have cousins in school, and my niece is only 1

[@donrobertson4940]

We're willing to try anything to improve public education. Absolutely anything. Except funding, obviously. And listening to teachers.

[@scotthullinger4684]

The problems in public education - the deepest of problems - have nothing whatsoever to do with how much money is spent to make public education possible. Money doesn't - and can't - resolve all problems. We can very easily see that by the way idiot Biden spends money in many multiple wasteful ways, not just on education. If money could solve problems, then we wouldn't have any problems, because the USA is the richest nation per capita on planet earth.

[@sergesavard636]

Perhaps you would like to see my school tax bill..

[@joejankoski8471]

@@sergesavard636 Prisons or schools. Your choice.

[@kellychuang8373]

Not surprising given the state of public education these days and the ultra rich live very different lives that's for sure along with where they educate their children since they don't go with the herd that's for sure.

[@sergesavard636]

@@joejankoski8471 typical reductionist liberal thinking. Yeah the administrator is taking in $400k a year with total student body of less than 2000. But I just disproved your comment we don’t spend money education

[@Thegabub]

I’m a special ed teacher at a predominantly black and brown public school and it is WILD, y’all. Teaching has become a nightmare for many.

[@Vicarious_Heart]

thank you for your service.

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

Everyone in my family was a teacher. (I’m the exception bc I became a nurse and later a lawyer.) A huge shout out to you teachers bc of what you put up with from politicians & school boards! 💙💙💙

[@keithdevries3662]

Go into some detail. Really. For example, specify' what makes it a nightmare? To whom and by who? What do you suggest? Thanks for your efforts.

[@scotthullinger4684]

Hey teacher - tell us all exactly like it is: You feel just like a baby sitter in the classroom, don't you? Whose support do you have? Nobody's support, right? Not even any supportive parents - if they happen to exist on the scene.

[@saintkohle]

​@@scotthullinger4684I'm going to guess that you heard "black and brown" and shut your brain off?

[@HonoredMule]

I was home schooled until grade 10 then finished in a private Christian school. I'm a pretty smart guy, so after that I went to a good university. I didn't _really_ understand the looks of pity my professors sometimes gave. It was nearly a decade after getting my degree that their earnest, incredibly patient work at equipping me with some actual critical thinking skills finally bore fruit. Well, that and Trump. He really helped me see the true nature of "my" people. But he was the tipping point - those professors were the seed. I understand those looks now, and I'm so grateful that they cared enough to not just follow the curriculum of grammar, statistics, and such, but instead use it to lay the foundation I'd previously been denied and then proudly rejected. I don't even remember your names now and that's a shame but I thank you. Your mere pity got me so much farther than the deep, earnest love of brainwashed parents. That's why public education matters.

[@GrandmaCathy]

💯. Think about all the kids who weren’t so lucky. That’s why we need public education.

[@scotthullinger4684]

@@GrandmaCathy - Public education sure as hell is NOT the same thing it was a half century ago. It used to be good, once upon a time. Now public education is pathetically inadequate, and also profoundly evil because of the content and the non-existent teaching methods, except for brainwashing. That's very real -

[@hmnhntr]

I see this exact problem in my friend. He's very smart, smarter than me most likely. He's driven enough to research and read. But he was home schooled until highschool because his parents are very religious and didn't want him 'getting corrupted' at a young age. He then went to Baylor University, which literally has a worship requirement to graduate. He's still smart, but he has blind spots 10 miles wide. He staunchly refuses to use his critical thinking on many religious topics (literally saying that the data, facts, etc don't matter, only what the Bible says), and holds the line on basically every Conservative wedge issue (3% of scientists don't agree with Climate Change, so you can't say it's *all scientists*!). I try with him, but it's exhausting to discuss anything philosophical or political, because it's impossible to get him to use his imagination or even *consider* alternatives to what he's been fed. And it's all the more frustrating because he's so smart.

[@RevShifty]

@@hmnhntr The messed up thing about that 'not *all* scientists' bullshit specifically is that the meta study (Mandrega et al) that number comes from actually quoted the numbers as '99% (of environmental scientists), plus or minus 2%'. Since we literally couldn't have 101% of environmental scientists agreeing on anything, it gets quoted as 97%, with most people not realizing that that's actually the lowest possible number of scientists who believe in man made climate change. I'm sorry, I promise I'm not trying to nit pick or be pedantic. It's just that that's how far those people are from objective reality. They're blatantly ignoring the fact that 99%+ of people who decided to make learning about this one very specific thing their entire career all agree on this one, incredibly specific thing. On the other hand, you couldn't find anything that 99% of people who actually read the bible cover to cover actually agree on, and that's a far simpler topic than environmental sciences. Hell, the people who take it literally are by far in the minority. The absolute hilarity of a bible literalist disagreeing with something that has the exact same amount of informed and educated support as germ theory and the theory of gravity is almost too much for me.

[@katlover4442]

I feel the same way about my US Army Drill Sergeants from Ft Jackson SC when I went to basic training!!! My parents were Evangelical Christian Right Wingers and I went to public and Christian schools. Totally shocked my parents when I decided to join the Army!!! But those drill sergeants pushed me to do things I‘d never done before and taught me to have confidence in myself. Now I’m a 57 year old VERY liberal and proud mother/grandmother US Army veteran, registered nurse, CAT LADY!!!

[@helpanimals-]

I feel sorry for the Indigenous people. They have had their language erased

[@LeejaMiller]

yes a whole video could be made on that alone

[@audiobooksforfree7857]

Correction : Languages, Culture, Fashion, AND Culture. (I think I forgot culture)

[@grmpEqweer]

​@@audiobooksforfree7857Don't forget culture.

[@leyrua]

It gets worse. The military flipped that policy in WW2 because suddenly they had a USE for indigenous languages: Navajo Code Talkers. The military needed an unbreakable code that would help them communicate while protecting their operational plans. Since indigenous languages had a different etymology than was found anywhere else, the military realized that it would be perfect to develop a code from the complex Navajo language.

[@leobigelow7021]

@@audiobooksforfree7857 One of the most fascinating aspects of Indian culture was their deep love of torture. If you were captured in battle, you could expect to be tortured over a period of several days by everyone in the village, including women and children. They would provide food and water to prolong your life, and thus their entertainment. Here's a description from Wikipedia: "Male and female captives as well as teenage boys, would usually face death by ritual torture.[8][9] The torture had strong sacrificial overtones, usually to the sun. Captives, especially warriors, were expected to show extreme self-control and composure during torture, singing "death songs", bragging of one's courage or deeds in battle, and otherwise showing defiance. The torture was conducted publicly in the captors' village, and the entire population (including children) watched and participated. Common torture techniques included burning the captive, which was done one hot coal at a time, rather than on firewood pyres; beatings with switches or sticks, jabs from sharp sticks as well as genital mutilation and flaying while still alive. Captives' fingernails were ripped out. Their fingers were broken, then twisted and yanked by children. Captives were made to eat pieces of their own flesh, and were scalped and skinned alive. Such was the fate of Jamestown Governor John Ratcliffe. The genitalia of male captives were the focus of considerable attention, culminating with the dissection of the genitals one slice at a time. To make the torture last longer, the Native Americans and the First Nations would revive captives with rest periods during which time they were given food and water. Tortures typically began on the lower limbs, then gradually spread to the arms, then the torso. The Native Americans and the First Nations spoke of "caressing" the captives gently at first, which meant that the initial tortures were designed to cause pain, but only minimal bodily harm. By these means, the execution of a captive, especially an adult male, could take several days and nights." This is what Eastern tribes specialized in. On the West Coast, they didn't do this. They just enslaved people.

[@teal_m_101]

"Schools are teaching propaganda." is not the problem to them. It's "schools aren't teaching our propaganda"

[@spacecorpse3212]

YOUR SOURCE IS THAT YOU MADE IT UP cause you don't have a source and if you do its gonna be a secondary source from an biased traditional news megacorp or Wikipedia (witch favors secondary sources and is not reliable at all )

[@crowncliff]

🎯 🎯 🎯

[@spacecorpse3212]

@@crowncliff no its not

[@RevShifty]

@@spacecorpse3212 How many of those screeching about school indoctrination have their children enrolled at Sunday school, while also taking them to church at least twice throughout the week? Because that's a Venn diagram that's mostly just a single circle in my experience. Which means the poster you disagreed with is absolutely correct about a whole lot of people.

[@crowncliff]

@@spacecorpse3212 mmmkay...

[@fredskull1618]

I’m a teacher in a deep red district. Leeja is 100% correct. It’s madness.

[@Exsen_V_Ravensun]

Stay strong friend and raise as much attention to the problem as possible, if enough people are aware of systemic problems such as this, corruption, climate change etc. And their causes then we may be able to actually protect Kids and Adults alike from devastation.

[@flechette3782]

You did it to yourself, commie.

[@diggernash1]

​@@Exsen_V_RavensunThe Earth is currently Carbon deficient based on the 500 million year median and well below the median temperature for that same period. If the global average temperature rises 10 degrees, we will still be below that average.

[@Exsen_V_Ravensun]

@@diggernash1 Could you point me to your source of information please.

[@richied90]

@@diggernash1 Provide your sources please.

[@abirch587]

I could never understand why federal funds go to private schools, for profit schools.

[@MenacingWithVideos]

Lobbying

[@destronger5313]

it pushes right wing propaganda

[@davidleclerc3783]

It undermines public ed by skimming the academic cream, you know, the measures that schools are held to for success.

[@MenacingWithVideos]

@@CraigScottFrost did you just describe serfdom?

[@ak-ub1ym]

​@@MenacingWithVideos america or the west (not including Europe but GBR from EU due to their ideologically similar mindset) has been a serfdom but with modernization since the First industrial revolution so it's was turned up to a 11 during by dismantling of laws that allowed govt to regulate corpos and u could say these laws exist but only on paper since Corpos are lobbying/sponsoring most of the congressional candidates. America+GBR is / has always been a oligarchy like what ppl claimed Russia to be but just under a different name of "Venture capitalists" and not billionaires

[@Quanic2000]

"My child, my choice" translates to "I don't want my child to have any other views other than my cherry picked 'facts' that make me comfortable".

[@liq3]

Or you know, people might have legitimate complaints with the low quality of public education

[@liq3]

@@ThePinkPeony-df3df Sure, it's terrible when kids are sheltered from opposing views or important information. Who gets to decide that though? I'd certainly want to veto anything my kids were taught. For example, I wouldn't racists teaching them to be racist. Yet, with government controlling education, that's exactly what's been happening.

[@Oneconsciousmind]

​@@ThePinkPeony-df3dfYou never mentioned the supposedly problematic implications that you tied to the justification of the republican position. What are the implications you're referring to, and what is "simply untrue"?

[@Oneconsciousmind]

​@@ThePinkPeony-df3df 1) A trans girl is a girl, just like a flightless bird is a bird. We add modifiers to categorical labels to indicate defining features that are not implied by the category. Doesn't make a trans girl less of a girl, or a flightless bird less of a bird. The insistence that it is "untrue" that someone born with a vagina can be a man implies that truth lies with historical definitions rather than modern uses. So follow up question, is it terrible to have a terrific birthday, or would most sane people recognize that a terrific birthday in the modern day is a good thing? I ask because terrific's original definition means "causing terror", but that's not how the term seems to be applied today. If someone says "I had a terrific birthday" and seemed happy all day, is their statement likely untrue given that we've seen no terror on their face? Or do we instead accept that their usage of the term communicates something of value not representative of historical definitions? I go for the second, because we know word meanings change across time. 2) As someone who taught college-level ethics courses for 2 years, I'm definitely curious as to what you're getting at. If you're claiming that something can be bad by causing harm to someone who is neither the actor nor the person that the actor is acting upon, most folks on the left and right will agree with you. As far as we know, no one's intentionally polluting groundwater, but that's still bad, given the harm to both folks and nature. But if you're claiming that something is bad without ANY harm arising to any living being, I'm not at all familiar with the basis for your claim. The closest I can think of is Kant's Categorical Imperitive, but even then, there's harm done to the development and maintenance of social contracts (and thereby the people who live by them). Do you have an example of something bad that doesn't cause harm? I'm totally willing to admit I may be missing something obvious. Without harm, the basis of good/bad seems like it could only lay in whether or not an authority (either you or someone you defer to) likes the thing, which we know is a poor basis for guiding good behavior. After all, cigarette companies told folks it was great to smoke, presidents have told folks to try treatments that do nothing for the conditions they're attempting to treat, and priests frequently tell children it's good to keep violations secret. Someone in authority's claim alone is not enough to validly distinguish between good and bad things. Which is why we standardly measure good/bad by the harm/benefit it causes, by the intended harm/benefit, or by the likelihood that others taking such actions will reap good/bad consequences. 3) They're teaching kids. That's what else they're doing with them. If someone in a class is like, "hey, what about folks that don't identify with their gender, like me?" it seems completely within the duties of a teacher to be like, "Well most folks go to therapy. Some folks medically transition. Others use pronouns differently. Do you want us to use different pronouns for ya?" That's both important information about how people live in the world and a demonstration of how reasonable folks work with one another. Your ideal situation of this coming up at dinner time, as though the child is asking for permission to have a different view of their gender than their parents, is hardly the only time that question or feeling will come up for the child. And for most children in the US, 50% of their time awake will be at school. So you'd expect this question to be broached at school, assuming the child felt equally safe in both zones 50% of the time. Should teachers also be asking if the kid has permission to declare "blue" as their favorite color? Or should we let the kid learn to express/pursue their own preferences? As they will need to do through their entire adult life. Again, I'd lean to the second. And that's pretending that I don't know the tons of stories and stats of the harm that occurs when folks (even children) feel like they have to hide their personal experiences. With that, I lean even harder to the second. As of now, nothing stops a teacher from telling a parent that a kid wants to use different pronouns. They're just allowed discretion, and to use their judgement if sharing that information will put a child in danger. If they're mandated to report on how kids express their gender, they are required to report even when they know that information will put the child in danger. And we're talking about an issue concerning how the child wants the public to recognize them. Peers and other teachers can all be venues of communication in the current situation if the danger assessment of one teacher is questionable, and all can opt not to if they agree with the teacher. In the case where it's mandated, other teachers cannot opt not to put the child in danger even if the primary teacher made a valid assessment. Teachers already can tell parents about a kid's gender experience. You can ask them about it, they got no reason to hide it. However mandating forces teachers to create dangerous situations they currently have the power to avoid. Seems like we already have the best of both worlds: free communication where it won't create issues, and the option to avoid communication where someone thinks it will.

[@Oneconsciousmind]

​@@ThePinkPeony-df3df 1) First, whether or not a term has changed much historically isn't relevant to whether or not the term has changed or is changing. The word sick has maintained its tie to being unwell for at least 180 years, and the concept of being unwell has persisted since at least 2000 B.C. None of that is relevant to whether or not someone is being untruthful when they say, "Damn I think that car is sick, look at that awesome paint job." Second, "man," "woman," even "gender" are hardly stable or universal concepts. Ancient Greece, Phrygia, and the Roman Republic (and Empire) all had "men" that were treated like and identified as women (worshipers of Cybele and Attis). Male burial rites were practiced for folks who left female skeletons among the Norse. Hell, their Gods changed gendered aspects of themselves all the time, even had the dudes giving birth (the feature that defines some modern concepts of female) or doing lady-only magic. Imperial China had a whole third gender reserved for eunuchs, despite them having been born with all the equipment necessary to get the default label of "man." Early American explorers famously wiped out whole tribes because they had folks with male equipment, fulfilling the roles Europe reserved for those with female equipment. Burned 'em at the stake for being "sodomites." There's Saint Marina the Monk, Thecla, Mary of Egypt, and Blanchandin as figures from Christendom that operated as (and were treated as) genders they were not assigned at birth. The Balkans had sworn virgins, people born as women who operated and were treated as men within the culture (and may even be a holdover from early Christianity). Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, and Tahiti all have a third gender and fourth gender for transmen and transwomen. Mahabharata, one of the primary texts of Hinduism (the 3rd largest religion in the modern day), has a central male character born as a woman ( Shikhandi). In the other primary text, Ramayana, Rama himself identifies a third gender that was legally recognized at the time and one that people transitioned into (not 100% sure if you could be born into it, though definitely the case that most members of the gender were assigned other genders at birth). Consequently, I don't think it's justified to claim there's anything uniquely universal, or even uniquely stable, about the concepts of gender. Even if it's not important whether or not it has changed or is changing in the modern context. 2) Activists and transfolk saying that are right, it doesn't hurt you. The mere existence of complaints doesn't mean there is actual harm being done. Consider the Salem witch trials. No witches there, despite all the concerns about hexes, curses, and the like. Similarly, the issues you've included are prime examples of complaints without basis. There's no women's sport being dominated by transwomen. There is no epidemic of misconduct in bathrooms or dressing rooms. No increase in abuse of sex-based laws. Keep an eye on stats/reporting on the subject. Most, if not all, of the reporting is on people feeling concerned about these issues, not on the relative risk of the issue actually occurring. And well, folks are also known to get concerned about hexes/curses/etc. More importantly, though, the issues you raise are all independent of whether or not someone is allowed to question their gender, transition to a different gender, or talk to other people about experiences with gender. Transitioning doesn't require you to participate in a sport, do anything uncouth in a bathroom/dressing room, nor inflict abuse on anyone around you. And if the argument is about unique opportunities, that opportunity is already available to half the folks in the world (going off a gender binary). If you look at the sports outcomes and crime stats, those folks already in/out of your gender by default present the most significant threat, and those in/out of your gender by choice are disproportionately victimized. 3) That sounds like a perfectly reasonable conversation, though I'm not sure where you got your notion that "tomboy" mentions are rare in such conversations. I don't think anyone's studied that, and I don't think it's a good idea to attempt to estimate the size of the issue by the amount of "angry Republican" coverage. "Or you're a tomboy" conversations are not likely to make the news, and stories about folks that didn't include the "or you're a tomboy" part of the conversation will get a LOT of coverage. After all, there are no trans people in the first convo. Just a quick reminder: we're talking about 0.5% of the U.S. population with at least 1 segment devoted to it on Fox News weekly. The last rate estimate I saw was 86 in 8 weeks, close to 11 segments a week for less than 1% of U.S. citizens that do not inherently present a risk to anyone. I also don't know about your estimation that parents are "often left out of the loop" on this. The last estimate I saw for trans youth between 13 and 17 is 300,000. But I have only heard of fewer than 5 cases where parents thought the school went against the parents' wishes regarding a child's gender. Given that 5 is hardly an epidemic, nor a significant percent of 300,000, I'm not confident that these conversations aren't happening more often than not. As far as teachers sticking to the curriculum goes, I'm not familiar with the benefits of them refusing to share knowledge about other topics or teaching kids about the world. I learned all about perseverance and time management from my English teacher, how to program from my Bio teacher, the importance of healthy boundaries and communication techniques from my Math teacher, and how to identify interpersonal manipulation tactics from my History teacher. All of which are potentially dangerous topics to mislearn. All of which came from their personal discretion on what they thought was important to know for us to live a good life. All of which have served me well in life. If this concerns them needing more time to cover their topics, we were the district's top-ranked school. If this concerns the specific topic, focus on improving teacher training and ensure they have resources to refer to. Like all successful sex ed programs. So judging by the number of trans kids, the low number of parents of trans kids complaining, the fact that these issues are being debated in PTA meetings rather than class action lawsuits, the fact that ~75% of American parents are happy with their school, and the fact that many of the loudest voices have expressed concern with trans folks existing anywhere (Matt Walsh, Ben Shapiro, Tucker Carlson) suggests to me that most teachers are handling their student's genders just fine.

[@amandaterrio4823]

I’m so excited to watch this video. I’ve been saying for a long time that the dumbing down of Americans is great for conservatives.

[@waywardboi]

Just look at their base. They want us all like that, blind and dumb!

[@pdoylemi]

@@leobigelow7021 No school in the USA has drag queen story hour, so what's your problem?

[@HonoredMule]

@@leobigelow7021 Almost as essential as domestic abuse and creepy uncles.

[@zachnesmith]

@@pdoylemiBut….but….but….Fox News done did say so! And they NEVER, EVER lie 😂

[@Wackassrobots]

@@leobigelow7021dude you aren’t convincing anyone here, take that trash to PragerU

[@lisapeesalemonsqueezah3241]

I hate when people treat their children like extensions of themselves instead of actual people. Let them get a full education on all the things and you can teach them whatever garbage that you want at home.

[@MagicBus-ct7fe]

When you treach them racism and bigotry and mutilate them against their own well and their parents well . Then no, we can't stand aside while you perverts assault them like this

[@Iris_1217]

No, you see, if they're exposed to *gasp* "Different ideas," and "a wide range of diverse people," then they might come to realize that the bs their parents are trying to feed them really, really, stinks. It's why I'm thrilled whenever I hear a story about a kid growing up to escape that kind of life, because it is *not* easy.

[@MagicBus-ct7fe]

@jaya-squishiehuntr019 finish your sentence . They are property of GOVERNMENT

[@bluester7177]

​@@MagicBus-ct7feif they are, so is everyone else, actually they are probably a little bit less property than adults.

[@MagicBus-ct7fe]

@bluester7177 Yes , if you are a Democrat. Then that's the goal. in a fascist state. People are the property of government.

[@wks197980]

Public school teacher here. It might sound hyperbolic, but public education is one of the greatest moral compasses for our country. The more we try to destroy public education, the worse our country becomes. I can’t name a free and prosperous nation that believes education isn’t for all.

[@mattk8810]

Yes. Also where 10% of the female population experiences their first sexual assault

[@dominicmiller6154]

Well said

[@GrandmaCathy]

💯

[@richardmartin3597]

We should defund all schools that arent public.

[@garnet4846]

Right, and a little boy can turn into a little girl too, right? Do you teach that as well?

[@colinvandenberg3446]

It's worth noting that public educators barely make enough to support a family. It enables private schools to siphon talent as well as resources from public schools.

[@grischa762]

True story. The private schools also often offer free attendance for the children of the teachers.

[@FEB-mz6zr]

Public schools should be funded every year across this country. School teachers should be unionized and well compensated. It's obvious that America doesn't give a damn about its youth.

[@osurpless]

Yep, paternalism from people who don’t know what paternalism is. But hey, as per this video, at least conservatives aren’t using it exclusively towards black people anymore, so small favors? Look up Calvin and Hobbes small favors for some humor to that end; as linking to websites doesn’t seem to be allowed on KZbin anymore?

[@MatthewJoseph-tm9oo]

America doesn't give a damn about it's people, period. It's all about corporate bootlicking and money grabbing in America. Even the theocrats are economically driven. Money always beats God.

[@leobigelow7021]

@@MatthewJoseph-tm9oo Of course, the people who spout this moralistic crap are also the ones who will always sell out any principle on the planet for enough money. Always.

[@keylimepie3602]

Wrong they do care, they need to make sure those future kids are good little cogs and gears in their money making scandals of tomorrow 😍

[@davidlafleche1142]

Schools must go back to teaching "old" Math and proper grammar. Electronics must be banned from the classroom so that students are required to learn those basic skills without shortcuts. Ban standardized testing. All tests must be oral exams and/or essay questions. All kids must be required to do homework. Above all, they must be disciplined.

[@Jamick98Geass]

The Christian homeschooling movement has taken huge strides in the last 20 years to try to cut funding to every aspect of public education to make schools seem as unaffordable and unattractive to parents as possible. They know that when kids leave the home they tend to pick up new skills, outlooks, and become much more accepting of diversity and inclusion, and that horrifies many traditionalists who want to create a white Christian ethnostate. If a child is homeschooled until they’re 18-19, they never have to develop teamwork and communication skills, and you as the homeschool teacher (usually a parent) get complete oversight of the material they are presented in their education. The goal is indoctrination, which is funny, because that’s usually the argument the “parents rights” crowd tends to use to criticize public education.

[@LeejaMiller]

absolutely!! SO spooky

[@matth8924]

Even worse, a lot of these kids come to realize they are COMPLETELY unprepared for life in the real world once they become adults and struggle as a result.

[@RedSpicyKiwi]

It's an attempt to redo the middle (dark) age, but worse.

[@EliteWokiesNonEliteRichHuhlolz]

And you can teach them that gays are the opposite of child welfare, Blacks are the opposite of law, order, and safety, women rabidly unchecked are the opposite of a functioning economy & empire and the coziness of family and non-Christian gods are Christian demons.

[@michaelmaiara4770]

Can you say "projection" boys and girls?

[@antsuh.a.h3637]

I'm from a country where there's no private school at all, and it's wild to hear how private schools affect the public school system in America...

[@Anonymoose66G]

May I ask where? Finland's my only guess.

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

Here in America, home schooled kids score much better on standardized tests. That is how bad our education system is.

[@Anonymoose66G]

@@JayBee-cr8jm I don't think that's an accurate representation of an education system, one on one schooling is far more effective, if the parent is a good teacher it's miles better.

[@furiousfuryan]

​@@JayBee-cr8jmthat probably just says that students perform better when they have parents who can afford to have one parent not work and be a home school teacher

[@RageOfBeef]

​@@JayBee-cr8jm standardized tests were designed as punishments and memorization tools, the guy who made them thought it was insanity that America decided to actually use them as some kind of standard, nowhere else in the world is dumb enough to use them, they are completely value less in measuring education

[@chrisc.3635]

I work in a shipping factory with only a high school diploma and I'm making as much as teachers in this area who need at minimum a bachelors. Teachers are responsible for guiding our future generation and preparing them for the world. They deserve way more recognition and compensation .

[@daisycarbonell]

I just got here so I've only read the thumbnail, but I have to say: "My child, my choice" is perfectly fine despite "my child" still being another person with their own mind, but "my BODY, my choice" is too much to ask for? Wtf kind of logic does that make?

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

The same was true with the anti-vax kooks carrying the “My body, my choice” signs. But they didn’t support the right to choose when it concerns unwanted pregnancy… HELL NO! No logic there, either.

[@RevShifty]

Republicans are pure and hypocritical garbage top to bottom, and have been for decades already. I'm not sure if you just never noticed that before, but it immediately puts a whole lot of really stupid shit into context and answers some immediate questions.

[@Rastaferrari829]

Logic is not their strong suit.

[@RevShifty]

@@vaughnmead2847 Neither does abortion. You falling for absurd elementary school fairytales shouldn't be anyone else's problem but yours.

[@RevShifty]

@@vaughnmead2847 Except it absolutely is not murder. Not in any way, shape, or form. If you've ever clipped your nails, dropped a deuce, jerked off, or blown your nose, you've thrown away and destroyed *far* more cells containing human genetic material than a typical abortion does. That's actual reality, and that's why anyone claiming abortion is murder is at best just a terminally clueless asshole. Hell, the sheer amount of skin cells sloughing off the average person throughout the day is more genetic material thrown to the wind than the average abortion claims. Which means anyone who is anti abortion but doesn't off themselves is killing more genetic material every single day just by existing than what the average abortion is responsible for. Objective reality is fun like that.

[@kellysouth8870]

I graduated from New College of Florida in 2019. Over the past year, DeSantis, Corcoran, and Rufo have worked to destroy the state’s honor college, a small public liberal arts institution with one of the best track records for Fulbright scholars and students who continue their education in the nation’s top graduate programs, and rebuild it into a “Hillsdale of the South”. They fired the first female president of the school, banned the DEI programs, fired LGBTQ+ librarians and administrators, and dissolved the gender studies program. They openly intimidate and mock students and because of their tactics, there has been a mass exodus of both students and faculty. At a college that had less than 100 faculty at the end of spring 2023, over 30 left before the fall semester started and more are planning to leave. My mentors from university left jobs that they loved and moved to states more welcoming of them as both educators and human beings that deserve dignity. Even some of my high school teachers (also in Florida), are leaving the state because courses that they have taught for years or even decades are at risk because of DeSantis’ policies. If you think for one second that conservatives care about education, you are fooling yourself. All they care about is power and the more we sit passively by, the more they will continue to take from us and from future generations.

[@hwadeiv]

I saw the msnbc story abt that. Hope all is well. It's a shame that all of those sports students were lied to, and the marine biology program was gutted

[@kellysouth8870]

@@hwadeivit really is a shame and I feel bad to the new students who were basically duped in to coming and the returning students who have been put in unsafe environments and forced to live off campus in hotels (that’s a whole other story). It makes zero sense for a school with around 700 total students to have 60-70 baseball players when the flagship school UF (who has a student population of 60,000) has about 35. I took some courses in the marine biology program, it was lovely and filled with passionate professors.

[@jayrod9979]

They know an ignorant population is much more likely to vote Republican, hence the attack on education in Florida. As a Florida native I can say this absolutely happening

[@squeekyclean1644]

So they won’t be teaching about degeneracy and communist propaganda in Florida?

[@anonygent]

None of that crap you mentioned has anything to do with education and everything to do with left wing politics. It deserved to be kicked out.

[@raymore544]

My ancestors were in the native boarding school and it was a reallybad deal fraught with abuse and bigotry

[@Kino_Cartoon]

​@@leobigelow7021the "Indians" wow... In any way. Yeaah they did with all the same support financial stability, zero racism and any kind of additional struggle! Incredible isn't it?

[@grmpEqweer]

Sympathies extended. Our government committed a great wrong.

[@brigidspencer5123]

In Canada the Residential Schools Inquiry has led to apologies from the churches involved as well as the Canadian Parties. Reconciliation efforts have led to Land Acknowledgments and a federal holiday to reflect on the atrocities committed against the Indigenous peoples for generations.

[@leobigelow7021]

@@Kino_Cartoon Yes, let's dwell on details of language rather than pointing out the rampant alcoholism, the drug abuse, the crime, the abuse of women, the poverty and the complete factual failures. And let's blame "racism" as the sole and only cause. What a colossal exercise in blame-shifting. By the way, speaking of Indian ancestors, I come from a small village in upstate New York named for a battle in which one Iroquois tribe either slaughtered or enslaved dozens of rivals, then marked the victory with a monument painted in human blood. What terrific people.

[@Kino_Cartoon]

@@leobigelow7021 sure... Because all I wrote was just: it's racisms fault...

[@M1ssR1ssa]

Everyone talks about the “horrors of the public schooling”, but not enough people talk about the horrors of what it’s like to grow up in an indoctrinated occult homeschool group like I did.

[@007kingifrit]

well one is a big problem and the other is super rare

[@fayethaxton9287]

@@007kingifrit this is probably not as rare as you think!

[@M1ssR1ssa]

@@007kingifritIt’s not as rare as you think. I know hundreds of homeschooled kids who went through the same things that I did. You would be shocked what lurks around the corners of your own neighborhoods.

[@007kingifrit]

@@M1ssR1ssa you personally know 100s of cult members homeschooled? oh yeah? how?

[@007kingifrit]

@@fayethaxton9287 anyways we know for certain public education has a rainbow cult in it

[@laurataylor8717]

Growing up I never imagined that education would be a battleground deemed a waste of money and, in some cases, not necessary. I recently learned another way Reagan ruined America. When credit cards were a new thing, the interest was a tax deduction. When Reagan was busy getting rid of school lunch programs and free and affordable college education, he also axed tax deductions for credit card interest. I asked my mom about this. There were other tax deductions as well he got rid of for families as well, so he could pass all that money from the poor and middle class to the richest Americans.

[@RoobieRhoo]

Reaganomics crashed in 2008 creating the worst financial crisis in living memory.

[@RevShifty]

I hate Reagan and what he did to this country so much that I actively celebrate the anniversary of his death. And have for more than a decade already. It's literally the only halfway decent thing he ever did.

[@RoobieRhoo]

@@RevShifty I was a Reaganite, but I agree with you about his voodoo Reaganomics. I am no fan of laissez faire, trickle down economics or Milton Freidman and his monetarism, either. To be honest, I am sure trickle down has done some good like big tech startups and it made some people very rich. But trickle down is a failure for the middle class more generally. This is the angst Trump supporters fail to understand even as they rally to their populist "savior." Yea, all of our working class division today, including the viral song, "Rich Men North of Richmond", can be traced back to Reagan, deregulation, stagnate wages, increased personal debt, the two earner household, latch key kids, the end of the nuclear family, and the flailing rural middle class turned Trump supporter. It's ironic the conservative Tea Party, once fighting socialist Obama care and bail outs of failed banks, has adopted the MAGA cause and constituency when they represent neither. They are all for small government (defunding the IRS, etc.), sunsetting "socialist" security and Medicare (we pay for). Privatizing the very things we depend on to make a buck. We've been living pay check to paycheck for as long as I can remember. This didn't happen under Biden, this happened long ago. Probably during the Reagan era. Yea, I do not appreciate it, either. I argue we need to get back to FDR era capitalism. We didn't have to borrow as much to force money to "trickle back" into the middle class economy. I remember when the middle class small business was the backbone of the American economy.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

And Jerry Falwell, I fully intend to piss on his grave someday.

[@neveklund3267]

I remember when you could deduct state income taxes, property taxes and sales taxes. Social Security was tax exempt for its recipients. The pre-raygun society was not perfect: but economically for the average person, it was a lot better than the trickle down era that stagnated the incomes of most working people.

[@amywilson7540]

I was homeschooled from preschool through fourth grade, and that kind of social isolation and lack of mental stimulation was incredibly destructive, but that's what conservatives consider good education.

[@ithinkiknowme6450]

Ikr.. I’ve met many children who were homeschooled who suffer from anxiety and have a problem socialising with schooled people..

[@jtl-en4yx]

The exact thing can happen in public school, but worse things than that can also happen. Consider yourself lucky you you when to a decent public school!

[@filrabat1965]

@@jtl-en4yx And even more so, an academically decent public school that does not have a "be like the in-crowd and keep up with the cool crowd or be dissed" attitude. Or turn a blind eye on bullying.

[@filrabat1965]

It varies by individual child. Some children who are bullied for being somehow different or "inferior" or distasteful in some way do not need that kind of social interaction. It's bigotry against the "freaks" and "inferiors", pure and simple, even if society has yet to recognize it as such. Still, I agree that homeschool materials have to meet state and federal guidelines. No argument there.

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

Did you get sexually assaulted though? That happens to kids who go to government schools.

[@sorcerousfang]

Thank you for covering this. I'm a public school teacher in Ohio, and the rhetoric around public education is so insane, I'm not sure I'll be able to continue with the career much longer. Having to navigate parents who don't understand that their children are separate human beings with thoughts and feelings and experiences of their own is so difficult, and dealing with people who can't handle others who believe differently is incredibly draining. On top of that, we're losing students to charters, and money from the state every year is less and less, and we're not replacing teachers that leave or retire in our district. I'm preparing to have my position cut. Did you see that Ohio law around home schooling has changed this year? No more assessments, fewer subjects, no teacher qualifications or hours, and no curriculum outline to be filed. I'd laugh about the irony over conservative concern about 'indoctrination' if it wasn't so blatantly obvious that it's exactly what they want to do. The projection is strong.

[@scotthullinger4684]

Wow - you're seriously confused if you actually believe that public education is better than home schooling. Home schooling may not be perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better than public education in MANY many cities and states. Many public schools are just fine, but they are very quickly disappearing.

[@User31129]

As a Liberal homeschooler, let me assure you, there are Liberal homeschoolers. On a scale of 1-10, what conservatives think schools are: a 7 What they really are: a 4 or a 5. What I wish they were: a 7 or an 8.

[@diggysoze2897]

@scotthullinger Aww. Look at you forming whole sentences. Good job! So how about the children whose parents work 9-5? Fuck em, right? How about the children of parents who themselves never received a proper education? Starting to hit a little too close to home? How about the kids with one parent working and one parent disabled - who likely don’t have the resources to provide an education for this child? It’s okay to be stupid, Scott, but kindly stop wiping your stupid all over the place. It’s fucking gross.

[@OdyTypeR]

​@@scotthullinger4684I'm not trying to speak for OP, I wouldn't want to put words in their mouth - which is exactly what you did. OP didn't say public school was better than homeschooling; OP implied that "shitty" homeschooling is bad. Objectively true statement, IMHO. Reading is fundamental. I learned that in public school.

[@altrag]

@@scotthullinger4684 There's _home schooling_ where you're provided work and instruction through an accredited institution for doing those things. Then there's "home schooling" in the sense that's become popular over the past 3-4 years among the right wing: Taking your kids into the back yard and shouting misinterpreted bible verses to teach them hatred while accomplishing precious little in the way of education - even basic 3 R's stuff is often lacking in favor of just pure dogmatic nonsense. If the kids are lucky, their "teachers" will be preppers. I mean its not a _great_ education but at least they learn some actually useful (albeit rudimentary in most cases) survival skills while training to be a horrible person. The larger problem with home schooling though (of either brand) is the isolation. Certainly if your kid is on the wrong end of a bullying situation (particularly when its their teachers doing the bullying as is often the case with trans kids in particular these days but I'm sure not limited to them) then pulling them out of that situation might be better than leaving them in it, but for the most part the social skills are as valuable if not more so than the actual education.

[@246Rennie]

"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one" - Malcolm Forbes

[@007kingifrit]

"an open mind is an empty mind" -me

[@lbr88x30]

This is a long-term goal of the Republican party. Glad you are highlighting this issue. It's good for the party, but bad for our country.

[@KanonierCast]

I am a republican and I agree, that is the goal for many of us. I think public schools are bad for the country, and I am always puzzled that it's just taken as a given that public schools have some sort of right to exist. They DO NOT.

[@Aaron.Thomas]

Everything good for republicans is bad for the country.

[@waywardboi]

​@KanonierCast it's called having training skills which is how teachers become teachers and police become police lawyers become lawyers.....if you want a society of dummies you will have it and worse without teaching! Bet you didn't get very far in any school.

[@RiotKurhein]

@@KanonierCast so you want the next generation to be dumb enough to believe in whatever republican representatives tell you?

[@HonoredMule]

It's really nice to finally see someone directly covering the long game they've been playing all along.

[@Vahlee-A]

I feel like I'm getting dumber every damn day. Talking to Republicans is like talking to a brick wall, or like trying to use chalk in a thunderstorm.

[@j.r.2184]

As someone who was born and raised religious conservative, the ones who you can have an honest conversation with don't stay conservative in the long run.

[@nickmagrick7702]

im glad people on the left are so much more willing to talk to the other side

[@scotthullinger4684]

Hey - give me a huge sample of the exact opposite. I need somebody to explain to me how Democrats are "intelligent" and pro-American. Are you going to be the one to do it? Yes or no? Yes, YOU - Vahlee-A.

[@leobigelow7021]

@@nickmagrick7702 I know. The comments here are so open-minded and collaborative. They're really interested in hearing a range of perspectives.

[@Dannutts]

as a socialist/leftist, i often find the same to be true with democrats. are republican politicians horrific? yes. but what so many dems/liberals dont seem to understand is that their most visible reps are not only repub-enablers but repubs themselves in everything but name. i.e., biden, pelosi, clyburn, etc etc. ofc their rhetoric sounds inclusive, but it's largely lip service while they are every bit the corporate whores, war-mongers, and so on.

[@benandsylvia]

America isn't even near the top of any list. It's not the most free country, nor best educated, nor best health-care system,nor rated best place to live. It does rank top of the list for most incarcerated, most guns, so you've got that going for you, America!

[@seanbradley2712]

We also lead the world in medical costs and unpaid work hours, highest in the world!! And vacation and time off, lowest in the world!! And our flag is probably the most displayed in the world, if only by us. That's got to be good for something. Right?

[@PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr]

​@@seanbradley2712 We're patriotic? I know, it's sad. I live in Texas.

[@seanbradley2712]

@@PAMELAPORTER-ci7mr I lived in TX for a couple of years, one of the most state-proud places I ever lived. There was a billboard in downtown Austin that said, "BRAG ABOUT TEXAS" and nothing else. As if they need encouragement. On a recent visit back to the US, I was stunned by the number of flags on display, from bumper stickers to flags on homes and in yards and gardens. I think it's a form of virtue signaling. It's almost seems like people who actively advertise/project something so much (too much?) are insecure about it. Whereas organizations and think tanks over-advertise their purpose because they really aren't.

[@shizachan8421]

I think we can all agree that overall, Europe did not send its best to america and its noticeable.

[@seanbradley2712]

@@shizachan8421Not just that, the wealthy sent their sons back to Europe to be educated. Obviously, we also did not send our best and brightest either. This also had the effect of prolonging things like eugenics in America, so as Europe moved away from bad ideology, it continued to thrive in the States long after. After WWII, eugenics went underground and rebranded to slowly smolder, awaiting for the day of it's triumphant return. It has flared up in such discredited books as Bellcurve and a prominent eugenicist ended up in the Bush White House. After being questioned, he disappeared. Obviously the WH was ripe for the ideology. The book Superior by Angela Saini is an excellent primer on it.

[@notpub]

Here in Houston, the libraries in public school ISDs have been eliminated or reduced, and replaced with "detention centers." It's about the children. Riiiìiiight.

[@kylieashley-jones1742]

That is so very sad about the Native American children. We had a similar situation in Australia, called the Stolen Generation. Aboriginal children were taken away from their parents and sent to live with caucasian adults. The effects are still present today.

[@jtl-en4yx]

I love how the irony is completely lost here! Forcing all children from different cultures into one monolithic educational system is the same thing!

[@honeyblue2902]

@@jtl-en4yx Native children were taken away from their families so that they could be subjected to white-washed versions of history lessons and then dispersed into a society that would limit their cultural influence. It's not the same as having a diverse educational system that teaches all aspects of our culture.

[@spiritrain1685]

God with all this crazy shit going on having a kid actually scares me and I'd rather be childfree.

[@LeejaMiller]

YUP

[@kriscynical]

Honestly at this point I feel that if you PURPOSELY have a biological child, it's pure abject selfishness. The planet is burning itself alive, nobody can afford to live, and the US has turned into a third world shithole full of hate and stupidity because of the GOP and evangelicalism. What kind of person would willingly want to subject a child to that?? What kind of life can a child in this country possibly have unless they're born into generational wealth?

[@suhanhwang9988]

It's not like there's any tangible incentive to have a family and child nowadays. Housing prices gone through the roof, the environment going to heck, the social field being... the way it is now... ... Does anyone in the right mind want to subject CHILDREN of all people to the crap we're all going through right now? I count that as child abuse.

[@Terry-pf4dr]

@@suhanhwang9988I dropped my kids off at school today and as I pulled up to the building I saw 3 cop cars with lights on and an ambulance and fire truck and immediately thought oh shit it’s a shooting.. turned out it was just a car accident in front of the building but I still panicked and my kid was still in my car. It’s definitely a heavy weight when I hear about climate change and if I knew then what I know now I am not sure I would have had kids at all. I really hope that shit holds together enough to keep them safe and allows them to have kids if they want them. It’s really dark to think about what the future will hold for them.

[@dawggonevidz9140]

Yeah well, relationships that physically produce kids are going to be m/f and more often than not, that's going to mean marriage. What you have there is a legally binding contract that one party is rewarded for breaking, so good luck finding a man who wanted to get married if you do want kids. Guys would rather be alimonyfree or at least be assured that access to our children won't be cut off at a whim and our income taken by the state to compensate the mother for denying us access to our children. If I wanted to give you half of everything I own I'd .. actually there's no point finishing that sentence because there's not a skirt in the world who deserves half of everything I own, and I'm broke af.

[@SpitGoblin]

Oh I'm seated and my ears are OPEN. Because I am so angry about how little I learned in school and I graduated years ago. I cant even IMAGINE how much worse it's gotten or will get. Thank you for sharing the truth!!!

[@LeejaMiller]

right?? cannot imagine going to school now

[@hannahduh8371]

My daughter is soo smart.. and I'm keeping my eyes open for her. I'm in Florida and besides her one male (def not gay, can't say gay!) Teacher, who I love.. they're all very white and bigoted. Born and raised rural Florida.. it's so exhausting. I don't want her to be alienated, but I want her to be aware. I wont home school, because .. social development is important to me.. It's going to be slippery.

[@WASDLeftClick]

Tbqh it’s probably in your best interest to leave Florida.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

@@hannahduh8371move to Michigan.

[@Seraph.G]

My partner went to a Christian micro-school. The way those are run and the things they teach deserves its own video.

[@KendraAndTheLaw]

Therefore what?

[@GrantSR]

My mom was complaining about this when I was in first grade. I'm 63.

[@ameliagraham7284]

On which side?

[@icin4d]

Complaining pertaining to what?

[@EliteWokiesNonEliteRichHuhlolz]

@GrantSR you probably remember when opposition to bussing/integration didn't have anything to do with racism. It was about the GoVeRnMeNt tElLiNg Us wHaT To dO- granddaddy of ShOvInG woke diversity and inclusion dOwN OuR tHrOaTs.

[@waywardboi]

😂😂😂😂😂 I don't know if she read the room.

[@tonytomahawk5160]

Yeah this has been a problem for a very long time. It's not hard to figure out why we rank lower than a 3rd world nation. We rank below Cuba for God's sake

[@njdevilku1340]

I watched on pbs about the battle for busing in boston and the crumbling dream of intregated schools in Leland, MS and it reminded me of republicans trying to overthrow everything. Timely video here.

[@LeejaMiller]

yessss man there's so much info here it was impossible to fit it all into one video

[@conniemc86]

I was just watching that same bussing video last night. Sad that we’re still fighting the same battles…

[@franhalvorson3004]

​@@LeejaMillerpart two?

[@davefrompa5334]

The Dems were the primary racist opponents of integration, genius. Ever hear of Little Rock? Or the Republican president (Eisenhower) that dealt with that crisis.

[@BH-wk8vd]

I’m from one of the Ohio schools that was run by the Roman Catholic Church. They passed a last reform that fired all open LGBT+ teachers and got away with it

[@johnwright9372]

They had a small historical problem with priests sexually abusing children...

[@coasterblocks3420]

@@johnwright9372so the church pulled the “look over there!” trick.

[@mikewilliams6025]

@@johnwright9372 Did you know that public schools have a rate 10 times higher of child abuse than the catholic church. And that they practice the same policy of protecting and moving the predator?

[@bruhdudeguyman]

​@@johnwright9372"Had"? That stuff is still happening. Doesn't have anything to do with LGBT+ teachers

[@seventone4039]

Rightfully so.

[@Lunch_Meat]

I was in elementary school when "no child left behind" passed. I went from being in a gifted students program and Odyssey of the mind for my artistic and creativity skills in fourth grade to being in special ed because of my math scores in fifth grade. Using schools as a battle ground is absolutely sick and i hope these people all poop their pants while on stage someday

[@RotGodKing]

The sad thing is pooping their pants won't cause them any shame. They'd be back the next day still pooping.

[@AA-cf4es]

​@@Lunch_Meatoh how so incredibly democratic and progressive of you.

[@Lunch_Meat]

@@AA-cf4es 😂😂😂 sorry man, if people can talk about how it's a "joke" when someone like Ted Nugent talks about blowing people away, you can handle the other side making the same "joke." Grow up

[@gabrielmaroto18]

We live in opposite land when they said no child left behind they left behind millions!

[@RevShifty]

​@@AA-cf4esAwww, you tried so hard. Define both of those words here and now, and tell us how that has anything to do with what you're claiming it does. Prove they aren't just mindless buzzwords you vomit up whenever it's convenient. This should be hilarious.

[@bestgrandma8302]

I remember being 7 years old and my teacher was explaining how other governments were censored. That “they” burned BOOKS!!

[@BlackApricot]

"my child, my choice" bruh, your kid isn't property, it's a human being deserving of respect, education and preperation for THEIR life.

[@peggedyourdad9560]

I’m pretty sure even the Bible has a quote that states that even if children are born from their parents, they are their own people separate from their parents. Interesting how something can be known for such a long time yet also ignored for that same length of time.

[@delanib1701]

THIS RIGHT HERE. This is the root of the issue: conservatives don't see children as people deserving of rights or dignity. They see children as property of their parents, so parents should be able to do what they want to them. Including abuse them. Don't believe me? Look at our child abuse laws. In a lot of states, including mine, it's still legal to spank your children. And DHS departments are notoriously underfunded. It's a huge thing that doesn't get talked about enough.

[@Dr.SexySpice]

Some people are just hella immature and *not* fit to be parents

[@Dattebayo04]

Nah. We own our children till they are 18😂😂

[@pennyforyourthots]

I think it's kind of representative of the conservative mindset. If views everything, including people, as potential property. It's all about THEIR land, THEIR kids, THEIR beliefs. It's a mindset that fundamentally assumes that the world is theirs to control, usually because they come from a group that historically has power over others (male, white, rich, business owning, etc), and so all the decisions they make are an attempt to preserve that power. It equates power with morality, and so anybody without power is fundamentally evil and needs to be controlled or fought against. Like, even statistically rural conservatives generally still have more power than most other groups of a similar income. A rural conservative farmer usually still owns land and pays a mortgage, where is your average poor black urban person doesn't even own their own home. This is why they fight so strongly against any sort of progress, because to them the only world that can be moral is a world where they are in control. If you let "them" make decisions, then they will oppress "us" the same way we are oppressed them. It's kind of an inherently supremacist attitude, because it's the belief that there is something inherent about them that gives them the right to rule. It's like the divine right of kings, but for an entire group of people. When you look at it from that perspective, literally every decision they make makes perfect sense.

[@HendoNewsPro15]

"3/4ths of parents rate their own child's school highly, but are skeptical about other peoples' schools." Yeah, they treat football teams, religion, and political affiliations the same way. How about that...

[@OneBlurryLens]

In other words, corporate masters, and people, holding on to wealth and power, were using public education to hold on to their wealth and power.

[@jtl-en4yx]

Which is precisely what public school is still doing today!

[@davefrompa5334]

@OneBlurryLens Democrat politicians aren't about wealth and power? At least people in the private sector make, produce, and invent actual goods and services. Also, you have the choice on whether you want to actually buy those things or not.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

@@davefrompa5334liberals just want to keep business from polluting the environment, and exploiting people. Conservatives don’t seem to have a problem with businesses, polluting the environment and exploiting people. Liberals want to keep government out of their personal lives. Conservatives always seem to want to control peoples personal lives.

[@thedude5740]

So we trust the education system created by those people? Not only that, the education system created Liberal thinking minds, we all know that "well educated" people turn out to be liberals, which are a product of the way wealthy people garden 🤣. I can't make this shit up, people are so gullible...

[@shuyviu]

"We're going to shut down the department of education". The world is proud of you guys. 🙄

[@ninjaartist1235]

Fun fact: before the department of education, the US was ranked #1 in education. Since the department of education, it is now ranked #17. I guess you love it when kids ar Edmundo teachers can make them their little Nazi pawns

[@chuc98]

@@ninjaartist1235 fun fact, you’re incorrect. As recently as 20 years ago the United States was ranked no 1 in education. What changed in the last 20 years? Republicans taking over state governments driving funds into private schools.

[@teal_m_101]

'Can't fix the department if there is no department.'

[@blitzn00dle50]

I cannot fucking believe that it is now politically advantageous to be against education. holy shit, we as the public have been played for absolute fools

[@HisVirusness]

For a nation that, on paper, is supposed to have a fundamental separation between church and state... we're just really bad at maintaining that. And as an atheist who was forced to endure eight years of Catholic private school, before finding reprieve in the form of local public high school, it infuriates me. These religious (mostly Christian) institutions wield way too much power, and they try to infringe on our lives to a degree that you'd think something would have been done about it years ago.

[@quiveringmoist7558]

2nd largest religion in America is atheism.

[@scotthullinger4684]

No - the exact opposite, because Christian schools can't infringe on you if you don't attend them, nor would they be infringing even if you did. Attending such a school is a choice, not a requirement.

[@HisVirusness]

@@scotthullinger4684 If you are a child, you cannot consent. So, no. Sidenote: "These religious institutions" was a general statement targeting religious institutions, not just singling out private schools in general.

[@luke1835]

Church and state separation has been dead for quite a while now

[@HisVirusness]

@@MaejorArray Finger far away from the pulse. An uneducated opinion is literally nothing but hilarious.

[@willardSpirit]

They want to defund public education but wants the government to fund for their kids private schools tuition 🤦

[@RevShifty]

It's always socialize the risk or cost but privatize the profits. That has been their MO for 4+ decades already.

[@johnwright9372]

More than 4 decades, but since Reagan they have unashamed to wear their ugliness in the open.

[@somerandomguy4919]

Conservatives never cared about freedom and democracy. What they really is to have an autocratic theocracy.

[@anonygent]

Probably because private schools do such a better job, without the left-wing activism.

[@AlonzoGarbanzoBean]

@@anonygentsorry that reality is left wing. Must be hard for you

[@NMYCORNER]

This done in college as well. I've experienced the purposeful prejudice of professors targeting promising black students to fail them along with discouraging if their not in certain frats. It's sad, because I truly believe if our collective intelligence were utilized Exploration outside our solar system would already be a thing of the past.

[@j.r.2184]

When I was a kid, late 80s, bussing was still happening in our elementary schools in Miami. Except none of the white parents wanted their kids bussed into the black neighborhood for six years, so instead they bussed the black kids out for grades 1-5, and had ALL the sixth graders go to the black neighborhood. Hundreds of 12-year-olds in one underfunded school. It didn't go well.

[@scotthullinger4684]

When I was in 6th grade in 1976, the teachers had an idea to teach what it feels like to suffer racism. Half of the students had their face brushed with ash from a burnt piece of cork to make them "black." Then the non corked white students received special privileges, and the corked up students had to be obedient like slaves. Trust me - it truly got the message across, and in a very good effective way.

[@skald8981]

The quality of education in Miami of the 80's directly correlated to the affluence of the parents who sent their kids there. Horace Mann was terrible. Miami Lakes had everything with enough surplus to properly fund their athletics. South Beach woefully funded and awful. North Miami Beach was probable the best I went too. Hialeah Miami Lakes was mixed overall good but lacked all the resources it needed. Parental wealth and parental wealth alone determined the quality of education in Miami during the 80's. At least Ponce de Leon had a great marching band.

[@skald8981]

Oh and NOT a single Miami school mentioned anything about Juneteenth existing. I had to discover that as an adult when they actually made it a holiday. My advanced history classes had me believing that the Civil War was ALL about Confederacy-vs-Federalism with Slavery being but merely an after thought to get more soldiers on the union side. When in fact the priorities were the other way 'round. So needless to say Miami education during the 80's was definitely skewed with its facts.

[@harrygrosomanidis9699]

​@@scotthullinger4684Sounds similar to Jane Elliot's Blue eye/brown eye method.

[@davefrompa5334]

@@skald8981Juneteenth is a phony, made up holiday. Like Quanza.

[@CreepyMagician]

The latest trend in the game appears to be favoring longer working hours for children, at the cost of their education. However, it's important to remember that an uneducated workforce often results in underpaid and unskilled labor.

[@johnwright9372]

and a failing economy

[@taleseylad1249]

​@johnwright9372 for the poor anyways

[@Khannea]

I am a European. I have been seeing the US literally break for most my adult life. I actually did a presentation about it in 2013 ... 'dont worry about US spy state, country wont be around much longer'. I didnt realize a hyperpower can be BOTH undereducated, and in a state of dystopian collapse, and linger in that state for decades...

[@diggysoze2897]

It’s not nearly as bad as you’ve been lead to believe. There’s just a bunch of people who love drama, and we’re in an age where attention pays dividends, and drama brings attention. We were always this bad, if not worse.

[@altrag]

@@diggysoze2897 Not really "always". The US was improving for quite a while prior to the 1980s and Reagan's shift to neoliberal nonsense and Christian conservatism. Basically from the end of the Great Depression through WW2 and most of the cold war, education (and especially science education) was seen as extremely critical in order to stay ahead of the Soviets. As the cold war wound down, and especially after the collapse of the USSR, America just kind of let itself go and has been slowly fading ever since. That in itself wouldn't be a terribly immediate problem if the US was on its own - its a very slow collapse after all, and there are plenty of people fighting against the degradation of American society. But its happening nonetheless and the US is not on its own. China in particular is catching up fast. There will be a crossover, and it will be a lot sooner than most Americans realize. The media tends to mostly focus on military power (where China is definitely still behind for now) but China's already getting ahead with technologies that will be more important in the near future - solar power, biotech, robotics (though Japan and South Korea are miles ahead of both the US and China on that one), and probably many more. And that's just with the current generation of workers. More importantly (and relevant to this video) is that China is pushing hard for education while the US is banning books, trying to replace science text with bible verses, denying climate change while spending tens of billions cleaning up increasingly more severe fires, floods, hurricanes and other disasters that are feeling less and less "natural" as the years go by. 20-30 years from now when the next generation of kids are graduating and looking to enter the workforce, guess who's going to be better equipped to be more productive? The problem with education isn't something that hurts _now._ Its something that hurts a generation from now, and there's no way to fix it at that point. You simply lose a generation's worth of potential innovators and skilled workers.

[@hunchbackaudio]

As a fellow European I’m worried to see our biggest ally sliding down to new lows I never imagined. We really have to think of a way to keep a hold on our democratic values and managing really challenging climate issues, while the US is falling apart before our eyes. We’re heading for crazy times. Especially when this orange psychopath gets hold of the steering wheel again.

[@delanib1701]

@@diggysoze2897 Yeah I can take you to some places in Mississippi that are way WORSE.

[@grmpEqweer]

Yeah. I've been living it. 😢 It's like watching someone you love succumb to senility.

[@MediumBluWonder]

She's completely right in this video. I attended public school K-12 in Memphis TN, and I watched on in horror as the funding for schools near my home was slowly depleted and the result made my entire city worse. Eventually, that same public school system got absorbed into a bigger school system when a conservative leader moved in and allowed the funding to go back into the bigger school system. This was done under the guise of unity but it really created even more division. This resulted in an uptick in truancy, crime (based primarily around need), and a large underpaid menial labor force. Now, as I wrap up law school in that same city, many of my colleagues including myself are forced to relocate to different cities to practice. This is because there is no opportunity here. The crime has made it prohibitively dangerous to live here. With us and others in fields like us leaving, the city will only face further senescence. My city is a great example that it's all connected. If you cast aside education for political and monetary gain, then the city and greater society that you are a part of suffers as a whole. No amount of fleeing to the suburbs, placing your kids in private/charter/home school, or shopping in the safest areas will change that.

[@RevShifty]

A lot of these obviously shitty policies have kicked off large brain drains already. Doctors, OBGYNs, and teachers are already fleeing certain states just so they don't risk jail for doing their damned jobs. Large businesses in some of these states have had to open satellite offices in friendlier states just to be able to attract new talent. Meaning all that rent, grocery money, etc never makes it into those primary communities anymore. And then you even see it play out at the local level like you just described. It's just a ceaseless clusterfuck of awful, all thanks to terrible leadership. And it's going to get even worse over the next few years, as the consequences for all that fleeing and moving start to manifest in large ways. And it's always the poorest people with the fewest options paying the greatest price for it.

[@TheEclecticPhotog]

I personally know some "homeschooled" children (cousins) who are so lacking in socialization that they only talk to their immediate family and cannot function in society! The epidemic of unqualified people "homeschooling" their children and leaving them totally unprepared for the real world is real. There are people who actually teach their children at home, but there are also a lot who don't!

[@RachelDeRosier010894]

I'll homeschool my son ONLY IF he's on the autism spectrum like me. I don't want him to be treated the way I was as a special-needs student.

[@LeejaMiller]

totally fair!! I think there are legitimate reasons to homeschool your kids, not least of which because of all the stuff going down in public schools these days, but there's a real homeschool to antivax pipeline it turns out and thats where things get weird

[@alanparedes2427]

​@@LeejaMillerMy 12 year old has autism and has been bullied but it hasn't been that bad. I'm on the school board too so I can keep an eye on him and see that the bullying doesn't get bad or is totally eliminated. I plan to run for the high school board in a couple of years.

[@Terry-pf4dr]

I have been pleasantly surprised how my kids outlook on autism and kids that are different in school and the culture around it has gotten a million times better then it was when I was a kid and went to the same school.. I’m not sure if recent changes in my state and local political landscape will mess that up but they were definitely doing more to make sure all the kids were good to each other then they did when I was a kid.

[@travcollier]

I could homeschool, but send my kid to public school specifically because he has mild autism and needs the social learning opportunities. I know I can actually teach the basic academic stuff to him better than he gets in school... the year he was out of school due to the pandemic proved that. But the social stuff takes interactions with peers and help from adults other than me. FWIW: He went from special ed preschool to now being in middle school with every advanced course they have. He doesn't even have an IEP anymore. Still socially awkward AF, but he can get by. We were lucky and had an excellent early intervention program, a great and very accommodating daycare center, and the special ed preschool was focused on integration. The kids these days also seem generally a bit less shitty (more kind) than when I was a kid too.

[@dawggonevidz9140]

be me. be 50. be 30 years old and 15 years out of school before teachers even started to accept that autism was a thing.

[@azram7143]

oh my god SOMEONE IS SAYING IT OUT LOUD i absolutely HATED public school because it was never built to support me as a neurodivergent queer kid. i didnt fit in the ideal box that society wanted so i was constantly getting left behind in curriculum and i struggled and got awful long-term issues mentally that still affect me even years after graduating. the way the right wing is working so hard to manipulate the suffering of children in order to wrech a sense of control is horrifying. it really was never about the success of our next generations, its about power.

[@Vahlee-A]

I was always made to feel dumb when I didn't understand what my teachers were talking about. They'd always say, "stop using you autism as an excuse to be lazy." I didn't come put as queer until much later, a few years ago.

[@BladeValant546]

Just this

[@WatashiMachineFullCycle]

SAME As somebody going through public schools during the implementation of the "no child left behind" act, my undiagnosed ASD ass was in fact left so far behind that I found myself pushed through to high school without ever fully learning long division. And my school district was EXTREMELY wealthy. They just weren't interested in actually teaching kids, they were interested in pressuring teachers to pass struggling kids so they could secure funding.

[@azram7143]

@@Vahlee-A god, this. constantly getting sent to the principals office for being "distracting" when i was literally just fidgeting and stimming because a classroom setting always made me nervous. and dont even get me started on tests. id fail so hard on tests because when id be handed the packet id blank out of nervousness and forget everything. then after would be a stern lecture from the teacher saying i "wouldnt be performing so poorly on exams if [i] just applied [myself] more" as if i wasnt trying my absolute damnedest 💀

[@JoeSmith-cy9wj]

The 'Church ' was ever only about power. Unfortunately, just as they learn morality, the sheep parrot power politics.

[@BrokeredHeart]

We're seeing this creep into our schools here in Canada too. Lots of parents who are pulling their children from early ages out of the public school system and into enrichment programs, private institutions, Montessori schools, and home schooling or private tutoring. It's become a minefield trying to access adequate instruction for your kids, as early as pre-K and daycare services, and if your child has a medical diagnosis (anything from allergies that prevent them from sitting in the classroom at lunch, to a learning disability or autism), their experience is so much harder due to the insufficient resources that any teacher or assistant can provide. And it's starting to cause a slide away from public schools entirely. I get that impulse to want the best for your kids, but when I was in grade school, parental involvement was limited to the occasional fundraiser or field trip excursion. They were made aware of homework and weekly assignments, and with very few exceptions were any kids allowed to forego routine vaccinations or sit out of sex ed and health classes. We had substantial support for the kids at my school - counselling, free breakfast program, after school activities, parent-teacher committees, tiered courses for a variety of post-secondary streams (university, college, and apprenticeships or work placement programs). I got to attend a technical institute for my high school years where we had computer engineering courses, small engines, electrician classes, woodworking and construction, and even a darkroom for photography class. That put me on a course to become an architect because I was able to use basic drafting software since the age of 14, but what makes me sad is that the entire tech wing of my old high school is now vacant due to budget cutbacks and the inability to staff those classrooms with certified instructors. I can imagine the insurance for housing all that flammable equipment could be disastrous, but what I learned was invaluable to me and my career path, and every student who elected to take those classes went on to have success in the trades or in project management. Sure, there was the occasional nail gun through the thumb, or a broken toe from a lawnmower engine falling it, but everyone learned how to work with caution around the machinery, and to treat other people's projects with respect. Now these kids are lucky to find one or two teachers who feel compelled to stay after class to monitor student council or chaperone a dance. The teachers are burnt out, stretched too thin, and not being provided with the tools and supplies they need to effectively instruct their students. My cousins and friends who became teachers have all said the same thing - things were better and far easier for them to teach when parents stayed out of the classroom and weren't so combative about every subject being taught. It's not just the elective subjects like art, english, social studies, and gym, they're mad about science experiments and how math is being taught, or what version of history is being discussed. But the worst is the inability to positively discipline unruly students, giving them the structure they may not have at home, or the tools they need to face adversity and unfair situations with some maturity and control. I'm not saying that everything about public school was effective or efficient when I was in grade school 25 years ago, but it appears to have substantially taken a hit as fewer parents enroll their kids, and opt to make accommodations for their kids outside of public schools. We need to provide our teachers with more support, better wages, and less parental interference.

[@sylh9410]

Paused at 21 min. I am 33. When I was going through school, Civics and Economics was the most useful course for adult me. And you are right. The school does not teach it now. I learned about the constitution, branches of government, voting, etc. It does not surprise me that it is gone, though. When discussing voting, our teacher had us take a political compass style test to see which party we most closely aligned with. Coming from a Republican family, I was absolutely gobsmacked to find myself on the left hand side of the map. My sister came up in the center. We did a bit of homework since we were to register 2 years after the course. And sure enough… I was the first registered Democrat in the family and my sister is an Independent to this day. The Republicans lost the next generation of voters from our house because *gasp* we were taught which parties our views most closely aligned with.

[@karinaz8756]

Republicans on school boards have destroyed school curriculums. They no longer tech the Constitution and so many people don’t know they’re basic rights. Works well in a Fascist country where law enforcement is no longer viewed as public servants. They’re goal is to strong arm people. Right wing America wants a country where only rich white men make all of the decisions.

[@scotthullinger4684]

Just curious to know here if our current political situation, meaning everything which we now experience under Democrat rule, is somehow fulfilling your every wish? What's lacking? Or have all your desires been fulfilled in that regard? Fill in the blanks for me ... @sylh9410

[@scotthullinger4684]

@sylh9410. Democrats allow illegal aliens. You approve? Democrats offer no respect and support for police. You approve? Democrats constantly take a crap on the Constitution and The Bill of rights? You approve? Democrats make hating Jews once again fashionable, and they approve the destruction of Israel. You approve? Fill in the blanks for me ...

[@doid4354]

They still teach the same things it’s just under a different name now. I graduated in 2019, I learned about branches of government, took the same test you’re talking about. It’s still the same stuff honestly, but then again I could be a lucky one since I went to school in California

[@jayrod9979]

As a Florida native that got lucky and went to "A" schools, I am convinced that the Republicans want to keep the population ignorant because they know an ignorant population is more likely to blindly vote Republican.

[@erichonaker5875]

Not just Republicans doing that. Dems do it too. Both sides are guilty hypocrites that at one thing and do another. They don't give a shit about us. Only our vote and tax dollars

[@scotthullinger4684]

Please move to California. Californians are filling Florida, so why not do Floridians an equal favor? In your spare time, be sure to tell me how DeSantis has screwed up Florida, and tell me how Biden has fixed up Florida nicely? Go for it - Also tell me what Floridians are "ignorant" of? Educate us all, especially me.

[@dragonlord1689]

​@@scotthullinger4684Ok here we go under DeSantis insurance and rent has skyrocketed some the highest in the country while wages remain low, slashing of budgets especially education so we have a teacher shortage, taking away rights of citizens, banning books, and threatening to deport anyone without papers has caused jobs such as picking oranges to be empty. Last time I checked Biden wasn't the governor of Florida 🙄 I know you're gonna scream fake news and insult my in intelligence because you don't actually have a argument back. You just sling insults and whataboutisms.

[@sarahalbright7864]

You are spot on. It's sad on how America is falling to conservative extremism and failing public schools.

[@jackieedmondson8422]

I also do not know how teachers and students do not have PTSD because of all the school shootings and the school shooting drills. I was a school bus driver and always worried about getting shot by a student or a PARENT.

[@willroth7521]

Back in like middle school it didn’t bother me but by my senior year yeah I was always pretty paranoid about it. Very glad to be out of there.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

But the reality is, that very few schools have any shootings. The school shooting drills are like the tornado warning drills we had when I was in school. They’re kind of scary to the kids, interrupt the school day, but are almost never needed But then the same could be said about school fire drills. The school was made of cinder block for god sake. Oh, by the way, when I was in middle school, we did have a fire, and the fire alarms didn’t work. No one got hurt, because the school was made of cinder block and couldn’t burn.

[@jalapeno1119]

A middle school kid told me they were worried about getting shot in school and all I could say was "fair."

[@TheMotherofTacos]

Some of those students _do_ get PTSD.

[@TheMotherofTacos]

@@pmsteamrailroadinguh, no. Not even remotely the same thing.

[@rickb3650]

Education has always been the "silver bullet". Universal education is fundamental to building any sustainable, egalitarian society, and that's exactly why the ruling class has always fought against/prevented it.

[@ghintz2156]

I'm a teacher and you nailed this. Whenever someone I know puts their kid in a private school I have to bite my tongue.

[@ailleananaithnid2566]

I don’t get it. This is like abortion: if you don’t approve, don’t have one. If you want your kids to get a religious education, no one’s stopping you. But you have to pay for it. Everyone in my family was a public school teacher so this really irks me.

[@seventone4039]

We don't want you secular teachings, we are christians and we will fight against you Satanic crap. We decide for our selfs what is in our best interrests.

[@BDSMaestro]

@@ailleananaithnid2566 religious parents don’t want their kids going to school, and learning that what the parents tell the kids is not considered okay by the rest of the world.

[@RevShifty]

@@BDSMaestro So they shelter their kids deeper, indoctrinate them even further, and then they eventually go on to have zero coping skills when they turn into adults and realize the entire world thinks they're insane. Genius move, there.

[@jtl-en4yx]

Bite harder!

[@rbw7456]

There was another group who tried these tactics. I think you've heard of them. They were called the Nazis

[@SNESpool]

This (public education) is the single most important cultural battle of our time. As someone who grew up home schooled in a dominionist evangelical household (but later escaped, and spent several years in public school as well), I can say from experience that the people currently taking over school boards DO NOT care about educating kids. They want indoctrinated little Christian soldiers who love America, never question authority, and ALWAYS vote republican. We have to mobilize.

[@pkurokawa]

Your concise history of the U.S educational system is so appreciated. Brilliant learning here!! Thank you, Leeja!

[@makingstatements812]

Can we just throw the whole gop away? Thanks in advance.

[@LeejaMiller]

throw it away!!

[@somerandomguy4919]

@@LeejaMiller Why are conservatives poorly educated, lack self awareness, and have the mental capacity of a sadistic narcissistic sociopath?

[@genghisdingus]

As someone who has been to both private and public schools, public schools are wayyy better than private schools.

[@mercedesb2299]

I fell for the rhetoric of public schools=bad when my daughter was little, and I enrolled her in a series of charter schools, and I say a series because every single one wound up somewhere on a spectrum of problematic to downright creepy. The creepy one was the last straw and I wound up pulling her out of it one month into the new school year and at that stage there was nothing to do but put her in public school for the remainder of that school year. Needless to say, she never went back to charter schools. Once we experienced public school we realized how much of the hype about charter schools and private schools was just pure propaganda. She went to public school from there on out. It was just so much better than the charter schools and I felt (still feel) like such a lousy parent for believing the hype and subjecting my child to that crap for her first few years of schooling.

[@Anonymoose66G]

@@mercedesb2299 It depends on the private school, it's your job to make sure it's actually worth it and it's not just a party/joke school like many are.

[@RevShifty]

@@mercedesb2299 Charter schools are basically just private schools that receive public funds. They're almost entirely unregulated in most states, so they're just another way to easily generate income for certain kinds of people. Like running another terrible daycare in a lot of those same states. Since there's a lot of money to be made from charter schools, people will pay alot of money to spread that fake hype. At least you noticed how terrible they were; a lot of parents won't and will continue to fall for the hype until it's too late.

[@schmoborama]

@@Anonymoose66G - which is a non-issue if the public schools are properlu funded.

[@Anonymoose66G]

@@schmoborama I agree.

[@miaththered]

It's about fascism.

[@LeejaMiller]

also that!!

[@chuc98]

Here in Florida Desantis and the state government just made private school vouchers universal for all kids regardless of income…he’s literally draining money out of our public schools…

[@ninjaartist1235]

Oh no, parents get to chose. Well then maybe public schools should not suck. Have they ever thought if not sucking?

[@chuc98]

@@ninjaartist1235 perhaps if they were given proper funding and teachers weren’t having to pay for supplies out of their already small pay check schools could do a little better. Republicans have ALWAYS wanted to kill public education. This is nothing new. An uneducated population is easier to manipulate. It’s how we ended up with Trump as president. People easily fooled into believing nonsense. If people want to send their children to private, often religious schools then they should either pay for it themselves or most private schools offer grants to lower income families. Oh wait they don’t have to in Florida anymore. Now we’re subsidizing private education universally. Which is absurd.

[@RevShifty]

@@ninjaartist1235 Like charter schools don't suck so much more. Especially in a dumpster fire like Florida, where they're almost entirely unregulated. It's just a way to siphon public school funds into an entirely unregulated private school set up. Just an easy income stream for some particularly gross people.

[@jammieyouwohlgemuthsv9206]

I was a teacher It’s awful. I miss the teaching part and my students however the entire red tape and parents hating anything and everything is too mich. and to expand its always the two screaming parents who get their way and the other 98 who were ok but don’t want to or can’t make waves suffer

[@briannascott3583]

As a public school teacher! Thank you for helping to educate the public.

[@Kino_Cartoon]

​@@vaughnmead2847yeah? What's your point?

[@KendraAndTheLaw]

Stop abusing the kids with marxist, victimization horse spit. Teach them success skills. Do you even know what they are?

[@allanjmcpherson]

As an actual communist, there's something so hilariously sad about the phrase "commie liberal". I wish our schools actually did teach Marxism, at least so that people would know what it actually is.

[@jmadrid31]

Helllllllll nooooooooo!!!!!!!

[@allanjmcpherson]

@@jmadrid31 why are you so opposed to students learning what Marxism actually is? Even if they don't agree with it, at least then they know what they disagree with instead of thinking it's anything and everything left of the Republicans.

[@motherjuno7817]

EXACTLY! They refuse to teach Marxism honestly, we’re always taught it’s just like oppressive dictator shit and will never work. Not what the ideology actually is, only that we shouldn’t be for it.

[@hmnhntr]

​@@allanjmcphersonYeah, if they think it's so obviously bad, surely teaching people what it is should allow them to make the informed decision against it? Or maybe they think if people know what it actually is, a lot of people will find out they support it?

[@elizabethb3436]

I agree

[@jaydenwebster7510]

Thank you for challenging the status quo and educating the masses. I wouldn't dream of ever living in America; It sounds like hell.

[@mabusharn3761]

Thank goodness for the Internet, at least. It's somewhat leveling the playing field for children to get access to education.

[@jtl-en4yx]

Also you can get a free online education at the state's expense while not subjecting your children bullying, religious persecution, and sexual molestation!

[@michaelelder3945]

Thank you for going down this path. Here's what I would add: The Bush 43 "no child left behind" policy was modeled on a program in Texas that didn't work in Texas. The central part of that program was school testing. Instead of teaching student critical thinking and problem solving, teachers had to teach students how to pass the tests. In the end, this means that students are taught to regurgitate the information they have been taught instead of critical thinking and how to learn on your own. Further, teachers are discouraged from labeling a child with a learning disability (ex. Dyslexia) because the school would then have to provide extra funding to help the child (and they don't want to do that). A better approach would be to test the children early on so they could be grouped together according to the disability and given the specialize instruction in a more economically efficient way to help these students overcome the learning disability early on instead of teaching to the lowest common denominator. Even when a learning disability is identified, school children are not provided assistance based on modern research, (Ref. "The Gift of Dyslexia" by Ron Davis), but instead they use the same methods that were used in the 1950's. And one thing that you almost hit upon towards the end of the video is that Democrats are also at fault for not reversing bad Republican education policies when they could and allowing them to stand. End of the term school testing specifically needs to be done away with. That being said, kudos for creating "Smartass Civics".

[@sophumerin]

I remember crying about the situation when Obama's agenda was being debated and someone in my group of friends argued on a message board "you need to remember that there are three branches of government, not just the president but also the House of Representatives and the Senate."

[@pmsteamrailroading]

Oh wow, that’s sad.

[@EvTheFlickFan]

…

[@uriel9777]

If it's "my child my choice", then couldnt teachers just say "your child, your education" and refuse these kids on their class room? Like if you want a custom education, do it yourself.

[@cobracyxx8808]

The idea that ³/4 of people dont know the 3 branches is hard to believe. Thats just wild af because I thought it was common knowledge.

[@vapur9723]

But that's still not the full story. While there are 3 branches explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, there is also a 4th branch of government. Lawmakers created administrative agencies that create laws and ordinances on their behalf.

[@altrag]

I suspect most of them do but just don't know the correct names for the branches. They probably list something like "president, congress, SCOTUS". Not technically correct but also not nearly as far off the mark as just blanket saying they don't know implies.

[@altrag]

@@vapur9723 > Lawmakers created administrative agencies Those agencies are still considered part of the branch that created them. The vast majority (and almost all of the ones actually you've heard of) are under the executive, but the other two branches also have a handful. The US system of government doesn't really allow for much in the way of truly independent agencies that are still government funded. About the best you can get is a promise that the relevant branch will keep their hands off and let the agency _act_ independently even though it technically isn't (and any future office holder has the option of no longer upholding that promise).

[@anonygent]

Left wing darling AOC didn't know what they were and had a bachelor's degree. If that's not a ringing condemnation of education in America, I don't know what is. I knew what the three branches of government were in 5th grade.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

@@vapur9723the forth estate (as it is often call) is the press. Look it up.

[@RossTheBossTrotter]

So glad i stumbled on your channel. You are lovely, insightful and a master of your craft. ❤❤❤

[@LeejaMiller]

thank you!! thanks for being here!

[@RossTheBossTrotter]

@@LeejaMiller No, no....thank you! Also, you're most welcome!

[@michaelwitt421]

My God...this is just horrific. As a Canadian, looking south to see what's going on, this is scary.

[@scotthullinger4684]

If I were Canadian, I'd surely be more scared than the American I am. Canada has gone lunatic, and the USA is not very far behind. World leaders all over earth have gone bonkers and pure evil. Very few good ones left to admire, although Israel surely comes to mind. And I'm not even a Jew. Just an ordinary guy who knows the truth.

[@eddieredmann3]

That Louisiana "does not believe they have a teacher shortage" is a massive "lalala I can't hear you!" moment.

[@WhatsNextIWonder]

Conservatives know they've drawn the losing ticket and they're trying to rig the game to come out ahead. Studies show that the more highly-educated a person is, the more likely they are to vote for liberal policies that benefit the wider society versus individuals with just a K-12 education who tend to vote more conservatively and in their own self interest. This obviously doesn't account for everyone in the United States and our unique experiences, because our political views (and our views on society and the world in general) are formed through those experiences and interactions with the world. Conservatives are trying to shape our society in a way that favors THIER beliefs and they have the audacity to accuse liberals of the same tactics. Anyways... it's exhausting and I really appreciate your thoughts and the detail you put into every story you release on this channel. I'll get off my soap box now, Leeja, but again, thank you for what you do!

[@christiana.1204]

At this point just say “Yes Reagan is mentioned here” on the title.

[@LeejaMiller]

lollll I've thought of just doing a supercut

[@hannahbrennan2131]

Most things that are shitty about in today's society can be traced back to Reagan.

[@christiana.1204]

Well better yet just state “Yes you can blame Ronald fucking Reagan for this shit”

[@CarbonMage]

​@LeejaMiller a Reagan supercut sounds amazing

[@WatashiMachineFullCycle]

It's never not upsetting to me when I think of how much I struggled and suffered in school during "no child left behind" because as an adult I discovered that I love learning SO MUCH.

[@Bxu021]

I've always said that most problems is due to lack of education and communication. America's lack of good education causes so many issues.

[@WWH_develoments]

Me and my friend (we are geography nerds) always joke about it being American to not be able to name a country except American. I cringe when I ask other teens and they can't name a real country in the world or they claim that a continent like Asia is a country.

[@harrygrosomanidis9699]

So those Tik Tok videos showing Americans not able to identify countries on the map of the world are real?

[@christinayeager651]

Apparently.

[@WWH_develoments]

Sadly, yes. @@harrygrosomanidis9699

[@markalexander832]

My friend and I always joke...... I cringe when I read poor grammar. Just a friendly word of advice to a fellow geography nerd -- the ability to write well will be very important in most professional fields. Good luck!

[@WWH_develoments]

Thank you, I am in the honours English course so I will be working hard to improve my grammar and writing style. Thank you for advice.@@markalexander832

[@shorty06111]

The student loan forgiveness for public servants, esp teachers, should be shorter in duration, esp in areas of need. 80% forgiven after 3 yrs, 100% after 4 or 5 yrs.

[@jtl-en4yx]

We can't have the banks missing out on their interest money!

[@mgnomnom]

This can backfire. Banks can just reject any loan for those jobs. Ironically, it might be better to do this for jobs that we DONT need as much.

[@pmsteamrailroading]

Or, go back to letting bankruptcy remove student debt.

[@thedude5740]

I make bad choices and I want someone else to pay for my bad choices. That about sums it up. It just isn't fair people are expected to hold themselves accountable...

[@craiglilly3657]

Very well done! I very much appreciate starting with the background of public education, the history of (attempted) integration, and the rise of charter schools and vouchers. I believe it’s critically important to understand the importance of lifelong learning - stay curious, read a lot, think critically. And pay attention to Leeja!

[@leahaldana5352]

thank you so much for speaking on this! Even though i'm obviously black, i myself am a victim of this republican brainwashing. I grew up in a conservative town and my mom pulled me out of public school in 4th grade for pretty much the same reasons you listed here. She attempted to homeschool me even tho she was single and didn't have a full time job (stupidest thing ever honestly). The curriculum she got me was definitely not government approved and 100% had an agenda. By high school i had basically woken up and rebelled against EVERYTHING those people attempted to solidify in my mind. Your video just makes me feel like my voice and other conservative's offspring is just that much louder❤

[@RevShifty]

Congrats on breaking free. That kind of thing sounds terrifying to me, and I don't imagine breaking yourself out of the craziness that was forced on you could've been easy. Have you continued you education since? I had a friend that was raised in a real cult. Like compound property, included schools, printing shops, communal gardens, the whole nine. She rebelled at an early age, too, and noticed college would be the only way she could leave the cult property. So she was in college by 15. She had her degree and was working in her chosen field (therapist helping children with traumatic pasts) before she could even legally drink. It was impressive, especially given where she came from.

[@Wetcamerainc]

Damn im sorry

[@jeffreycoogan09]

“I have a foreboding of an America in my (children's or grandchildren's time) -- When the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few. And no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority...When, clutching our Crystals and nervously consulting a Horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline. And we are unable to distinguish between what ''feels good and what's true''. And we slide, almost without noticing, back into (superstition and darkness). *Carl Sagan* From his book ''A demon haunted world'' 1995.

[@todddoster6370]

Dear Leeja, Your sincere, concise delivery and command of information are impressive and appreciated. Thank you for sharing your gift of seeking for the truth in all things.

[@importantoldnews5414]

It’s wild that one of the Republicans during the debate said that teacher’s unions are the most serious problem that our country faces. Would such a statement have been normal in the 90s? 80s?

[@RevShifty]

The Republican war on education started in the 80s with Reagan's first term. That's how long they've been trying to discredit and destroy public schools. They might never have been as open about it until now, but all that has really changed is that they stopped the grade school theater and tired old dog whistles. If you went back and rewatched any Republican presidential debate from ~1984 on and paid attention to the dog whistles, you might be surprised how long they've been publically championing this.

[@leobigelow7021]

He's not wrong. Spending on education in this country has increased by 50% in the last three decades. We're in the top 5 in per-capita expenditures on education. And the results are horrible. The one aspect of this that absolutely can't be even spoken of is the quality of the people who are doing the actual teaching. They're beyond any kind of evaluation. Thanks, teacher's unions.

[@RevShifty]

@@leobigelow7021 Except as this video itself discusses at length, most of that money isn't actually going to public schools. And of the money they are receiving, they're literally required to teach for the closest test. That severely limits what a teacher can actually teach, and that's before all the brain dead garbage tries to mess with the district's education standards even more. There are a lot of real problems with modern education. None of it involves the public schools themselves receiving too much money.

[@williamalexander7481]

I do not have kids but if i did I don't know if i could send them to a public school. I live down in Florida and the schools here are awful. Things really need to change so that everyone gets the best education possible.

[@M1551N9NOMER]

Babe wake up, new Leeja video dropped.

[@LeejaMiller]

CHRISSY WAKE UPPPP

[@dragontoothless4351]

As a former school teacher in Texas with a charter school group, I'm glad to be out of that state. The state governing body for education, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has with state legislative backing, made it so kids who attend charter schools, may as well be homeschooled. I say that, because aside from teachers in ESL and SPED, you aren't required in a charter school to be certified. In the public schools (ISD) you have to be certified regardless of what you teach, but not so for charter schools. As long as you have at bachelors degree, you can teach anything except specific ESL and SPED classes (meaning if you have ESL or SPED students integrated in the regular class, you're fine, but you can't teach classes specific to those areas without certification). Add to it that the first of those schools I taught at, they threw me to the wolves on the second day without a mentor or telling me how anything operates in their system, including curriculum expectations of Texas vs my previous state of Virginia where my Masters of Education degree (MEd) was earned (and where charter schools are held to the same standards as regular public schools by the state), and the administration told me during Parent-Teacher conferences, to just lie to the parents about their child's abilities, claiming that they have no issues in class. I resigned shortly after that because I refused to lie to the parents (let alone the students themselves), and I felt that the students needed someone better equipped given how poorly equipped I was being made and the school not wanting to help. Thankfully a different district of the same charter group picked me up a month later and I worked at two schools which were a joy compared to the original, but I wanted more stability without hearing that staff were routinely quitting and getting replaced because their pay was so bad. Then this past May, even with more students expected for the 2023-24 school year, the corporate and district offices cut the funding for each of the secondary schools in the district, causing half the staff at the school I was at to be dismissed. I had already found a new position overseas, but from a friend who still works at that school, they haven't hired any new staff, and are so stretched thin that it's over 70 students per class in classrooms rated for no more than 40 persons max. 🤯

[@andrewrockwell1282]

As a school business manager it makes me very angry that they are doing this. It is hard enough to find the schools without all this BS. Thank you for the essay on this topic.

[@johnbarker5009]

Regular Americans are used to being able to mostly ignore school boards, because they've traditionally been in the hands of people who care about making education better. We can't do that in an era when more and more school boards are in the hands of people who are trying to destroy the schools.

[@chrismauck6572]

You're talking about the radical left correct?

[@johnbarker5009]

@@chrismauck6572 you mean the people trying to make education better? Yeah, they're the people you smear as "the radical left." Also known as the majority, by the way.

[@EmotionsNeverLie]

​​@@chrismauck6572No, we're talking about people who want to abolish the boards they sit on. The GOP.

[@GeekWithClipOns]

So glad I found this channel! Learned a lot of new stuff plus had topics better explained to me that I didn’t have a firm grasp on! ^__^

[@LeejaMiller]

yay!! thank you for being here!

[@GeekWithClipOns]

@@LeejaMilleryou’re welcome! Thank you for the amazing content! Also my best friend/hetero lifemate is a Miller! ^__^