Grievance 4: The Indoctrination of Our Future Generation

The future of any society is in how well it educates its future generation.  The word educate comes from the Latin word ducere meaning to draw out or lead.  The prefix “e” means out of.  Put together, the words mean to draw out of meaning that the job of an educator is to draw out the God given gifts that dwell in the student.  (1) Indoctrination on the other hand means teaching someone to accept a set of beliefs without questioning them.   (2) Indoctrination is the opposite of education in that it puts beliefs or doctrines into the students head instead of bringing out the gifts the student received at birth.

The question we are going to ask in this posting is has the increased secularization of our education system turned it from an education system bringing out God given gifts within the student into an indoctrination system that instills secular atheistic beliefs into students.  We will also be looking at the new Common Core standards to determine whether they will create more or less indoctrination. 

The mission statement of Common Core states, “The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.  The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers.  With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.”  (3) 

The goal of equipping students be more competitive in the global economy is a good goal.  The standards also stress math and English competency, which are basic skills all students will need to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose.  Unfortunately, as we have seen with other programs (i.e. No child left behind) good intentions do not necessarily result in good programs.  This is because people implement programs and when they do, they add their individual bias and agendas to the program.  An education program changes from an education program into an indoctrination program when educators attempt to fill students’ minds with their bias and agendas. 

Proponents of Common Core claim that:

1.       Students will be more competitive in a global economy

2.       Standards were developed by a consortium of education experts and public officials to account for diversity

3.       The standards reflect a modern society

4.       Clearer goals and expectations

5.       Room for flexibility in teaching remains (4)

Once again, these claims reflect the good intentions of the mission statement of the program but we must look at the consortium of education experts and public officials developing the program to determine if there might be any hidden agendas or bias that could cause the program to fail in its implementation. 

Dr. Sandra Stotsky is a Professor Emerita for the University Of Arkansas Department Of Education Reform and served on the Common Core State Standards Initiative.  In a June 27, 2013 article appearing in the Blaze, she expresses concerns about the consortium of education experts developing and implementing the program.  (5)  For example, the English Language group did not contain any English professors or high-school English teachers.  (5) In other words, teachers, the ones that will be directly educating students, have no input in the programs development or implementation. 

Granted, there were English professors and teachers in the larger “feedback group” but their role was only advisory.  Final decisions would be made by the “English-teacher-bereft work group.” (5)  Dr. Stotsky observed that the suggestions made by the larger feedback group were frequently ignored and that the Work Group labored in secret.  (5) 

In addition the English language standards were written by, “David Coleman and Susan Pimentel – neither of whom had experience teaching English in K-12 or college, and only one of whom (Pimentel) had ever helped draft ELA content standards before.  With this revelation, it is only logical to ask what bias or agenda the Work Group, working in secret, injected into the program. 

Opponents of Common Core claim that:

1.       The standards create a lack of diversity

2.       States pay for the cost of implementation

3.       It is establishing national standards

4.       Outlined standards are too long, detailed, and cumbersome

5.       Top-down education reforms are not effective (6)

Common Core creates a one-size-fits-all standard, which has proven ineffective (i.e. no child left behind).  In addition, the establishment of national standards takes control of education out of local school districts, school administrators, and especially teachers who are closer to students and more familiar with their unique needs and talents.  In addition, states that are already running in the red with their budgets have to come up with the additional money to implement these new guidelines. 

Teachers working under Common Core Standards will become no more than mouthpieces for the guidelines set down by the Department of Education.  These teachers, who know best what the students they see every day need will now have their hands tied and be forced to indoctrinate their students with the curriculum given to them.  Parents who want to raise their children with their values will have no choice but to enroll their students in schools where their children are indoctrinated with the government approved secular curriculum (i.e. evolution). 

Parents must begin to resist the implementation of standards like Common Core by attending school board meetings and expressing their concerns.  We must push for school choice allowing parents to enroll their children in the school of their choice that educates their children for success instead of indoctrinating them into some government-approved mindset.  We must also eliminate the Federal Department of Education and return control of education to the states, local school districts, school administrators, and especially teachers. 

Our children truly are our future but our education system has been robbing them by not educating them to utilize their God given gifts and instead has been indoctrinating them into government approved secular thinking that leads to dependence on government instead of how to succeed using their talents.  We need an education system where parents and teachers can work together to help children develop their unique talents and become productive contributors to our society. 

1. Lee, Tao. Where does the word "educate" come from. englishlanguagetutor.wordpress.com. [Online] Word Press, February 18, 2006. [Cited: July 23, 2013.] http://englishlanguagetutor.wordpress.com/2006/02/18/where-does-the-word-educate-come-from/.

2. Vocabulary.com. Indoctrination. www.vocabulary.com. [Online] [Cited: July 23, 2013.] https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/indoctrination.

3. Common Core State Standards Initiative. Implementing the Common Core State Standards. www.corestandards.org. [Online] Common Core State Standards Initiative. [Cited: 23 2013, July.] http://www.corestandards.org/.

4. Higham, Michael. 5 Arguments in Support of Common Core Standards. ivn.us. [Online] IVN Column, June 17, 2013. [Cited: July 23, 2013.] http://ivn.us/progress-report/2013/06/17/5-arguments-in-support-of-common-core-standards/.

5. Robbins, Sandra Stotsky & Jane. PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN ON COMMON CORE. www.theblaze.com. [Online] The Blaze, June 27, 2013. [Cited: July 23, 2013.] http://www.theblaze.com/contributions/pulling-back-the-curtain-on-common-core/.

6. Higham, Michael. 5 Arguments Against Common Core Standards. ivn.us. [Online] IVN Column, June 13, 2013. [Cited: July 24, 2013.] http://ivn.us/progress-report/2013/06/13/5-arguments-against-common-core-standards/.