“What do you think about when I say the word ‘freedom’?” This question was asked by 11-year-old Sara during a recent speech contest. This peppy homeschooler wowed her audience by not talking about Americans’ rights, or what it means to simply be free. Instead, Sara’s talk was about “how Americans are slowly losing their freedom".

Watching Sara’s presentation on YouTube, one would think she was actually an adult in disguise. After all, what 11 year-old understands the concept of government seizing private property in the name of environmental protection, current threats to the freedom of speech, or violations to the Second Amendment?

Watch this video to see Sara’s complete presentation.

What was Sara given that others her age seem to be lacking in today’s society? Sara was taught form a young age to love liberty and appreciate the sacrifices made by our Founders who established our form of government.

 If only more young people were in-tune with our political system and the gradual decay of American liberty!

Not surprisingly, Sara won 1st place for her excellent speech and became a source of inspiration for all who have viewed it (just read the comments left by viewers).

There are now at least 1.5 million home schoolers in the United States. Some inside the homeschool movement place the numbers nearer 2.4 million, but we won’t quibble on this. The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics has reported that the number of home-schooled children is up 74 percent from 1999 and up 36 percent from 2003, based on 1.5 million home-based students.

A 2007 survey of home-schooling parents showed that a majority educated their own offspring for moral or religious reasons. But those who home school because they want a more untraditional approach are growing, now up to a possible 32 percent of all home schoolers. And fewer home schoolers are enrolled part-time in government or private schools as well. Some who might have chosen that option are now choosing online instruction for at least some of their children’s education.

This statistical data for those with home-based education programs was obtained by the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys. Admittedly, the estimates are just that, estimates, because the National Home Education Research Institute, a private research organization, noted that home-schooling parents are “significantly less likely to answer government-sponsored surveys.” 

Blaming state rules for a more stringent curriculum and a mandate that students must graduate in four years, the Grand Rapids Public School system is launching their new “success only” plan.

The plan, as explained by district spokesmen John Helmholdt will include a new grading system that does not contain an “F” but instead an “H” for those who have failed. Receiving an “H” will entitle the student to be able to re-take the failed class, or part of the class, again, until they get it right. To accomplish this, the district will offer Saturday school, and more after school and online help.

Helmholdt explained that since 14-, 15-, or 16-year old kids simply don’t have their lives together yet, it seems a bit unfair to label them a “life failure,” by giving them an “F.” If the student does manage to pass the class, the “H” will not appear on their permanent record.

While being available evenings, online, and Saturdays probably isn’t very appealing to the teachers, objecting to the new “success only” plan of what they perceive as a relaxing of the standards has its merits. Union president Paul Helder noted that the plan is, “Not a second chance. It’s like a 22nd chance.”

‘We’re not out to get anybody, but we do think that students need to learn some responsibility,” Helder continued. Most teachers would be aware that certain students are failing, and would notify parents of the matter if students remained unconcerned and showed little effort to rectify their own situation. Really, every one knows how the system works -- flunking out has been around for eons.

What the union leader is saying is that the relaxing of standards is, in actuality, a dumbing down of standards and expectations, which benefit no one, especially the students. And he’s also quite correct in believing that giving some of these students chance after chance reinforces irresponsibility.

In the school district where I live, they’ve been doing this for years -- they just didn’t go public with it. They have what the kids call “pass class.” If you goofed around, messed around, and generally had yourself a good time for three and three quarters years, there’s still hope for graduation because you can get into the “pass class.”

For the last three weeks or so of your senior year, whatever classes you failed over the last four years are condensed into a pamphlet-style down-your-throat crash course. It’s amazing what can be accomplished in three weeks by the desperate student, under the watchful eye of mom and dad, who are not going to suffer the humiliation of having their offspring not graduate in a Midwest community that values highly what they believe is a fine education.

Not graduating would cause all sorts of problems, from grandpa and grandma’s speculation of just what went wrong, to the canceling of the park or hall that was rented in anticipation of the graduation party to whom 150 people have already been invited. (I kid you not, grad parties are huge around here. The kids usually rake in enough cash to put a down payment on a small house, or pay for their first year in college.)

Besides, the pass classes are a clever idea, really. The kid graduates, and won’t have to suffer the stigma attached to not being a bearer of a diploma  --  because of the homeschooling movement this doesn’t matter any more, other than psychologically for the parents -- and the success rate numbers for the high school are beautiful. Last time I checked, my district had close to a 100 percent graduation rate several years running.

And isn’t having these great stats for one’s district what it’s all about?

You just had to know this was going to come up, sooner rather than later — objections to children re-enacting the basic historical details of Thanksgiving. Click here to watch the story.

A 20-year tradition has come to an end. Kindergartners at Condit and Mountain View elementary schools in Claremont, California, will no longer be dressing up and visiting one another for their Thanksgiving feast. This year, the Mountain View children would have dressed as Native Americans and walked to Condit, whose students would have dressed as Pilgrims.

Michelle Raheja, an English professor at UC Riverside who specializes in Native American literature, believes dressing up as Native American Indians is demeaning. "I'm sure you can appreciate the inappropriateness of asking children to dress up like slaves (and kind slave masters), or Jews (and friendly Nazis), or members of any other racial minority group who has struggled in our nation's history."

It was Raheja who met with her daughter’s teachers and school officials that lead to the canceling of the costumed feast. School officials capitulated, predictable, given the PC nature of the objections, and they did it quickly.

Jennifer Tilton, an assistant professor of race and ethnic studies at the University of Redlands and a Claremont parent who opposes the costumes joined Raheja with some of her own PC verbiage: "Its always a good thing to think about, critically, how we teach kids, even from very young ages, the message we want them to learn, and the respect for the diversity of the American experiences.”

Some have noted that perhaps the costume objectors are actually agenda-driven elitism; "the message we want them to learn," might be a clue to the real motivation behind the objections. Wouldn't acknowledging Indians and Pilgrims in costume be an expression of respectfulness? Most cultures celebrate their own culture and heritage when they dress in their native costumes.

One mother of a student who happens to be of Choctaw descent, Kathleen Lucas, said her son — now a first-grader — still wears the vest and feathered headband he made last year to celebrate the holiday. "My son was so proud," she said. "In his eyes, he thinks that's what it looks like to be Indian."

We hear so much about “teaching moments” these days, but the school administration and teachers didn’t use this situation as such. Thanksgiving, in PC talk, is about two culturally opposite peoples and races coming together to celebrate in peaceful harmony the circumstances and experiences of their past year together.

For those who live in reality, the Indians dressed as Indians did at that time (how could they do otherwise?), and likewise did the Pilgrims. They appreciated the bounty of the earth, after suffering a previous horribly cruel winter, managing to survive through sheer courage and determination with the help of the Indians. They wanted to give thanks to God who they acknowledged and recognized as the Giver of all graces, of which they numbered their food, shelter, and peace as such. And they did it together.

If someone were truly offended, or disliked the message being taught to their child, they would extract their child from the class or the event. But I suspect the objectors are not offended, personally. How could they be? Neither of the professors is Native American Indian or a Pilgrim.

I suspect the purpose and spirit of Thanksgiving is just too God-centered for them. I suspect they have willingly and purposefully developed a hypersensitivity to all diversity issues that are tied to any kind of religious sentiment, and given an opportunity, will pounce on them, in order to make their PC voices heard.

Taking their mentality to its logical conclusion, Halloween is definitely going to have to go — the costumes might offend or mock satan worshippers.  And Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny as well — they’re really lies you know; same for the Tooth Fairy.

They’ve already managed to remove the name of God and Christian religious holidays from public schools, so we won’t have to worry there. Presidents Day? No, that fits in more with the ever expanding presidential power too much; they’ll probably keep that one. Valentine’s Day, being based on the actions of a canonized saint is already on the way out, having been changed to Friendship Day, in the name of PCness. And on and on it goes.

I guess for now, interpreting a historical event through a little creative costuming for five-year-olds is “Out.”

Spoiling the fun of five-year-olds, however, nixing a message of brotherhood and tolerance, infusing the spirit of the liberalism of the day, deciding what is “dehumanizing” for others, even those of different racial heritage, and equating something as positive as Thanksgiving with the Holocaust is “In.”