| WASHINGTON, DC — The numbers of parents opting to homeschool their kids is on the rise in the U.S. for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to provide religious or moral instruction. The Census Bureau reports that in the spring prior to the onset of the pandemic about 3% of children were being homeschooled, by the fall the numbers rose to 11.1%, and as covid self-isolation routines began to be relaxed, the rate of homeschooling has remained at high levels.
Aiding the movement are a growing number of online resources such as PragerU Resources for Educators & Parents (PREP) and PragerU Kids whose Director of Outreach, Jill Simonian, says part of the reason homeschooling is on the rise is the Leftist political motivations of teachers and school officials. As she told Rebecca Weber, CEO of the Association of Mature American Citizens, during a recent interview for AMAC’s Better for America podcast, “our education system is being overtaken by Marxism and socialist movements.”
Simonian says her mother and her sister were both schoolteachers and that she has always had respect and affection for formal schooling. “I was under this false impression. I was miseducated, if you will, that our public school system was still functioning in the way that it was maybe, you know, 50, 60 years ago.” But it was during the covid lockdowns that her eyes were opened and she saw that her children were being indoctrinated “to hate America, to question themselves, to hate themselves, to think that America is a horrible place. I would see it happening firsthand, and I was shocked. I would see teachers and principals not wanting to do the Pledge of Allegiance.”
Jill says that our education system is being hijacked nationwide as more and more schools embrace the so-called Critical Race Theory [CRT], which is designed “to divide and confuse, to weaken us as a society so that the government can ultimately have control.”
Her advice to parents and grandparents is that it’s time to wake up, to get involved at the school your children attend and to ask questions. “Go to the school’s website and look at its mission statement. Look at what type of words they are using on their school website to talk about what the district or the school is really trying to implement.” And, she adds, be on the lookout for “dangerous code words that are linked to CRT, words such as diversity, equity, inclusion, and affinity groups. If you see anything about affinity groups listed anywhere on any of your schools or district, websites run the other way.” Jill explains that affinity groups may sound great, they may sound like clubs, but they are not clubs. They are a way to separate students into factions based on race as a way to divide them.
Of course there is always the private school option available to some families, but Simonian warns that not all private schools are free of proponents of the CRT. That may leave you with only one option– to join the growing ranks of homeschoolers.
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