Latest / The Myth of Education Podcast / Ep. 10 | The True Purpose of Government Controlled Education w/Diane Douglas

Transcript

Ep. 10 | The True Purpose of Government Controlled Education w/Diane Douglas · The Myth of Education Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_02: Tell us,
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_02: in your opinion,
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_02: what is the purpose of government-funded,
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: government-controlled education?
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_03: To turn children against their families, our country and our God.
• 0:13
  Our government-funded education system was created on a
• 0:18
  foundation of cultural Marxism.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_03: It's been developed to change America.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_02: You're listening to the Myth of Education podcast,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: where we expose corruption in K-12 schools,
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: advocate for student safety,
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_02: and defend parental rights on school grounds.
• 0:51
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• 0:51
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• 0:52
  and subscribe wherever you're listening so you don't miss an
• 0:54
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• 0:55
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• 0:56
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• 0:56
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• 0:57
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• 0:57
  by emailing feedback at mythofeducation.com.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: If you appreciate the content and want to support the broadcast,
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: visit mythofeducation.com and click the donate link.
• 1:07
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• 1:11
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• 1:14
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for listening.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_02: Before we get into the broadcast, we have a disclaimer.
• 1:19
  All views and opinions expressed by hosts and guests are their
• 1:22
  own and do not
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_02: reflect the views of any public or private person or entity.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_02: All rights are reserved.
• 1:29
  Was there a time when public schools proved beneficial to a
• 1:34
  local community that
• 1:35
  I'm not sure that I would ever say government schools were
• 1:40
  beneficial to a community.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_03: Yes, in a way, they educated our children.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_03: But if you look back to the beginning of this country,
• 1:47
  when there was no compulsory education,
• 1:50
  which started around the 1840s-ish by Horace Mann.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_03: Schooling was either done at home,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_03: it was done with tutors,
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_03: it was done privately,
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_03: done through churches,
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_03: whatever.
• 2:03
  The purpose of education was to essentially,
• 2:08
  as simple as it sounds,
• 2:09
  is to
• 2:10
  teach children to read so they could read the bible and then if
• 2:15
  the reality is if
• 2:16
  children can read if they can do writing learn to spell learn
• 2:21
  grammar learn things
• 2:22
  like that learn basic arithmetic then the reality is they don't
• 2:27
  ever need a teacher
• 2:28
  again they need inspiration they need dedication they need
• 2:33
  commitment to their
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_03: causes and
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_03: But think about yourself.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_03: If you can read, you can learn anything you want to learn.
• 2:40
  I hear parents all the time who say,
• 2:42
  but I went to government schools and I did fine.
• 2:45
  And maybe they did to a degree academically,
• 2:49
  but I can look back even knowing what I know now.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_03: I can look back at when I went to school,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_03: which was just half a million years ago,
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_03: and I can see how these things were in the system even then.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_03: We've seen our culture is clearly losing its faith, which is very scary.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: I do think...
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_02: To your point,
• 3:11
  some of the reason why we're losing our morals and our faith is
• 3:15
  because we've kind
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_02: of idolized teachers.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_02: We've idolized education.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: We've made it this rite of passage to graduate from a public school.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_02: We've built this system around indoctrinating kids.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's not just about reading anymore.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's not just about writing or trying to better yourself.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_02: There seems to be some underlying goal to either pervert or
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_02: Or turn the next generation into public enemy number one.
• 3:43
  Fundamentally change the foundation of the nation is the way
• 3:46
  some of our Marxist
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_02: past presidents have worded it.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_02: Was there a time that you can think of?
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: when government schooling went from bad to worse?
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: Because you said,
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: well,
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: parents will give you that line of,
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_02: well,
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_02: I went to public schools or government schools and I did fine,
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_02: but clearly something has changed.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_02: What do you think,
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  SPEAKER_02: Diane,
• 4:08
  significantly marks that change where public schooling went
• 4:12
  from bad to worse?
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_03: Gosh, Tiffany, I don't know if I could point to a specific point in time
• 4:21
  It's been a cumulative roller coaster,
• 4:24
  I guess,
• 4:24
  for lack of a better term,
• 4:26
  if you will.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_03: I mean,
• 4:27
  if you look into and you study those that were instrumental in
• 4:31
  changing our system,
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_03: compulsory schooling,
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_03: then John Dewey and his ilk came along in Columbia University.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_03: They really were the ones that
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_03: in my opinion, started truly making the change.
• 4:46
  But what people need to know is they did it very,
• 4:49
  very slowly,
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  very,
• 4:51
  very carefully.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_03: They started it through the teachers' colleges,
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_03: setting up teachers' colleges in the first place.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_03: But they were very...
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_03: deliberate and very quiet and very slowly.
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  If they came in and started doing some of the things we see
• 5:07
  them doing today,
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_03: a hundred years ago,
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  SPEAKER_03: Americans would have gone ballistic.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_03: But you know, how do you boil a frog?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_03: You just add the temperature, you know, a little tiny bit at a time.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_03: So it's not any one point in time,
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_03: although I would say,
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_03: boy,
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_03: pretty much over the last 10 years,
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_03: I think it really has radically moved forward.
• 5:33
  I wanted to speak to how you were saying that teachers being
• 5:37
  educated in the
• 5:38
  colleges might have been foundational to some of those shifts
• 5:42
  in culture and
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: vulgarity,
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: quite frankly,
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_02: that we're seeing in classrooms.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_02: The idea of there being no consequences,
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_02: I think,
• 5:49
  is why parents don't see these things or why they're so slow to
• 5:53
  wake up is because
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: a child learning something in a classroom at five,
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: six years old,
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
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  SPEAKER_02: How to not be racist with my kindergarten friends.
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  They're not connecting the dots that when you see a police
• 6:06
  station on fire,
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  SPEAKER_02: like what happened in Minneapolis,
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  they're not connecting the dots that this is training that has
• 6:13
  been going on since
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  SPEAKER_02: the foundation.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_02: When you're talking about Horace Mann,
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: John Dewey,
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: on down through the ages,
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: I think there has just been this direct impact.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: assault against the word of God, against prayer.
• 6:25
  And if I had to say that there was a time that marked when
• 6:28
  government schools went
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_02: from bad to worse,
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: it would be in the 60s when they took prayer out,
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_02: they took Bible reading out,
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  and basically almost made it a crime for a teacher to wear a
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  cross in front of the
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_02: students or talk about faith in front of the class.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_03: I tend to agree with you.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_03: I would think maybe the 60s were a big change.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_03: I was in school in the 60s.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_03: And I remember the day that our first grade teacher,
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_03: Miss Merrill,
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_03: had to stop reading the Bible to us.
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  SPEAKER_03: She'd read the Bible.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_03: We pled the Pledge of Allegiance.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_03: I don't remember if we,
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_03: sang the national anthem or not,
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_03: but she didn't read the Bible that day.
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  And we,
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  as a class,
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  we went,
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  Miss Merrill,
• 7:11
  Miss Merrill,
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  you forgot to read from the Bible.
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  SPEAKER_03: And almost with tears in her eyes,
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  SPEAKER_03: she said,
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  SPEAKER_03: boys and girls,
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  SPEAKER_03: I'm sorry,
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  SPEAKER_03: I'm not allowed to anymore.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, we were first graders.
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  SPEAKER_03: We didn't really understand it.
• 7:24
  But,
• 7:24
  yes,
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  that has had a huge impact on our culture,
• 7:29
  on what schools have become.
• 7:30
  And another thing we need to think about that happened at the
• 7:34
  end of the 60s,
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_03: early 70s,
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  SPEAKER_03: we very strongly began convincing our mothers,
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_03: our women,
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_03: that,
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
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  SPEAKER_03: it's not raising children that is important to you.
• 7:50
  to income households,
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  which basically just means you're paying more taxes to the
• 7:55
  government.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_03: Now, I'm not picking on any working mom.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_03: Please don't take offense, ladies.
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  But the reality is when you put in eight hours a day and it
• 8:05
  takes you how much time
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  SPEAKER_03: to get ready for that and how much time to get home from that.
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  SPEAKER_03: Let's be realistic.
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  How much time do you really have to spend with your children to
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  give them quality of time?
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  SPEAKER_03: God does not give children to government bureaucracies,
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  SPEAKER_03: no matter how well intended they profess to be.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_03: God gives children to parents.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_03: Exactly.
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  SPEAKER_03: And I don't care if it's a stay-at-home mom or a stay-at-home dad,
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_03: but children or even grandparents who help.
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  SPEAKER_03: I'm a grandparent myself who helps with my grandson.
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  But children need their families not to be with government
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  employees 7,
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  8,
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  10,
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  12 hours a day.
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  SPEAKER_03: Who's raising those children?
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: Do you believe that public schools are worth defending on any level?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_03: Not anymore.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_03: I spent eight years on the Peoria School Board and decided that was it.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_03: I was done.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_03: And long story,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_03: but ended up running for superintendent of public instruction,
• 9:04
  literally because God in church one day sent me a message that
• 9:09
  said I needed to do
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_03: that.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't be afraid because of past politics and
• 9:14
  If we were not doing things he asked us to do because our
• 9:19
  feelings might get hurt,
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_03: which politics can hurt your feelings a lot,
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_03: you've got to listen.
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  SPEAKER_03: I know I shouldn't have won from a political standpoint.
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  I was running against an incumbent,
• 9:31
  a longtime politician,
• 9:33
  never lost an election.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_03: I knew I shouldn't have won.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_03: So when I won that office, I truly knew God put me there.
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  And I thought God put me there to finally give me a chance to
• 9:44
  fix education and to
• 9:45
  fix our schools here in Arizona and came to realize that he put
• 9:50
  me there to prove
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_03: to me government schools cannot be fixed.
• 9:54
  They are built on a foundation that is totally against our
• 9:58
  country and that they
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_03: can't be fixed because they're not broken.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_03: They're doing exactly what they were intended to do.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_03: Well,
• 10:06
  I think it's important that you talked about your faith journey
• 10:10
  and that you felt
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: led and called by God to run for the AZ state superintendent,
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: because there are a lot of people who may profess to be Christian.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_02: They may not.
• 10:20
  You know,
• 10:21
  they're on the conservative,
• 10:22
  the right side of the aisle of some things.
• 10:24
  But people have different motives and they have different
• 10:27
  reasons for why they want
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: that power or why they want that seat.
• 10:31
  And I think it's very humbling to say that God gave me a
• 10:35
  position of leadership
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_02: over my state so that he could teach me the truth about something.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_02: deliver you from any sort of deception you served as the AZ,
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_02: Superintendent of Public Instruction,
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_02: from 2015 to 2019.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's part of the time frame that the current state superintendent,
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_02: who's also running for re-election,
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: he claims that things went downhill.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: And I want to get your reaction and thoughts to what he said.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: So here's the clip.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know,
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: historically,
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: we have,
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: in terms of education in Arizona,
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_01: our schools,
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a mom of three kids,
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: school-age kids.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, our schools haven't ranked very high.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: What do you think is the issue?
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: Is it teacher pay?
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Is it curriculum?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Or what are your thoughts on that?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: Well...
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: For one thing, it's focus of leadership.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the people that between the two times I was superintendent,
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: the other superintendents,
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: they're focused tentatively on other things rather than academics.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: My focus is on academics.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: We did very well from 2003, 2011.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: then things went down and I need to get them back up again.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say the first cause is lack of academic leadership.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: If you have good leadership, then the academics will come around.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: You're talking about on school campuses.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And the Office of State Superintendent of Schools.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_02: So that,
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_02: of course,
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: for those who don't know,
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_02: that is the voice of Tom Horne,
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: our current state superintendent.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_02: But I wanted to get your thoughts directly,
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: Diane,
• 12:12
  on the thought that specifically it was the lack of leadership
• 12:17
  and a lack of focus
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: on education that caused academics to go down when he wasn't in office.
• 12:25
  During your superintendency,
• 12:28
  did you and your administration not focus on academics?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: We absolutely focused on academics.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_03: You have to bear in mind between his first two terms and his term now,
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_03: there were actually three different superintendents in office.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_03: So whether he's picking on me or not, I don't know.
• 12:47
  But at the very end of his second term as superintendent is
• 12:52
  when he and the
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_03: governor signed an application for funding from the Obama administration
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_03: And that is when Common Core was brought into roughly around 2009.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_03: It was an ongoing project.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_03: For those who don't know, Common Core were federally mandated standards.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_03: There were strict restrictions on how you could...
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_03: alter them and edit them because they were copyrighted.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_03: Anyway,
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_03: one of the conditions of getting that grant,
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_03: and I can't think of the name of the grant now,
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_03: was that the state adopt the Common Core standards.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_03: They were very poor standards.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_03: Now, Governor Ducey was the governor at the time I was in office.
• 13:36
  He would not allow the State Board of Ed to replace Common Core
• 13:40
  standards.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_03: While I was in Washington getting us in March of 2015,
• 13:46
  getting our state a release from the copyright of those
• 13:49
  standards so we could do
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_03: whatever we wanted with them.
• 13:54
  Governor Ducey went to the state board and told them that they
• 13:58
  were not to remove
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_03: Common Core,
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_03: they were just to revise it.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_03: And we did that.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_03: We went through a process.
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_03: It was essentially under the control of the State Board of Education,
• 14:09
  but the department was required to do the writing and the work
• 14:13
  that came with all
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: of that.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't remember the exact numbers,
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_03: but we changed,
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_03: I think it was about 65% of the literacy standards.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_03: We changed,
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_03: if not over 50%,
• 14:27
  close to 50% of the English language arts standards and 40% of
• 14:35
  the math standards,
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_03: common core standards,
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_03: did not serve us well by any stretch of the imagination.
• 14:42
  But despite the fact we were told we couldn't outright replace
• 14:45
  those academic
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_03: standards with better standards,
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_03: we at least made very,
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_03: very significant changes.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_03: So I think that helps academics.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think leadership comes in layers.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: So during that interview,
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_02: that woman,
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: specifically asked that question of,
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: do you mean,
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: you know,
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_02: kind of at the site level?
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_02: And he said yes, but then also at the state superintendency level.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_02: And so there's these layers of leadership.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: And I talked about this in my last podcast episode.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_02: There were inconsistencies that I had seen in certain things.
• 15:17
  The context of that conversation was DEI and how we saw on the
• 15:22
  district level that
• 15:23
  where the board voted a certain way about DEI when it came to
• 15:28
  the curriculum or a
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: program for students.
• 15:31
  But then the Board of Education came down on that same school
• 15:34
  district and said,
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_02: get rid of the DEI out of the teaching standards.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_02: And so there's these inconsistencies,
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_02: I think,
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_02: from these layers of these levels,
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_02: I should say,
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_02: of leadership.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that is creating some confusion as well.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_02: And I wanted to ask you this question.
• 15:53
  How does state leadership or how much does state leadership
• 15:57
  directly or indirectly
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_02: affect county,
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: district,
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_02: superintendency and board leadership?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_03: Oh, my goodness.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: That's a mess.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_03: Because there are so many levels.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_03: Standards are from the state level.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_03: Standards are what you teach,
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_03: basically,
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_03: what is supposed to be in a grade level or year that a child is learning.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_03: Curriculum comes from the district level, and that is how you teach it.
• 16:27
  So it's one of the things that concerns me about education in
• 16:33
  Arizona is you look
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_03: at the different levels,
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_03: the State Board of Ed,
• 16:36
  and then we have the county has certain areas of jurisdiction
• 16:40
  and the school
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_03: districts have another area of jurisdiction.
• 16:43
  One of the things that bothers me here in Arizona is our State
• 16:47
  Board of Ed is an
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_03: unelected board,
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_03: but yet they have far more authority
• 16:55
  over education in some ways than your local elected governing
• 17:00
  board does.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_03: The Constitution declares who will be on the State Board of Ed,
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_03: but the superintendent is the only elected official who's on that board.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_03: The rest are all basically, I call them educrats, you know, pretty much.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_03: They're supposed to be lay people on that board.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_03: But when I look at the current membership,
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_03: to me,
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_03: a lay person is calling a parent,
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_03: calling,
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_03: a community member,
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_03: a business owner,
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_03: someone who understands education,
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_03: but is not ingrained in education.
• 17:33
  And I think at least three,
• 17:35
  well,
• 17:36
  three out of the four lay people are currently
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_03: very involved in education.
• 17:41
  One of the other lay people is actually a superintendent of an
• 17:44
  elementary district.
• 17:46
  That's not a lay person,
• 17:48
  in my opinion,
• 17:49
  who should be bringing some outside opinions to that.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_03: But under the Constitution,
• 17:54
  it says that the State Board of Education and the
• 17:59
  superintendent both have powers
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_03: and duties as defined in law.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_03: There's 11 on the board,
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_03: but 10 unelected people who are making these very high level,
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_03: very important decisions for the education of our children.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_03: And there's no accountability for them.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_03: In my opinion,
• 18:19
  we need to change our Constitution and make the State Board of
• 18:23
  Ed an elected board
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_03: that serves at the will of the people,
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_03: not the will of the governor.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_02: What a rogue system.
• 18:31
  I don't even know if parents realize what they're entrusting
• 18:36
  their kids to.
• 18:37
  This is a rogue system that is out of control from the state
• 18:42
  level all the way down
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_02: to the district level,
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: to the site level.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_02: I want to wrap up by talking about ESAs.
• 18:55
  I happen to believe that if this is what's available for
• 18:58
  parents to help them pull
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_02: their kids out of government schools,
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_02: that they should use ESAs,
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: even if it's just temporarily.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_02: I realize that this creates government dependency.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: It creates another layer of waste of some things that we're seeing.
• 19:13
  But overall,
• 19:14
  Arizona is now leading a movement for getting children out of
• 19:20
  public schools.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_02: And so I do think that ESAs can be helpful, but what say you?
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_03: I don't disagree with you at all.
• 19:28
  I actually agree with you to a large part,
• 19:31
  but with a very big warning flag.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_03: You know,
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_03: in my opinion,
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: since what I've seen since becoming superintendent,
• 19:40
  every step out of what I call traditional district schools is a
• 19:45
  step in the right
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_03: direction.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_03: So if you're a parent and you get your child into a charter school,
• 19:51
  look very carefully at the charter school because there are
• 19:54
  some really good ones
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_03: and there are some really bad ones.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_03: But if you can get it in what I would call a back to basics,
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_03: school,
• 20:04
  you're still not going to have God there because it's a
• 20:07
  government funded school,
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_03: but you're getting hopefully a better academic education.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_03: If you can't
• 20:14
  you know,
• 20:14
  do that,
• 20:14
  then another step is private school,
• 20:16
  but that's expensive and hard to fund.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, in my opinion, the absolute best is homeschooling.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_03: And people say, oh, no, I can't do that.
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_03: Well, there's lots of ways to homeschool.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_03: You know, you don't have to do it by yourself.
• 20:29
  Even for all the parents who complain to me,
• 20:31
  do you know what they did to my child this week?
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_03: Blah, blah, blah.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_03: Then get them out.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_03: Find something.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_03: Find a way.
• 20:39
  But the problem with ESAs is what we call in one of the
• 20:43
  organizations I'm in,
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_03: Public School Exit,
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_03: is it's what we call shekels with shackles.
• 20:50
  And this is a way ultimately that the government is getting
• 20:55
  their foot into private
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_03: schools and homeschooling.
• 20:59
  If parents choose to take ESA money and they're homeschooling
• 21:04
  their child,
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_03: they have to pull their homeschooling affidavit.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_03: They are no longer a homeschooler.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_03: They are now in a government-funded program.
• 21:14
  I've been a parental choice advocate since the very very
• 21:18
  beginning of my daughter
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_03: going to school.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: But,
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 21:22
  the government can come in and tell you now how to school your
• 21:26
  child and what you
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_03: can do and what you can't do.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_03: When they expanded the ESA program in,
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_03: I believe it was 2022,
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_03: one of the first versions of the bill said that parents,
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_03: you take this ESA money and you use it,
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_03: they have to be given the state test.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_03: Fortunately,
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_03: that got pulled out of that bill,
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_03: but that just shows you this is not constitutional stuff.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_03: This is legislative things.
• 21:53
  The legislature at any point in time can put any requirements
• 21:58
  for those ESAs in.
• 21:59
  I want to see parents using that funding in the best interest
• 22:04
  of their child,
• 22:05
  but it is still taxpayer money and taxpayers are entitled to
• 22:10
  accountability.
• 22:11
  for the money they give the government and the government gives
• 22:14
  away on their behalf.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_03: So one of the suggestions I make to parents,
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_03: if you end up taking that money,
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_03: you know,
• 22:21
  keep a close eye on it and make sure that you're not going to
• 22:25
  get all kinds of
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_03: restrictions.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_03: You need to keep a very, very close look at
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_03: education freedom.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_02: Well,
• 22:32
  I want to summarize for those who haven't picked it up at this
• 22:37
  point in the
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_02: broadcast because we're at the end.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: So government schools, public schools, it's a rogue system.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_02: It's not safe.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_02: And we didn't even get into a safety discussion.
• 22:46
  So I'll have to bring you back and we'll have to talk about
• 22:49
  library books and the
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_02: uptick that we're seeing in sexual assault against students.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_02: We've got unelected officials who are in control of all of our standards.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_02: We've got government enforcing culture.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: And then we've also got this money piece.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_02: I call it laundering, but it seems like it's such a scheme.
• 23:10
  What should parents specifically be focusing on when it comes
• 23:14
  to education as we head into 2026?
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_02: First of all,
• 23:18
  SPEAKER_03: Wherever your children are, give them a godly education.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_03: Proverbs 22,
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_03: 6,
• 23:24
  raise them up in the way they should be raised and they will
• 23:27
  stay that way forever.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_03: That's the first and foremost thing that God calls upon us to do.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_03: God wants our children to be educated,
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_03: but these are things that schools have stopped teaching a long time ago.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_03: Teach your children to read.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_03: Make sure they are reading with explicit phonics.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_03: Once again, it's the spelling and the grammar.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_03: They need to learn how to communicate well.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_03: Make sure they're learning that.
• 23:53
  And then basic arithmetic facts,
• 23:55
  your addition,
• 23:57
  subtraction,
• 23:57
  multiplication,
• 23:58
  division tables.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_03: Make sure they learn how to do fractions.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_03: Those are the foundational levels.
• 24:05
  in arithmetic to build math upon your algebra and your geometry
• 24:09
  and all those other things.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_03: If you can't add and you can't subtract,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_03: multiply and divide,
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_03: you can't do all those higher level maths.
• 24:16
  Teach your children to love and love our God and then teach
• 24:20
  them how to read,
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_03: write and do arithmetic.
• 24:23
  And if they're in a government school,
• 24:25
  make sure you teach them every day.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: Basically, parents must start parenting again.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_02: Educating your children is first and foremost what you do as a parent.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_03: Keep your eyes open.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_03: Look at everything, parents.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_03: That's what God calls you to do.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: Do you agree or disagree with our take?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Let us know.
• 24:49
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• 24:53
  an email to feedback
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: at mythofeducation.com.
• 24:56
  Tag me on socials at Real Tiffany B.
• 24:58
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• 25:01
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• 25:04
  SPEAKER_02: Until next time, you've been listening to the Myth of Education podcast.