{"id":9083,"date":"2013-11-05T08:01:55","date_gmt":"2013-11-05T16:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/?p=9083"},"modified":"2013-11-05T09:34:43","modified_gmt":"2013-11-05T17:34:43","slug":"righty-or-lefty-quiz-leftist-indoctrination-of-school-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.orthodoxytoday.org\/blog\/2013\/11\/righty-or-lefty-quiz-leftist-indoctrination-of-school-children\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Righty or Lefty?’ Quiz: Leftist Indoctrination of School Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leftistby Kirsten Andersen –
\nA Colorado parent is outraged after she says her twelve-year-old son was given a detailed and biased political survey asking about his views on controversial issues from health care to same-sex \u2018marriage.\u2019<\/p>\n

The political survey was called \u201cRighty or Lefty<\/strong>,\u201d and asked students to rank their views on a ten-point scale, with one being the \u201cextreme liberal\u201d end of the scale and ten representing \u201cextreme conservative\u201d views. Each question presented examples of the \u201cextreme liberal\u201d and \u201cextreme conservative\u201d position on a given topic before asking for the student\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n

For example, regarding health care, the worksheet explained:<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberals believe that all Americans are entitled to health care when they need it. Since health insurance is very expensive, liberals believe that the government should help those who cannot afford it. Liberals believe that taxes should be increased, if necessary, to pay for health care. <\/p>\n

Conservatives do not believe that Americans are entitled to health care. Conservatives believe it is the responsibility of individuals to pay for their own health insurance. Conservatives do not believe taxes should be increased to pay for health care.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And regarding same-sex \u201cmarriage,\u201d the worksheet said:<\/p>\n

\u201cLiberals believe that gay people should be allowed to marry. Since married people enjoy certain benefits at work (health care for spouse\u2019s etc [sic]), and lower tax rates, then gays should also be allowed to receive these benefits. Liberals believe that marriage does not need to be between a man and a woman, but rather, between any two people who are in love and want to be committed to each other.<\/p>\n

Conservatives do not believe that gay people should be married. Conservatives believe that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Conservatives believe that allowing gay marriage diminishes the value of marriage in our society and upsets the family structure that is important to society.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\u2018Righty
\u2018Righty or lefty?\u2019: Quiz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One parent, stunned and angered by what she saw as an invasion of her family\u2019s privacy, sent the survey back unanswered with the following letter:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am appalled by the \u201cRighty or Lefty\u201d poll. First of all it is nobody\u2019s business what mine or my 12-year-old son\u2019s political views are. Secondly, my own son does not even know what half of these issues mean until after discussing them with him. His answers vary greatly during discussion. His views will always change as he grows and as new issues arise and he learns that these things have an effect on his life.<\/p>\n

As I am reading these topics, I have noticed the entire thing is pro-Liberal and con-Conservative, being completely skewed towards \u201cLefty-nicey\/meany conservatives\u201d ideology, which I do not approve of. The entire thing is unbalanced and an unfair and inaccurate representation. My family is NEITHER and I do not appreciate you or the school trying to pawn this assignment off on students who are too young to have valuable opinions on these subjects!<\/p>\n

I do not know what importance this has as being an assigned worksheet for a \u201cmajor grade\u201d (has he has informed me). I do not want to hear about it being for a government assignment! Learning about government is one thing \u2013 but it is none of your business to try and pry personal information out of a child on extremely private information. I am excusing my son from this assignment and expect this NOT to be counted against his grade. Sincerely, [redacted].\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some of the other topics covered included abortion, gun control, criminal justice, environmentalism, education, free speech and religion, national defense, and taxes.<\/p>\n

The survey was later sent home to parents, who were also asked to answer the questions.<\/p>\n

The student\u2019s great aunt shared both the survey and the mother\u2019s comments with\u00a0Stand Up For the Truth<\/a>, a Christian radio show based in Green Bay, WI which also streams on the internet.<\/p>\n

The great aunt blamed the assignment\u2019s intrusive nature on the controversial Common Core curriculum, but she also pointed a finger at the powerful Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided Jefferson County schools in Colorado with a grant to pay for an\u00a0ongoing data mining<\/a>\u00a0effort to track students, their performance, their activities and even their families.<\/p>\n

Common Core is not about excellence or academic achievement. It\u2019s about control, control and more control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIf this assignment doesn\u2019t necessarily fit the Common Core agenda, it certainly fits the agenda of those collecting private information on students and parents for the Jeffco School District nearby here in Colorado by a grant from the Gates Foundation,\u201d the woman told Stand Up For the Truth.\u00a0 \u201cThis assignment is clearly an attempt to collect private data from my niece and her family through her 12 year old son.\u201d<\/p>\n

While that might sound paranoid, leading critics of the Common Core curriculum have pointed out similar concerns.\u00a0 Back in August, Diane Kepus of\u00a0WatchdogWire<\/a>\u00a0highlighted Common Core\u2019sNational Education Data Model<\/a>\u00a0(NEDM), which will track, among other things:<\/p>\n