{"id":9018,"date":"2011-10-28T18:27:32","date_gmt":"2011-10-28T22:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/watchwomanonthewall\/?p=9018"},"modified":"2011-10-28T19:32:37","modified_gmt":"2011-10-28T23:32:37","slug":"nea-offers-5000-to-make-1st-2nd-graders-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/watchwomanonthewall\/2011\/10\/nea-offers-5000-to-make-1st-2nd-graders-activists.html","title":{"rendered":"NEA offers $5,000 to make 1st, 2nd graders activists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watchwoman<\/strong><\/span>: \u00a0That the NEA offers $5,000 to make 1st and 2nd graders activists doesn’t surprise me at all. \u00a0When I was in grade school I was taught how to organize and participate in protests, including how to make plague cards — and I was assured that NOTHING would happen to me if there were ENOUGH of us protesting — saying, “After all, what are the cops gonna do against a bunch of young people. \u00a0Just make sure there are enough of you.” \u00a0Why is it being done now?<\/em> \u00a0<\/strong>To tear apart America\u00a0resulting\u00a0in the utter\u00a0destruction\u00a0of our Republic (Representative\u00a0Governance\u00a0by a Written Rule of Law, the U. S. Constitution). \u00a0With enough protests (activism\u00a0by mob rule a.k.a. democracy) the USA will be\u00a0destroyed\u00a0— the goal of socialists\/communists (the George Sorors, Bill Ayers, Obamas and Hillarys) who permeated the protests of the 60s and 70s — and now they are in power in the highest offices of the Democrat party, politics and\u00a0academia\u00a0in our land today. \u00a0Many people put the 1968 Democrat Convention in Chicago as the beginning of the end of America as we once knew it — those of us who are old enough to recall it. \u00a0\u25ac Donna Calvin<\/strong><\/p>\n

::~:~::<\/p>\n

TEACHER\u2018S UNION OFFERED GRANT TO CREATE \u2019ACTIVISTS\u2019 OUT OF 1ST & 2ND GRADERS<\/h1>\n
\n

The\u00a0National Education Association\u00a0<\/a>(NEA<\/a>), the largest labor union in the country, offered a $5,000Learning and Leadership Grant<\/a>\u00a0to two Wisconsin teachers who intended to use the funds to \u201chelp first and second grade students\u201d become \u201cactivists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The description of the grant for teachers Andrea Burmesch and Tara Krueger of\u00a0Muskego Elementary<\/a>\u00a0read:<\/p>\n

Ms. Burmesch and a team of colleagues will\u00a0develop a critical literacy inquiry based unit of study to help their first and second grade students understand the role that power plays in their lives. The teachers will learn how visual literacy and technology, particularly website and podcast development, can be used by students to create activist messages that make a positive difference in their lives and the lives of others. The students will create their messages around issues important to their lives.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The grant description is no longer available on the NEA Foundation website as Muskego-Norway Superintendent declined to accept the grant given its dubious language and intent. The\u00a0following is a screenshot of the grant information while it was still available on NEA\u2019s site:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Muskego Patch<\/a>\u00a0adds:<\/p>\n

Talk show host\u00a0Mark Belling<\/a>\u00a0took up the issue, questioning the use of grant funds to make seven and eight year olds activists for the NEA.<\/p>\n

Muskego-Norway Superintendent Joe Schroeder responded to an inquiry from Belling, and immediately \u201cupon inspection, I found a description of the grant that, while rooted in the development of critical thinkers and positive community members, was described with some very concerning language.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schroeder said he had specific concerns over \u201chelping first and second grade students \u2018understand the role that power plays in their lives\u2019 in effort to \u2018create activist messages\u2019 is language that, especially under the umbrella of a national union\u2019s grant foundation, can understandably raise concern.\u201d<\/div>\n

He explained that those involved in the grant application process were spoken to, and Schroeder believed them \u201cto be people of integrity who have a sincere interest in developing critical thinkers and positive, contributing members of our school and the\u00a0larger community who were\u00a0simply seeking additional funds in their service to students.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Schroeder asserts that the teachers\u2019 intent and meaning of \u201cactivism\u201d differed from the obvious interpretation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also told them that I believe the language of the grant description, especially within the context of\u00a0a national union\u2019s grant foundation,\u00a0understandably can cloud their original intent. Upon review, they now understand that,\u201d Schroeder added.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date, we have not collected one cent of this NEA grant \u2014 and will not\u00a0do so.\u00a0 I have contacted the NEA office that we are declining the grant and, therefore, are requesting that they remove our approved grant from their website,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But if a glance at the NEA\u2019s \u201cActivist\u2019s Library<\/a>\u201d is any indication,\u00a0this is not the last time we will see attempts from the union to indoctrinate children and turn them into \u201cactivists.\u201d The following books, including one from none other than Saul Alinsky, are listed on NEA\u2019s site:<\/p>\n

Rules for Radicals<\/strong>
\nSaul Alinsky, Vintage Books, 1989
\nThe classic book about organizing people, written by one of America\u2019s foremost organizers.<\/p>\n

Organize for Social Change<\/strong>
\nMidwest Academy Manual for Activists
\nThird Edition, Kim Bobo et al, Seven Locks Press, 2001
\nThis is one of the best books about collective action and putting the screws to decision-makers. It\u2019s about winning battles.<\/p>\n

Building More Effective Unions<\/strong>
\nPaul Clark, Cornell University Press, 2000
\nPenn State Professor of Labor Studies Paul Clark applies the latest in behavioral sciences research to creating more effective unions. His insights are both astute and highly practical.<\/p>\n

The Trajectory of Change: Activist Strategies for Social Change<\/strong>
\nMichael Albert, SouThend Press, 2002
\nZ Magazine\u2019s Michael Albert has assembled a collection of thoughtful articles on ways to overcome various obstacles to social change.<\/p>\n

Roots to Power: A Manual for Grassroots Organizing<\/strong>
\nLee Staples, Praeger, 1984
\nThis is a good nuts and bolts guide to organizing. It is especially good on recruiting, developing action plans, executing them, and dealing with counterattacks.<\/p>\n

Taking Action: Working Together for Positive Change in Your Community<\/strong>
\nElizabeth Amer, Self Counsel Press, 1992
\nWritten by a Toronto community activist, this book is easy to read, full of examples, and sprinkled with how-to-advice.<\/p>\n

Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders<\/strong>
\nSi Kahn, McGraw Hill, 1981, Revised 1991
\nThis book is well organized. You can find relevant material for your situation without reading the whole book.<\/p>\n

Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth<\/strong>
\nDerrick Bell, Bloomsbury, 2002
\nA gem of a book that delves into the question of \u201cWhy become an activist?\u201d It is both thought-provoking and energizing.<\/p>\n

Soul of a Citizen: Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time<\/strong>
\nPaul Rogat Loeb, St. Martins Press, 1999
\nProvides solace for the activist\u2018s soul and juice for the activist\u2019s battery<\/p>\n

Read more:\u00a0http:\/\/www.theblaze.com\/stories\/teachers-union-offered-grant-to-create-activists-out-of-1st-2nd-graders\/<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Watchwoman: \u00a0That the NEA offers $5,000 to make 1st and 2nd graders activists doesn’t surprise me at all. \u00a0When I was in grade school I was taught how to organize and participate in protests, including how to make plague cards — and I was assured that NOTHING would happen to me if there were ENOUGH…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":403,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1686,485,701,137,1867,1621,503,1502,705,1349,1498,1354,1430,244,68,450,2860,434,1838,3121,608,429,133,2838,806],"tags":[3374,3373,3371,3372,3336,3375,2513,3204,3203,134],"class_list":["post-9018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1st-amendment-rights","category-big-lobby","category-democrats","category-education","category-evil-plot","category-flash-mobs-new-kind-of-violence","category-free-speech","category-godlessness","category-government-2","category-individual-terrorism-the-little-terrorist","category-insanity","category-liberals","category-news-2","category-perversion","category-political-correctness","category-politics","category-prejudice","category-propaganda","category-public-government-schools","category-radical-change-towards-tyranny-dictatorship","category-separation-of-church-and-state","category-society","category-unions","category-wake-up-america","category-warning","tag-activism","tag-activists","tag-national-education-association","tag-nea","tag-occupy","tag-occupy-protests","tag-organized-protests-and-disruptions","tag-protesters","tag-protests","tag-teachers"],"yoast_head":"\nNEA offers $5,000 to make 1st, 2nd graders activists - 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