The origins of indoctrination

It has been awhile since I have blogged about anything. Life happens and to tell the truth I just got sick of doing it. I will blog periodically again only I will blog about everything on my mind. Not just politics and culture. Todays entry however is fully cultural and once again will give a clear understanding into what we are up against. Indoctrination that begins in the cradle. Out of curiosity I went to the website of my very first school which I attended from Kindergarten through fourth grade. It was a highly esteemed private school that goes from K-12.

When I attended it was the early to mid 1970s and I enjoyed it very much and even excelled. Something that would end once I was thrust into the public school system. From my memories of that time we received what used to be thought of as a proper education. The three "Rs", a Christmas pageant about the story of Jesus in the Manger and a little boy dressed as a Dradle. That was the extent of Multiculturalism in those days and it didn't bother anyone. While the teachers may have been hippy types, there was no cultural indoctrination. Granted there was barely any minorities, but if there was any friction it was purely little boys fighting and no "Tolerance exercises" were not needed. This was taken from the very top of my alma mater's current curriculum page for grade schoolers. Notice how "Diversity"tops the list.

Diversity In the Preschool and Lower School

Diversity is at the forefront of our thinking about teaching and learning beginning with the very youngest children at Packer. The meaning of the word diversity is continually evolving, but we view it to be the presence of a broad range of differences and similarities including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, ability level, family structure and national origin. It is our goal in the Pre and Lower School to help children to recognize and acknowledge the differences and similarities that exist between them and to empower them to view these qualities with respect and appreciation.

This goal is addressed through our social and academic curricula. Teachers are in constant conversation about ways to highlight a variety of experiences and prevent and address incidents of bias. Considerable time is spent building safe classroom communities in which children are encouraged to act with honesty and empathy and to take risks in their social and academic learning. By modeling open-mindedness, self and mutual respect and critical thinking, faculty members create developmentally appropriate learning experiences through which all children can become thoughtful, sensitive and confident members of the greater Packer community. This work is not ours alone. We encourage parents to work with us to build these competencies in our children and to contribute their own experiences and understandings as we work toward a common goal of deeper understanding of ourselves and others.

The Lower School faculty work closely with the Diversity Coordinator and the Lower School Diversity Committee to explore and address issues around bias and diversity.

The Diversity Checklist was created to help teachers consider these issues in their teaching and as they plan the curriculum.

Do I stop to address incidents of bias when they happen, or soon after? Do I encourage my students to independently address situations in which bias occurs? Do I notify the Head of the Lower School about the incident and work with her and the families involved to achieve a positive educational result?
Does my class have a community norm against negative and exclusive language and behavior? Do I encourage my class to practice positive and inclusive language and behavior? Do I invite social groups to be more inclusive when appropriate?
Do I avoid stereotyping on the basis of gender, race, ability, age, class, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and other social identifiers? Do I encourage my students to avoid stereotyping as well?
Do I intentionally bring up bias, stereotyping, diversity, and other difficult issues regardless of the makeup of my class, while not focusing on any child as representative of a social identifier?
Do I teach conflict resolution, utilizing role-play and other effective techniques?
Do I validate all of my students in appropriate aspects of the curriculum; in books, materials, games, pictures, music, and holidays so they know each other’s interests and heritages?
Do I discuss commonalties of the human condition as well as the diversity of our heritages?
Is diversity woven into my curriculum and not just addressed through the celebration of holidays?
Do I utilize the various resources provided by the school, community, and city? Do I take advantage of older students, colleagues, guest speakers, field trip destinations, workshops, and professional journals to learn more about developing a multicultural classroom?
Do I create a safe environment for sharing unpopular ideas and feelings?


This is for Pre and Grade school kids!! This following nugget comes at the end of their "Philosophical statement". Nowhere do I see the word 'Individual' mentioned. It is all the 'Community".

Children at Packer grow to be productive members of a pluralistic, cooperative community of learners and are encouraged to appreciate the rich diversity of heritages at Packer. They continue to thrive in the Middle and Upper School at Packer where the developmentally appropriate programs suit the changing intellectual and physical capacities of adolescents and teenagers. As they grow intellectually and personally, our students prepare to move beyond Packer as competent and effective members of their future communities.

And finally, check out the "Social Studies" program for the wee ones.

Social Studies in the Lower School

The Lower School continues the research-based program initiated in the Preschool, with topics selected to expand the children’s view of the world and to enable the pursuit of increasingly complex tasks. Maps and graphs are an important source of information at every level. The classrooms contain extensive books and materials relating to the topics to be studied. The Lower School Librarian expands the collection to reflect the needs of the different projects. The skill of reading nonfiction material is addressed as children distinguish between fact and opinion, recognize that there are different points of view, draw conclusions, and detect stereotypes. Reporting the findings of the research occurs with a variety of methods such as “museums,” dramatic productions, databases, and increasingly more complex reports. The themes of the social studies topics are also explored in the literature read by and to the classes. Throughout the curriculum, teachers emphasize higher level thinking skills by providing students with many opportunities for analyzing data, drawing on multiple sources, and making hypotheses based on research, experience, and artifacts. While process is emphasized, children also take pride in the product of their labors.
First Grade

In the fall, first grade students begin by asking the question, what do families need? This leads to a semester long study of the neighborhood. They gain a deeper understanding of the many physical and human resources that collectively make up a neighborhood community. They consider the difference between needs and wants, and similarly, which services in the neighborhood are essential and non-essential. Many walking trips in the neighborhood help to bring this essential study to life.

In the spring the children then study family and community in another culture: Chinese, Mexican, Japanese or Nigerian. In each case they begin with a study of the land itself and the indigenous animals. They study the people and their traditional ways of living, examining homes, clothes, methods of transportation, and foods. They speculate on what life would be like for a child in these different cultures and compare this to their own homes, food, school and families. Myths and legends connected to the cultures are studied and related literature is read. They visit museums, gardens, and other cultural institutions to enrich the study. Students discuss, write, and construct projects to illustrate what they have learned. They paint, weave, dye, sculpt, and create relevant crafts.

Second Grade

In conjunction with the first science unit of the year, “Building and Designing Structures,” second graders begin the year by exploring different types of bridges. Students discuss design patterns of different bridges and build their own bridges to demonstrate their understanding. This exploration leads them to an in-depth study of the Brooklyn Bridge. This is the first time that the students look back in history. The study involves comparing Brooklyn and Manhattan then and now, why the bridge was needed, and studying the building of the bridge. Each class then decides how they will share their findings and knowledge of the Brooklyn Bridge. Presentations range from a frieze to a dramatic performance. Throughout the year, the students take field trips to gain perspective of the geography of New York City, examine the various bridges in our city and closely examine the features of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Third Grade

The Third Grade begins the year with an exploration of maps, followed by an extensive study of the Lenape Native Americans: their origins, adaptation to nature, and interrelationship between culture and environment. Third graders develop a deep understanding of how these Native Americans met their basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing, as well as an appreciation of their customs and beliefs. The students gain knowledge through research and apply it through genuine hands-on activities. The culminating project is the creation of a model of an Lenape village. A field trip to Waterloo Village, a reconstruction on village life, is a precursor to this activity. Lower School students come to tour the Third Grade classrooms. They listen to talks on the Native Americans, see models of the villages, and read myths and research reports that the third graders have created both collaboratively and independently.

Starting in January, the third graders investigate the concept of exploration and the traits of explorers both past and present. This leads to the study of Henry Hudson’s voyages and his role in the eventual development of New Amsterdam. Through readings, discussions, research, authentic re-creations, and trips, students will learn what life was like back when New York City was called New Amsterdam. They find out about the daily lives of the first settlers, the roles of the Director Generals, and the culture that developed over time. Trips to museums, a walking tour of Lower Manhattan, and celebration of festivals dating from the era of New Amsterdam provide rich experiences about the original settlement of Manhattan.

Fourth Grade

As the year begins, students review why Europeans were eager to explore North America. They also review their study of New Amsterdam and then focus on the British colony in New York. Each student takes on the role and profession of an eighteenth century colonist, and researches various aspects of colonial life. This work is supported by the residential visit to Ashokan Field Campus where the children have the chance to try colonial crafts ‘for real.’ The children might take part in blacksmithing activities, work with tin to make candleholders or use sorghum and wood to make broomsticks. Their investigations culminate in a colonial exhibition at which each student “performs” his or her trade.

Next, fourth graders will start investigating a country of their choice, often a country of their origin. The fourth graders prepare to host an International Fair open to the entire Packer community, displaying research on their countries, demonstrating the links-- personal and cultural-- between these countries and the United States, and curating exhibits of relevant artifacts. Then they broaden their study to look at immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries. They assume roles as immigrants, create passports and documents, and simulate the conditions that existed for those people as they traveled to our country and experienced the culture as newcomers. Field trips to Ellis Island, the Tenement Museum and the Museum of the Chinese in America all support the children’s work. Interactive, child-centered, developmentally appropriate settings in which children work individually and in cooperative groups.

So thats it. While there is some legitamate areas of study, most is pure indoctrination. By 13 years old the stage has been set and our little Liberal automatons are ready to continue their journey into saviors of the universe. Any non-liberal thoughts would take a talented Cult de-programmer years to undo.



Anyone interested in seeing more of this hippy lovefest camp can go here.

Gun Control & GITMO

Here is a funny video on 'Gun Control'.



And an even funnier one on "Torture" by the same guy.

'We are not at war with Islam.'

This is a quote from Obamas speech in Turkey. Now, replace the word 'Islam' with 'Christian" or 'Jews' and imagine if this had come from the leader of Turkey or any other Islamic country. Cant imagine it? Me neither.

"We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstanding, and we will seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. And we will convey our deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country," (SPACKLE: Really? Where? When?) Obama said. "The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans(SPACKLE: Ah yes, the ubiquitous "enrichment"). Many other Americans have Muslims in their family, or have lived in a Muslim-majority country -- I know, because I am one of them". (SPACKLE: As usual the topic always returns to Obama himself. What an ego.)

By the way Mr. Obama. Whether you like it or not, Islam is at war with us.

Common as dirt

First BHO gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown a box set of DVDs. Pretty freakin bad right? Now he has given the 82 year old Queen of England an i-Pod. A flipping i-Pod!! As my dear old mother would say, "He is just as common as dirt". Amen.

Saudi girls acting like...well, girls!

An article titled "Schoolgirls fall prey to coffee shop trap" in the "Saudi gazzette" sounds pretty darn sordid doesnt it? Read a little further and one is left scratching their heads. This is the joys of being a women under Sharia law. We have all heard the stories, but they should be repeated lest we forget that this goes well beyond "cultural differences".

Schoolgirls fall prey to coffee shop trap
By Jameel Al-Harthi

JEDDAH – Women’s coffee shops are no longer just meeting places for friends or refuges for a moment’s escape from the daily routine. Instead, according to some, they have become the haunts of university students and schoolgirls playing truant to indulge themselves in smoking shisha pipes and cigarettes (SPACKLE: Oh the horror!), with women using the locations as impromptu job agencies, and matchmakers seeking willing bribes. Behind the walls of women’s coffee shops, some say, all sorts of things go on.(SPACKLE: Sex? Drugs? Nope. read further.)
Salwan Abdullah, a 24-year-old university student, recalls the first time she was invited by a student friend to go to an all-female coffee shop. “I had no idea of what went on in these places, and when we entered the room was crowded with university students and girls from secondary and intermediate school. The air was full of smoke from shisha pipes and cigarettes. There were married and single girls, and women matchmakers going round asking girls if they were looking for husbands and if so what sort of features they were looking for.”

Girls in uniform
“I saw the same thing in another café during school exam time,” Salwan continued. “I saw girls in school uniform, no more than 14 years old, going into the bathrooms to change into jeans and T-shirts and putting on make-up they’d hidden in their school bags along with their cigarettes.” (SPACKLE: Gasp!!! Say it aint so!?)
“Girls have become more and more daring in coffee shops,” said university student Khuloud. “I once saw two girls among a group smoking shisha and laughing out loud as if it were the most normal thing in the world, and I could tell from their eyes that they were proud of it.” (SPACKLE: Double gasp!!)
“What is behind all this?” Khuloud wonders. “Is it leniency on the part of their families? Is it the weakness of their religious restraints? Or is it that they fall into bad company. It could be a combination of all these things, but society needs to do something about it.”
Noura Asiri, a King Abdulaziz University student, recalls her experience at a north Jeddah coffee shop. “I saw a group of girls who had come in a car driven by a foreigner (SPACKLE: Uh oh, do I smell an infidel?), and when I asked about them I discovered that they had been sent out with the driver on an errand, which shows that their family doesn’t know what they really get up to.”
Sara, a science student at King Abdulaziz University, described some of the behavior she saw in coffee shops as “incredible.”
“It goes completely against our ethics,” she said. “In one of the larger coffee shops I saw girls dressed very immodestly, acting as if they were young male teenagers, drinking coffee and tea, and there was a special place for listening to music which had been turned into some sort of place for dancing and showing off their bodies. Families need to keep an eye on this and prevent this sort of behavior in our conservative society.”

Go to the site to read the rest of this nonsense. I only pray that if there is reincarnation that I come back in my next life as something other then a female in an Islamic nation.

A Batty Bat

Lets say you have been asleep for about five months. You wake up and the first thing you want to do (besides go to the bathroom) is to have a tall cold glass of water. Well, due to the warming up of the weather I guess thats what this Bat decided to do. Daylight or not,he was determined to get a drink from my pond. He flew around and around frantically for about 20 minutes, occasionally dive bombing in for a sip. This video was the best I could get. This sucker was fast.

Happy birthday to me

For quite some time now I have wanted to quit smoking but have put it off for one reason or another. Lately it was because of the Fascist anti-smoking people. Anyone who makes it difficult financially, socially or even being able to find a place to live makes me want to rebel. But today, on my birthday I have given myself the gift of quitting smoking after 25 years simply because I dont want to get the big C. How I am going to manage writing this blog (amongst other things) without a butt burning in the ashtray is beyond me. So if my entries for the next couple of weeks seem particularly venomous you will understand. I already told most of my friends and family not to call me for the next few weeks as I am sure I will be king of the a****les. God help me.