MICRO MANAGE THE CHILD AT HOME NOT AT SCHOOL

MICRO MANAGE THE CHILD AT HOME NOT AT SCHOOL

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

Modern parents too frequently have things reversed. They are permissive at home allowing their children to do and have whatever they want. They do not set limits on behavior or teach moral values that assist youngsters in fulfilling their goals.

However, as soon as the child leaves the nest and enters school the parents attempt to micro manage the teacher’s actions with their precious child. The parent’s unrealistic hope is their child will be treated as if he is the only child in the class. They believe their child’s uniqueness, lack of conformity and the parent’s self-important status requires him to be treated as special.

Parents are worried the teacher might treat their child abruptly and harshly to bring his behavior inline with age appropriate behavior. These parents do not understand that meddling in school, the first opportunity the child has to function independently outside the home, is going to hinder his maturing into a functional person.

It is true that all of us are different and develop at different rates but we still have to conform to certain expectations and standards of behavior and moral values to make us culturally appropriate. When these lessons are not learned at home, it falls on the school to inculcate them. This task becomes more complicated and difficult the older the child.

Teaching every rudimentary skill like listening, potty training, waiting one’s turn and following natural and logical rules is being delayed or totally ignored. Not everyone can be first in line. Since many students are coming from single parent homes without extended family involvement, they never learn the need to contribute to others. Almost all modern children have limited opportunity to share and contribute in these affluent times. Whatever the child desires is often given to him without question.

Since consequences for establishing certain important behaviors are often taboo for modern parents, they become irate when their child is subjected to these rules by the teacher. School authorities are supposed to use tender loving care to control their child even when he does not respond to it.

Teachers need to be allowed to give lessons that cannot be accomplished at home but many modern parents feel these methods are too strict. This means pointing out their child in front of the class for inappropriate actions is unacceptable. Withholding part of recess while holding the teacher’s hand or eating snack or lunch separate from others is seen as cruel and unusual punishment. Any consequence the child does not like the parents will find unacceptable.

Today’s children need to be told when they are doing something wrong to learn how to be successful. When the child gets home and complains about an incident the parents think they know from the child’s account exactly what took place. They do not wait to hear the teacher’s version. They come to school and tell the teacher, “my child was not disruptive nor does he lie,” therefore the teacher is immediately put on trial by the parent. Instead of questioning the child, the integrity of the teacher is questioned when it conflicts with the child’s story.

The days of parents punishing their child for a bad report card in support of the teacher’s authority are dead. We have come full circle. Previously the teacher’s word was respected. In any mention of misbehavior by the child, the child was wrong and the teacher was right. Today any reprimand reported to the parent of the child’s behavior requires immediate notification to the parents or a conference. The child is innocent until proven guilty not by the teacher’s description of his misdeeds but by evidence of others besides the reporting teacher and a quasi admission by the child before the parent is convinced.

Without the teacher and parents being on the same page the child suffers academically and socially. When parents attempt to micromanage the school it is a losing proposition. However, parents micro managing their child at home will increase the probability the child will have the skills and values to make an easy and successful transition from home to school.

The parent’s diligence in observing and following up on the child’s behavior at home would automatically substantiate the fact that their child is far from perfect. This observational knowledge of their offspring’s real nature not their projection of the child’s ideal behavior will help them empathize with the teachers instead of resisting their efforts.

Parents will feel more comfortable to support authority figures by getting out of their way. This increased confidence in the teacher’s insight into their child’s mind and behavior makes it easier for them to ally with the teacher. This alliance between the parent and the teacher is essential in helping the child become the best he can be.

You can visit Dr. Maglio at www.drmaglio.com.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, OUR SENSITIVE MALES CRY

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, OUR SENSITIVE MALES CRY

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

Our culture is encouraging males to be weak. The “wimpifying” of the US males was initiated during the 1960s by the Women’s Liberation Movement to create a society with gender equality, a unisex nation. The gradual cultural changes over the years is presently fully evident

The initial reason for the feminist movement was to gain gender equality. The accomplishing of the goal meant the boys had to be raised to be non aggressive and more sensitive while the girls had to become tougher and pushier. They have been highly successful in transforming both the gender’s behavior. The females have become more independent, assertive and achievement oriented. Males became more communicative and sensitive although there were unintended consequences of lowering male’s perseverance, expectations and abilities to accomplish their traditional functions.

A recent poll found 80% of males have little problem with their spouse’s salaries being higher than their own. This gradual relinquishing of their past bread-winning role has had a profound effect on the family. The househusband and couch potato males are no longer the butt of jokes, instead have become the ideal modern man.

The modern woman has gained greater independence at the cost of being required to fulfill more traditional male responsibilities and duties. Women presumably have been the more exploited gender in the recent past. Presently it is still the case only more so. Women have twice as much depression as males, which markedly increase heart disease. Modern middle age females have become overwhelmed because they are not genetically hardwired for the more acute confrontations of life while still handling the majority of the business of the home.

The additional burden placed on women can only be corrected or reversed when mothers and fathers encourage boys to be boys. Both parents need to be united in this mission. They need to prepare their sons for their natural destiny as men, not for a world that has never successfully existed.

When the going gets really tough, life and death tough, the tough men not the women are supposed to get going. This should motivate both fathers and mothers to encourage their sons to be strong. Boys need to be taught to fight through pain to accomplish their tasks.

These projects can be constructive assignments like chopping wood or cutting brush in a specific time period. The more a child learns to solve problems on his own, the more competent he feels with a corresponding increase in frustration tolerance. Anything that physically and mentally challenges boys to become stronger is beneficial to toughen them up. When the boy gets a physical bruise he should be expected to mentally control the pain not exploit it.

“Tear power” to get sympathy should be off limits for both genders but especially boys. In today’s America the girls are taught to stifle their crying while the boys are encouraged to appear sensitive by crying.

Girls rule while boys don’t try. Boys are now taught to be cute and charming while girls are expected to do well in all endeavors including physically demanding activities like martial arts and other sports but most importantly in school.

The result of the change in child rearing practices of the past 50 years is startling. Sixty percent of people completing graduate school are females leaving only 40% males. Women are successfully achieving while men are pleasing.

In the world outside academia, courage is needed to stand up to protect and preserve what you have. Standing up to do the right thing or keep what you have earned is not for the faint of heart. These are not traits that are held in high regard in an educational setting although they are instrumental in success in a competitive business world.

Giving up by crying by our male population is not an option if the USA is to remain strong. When things get tough our males need to be forceful by trying harder not folding up in self-pity. It is important for our boys to develop into strong men to build, protect and maintain our nation.

The women’s liberation experiment can be considered a success in terms of accomplishing their objectives of changing boys into whiners and girls into the more assertive gender. It is a failure when noting its impact on society as a whole.

These new sensitive males are too mushy and self-centered to hold their families together. They have not been trained to stand up to anyone including their own children who are often out of control. Their independent, strong wives have lost respect for their husband’s display of weakness. This weakness leads women to be attracted to stronger males. Divorce has become a viable option further downgrading the strength of the family.

Only by abandoning the modern pampered child rearing practices can we hope to increase the strength of our boys, the family and the nation.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

TEACHER CERTIFICATION CANNOT INSURE QUALITY

TEACHER CERTIFICATION CANNOT INSURE QUALITY

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Americans are very busy attempting to survive in a mobile society. We have little time to devote to researching an item or a professional’s qualifications. We rely more on others who we do not know to do the job for us. Certified stickers appear on everything. Cantaloupe, spinach, scallions, chicken, hamburger, organic foods receive a certified sticker that is supposed to guarantee its safety and high quality. Obviously with all the food alerts, certification is not working.

The process of certifying foods, mechanics, lawyers, doctors and other occupations may give us false confidence to purchase the item or service but does not insure its quality. The high performance of the item or service over time gives greater credibility to its value.

Even the past achievements of a person are not foolproof in predicting his future performance. The New York Yankees get the best available players by having the highest payroll in baseball. This strategy has not translated into consistently winning the World Series. Tiger Woods is another example of the fallibility of past performances predicting future excellence. In education we find the same phenomenon.

A study by Vanderbilt University found that teachers who were offered bonuses of up to $15,000 per year for improving student’s standardized test scores, had the same gains on these exams as those teachers who did not receive any incentives.

Often the highest priced teacher is one with the most seniority and advanced degrees but this does not necessarily guarantee that she is a good teacher. Arne Duncan, President Obama’s secretary of Education, stated “giving raises for Master’s Degrees is a waste of money.” There is no evidence to suggest money alone improves student achievement.

Certification programs of teachers differ widely but none have been highly correlated with student achievement. One of the most highly recognized teacher certification programs is the National Board of Professional Teacher Standards, NBPTS. This certification requires four video portfolios and six essay examinations evaluated at an assessment center. The teacher receives a ten-year certification and a significant increase in salary for this subjective process.

According to the director of the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Raleigh, North Carolina, George C. Leef, “Despite the large amount of tax money that has been spent promoting certification there is no evidence that the certification process does anything to elevate a teacher’s ability to instruct students. Furthermore, there is no evidence that certified teachers are better at producing high student achievement than are non-certified teachers.

There are many different teacher certifications that exist in America. The alternative certification type programs allow professionals with life work experience access to the classroom as a teacher. This is a similar approach to the apprentice programs of the past. These mature four-year degreed individuals but without an education degree learn from doing and have become valuable assets to our schools. In public schools there have been waiver certification programs to allow teachers outside of their educational credential to teach in other areas.

Any certification programs that enlarge the teacher pool are better than certifications that limit them. A certification program that attempts to stamp a person as an excellent teacher while limiting others from earning the same recognition is counter productive to improving the quality of teaching. For many years public schools have alleviated shortages in particular subject areas by granting waivers to teachers to earn certification in a new subject area. This has worked well to meet staffing needs.

A teacher is like any professional who has to begin by practicing his profession. The incredible engineering feats by the ancient Egyptians were accomplished through trial and error rather than through the scientific approach. Doctors practice medicine, lawyers practice law while teachers practice teaching. An excellent teacher has to have an intrinsic motivation to be the best teacher he or she can be and not be solely motivated by extrinsic monetary or title rewards.

The commitment of a teacher to practice being the best he or she can be has to be an ongoing one to be a quality educator. Their dedication to improve by observing the results of their actions is more important than a credential or certification.

Teaching like other professions is too complex to break into discreet measurable parts to arrive at a true picture of the teacher’s ability. There are too many intangibles. A teacher’s knowledge of a subject does not necessarily translate into being a good teacher. The integration of mission and personhood propels teachers over the top to achieve a level of excellence that inspires students to do the same.

Certification programs do not insure the current quality of the teacher’s performance. The teacher’s history in a particular school’s classroom setting is the most useful method of selecting a teacher for one’s child.

A positive reputation earned by an individual’s continued desire to reach each student is far more reliable for parents in choosing a teacher for their child than any “Good Housekeeping” stamp of approval.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

O.W.S. CONVERSION TO ECONOMIC REALITY NEEDED

O.W.S. CONVERSION TO ECONOMIC REALITY NEEDED

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

This may be harsh to many people but none of us are entitled to other people’s property. When people decide to give someone else part of their earnings, it is called charity. When the government takes money through taxes from an honest individual and selects another to receive part of it after skimming off some for friends and self it is extortion or crony capitalism.

The Wall Street occupiers are right; crony capitalism is a cancer devouring our spirit. Instead of allowing market forces to determine what are the best products and companies, government leaders decide. They pick winners and losers based on politics. Large donations to campaigns purchase access to leaders and repayment in the form of special regulations, contracts and bailouts. Quasi-legal bribes become the cost of doing business. It is called state capitalism in China and is a hybrid economy, which is controlled by the central government. It leads in the long term to inefficiency and an undermining of competitiveness. It is a form of nationalistic socialism that Hitler used in Germany.

About 10-20% of Americans are confirmed socialists. These people are often so-called “intellectuals” who are indoctrinated in our universities. Many professors, media elites, students, union leaders and progressive politicians have been reluctant to publicly express their beliefs. They are now comfortable in this political environment to declare their political preference. This should be an eye opener to the average American.

This political forthrightness is good for our country as long as we have an open debate on the pros and cons of a centrally controlled society. Without the mature discussions we are vulnerable to a revolution from within led by a small band of ideologues. These intellectuals are destined to fail in establishing a better society.

For our country to regain its strength, citizens have to be weaned off government handing our money to certain groups to win their favor. This means perennial unemployment insurance, Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid and other smaller give away programs have to be scaled back. The safety net has to be significantly reduced to save our nation.

There will be personal hardships that will have to be endured. Like any addict who has been seduced into a life style that leads to self-destruction, pain will have to be suffered before one can conquer the addiction. It will not be easy for many to return to reality.

Political officials parcel out the people’s money to others increasing these recipients reliance on government. This is the same way a pimp uses money and drugs to entice girls into prostitution. The caring folks help and encourage the addict to withdraw from a horrible existence. These mature people are not heartless. They understand to be free again a person has to give up the security and allegiance to false substances and promises spouted by charlatans.

Many charismatic leaders throughout history have created a vision based on falsehoods that have enslaved the citizens. Dependency on government inevitably is a path to slavery. Americans have to endure the agony of withdrawal from government bribes for their vote in order to gain freedom for themselves and their children.

Reality oriented people like those in the Old Testament and our founding fathers learned from human nature. In the Old Testament, Thessalonians 3/10, “If any man does no work, let him not have food.” In modern time these are the common adages that make the same point; “you don’t get something for nothing” or “there is no free lunch.”

Once we realize the historical validity of these common sense reality and economic observations it will help the OWS participants to understand why capitalism benefits the standard of living of so many while socialism/Communism does not.

Many Americans are learning the hard way that European socialism and crony capitalism cannot work. We are recognizing that our constitutional republic protects our economic and social freedom by restraining the power of the ever-expanding central government.

The people’s major weapon to return to economic reality is our self-education. Our citizens knowing history, understanding human nature and using common sense are the elements that will keep us on the right track to keep our free market system.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

BANNING EXCELLENCE RESULTS IN MEDIOCRE EQUALITY

BANNING EXCELLENCE RESULTS IN MEDIOCRE EQUALITY

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD. Traditional Realist

Modern society is being fed propaganda that we should treat everyone equally regardless of their actions and behavior. Progressives believe that a person who believes someone else is better than they suffers humiliation. According to their thinking this can be easily remedied by manipulating the situation to prevent excellence from rearing its ugly head.

In Melvin, AR an eleven year-old sixth grader, Demias Jimerson, was instructed that after making three touchdowns in a game he would not be able to score again if his team was 14 points ahead. He was considered by school officials to have an unfair advantage over other children in the league. Principal, Terri Bryant, said she is punishing him but wants other players to develop. “He’ll score almost every time he touches the ball.”

Demias was considered too superior to other young athletes in the conference. Even if he were placed in an older age group where it would be more difficult for him to shine, he would make others who may be older feel inferior since they were not as good as or better than this youngster. Demias must not be allowed to excel or other children will give up, not try harder to become better.

Our culture is failing to appreciate that anyone who performs on an excellent level elevates everyone around him. It motivates others to try harder. Instead we are protecting our children from the difficult lessons taught by reality.

This psychological and emotional coddling is happening throughout our educational system. We have established policies that promote grade inflation to assist unmotivated students to learn the rewards of laziness. We do not even keep score in children’s sports.

In the business world our government is prohibiting employers from giving honest evaluations of former employees. It is even being considered that asking a potential employee how long he has been unemployed would be discriminatory. The government rationalization is everyone should be given a new start by disregarding the mistakes of the past. We do not want people to be harmed by the harshness of the truth. Rather than allowing an individual to improve we are willing to pass on a flawed worker to another unsuspecting employer.

Even though our government is attempting to legislate fairness in the workplace, Occupy Wall Street, also called the 99% Movement, is about the unfairness of life. They would like to prevent a talented person in a particular field from using his accomplishments or high level performance to economically rise above the 99% of the people. Many believe the entrepreneurs need to be held back from receiving their just rewards or many less hard working will feel envy. The profit motive of capitalism is seen as a cruel and unusual consequence for the 99% unless they are involved in business.

The OWS believe the unequal distribution of wealth within a society is criminal to the less fortunate. This concept means 99% of the American citizens need to have their wealth confiscated by the citizens of poor nations. These poor Americans would be the 1% of rich people when compared to the entire world. In poor nations the average worker’s yearly salary is less than the average US poor worker’s weekly salary. For world equality the worker of a poor nation should have the right to a fairer salary provided by the “poor Americans.”

International progressives are philosophically against hybrid capitalism. China and Cuba are now using some legal and illegal strategies of capitalism to increase the national wealth. This should be stopped because they are encouraging an income gap between the slackers and the profit seekers. Cuba is encouraging home ownership and private business. China is employing economic incentives to foreign businesses to relocate to their country and price fixing to discourage foreign competition to increase their market share. Producing more wealth by turning a Marxist nation into a capitalist one only enlarges the gap between rich and poor.

There is one foolproof way to gain world equality. It is through One World Governance. Creating a world without national borders will make it easier for the ruling class to more evenly distribute wealth equally to all the workers. They believe it is imperative we create a global society to level the playing field. Equality in a poor country is much more virtuous than developing a rich country where there is a large gap between rich and poor in the view of progressives.

The current strategy of dismantling standards and expectation of excellence is too slow a process. Once positive incentives to work are banned, the nation’s spirit will deflate. Diverting the behavior of the masses to the lowest common denominator does achieve lower national standards of living while increasing dependency on the government will take generations.

American elites must lead the way to open the borders and to punish the capitalist 1% worldwide for being over ambitious, productive individuals. This would be done for all people except a small minority of ruling class intellectuals who would deserve all the privileges of wealth for making the masses equal. This will bring the people to a level of equal mediocrity, which will be distributed throughout the world.

This ruling class will have the moral dilemma of living in extraordinary luxury while maintaining their agenda for a total equality as the best method of living for the masses. Deep down the ruling class knows with all it’s heart that they are superior but they do not want the hassle of having to keep up with arrogant upstarts. They understand that mediocre quality for the masses is an inoculation against worker uprisings. It is best to squash all competition for everyone’s benefit especially for the chosen few.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.

DISPATCHING JOE PATERNO WITH AN UNDEFINED MORAL CODE

DISPATCHING JOE PATERNO WITH AN UNDEFINED MORAL CODE

By Domenick J. Maglio Ph.D. Traditional Realist

The past decade some powerful people in Happy Valley have said that modern football has passed by Joe Paterno, the 85-year old coach. The pressure to win at Penn State is equal to or greater than any other collegiate football program in the US. It was not only the stress of winning every game but the pressure of being the most revered person in the Nittany Lion Nation, Pennsylvania and by many Americans.

Joe Paterno is a living legend. Not only is he the most winning all time coach in division 1 football, but also he did it with class for over a half a century. Under his leadership he never received a recruiting violation or an NCAA sanction against his football program. He maintained one of the highest graduate rates of any division one program.

Joe Paterno did everything the right way. He was gracious in defeat or in victory. His coaching adversaries treated him with utmost respect as he did them. No one had a bad word to say about him. His unpretentious life style of living in a modest home a few blocks from the campus and his ritual of making himself accessible to students on his walk through the university created a great admiration for him at Penn State University.

Mr. Paterno was the ultimate role model for the students at Penn State. They called him “Papa Joe.” They stood by him holding a vigil to keep him as head coach before he was unceremoniously fired.

Mr. Paterno's crime was not anything criminal. Rather it was a supposed “lack of moral follow up.” He reported an accusation by assistant coach, Mike McCrearry, who said he witnessed retired Coach Jerry Sandusky committing a sexual act on a 10-year-old boy.

This was a hearsay incident not something Joe Paterno witnessed. He reported the accusation to his superior. Mr. Tim Curley, athletic director and the campus chief of police according to the law in Pennsylvania.

Mr. Paterno followed the letter of the law but according to the Board of Trustees he supposedly did not do enough. No one has yet said what he should have done to meet the board's moral standard since their standard is not defined. The board's immediate dismissal without due process appears to be a political hatchet job to tarnish his reputation and eliminate Joe Paterno, and to CYA themselves especially Governor Tom Corbett.

Child sexual abuse is a horrible, destructive act to a defenseless child. The perpetrator should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. However, why should Joe Paterno receive such harsh consequences before any investigation stated what should have been done differently?

In another incident in 1998, Coach Sandusky was investigated by the State Attorney's office and a child protective agency for alleged sexual crimes with a minor and no charges were filed. The State Attorney Gricar who did not pick up the case suspiciously went missing in 2005. The records of this case and another incident with Sandusky and a minor in the 1999 Alamo Bowl should be re-opened.

Coach Sandusky was the head of The Second Mile Foundation a non-profit for children. He was given special honors and was given rewards by President George H. W. Bush and Senator Rick Santorum as well as emeritus status at the university. He had a high profile at Penn State and nationally in athletic circles.

Rumors of sexual indiscretions of Mr. Sandusky were widely circulated. Applying the same Paterno moral standard would mean the people in the Second Mile Foundation, the media and politicians should be similarly fired for not doing more about these rumors.

If after the investigation evidence becomes public and shows Mr. Paterno did have first hand knowledge of other Sandusky incidents he should be prosecuted for failing to report them to the police.

On the other hand, if the investigation shows he met his full legal duty he should be given a full apology by the media and the university. Hopefully this would allow his name to be reinstated on the Big 10 trophy given to the winner of the conference. Coach Paterno’s impeccable reputation as an honorable man should be restored to the level it existed before the board dragged him into this mess.

"Whacking" the reputation of this legend for political gain should be considered an immoral act. The Board of Trustees needs to address the specific way Joe Paterno did not meet his moral obligations. They owe it to all of us to know and understand this new moral code to avoid any other instances. Once this moral code is established, it will make many people more comfortable in judging the reason for obliterating the role modeling and moral life of an honorable man like Joe Paterno.

The recent trend of dropping unsubstantiated allegations to the media to soil a person's reputation without a hearing is a disgusting and un-American act. In our American justice system, a man is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The removal of our current and past heroes lowers the moral bar. This makes many of us feel better thinking that our renowned role models are no better than we are, although it unravels the social fiber, which binds our society

Character assassination of virtuous people has to stop. This scandalous practice is undermining our historical, present and potential heroes who are needed to inspire us all. We need exceptional individuals to elevate our standards and expectations of our selves, of others and our nation.

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com

HOMOSEXUALITY ACCEPTANCE IS NOT SCHOOL BUSINESS

HOMOSEXUALITY ACCEPTANCE IS NOT SCHOOL BUSINESS

By Domenick J. Maglio PhD Traditional Realist

Public school teachers do not have an easy job. They often complain about the lack of student preparation when children enter school. Teachers have advocated for higher readiness skills for kindergarten entrance. The lack of sleep, poor nutrition, obesity and acting out children have been highlighted in the media recently as obstacle in the education of modern students.

Our public schools are not functioning as well as in the past compared to other developed countries. Our national drop out rate in college is approaching 50%. The National Assessment of Education Progress has demonstrated we are 31st in math 23^rd in science and 17^th in reading as compared to other developed countries. The 2011 SAT results were the lowest ever recorded in reading and writing sections for college bound seniors. Only the scores of 43% of the students taking the SAT were predictive of success in college while 67% were not.

We as a nation have made education a high priority. The present administration has increased the education budget by billions over the past three years with no significant positive results. Public education is receiving half a trillion dollars per year from local, state and federal governments with little return on the investment.

The issues facing public schools are deep rooted and complex. Yet progressive politicians and educators are engaging in social engineering instead of focusing on improving student achievement.

Dakota Pope a 14 –year-old student from Ft. Worth, Texas was given an in-school suspension for telling a fellow student that homosexuality was wrong. According to Liberty Council attorney, Matt Krause, representing Dakota, the student was inappropriately informed by his German teacher that homosexuality was ”happening all over the world and you have to accept that homosexuality is just part of the culture now.”

Furthermore, Attorney Krause stated “There has been a history with this teacher in the class regarding homosexual topics. The teacher has posted a picture of two men kissing on the wall that offended some of the students.”

This teacher’s off subject attempt at desensitizing and indoctrinating students in homosexual acceptance is undermining the focus and quality of public education. This teacher is wasting student’s valuable time by attempting to impose his personal progressive agenda. The teacher’s subjective opinion on the state of homosexuality is not part of his job description of teaching German. This is an abuse of his power as a teacher sanctioned to teach German and malpractice by the school district for not monitoring and disciplining the staff member.

The school district has not explained why the 9^th grade German teacher was discussing homosexuality. There was no comment on any disciplinary action for the teacher‘s unwarranted comments. Students should not lose their First Amendment rights just because a school official feels their comments may offend some other student.

Even if Dakota’s comment personally offends someone he still has the right to Freedom of Speech. In the United States an individual can inform a fellow student that he disagrees with his teacher’s controversial opinions and concerning the morality of homosexuality. This is especially true due to Dakota’s strong religious background, which is protected by our Bill of Rights.

Acceptance of a person’s sexual orientation is not the same as tolerance. Muslims, Christians and Jews should not have to alter their moral and religious beliefs to conform to an atheist or secular viewpoint. People who believe that homosexuality is contrary to natural law and is religiously sinful should not be punished for their views.

It is wrong when a student is punished for voicing his honest opinion on personal or moral issues. Once a school system allows its staff to engage in this unprofessional behavior it should be denied government funds. The public buildings are no longer being used for education but have become centers of indoctrination.

In the entertainment media it is becoming common place to titillate the audience with explicit homosexual behavior as two teenage boys kissing on the television show “Glee”. The parents have the ability to censor their children from watching the program. On the other hand government schools have a captive audience of young minds and therefore have an obligation to all the taxpaying citizens to educate the citizens in the fundamentals of a classic education. They do not have a public mandate to alter or to eradicate the moral values of our children.

There is no place in our Constitutional Republic where our government can or should force the public to accept homosexuality or any other type of sexual relationship. Our Constitution does not permit our government to deny citizens their moral beliefs. Public schools should concentrate on giving our children a solid education while protecting their individual liberties

Dr. Maglio is the author of Invasion Within and Essential Parenting. He is a psychotherapist and the owner/director of Wider Horizons School.

Visit: www.drmaglio.com.