Tuesday, November 26, 2019



Public Schools & 'LGBTQ' Propaganda

Curriculum changes sweeping the country mean kids are being further indoctrinated.

Most parents send their kids to school each morning with the assumption that they’re learning the three R’s. Unfortunately, while a significant percentage of students graduate from high school with the inability to read, write, or perform basic math functions, they’re all increasingly proficient in the “LGBTQ” worldview due to curriculum changes sweeping across the country.

John Murawski writes at RealClearInvestigations, “Advocates say these reforms provide compelling benefits: They present a more truthful and realistic version of history while promoting an inclusive climate in which LGBTQ kids are less likely to be harassed or bullied. Medical experts say that social rejection, hostility and violence contribute to higher rates of substance abuse, depression, and suicide among LGBTQ youth.”

On the surface, it sounds so innocent. But some parents aren’t buying into the new groupthink.

Murawski adds, “As schools adopt the curriculum, some parents have protested to their districts or tried to get their kids excused from class. They say public schools are encroaching on the sanctity of the family when they inculcate specific beliefs about gender and sexuality. They predict the new mandates will prompt a wave of parents to pull their kids out of public schools.”

What’s at issue for many parents of traditional Christian values and beliefs is not that others are living alternative lifestyles or even celebrating an alternative way of life, but that the Rainbow Mafia is so militant in forcing its agenda upon the rest of us while labeling as bigoted and homophobic all who would oppose them.

The situation today seems the reverse of what it was just a decade or two ago: young, heterosexual students now feel immense pressure to openly endorse lifestyles they don’t personally believe in. For example, a student commenting in a class discussion that he believes in traditional marriage will likely be met with condemnation by his teacher. The student may then be referred to a school counselor or equity officer, or coerced into attending sensitivity workshops.

Another concern about the LGBTQ curriculum is the obsession with sexuality. School textbooks identify athletes, historical figures, musicians, writers, scientists, and artists by their sexual preference, or their suspected sexual preference in the case of those who pre-date the movement. The accomplishments of these individuals seem secondary to their sexuality — at least when they’re viewed through an LGBTQ lens.

This is of particular concern for parents of children attending elementary schools where students read books about characters who have same-sex parents, are questioning their sexuality, or who “identify” as transgender. Heather Has Two Mommies and Jacob’s New Dress are two examples of the books now being introduced to first graders.

Parents who oppose this indoctrination have few options, but some are trying to make a statement.

Just this week, a group of Virginia parents expressed concern over the addition of LGBTQ books placed on classroom and library shelves, some of which contain sexually suggestive or even explicit material. And earlier this year, parents pulled 650 children out of the Rocklin Unified School District in California to protest the implementation of an LGBTQ curriculum designed to bring the school into compliance with the state’s FAIR Education Act of 2011.

These protests and walk-outs are typically short-lived, however, and the momentum is clearly with those who want to force the rest of us to accept their ideology. Indeed, the supposedly oppressed have now become the oppressors. And they’ve come up with a lot of creative, subversive ways to make sure the rest of us are immersed in the religion of diversity, inclusion, and equity. These include creating and implementing programs without notifying parents, and intentionally removing LGBTQ studies from a school district’s sex-ed program, thereby preventing parents from being able to opt out.

As Joy Pullman writes at The Federalist, “It’s no matter to them that the only difference between a gay person and a straight person is the kind of sex each engages in, and thus any LGBT instruction obviously falls into sex ed. The defining element of being LGBT is one’s preferred sexual behavior, and absolutely nothing else. Thus any LGBT instruction is necessarily sex ed. This is just a patent attempt to bypass state laws that obviously apply. When Christians do this, with much more legitimacy, by things like trying to have the Bible taught in world religions or world history, the left loses its everloving mind.”

Clearly, the tide has turned against those who hold traditional beliefs. And it’s no wonder that so many parents are afraid to even question the LGBTQ agenda within their schools. The Rainbow Mafia is well-funded and well-organized even at the community level, and its goal is clear: to mock and demean the very principles and values that are the bedrock of Western civilization. And their demand is clear, too: Either accept and celebrate the LGBTQ agenda, or we’ll come after you.

So much for tolerance.

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The UK universities that have produced the most millionaires

University is a great opportunity to learn from the best intellectual minds, but also to build networks that can set you up for life. It’s not just the most elite universities (Oxbridge, say, or America's Ivy League) that can open these doors, however, as millionaires have been made across a range of British universities.

Now, new data from the financial technology company Tide has revealed the universities in the UK that have produced the most millionaires. The numbers, which have been shared exclusively with The Telegraph, assesses the top 1,000 richest UK residents from the Times Rich List and looks at where they went to university.

While some of Britain's millionaires went abroad for their education, including five who studied at the University of Pennsylvania, three who attended Harvard University, and three who took their degrees at Moscow State University, the majority are alumni from British institutions. The following are the British universities  that have produced the most millionaires. The top of the list won't shock. But read on...

University of Oxford

It should come as no surprise that the University of Oxford takes the lead, having produced an incredible 50 millionaires and billionaires. One of the most notable is Michael Spencer, founder of NEX Group, who read physics and now has a net worth of £1.15 billion.

University of Cambridge

Swift on Oxford's heels is Cambridge. This university boasts 33 alumni on the Times’ Rich List, including Simon Arora, who studied law at Cambridge and is now worth £2.3 billion, as the CEO of retail chain B&M.


Imperial College London

 Imperial College London has similarly impressive alumni in its repertoire. Among the 13 millionaires and billionaires who have studied there is Alan Howard, a hedge fund manager who graduated from Imperial College London with a Master of Science and now has a net worth of £1.76 billion.

London School of Economics

With its focus on economics and political science, and its central location in the capital, the university has produced 12 millionaires and billionaires. One of the most prolific is Michael Platt, a hedge fund manager who graduated from his mathematics and economics course in 1991 and now has a net worth of £6.1 billion.

University of Nottingham

English billionaire David Ross, co-founder of Carphone Warehouse, is one of the six richest alumni from the University of Nottingham. Ross, who has a BA degree in law from the university, now has a net worth of £1 billion.

Strathclyde University

Don't underestimate Strathclyde. It may not feature prominently in the QS World University Rankings, but the university can still boast five millionaires amongst its alumni. One of the most prominent is James McColl, the Scottish businessman responsible for the development of Clyde Blowers. He gained a BSc degree in technology and business studies at the university, and now has a net worth of £1 billion. 

University College London

Located in the heart of the capital, University College London (UCL) gives students easy access to the network of businesses around them. So, it’s hardly surprising that the university has produced five millionaires (and billionaires) on the Times Rich List. Robert Rubin, co-owner of Pentland Group, is one such alumnus. He graduated from UCL with a degree in law and now has a net worth of £3 billion.

University of Manchester

Joining Stratchclyde and UCL, the University of Manchester has produced five millionaire graduates, including notable alumnus Tim Steiner - the co-founder and chief executive of Ocado. He has a bachelors degree in economics, finance and accountancy from the University of Manchester, and now has a net worth of £314 million.

University of Edinburgh

This scenic university, which is ranked the 20th best university in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings 2020, has created four of the millionaires on the Times Rich List. This is hardly surprising, as Edinburgh graduates are among the UK’s top earners, with an average salary of £49,500 within five years of leaving university.

Cardiff University

The Welsh university can boast four millionaires and billionaires among its alumni — including Dame Mary Perkins, DBE, who co-founded Specsavers. She went to Cardiff University to train as an optometrist in the Sixties and now has a net worth of £1.45 billion.

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Parents give Australian school policies poor report card

Parents are generally satisfied with how much money their child’s school has, but they don’t agree with how it is spent. If that sounds familiar it’s because it echoes what the CIS has been arguing for years.

The results of a national survey of more than 1,000 parents (relating to 1,394 children) — revealed in the CIS policy paper released this week: What Do Parents Want from Schools? — show that 88% of parents believe their child’s school has enough or more than enough funding. This includes 86% of parents with a child in a government school.

This cuts against the dominant education policy discourse — driven by the union movement and progressive educationalists — which both major parties have swallowed hook, line and sinker.

It is already clear that huge increases in public funding aren’t delivering educational improvements. This new research also shows that it is also not what parents want either.

The unions have rallied — and largely won — for money to be spent on endlessly reducing classroom sizes (presumably unsatisfied until we are practically educating one-to-one), increasing teachers’ pay (presumably until it’s in line with doctors), and amassing an army of support staff in schools.

In contrast to these priorities, parents say that they want to see better facilities and more extra-curricular activities offered at their chosen schools. This could be because funding for capital works is around one-eleventh of that of the spending on staffing. And extra-curriculars are generally paid for out of parents’ own pockets and in their own time.

The research also found that a considerable proportion of parents regret their choice of a school for their children, with around 40% saying they either would not choose the same school again or were unsure if they would.

This means that around 1.6 million students are enrolled in a school that their parents aren’t happy with. However, some appear to be more happy than others.

Unsurprisingly, those that felt limited in their choice — around two-thirds of surveyed parents — are less satisfied with the school their child is in.

Those that chose a non-government school, for instance, appear to be happier with their choice. This appears to be linked with findings of higher levels of confidence in how funding is being used in non-government schools, compared to their government school peers.

And parents who sought independent sources of information to help with their choice of school — like meeting with school staff, visiting school websites, and checking the MySchool website — are more likely to be happier with their choice. As the old adage goes, more informed shoppers are happier shoppers.

When it comes to school funding and school choice, this research is a poor report card on policymakers in state and federal government. It’s past time for government to listen to the message that parents want to see a spending shakeup and that more choice is indispensable to educational improvements.

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