Lawmakers Counter Islamic Teaching in Tennessee

Parents across Tennessee are complaining of Islamic indoctrination in the new middle school social studies curriculum and so their elected representatives are reacting, prompting a review by the state Board of Education.

“In all of the homework my children have ever brought home, I have never seen the level of detail about other religions. I was completely speechless.”
-- Laura Jones, Freedom Middle School parent

"It is reprehensible that our school system has exhibited this double-standard, more concerned with teaching the practices of Islam than the history of Christianity. Tennessee parents have a right to be outraged and I stand by them in this fight."
-- U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

"Many of our children are not being taught the Ten Commandments in school, but instead the Five Pillars of Islam and the 'Prophet' Muhammad as a sovereign to Jesus Christ. . . . Tennesseans have seen the radical side of Islam, and many have grown skeptical of this 'peaceful religion.'"
-- Tenn. state Rep. Andy Holt, R-Dresden

For background, read Tennessee Students Taught Muslim Prayer of Conversion



-- From "Parents question study of Islam in 7th grade" by Nancy Amons, WSMV-TV4 (Nashville, TN) 9/8/15

One parent told Channel 4 she believes something is out of balance when students can’t say God or pray in school, but they can spend several weeks learning about Islam.

She said her daughter is expected to know the Five Pillars of Islam but not the Ten Commandments. [Parent Laura] Jones said it’s causing confusion in her Christian-oriented home.

More than 20 pages of the seventh grade social studies textbook for the Franklin Special School District are devoted to studying Islam. That amounts to three weeks of instruction time in the classroom.

The state adopted new standards for social studies last year requiring every seventh grader to learn about Islam. They will be tested on it during standardized testing, no exceptions.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Pastor: Wilson students being brainwashed with Islam" by Andy Humbles, The Tennessean 9/11/15

Pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church [in Mt. Juliet, TN] filmed the video in front of West Wilson Middle School, which was posted on his Facebook page. The video was also on the Parents of Wilson County Schools page.

Wilson County Schools Director Donna Wright responded on the district’s Facebook page and called Locke’s claims blatantly false and stated his video was done to intentionally incite parents and the community.

Locke, contacted Friday, did not back off statements in the video and felt curriculum has gone too far teaching fundamentals of Islam while Christianity is glossed over. He also stated students are being taught different religions worship the same God.

Locke also called a scheduled test on Islamic curriculum for Friday, Sept. 11, as a “slap in the face,” and said in the video he told parents "you need to tell your kids take an F for the class because I’d rather fail in man’s class and get an A plus in God’s class and we need some kids that have some character and stand up.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Education commissioner talks Islam in schools issue" by Tim Hodge, The Daily Herald (Columbia, TN) 9/13/15

Local schools have the freedom to tailor teachings as long as they align with state standards, but altering the curriculum to remove religious studies would put students at a disadvantage during test time, education officials said.

“The department (of education) helps with the training on those standards, and the assessment of those standards, and then the locals, whether that’s the principal level or the teacher level, are making decisions around the curriculum that’s used, instructional practices and strategies that are used,” [Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice] McQueen said. “Certainly, we are setting that expectation, but how’s it done, what instructional practices are used, what strategies are used, what curriculum is used is absolutely a local decision.”

Because of the recent uproar over the Five Pillars of Islam being taught in schools, state social studies standards will be reviewed in January 2016, instead of 2018 as originally slated.

Educators and state officials will examine whether the instruction is appropriately balanced and review teaching standards, McQueen said. She anticipated the process will last through the spring.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Lawmakers fear Islamic 'indoctrination' in TN classes" by Dave Boucher, The Tennessean 9/10/15

. . . Parents in Maury, Williamson and other counties have expressed concerns about the class. They say their children were required to memorize the five pillars of Islam and to write "Allah is the only God" as part of an assignment, according to several local and national media reports.

Elizabeth Fiveash, director of legislative affairs for the Tennessee Department of Education, sent an email to lawmakers Tuesday in response to concerns about the curriculum. In her email, obtained by The Tennessean, she acknowledges the "Islamic World" is covered in seventh grade. But she notes Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism and Shinto are also covered in various courses throughout middle school and high school.

"The section on 'Ancient Israel' isn't called the 'Jewish World,' " Rep. Tilman Goins, R-Morristown, wrote in an emailed response to Fiveash.

"If a study of a geographic region such as 'The Middle East' were to discuss the major religions found there, so be it! But until there is a section on India referred to as 'The Hindu World,' I do not believe this favoritism toward Islam should be allowed to continue to exist."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Study Exposes Liberal Indoctrination by Colleges

A new study by the National Association of Scholars has found that 70 percent of the summer reading books assigned to incoming college freshmen in the U.S. show a liberal bias and are not academically challenging, setting off a storm of debate in educational circles.

-- From "Study Finds Liberal Bias in College Summer Reading Lists, Stirring Debate" By Ed Barnes, FOXNews.com 6/23/10

The report, "Beach Books: What Do Colleges Want Students to Read Outside Class?", surveyed 290 colleges and categorized their summer reading lists in broad terms, such as "multiculturalism, immigration and racism" (the most common category chosen by colleges), or "environmentalism, animal rights and food" (the second largest liberal category selected by colleges). The study found that "the choices by and large reflect leftist political perspectives."

"Even where the books themselves may convey more complex social views, most of the books on the list fit neatly with the agenda of the campus left: anti-Western, anti-business, multicultural, environmentalist and alienated. The books do signal what lies ahead for students in many colleges: a four-year program of more of the same," the report concluded.

The study did not look at the alleged bias of the assigned books individually, according to NAS spokeswoman Ashley Thorne, who helped create the list. "We looked at what the books were about," she said, and then categorized the general subject as either liberal or conservative.

"Only 2 percent of the books were considered conservative," she said.

. . . Peter Wood, president of NAS, stood by his group's report, saying, "Something is wrong when Frankenstein is the best book on the list; the only work of philosophy is The Communist Manifesto; and books on Africa outnumber books on Europe nearly six to one."

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Families Flee CA Public Schools After Pro-Gay Mandate

Parents start reacting to new education requirements.

From "Homosexodus! Students flee forced 'gay' agenda" by Bob Unruh, posted 12/04/07

Parents in California have started reacting to the state's newly mandated homosexual indoctrination program by pulling their children out of classes, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell is warning districts they'll lose money if that happens.

A spokeswoman for a ministry called Considering Homeschooling said she already has seen an overwhelming increase in requests for information about homeschooling.

As a result, spokeswoman Denise Kanter told WND that her group is sending out 5,000 DVD packages to churches around the state that include basic "how-to" information to provide parents a direction to turn when they choose to protect their children from the new school agenda.

The new law demands, "No teacher shall give instruction nor shall any school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because of a characteristic [including perceived gender.]"

"With the passing of SB 777, a Christian parent cannot, in good conscience, send their child to a public school where their child will be taught or coerced into a lifestyle or belief system that is contrary to the faith they hold dear," Kanter told WND.

"Fortunately, SB 777 has caught the attention of many churches and pastors here in California, and as they should, they are calling on their congregants to take their children out. To help in this endeavor, our ministry has sent and will continue to send out free packages directly to churches containing information on how they can encourage their congregants to homeschool their children, as well as how to create in-church parent led schools," she said.

...Randy Thomasson, president of the Campaign for Children and Families, said there is reason for alarm. He said the new law effectively requires school instruction and school activities to portray homosexuality, bisexuality and transsexuality to the six million children in public schools in a positive light.

Read the whole article.

Maryland State School Board Favors Gay Agenda Over Children's Safety

From "Maryland State School Board Advances Sexual Perversity Above Children's Safety" by PFOX, posted at Familypolicy.net

In its ruling last week regarding a controversial sexuality curriculum in Montgomery County, the Maryland State Board of Education (MBOE) has implicitly authorized local school boards to promote “sexual diversity” to students and teach about anal sex while excluding warnings of the medical dangers pertaining to such practices.

Both the MBOE and Montgomery County School Board rejected a petition from 270 local medical doctors to include warning about anal sex critical to student safety as issued by the Office of the Surgeon General and National Institutes of Health.

The MBOE has also ruled that Maryland schools may teach questioning and confused students that homosexuality is “innate”, a controversial and unproven theory advanced by gay advocacy groups serving on the Montgomery County School Board’s curriculum advisory committee.

Thereby virtually condemning confused kids to a future of physical, mental and ultimately eternal destruction because they've been told they were born homosexual...
Read the rest of this press release...

I Feel I Saw the Face of Evil Last Night

It has become quite clear that the advancement of gay 'rights' means that homosexuals and cross-dressers will be designing public and PRIVATE school curriculum. One only has to look to Canada, Great Britain and now Massachusetts to see our children's future and it is appalling...

Consider the following:

From "I feel I saw the face of evil last night" posted at massresistance.org

“I feel I saw the face of evil last night. I went to the meeting in Boston of the new independent Mass. government-mandated Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. What an experience! There were 30 commissioners around a table. At one end was a man trying to be a woman. And at the other end was a woman trying to be a man. In between were a variety of characters, some looking quite normal, others less so. These are the people who are planning the 'health' and 'safety' curricula for schools in Massachusetts. And now they have decided that 'youth' includes grades K-12. It’s as though the inmates are running the asylum.”
-- Parent who attended the meeting, in email to friends the following morning.

On Monday evening, March 19, the new “Massachusetts Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth” had their second public meeting. (The first, which we attended in February, was mostly organizational.) This time they got down to business, and was frightening and discouraging.

Created as a state “budget item” last spring to avoid a public hearing, the Commission is independent of the executive branch of government and lavishly funded with over $1 million of taxpayer money. It’s an apparent payback by the Legislative leadership to the powerful homosexual lobby. Its broad charge is to push homosexual programs in schools across the state and even other government agencies.

...There were about 30 people around a long table, mostly representatives of various homosexual groups. It’s one thing to read about them and their various gay-activist organizations, but it’s a bit of a shock to actually see them. They range in age from elderly to 20-somethings, with an average age of about 40. Some are men dressed as women, with dresses and lipstick and makeup. Others are women attempting to be men. Some had gay-like mannerisms and affectations; some were of ambiguous sex. On one end of the table was Grace Sterling Stowell, a man dressed as a woman who runs Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth (BAGLY), which is heavily involved with transgender and cross-dressing activities. Stowell is the new vice-chairman of the Commission. At the other end was Gunner Scott, head of a bizarre group called “GenderCrash.” Gunner is a woman dressed as a man, who now sports a small beard and sideburns (apparently a result of lots of hormones). She looks like she has had breast removal surgery. She was quite vocal throughout the meeting.

The Commission conducted business in a chillingly calm, professional way, discussing their activities with in a sterile manner, as if they were talking about taxes or highways, etc, without emotion. But underneath that veneer, you can definitely detect anger and hostility.

...They also talked about reaching out to “traditionally underserved LGBT youth across the Commonwealth”. One of example of this is middle schools. They discussed having gay clubs (“GSAs”) in high schools “mentoring” middle school students!

This led to a discussion of what age range was included by the term “youth”, since it’s not defined in the statute creating the Commission. They didn’t want to be “constrained”, they said, so they decided that “youth” can mean children as young as Kindergarten. “We need to concern ourselves with younger kids, even if they haven’t developed a sense of gender identity,” someone said. And besides, “homophobic name-calling” can also happen that young, they rationalized. And they also want to deal with “different kinds of families” at the younger ages.

Also, they said, “Don’t focus on just on youth who self-identify as GLBT, but allow ourselves to be a little broader.” (That is, younger kids who aren’t thinking in those terms yet.)

They mentioned that this past year, in addition to their activism in schools, 50 public schools had applied for funding of their own homosexual programs. Of these, 49 spent all their money. They want to expand this considerably.

Most people don’t know that there are two full-time consultants at the DOE that do 100% homosexual activism in schools across the state. They want to make them actual state employees, so they can get state benefits.

They also want to fund non-DOE agencies to do gay training for teachers. Apparently, a meeting at Hudson High School was held to get that started. In addition, there was discussion of bringing homosexual college students into the public schools “for insight.”

Finally, one of their goals is to force their way into charter schools. They also discussed how to get into private schools, but it was brought up that private schools are not subject to the same pro-gay education regulations, so that could be difficult. But they want to get into religious schools at some point in the future, they said.

There was also some talk about affecting high school teacher standards and teacher certification requirements – presumably adding homosexual diversity training to their requirements and ongoing training. And they also want to affect curriculum frameworks.

One observation from an audience member was that for a government commission talking about children, there was a lot of talk about sexual diseases usually affecting adults. AIDS and other diseases seemed to come up a lot in the conversations. They also mentioned that they had a close relationship with the AIDS organizations.

Read the whole article.

Are we simply going to allow this to happen?

Dr. Martin Luther King's words echo with new urgency...

"Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Par from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are."

"But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century."
-- Excerpt Letter from Birmingham Jail

Deerfield High School: Required Class for Freshmen Advocates Liberal and Pro-Gay Propaganda

As Culture Campaign reported last week, a letter to the editor in the Thursday, Feb. 15 issue of Deerfield Review has prompted some scrutiny of the curriculum being used in a freshman class called Freshman Advisory in District 113 (Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools).

According to Lora Sue Hauser, School Issues Advisor from Illinois Family Institute and parent in the Deerfield High School District, Freshman Advisory is a required class for freshmen in which a vast amount of time is devoted to exposing students to pro-homosexual propaganda:

“This is a whole class designed for the gay agenda during the second semester as well as other liberal causes. In addition to the gay panel, last year’s curricula included movies, (Common Threads, Bloodlines, Philadelphia), displaying the AIDS quilt, promoting Day of Silence, etc.

And even worse, this year parents cannot get even this much information. We have no idea what is actually being taught about sexual orientation. The teachers are not required to give full disclosure as to the content in their lesson plans.

How does this happen? It’s a simple formula; gay activist teachers = liberal curricula. In Deerfield, and other schools around the country, gay activists are in a position to choose curricula and they have no intention of staying neutral on these highly debated topics. They do not present alternative viewpoints even though they claim to welcome diverse views. We have repeatedly asked for a panel to speak on the subject of homosexuality from a moral and medical view but have been denied.

We are trying to get a copy of the 2007 Freshman Advisory Diversity curriculum, with specifics as to what is being taught but we're hitting a brick wall. Last year, there was a whole Diversity Packet including a Heterosexism Unit that was ghastly. It included playing a card game with all the sexually deviant terms (Genderqueer, Intersexual, MSM, Transgender, Transsexual, Sex Reassignment Surgery, Transphobia, Down-Low, Cross Dressers, etc.) and students had to match the definitions.

It was followed by discussions asking such questions as "What questions or confusion do you have around language describing lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people?" or "In your experience, has LGBT terminology been understood and used properly at Deerfield High School." Of course, all this material comes from GLSEN.”

The curriculum also included a Social Justice Education Unit teaching “Power Over & Power Under ” ideologies with Whites, Males, Heterosexuals, Christians/Gentiles, and the Rich being those with “Power Over.” During the lesson plan, they change the wording to be “Non-target” and “Target” stating that the “Power Over” group target people for mistreatment. This kind of teaching sets the ideological stage for anyone who tries to question the curriculum. We are the ones who “Target.” This is nothing short of propaganda to the youngest students in a high school."

According to the North Shore Student Advocacy Group (NSSA):

1. District 113 Superintendent, George Fornero, and school board members have been unwilling to meet with parents and concerned taxpayers. Dr. Fornero, new to District 113, was acting superintendent in Ann Arbor, MI where his school district, Ann Arbor Public Schools, was sued for not allowing a student to present an alternate viewpoint on a panel of those supporting homosexual behavior. The district lost the suit.

2. Last year, adult gay author Alex Sanchez was brought in by the Straight and Gay Alliance (SAGA) to speak to students after school. He promoted his sexually graphic books and website, (which links to forty-five gay bars, fetish groups and even a ‘leather’ group (sado-masochism).

It is a violation of state law and school policy for teachers to promote sexual behavior. It is also a violation of the Equal Access Act for SAGA advisors to be in anything other than a custodial role for non-curriculum extracurricular groups.

Deerfield High School has some explaining to do…

If you would like to get more information on the effort to protect kids in District 113 (Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools), please send us an email at feedback@culturecampaign.com.

Special Event! The Gay Agenda? No Child Left Behind...
Sunday, Mar. 11, 7:15 PM, College Church, Wheaton, IL

Teaching Homosexuality to 3 Year Olds

The UK’s largest teachers’ union, the National Union of Teachers (aptly abbreviated NUT), has demanded that acceptance of homosexual relationships must be included in nursery school curriculum.

NUT is "well established as a major engine in Britain’s homosexual activist community" and is also "currently lobbying to overturn the legal right of religious schools not to hire homosexual teachers."

A forerunner of things to come here?

Related coverage:

Religious Schools May Not Teach Christian Sexual Morals "As if They Were Objectively True"
http://culturecampaign.blogspot.com/2007/03/uk-religious-schools-may-not-teach.html

Government Program Teaching Four-Year-Olds about Homosexuality
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/mar/07031603.html

Third Grader "Health" Curriculum Includes "Same-Sex Parents"
http://culturecampaign.blogspot.com/2007/03/third-grader-health-curriculum-includes.html