For reasons you may peruse below, as a parent, a licensed art teacher in two Commonwealths, and a former public school teacher, I am making the following a matter of public record here and elsewhere on social media:
April 11, 2018
Allentown School District Administration
William Allen High School Administration
Muhlenberg Elementary School Administration
RE: Mandatory Schooling, PSSAs, Attendance, and Our Children
To All It May Concern:
We send our children to school, “in loco parentis,” trusting our children’s lives, safety, moral guidance, academic progress, and even their social development to the State, and ultimately the people who have chosen careers in teaching, hopefully for love of learning, not the steady job & benefits.
We have, thus far, complied with “mandatory public schooling,” despite an overwhelming trail of evidence that anything “mandatory” simply has too few merits to be adopted willingly. (for evidence, please read John Taylor Gatto's The Underground History of American Education.)
The schooling for profit industry has replaced any semblance of legitimate learning, and fails to implement academic findings as revolutionary and statistically significant as Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences… Nor does the Trivium or Quadrivium appear in any public school our children have attended, convincing us that classical education is dead within the public sector of the industry.
At least forty years have passed since multiple intelligences theory was first introduced, yet we still beg for more arts, more sciences, more movement, more (accurate) health & wellness information; while fiscal decisions are made to cut such programs…
We have found that authorities touched by money no longer care about truth, doing the research themselves, or at least ensuring they are not promoting harm or untruths in the process of acting as an “authority.” We will not honor claims of “authority” from anyone or any institution swayed by the power of the almighty dollar, or those who subvert honor and integrity to achieve compliance. The validity of the schools’ claim as an authority is therefore null and void.
Our Children's Safety:
While responsible for their safety, both Allen and Muhlenberg have been ineffective; both of our children have left the building while “supervised” - both children having perceived a threat or a desperate need to get somewhere safer than school (home, of course).
PSSA Testing & Model Moral Compass:
My daughter, whether lied to directly, or through deliberate manipulation, has an inaccurate picture of what the PSSA is and why she's being asked to take it. Her stress level induced by whatever was said regarding how “important” these tests are is outrageous.
I comprehend the State, and our infinitely competent “representatives” put both administration and teachers in another jam given that the PSSA test is “mandated” by higher “authorities” than local school system employees.
However, dishonesty, lies by omission, nor bribery are honorable or acceptable solutions to promoting an inferior product. We as parents work hard to teach our children not to lie, or hold back information to gain an advantage.
As a result of the propaganda tactics in use, Jayda has become so convinced that her actual grades and completion of the 5th grade were at stake that, despite her voice being hoarse or gone temporarily, she thought she wanted to go to school anyway - fever, coughing, running nose, sneezing…
In fact, it seems to us that the students are being manipulated, guilted, and duped into compliant participation… The bribery (prize) table in the main hallway says it all…
Poor moral judgement.
I obviously will not send my daughter to school only to feel punished for being exempted, but exempt her from the profit and greed driven standardized testing programs I will.
Please, feel free to send some materials home for her to work on during the test… (not practice sheets, but actual lessons or knowledge she needs to learn or work on, formatively assessed experientially by the teacher - I will not make her do “busy work”).
Every teacher in the business knows about formative and summative assessments, and could far better guide and inform each student's progress and the teachers’ application of these to ensure best results on a summative assessment. Teachers are simply not allowed to fully utilize their degrees, nor their CE credit courses due to curriculum, budget constraints, and lack of freedom to teach creatively, save within the dictat of the “authorities” on education. This is one of the reasons I do not teach in public schools.
Attendance:
Both of our children have documented special needs, IEPs, Plans 504, and ongoing physical & mental health issues. It would seem to logically follow that there may be extenuating circumstances involved regarding their school attendance, but your policies seem not to consider this.
Medically, we as parents are well educated and capable of handling most medical needs ourselves. I have had Red Cross First Aid, CPR/AED, and Lifesaving certifications, as well as having completed Combat Lifesaver certification in the PA Army National Guard. We are primary care physician to both of our children, and highest authority on our children's health and well-being.
Tonight, I wasted my time, my children's time, gas, money, and the time of all those who were involved in our walk-in visit to get the ridiculous pieces of paper your policies demand.
Conclusions:
As parents, we are the ultimate authority with regard to our children. We appreciate the “services” offered (mandated) by the state, but of late we have serious reasons to reconsider.
The School District of the City of Allentown is on the verge of being fired by these parents.
Given the responsibility to act “in loco parentis,” the schools seem unable to:
keep our children safe - our children were left without supervision long enough to leave the building; recent threats & evacs at both Allen & Raub; bullying issues all year (Jayda); not to mention the rise in school gun violence since Columbine
teach our children in an honest and integral manner we expect from ANY authority figure working with our children
As parents, we are considering our options with our daughter. We are prepared to revoke “in loco parentis,” disenroll Jayda, and either homeschool her, or find a more suitable “parent substitute” to teach our child. We are actively exploring online and local charter schools.
While José's safety has been compromised previously, his care in autistic support at Allen remains the best place for his social and academic development, at this time. However, as a licensed teacher in both Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, disenrolling José and instructing him myself is not beyond my capabilities, should we feel the need.
While we hope this letter elucidates our position on the aforementioned issues, and we continue to send our children to school, be advised we will not tolerate safety and moral compromises. We reserve the right and duty as parents to protect our children, even if it means having to protect them from those claiming to act in their best interests.
This letter will be on public record.