Today's School Lesson - Censorship and Agitprop

Update at end.

Every kiddy should get some education. Lots of nodding heads in the Tavern to that idea. Every kiddy should have access to the internet at school. Some thoughful shakes as well as nods to that one.

It pops up from time to time when this government policy or that pushes schools into the internet age and even issues every school kid with a 'Free' laptop. Well, they announce that, but in practice many kids miss out and the parents suffer losses through theft and simply mislay. The laptops and other computer gizmos get to some but far from all kiddies. 

And very few get the 'Free' steak knives either.

So schools themselves expend vast amounts on installing the technology themselves. All well and good.

Then of course the government, school boards, parents groups, etc all clamour to censor what kiddies can and cannot look at. For we do have to acknowledge that at this infant stage of the Knowledge Revolution where the Human Psyche is expanding into the public sphere, there is more 'Id' than 'super-ego' alive and thriving in cyberspace.

And this is where the messiness arises. The knives come out !

There are those who go well beyond blocking smut. The super-ego drive is politically dependant and markedly left wing. Some mind-smut is positively encouraged.

As was found by one lad at school, as told to open mouthed patrons of the P&B the other day by Todd Barnes. 

Todd tried hard not to get over-excited but I did have to provide some more wholesome froth to his lips as he spoke.

Jesus, Republicans and NRA banned 

on school website

One of the lessons that Andrew Lampart learned from being on his school’s debate team was to 

gather facts for both sides of an argument. 

So last month when his law class was instructed to prepare for a debate on gun control, Andrew went online using the school’s Internet service.

“I knew it was important to get facts for both sides of the case,” said the 18-year-old at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, Connecticut.

So, this was not a small child being 'protected' from any of the zillion naked women on the net. He was after 'balance'; iffs and buts,  not butts.

Andrew decided to set aside his debate preparation and started researching other conservative websites. He soon discovered that he had unfettered access to liberal websites, but conservative websites were blocked.

When Andrew tried to log onto the National Rifle Association’s website, he realized there was a problem – a big problem.

“Their website was blocked,” he told me. Andrew decided to try the Second Amendment Foundation’s website. That too, was blocked.

His curiosity got the best of him – so Andrew tried logging on to several pro-gun control websites. Imagine his surprise when he discovered the pro-gun control websites were not blocked.

“I became curious as to why one side was blocked and the other side was not,” he said.

Be curious no more, young man.  The school is protecting your young adult mind from making itself up for itself.

For example, the Connecticut Republican Party website was blocked. 

The Connecticut Democratic Party website was not blocked. 

National Right to Life was blocked, but Planned Parenthood was not blocked. 

Connecticut Family, a pro-traditional marriage group, was blocked, but LGBT Nation was not blocked.

Andrew found that even Pope Francis was blocked 

from the school’s web service. 

But although he could not access the Vatican website, the school allowed him to access an Islamic website.

“This is really border line indoctrination,” 

Andrew told me.

There is barely a border to be seen here. The enemy is streaming across like illegal immigrants. 

“Schools are supposed to be fair and balanced towards all ways of thinking. It’s supposed to encourage students to formulate their own opinions. 

Where did he get that idea from !!   Quick, a lefty has fainted.

Students aren’t able to do that here at the school because they are only being fed one side of the issue.”

Andrew gathered his evidence and requested a meeting with the principal. The principal referred him to the superintendent, which he did. The superintendent promised to look into the matter and fix the problem.

“I gave him a week to fix the problem,” Andrew said. “But nothing had been done.”

So last Monday, Andrew took his mountain of evidence to the school board.

“They seemed surprised,” he said. “They told me they were going to look into the problem.”

Since the school board didn’t resolve the problem, I decided to take a crack at it.

Superintendent Jody Goeler sent me a rather lengthy letter explaining what happened.

He admitted there are “apparent inconsistencies” in the school district’s filtering system “particularly along conservative and liberal lines.”

Get away ! And he had not noticed. !  

“Many of the liberal sites accessible to the student fell into the ‘not rated’ category, which was unblocked while many of the conservative sites were in the ‘political/advocacy group’ category which is accessible to teachers but not to students,” he said in a written statement. 

“The district is trying to determine the reason for the inconsistency and if the bias is pervasive enough to justify switching to another content filtering provider.”

I find it hard to believe the superintendent needs more evidence to make that determination.

“The district does not block individual sites, only categories of websites,” he wrote. “The categories are supposed to be inclusive of all sites that fall into a common description.”

Without getting into the weeds here, the school district is blaming the blocking on Dell SonicWall, their content filtering service. 

They said they are waiting for Dell SonicWall to clarify its process for assigning websites to categories.

Dell SonicWall did not return my telephone call so I can’t tell you whether the district’s statement is the gospel truth or baloney. But something smells fishy.

Superintendent Goeler said they have “an interest in exposing students to a wide and varying number of viewpoints."

“The district does engage in unblocking sites to provide diverse points of view and balance in the instructional process,” he wrote.

Pardon me, sir, but that’s a load of unadulterated, Grade-A hooey.

The National Rifle Association, Red State, SarahPac.com, National Right to Life, Second Amendment Foundation, Paul Ryan for Congress, Town Hall, TeaParty.org, ProtectMarriage.com, and Christianity.com are just some of the websites the school blocked.

And they still remain blocked.

“The thing that bothers me the most is that public education is supposed to be neutral,” Andrew said. “It’s supposed to expose kids to both sides of an issue and allow them to formulate their own opinions.”

So he has been told. It is written on the packet. But the goods tell a different tale. And still no steak knives.

Andrew has discovered the issue I write about in my new book, “God Less America.” Public schools have become leftwing indoctrination centers.

“Students are only being given information from one side of the issue,” he said. “They are told this is the information we are giving you – make the most of it. They are not giving them both sides of the argument.”

Andrew Lampart has done his community and his nation a great public service by 

exposing the politically correct firewall 

that was erected at Nonnewaug High School.

And now we must do our part and demand a free exchange of ideas not just in Woodbury, Connecticut, but around the nation.

Mr. Superintendent, tear down this wall!

 http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/06/19/jesus-republicans-and-nra-banned-on-school-website/

What is YOUR kiddy's school like?  Do you get to really look beneath the surface? 

Deeper looks will also show the vastness and pervasiveness of feminist agitprop that is allowed while sites which call for fairness and justice for men and fathers are routinely blocked as 'hate'. 

Update:

Perhaps your school is moving along the lines of Canadian schools. There the children as young as five are being taught that foldling Uncle Harry's penis while watching the TV at home is a fine education. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUIZy_UGixU

It is high time parents went into schools and laid down some old-fashioned Family Rules. Good luck with that.

Have a deep draught of Grace first.

Pax.

Disclaimer: No kick-backs to computer suppliers or internet service providers were paid from the Tavern Budget in the posting of this conversation.