Sarah Palin mocked; “globalist” indoctrination promoted in Albemarle County middle school classroom

Over the years, we have received numerous complaints about liberal Charlottesville City and Albemarle County teachers indoctrinating captive government school students in violation of the respective divisions’ policies.

However, as students and their parents with minority political viewpoints are fearful of classroom and administrative retribution for reporting such infractions, hard evidence has been hard to come by.

But now, The Schilling Show brings you these exclusive and potentially incriminating pictures of Margie Shepherd’s Henley Middle School classroom number 47.

Proudly promulgated in Mrs. Shepherd’s cultivation chamber, is a printed, bingo-like game piece mocking Republican Alaska Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. This derisive display, apparently acquired from the web site, Palin Bingo, ridicules Gov. Palin via association of her likeness with a number of traducing terms and by displaying a banner over her head, which reads, “AIR SPACE.”

How might this inappropriate and partisan political display affect the comfort level of any child in that classroom who happens to support Governor Palin and/or the Republican Party?

In addition to the insulting insinuation that Gov. Palin is an “airhead,” the same classroom is rife with “ecological,” “United Nations,” and “pacifist/peace” propaganda, all posted with no counterbalancing counsel for pupils’ perusal.

The Albemarle County School Board unequivocally addresses the topic of student indoctrination in their policy paper entitled, “Teaching About Controversial Issues,” as follows:

The Albemarle County School Board accepts training for effective citizenship as one of the major purposes of education.+ This includes, in part, recognizing that many important areas of study involve issues on which differing positions are held by individuals or groups.

In considering such issues, it shall be the purpose of the Albemarle County Public Schools to allow the student to do the following:

1. Study any controversial issue which has political, economic, or social significance and which is within the range, knowledge, maturity and competence of the students, and which does not conflict with State Board of Education regulations and the Albemarle County School Board Policies and regulations.

2. Provide resources containing a wide range of views on controversial issues so that students may develop the practice of critical reading and thinking.

3. Study under competent instruction in an atmosphere of freedom from bias and prejudice.

4. Form and express opinions on controversial issues without jeopardizing his position with the school.

The role of the teacher in the presentation of controversial issues is vitally important.+ All sides of the issue should be given the students in a balanced manner.+ The goal is for the students to be taught to think clearly on all matters of importance, and to make their own decisions in the light of all the material that has been presented or can be secured on the issues.+ Indoctrination is not a policy of the Albemarle County Public Schools.

Although the instructional program of the school division includes many facets of the political party system in the United States, the School Board does not sanction as a part of the school program the involvement of students in activities that imply school endorsement of an individual political party or candidate.+ Individual class assignments and volunteer work involving students in political activities are permissible.

This teacher’s classroom “decoration” appears to violate the division’s policies in myriad ways, particularly; items 2 and 3 above are brazenly transgressed.

But, it doesn’t stop there. A document obtained from Mrs. Shepherd’s classroom web site describes a current student assignment entitled “Peace by Piece.” This task requires children to “turn what you have learned about Citizenship and World Issues into a Vision of your idea of a better world, and put that vision into action by using your project to raise money for a project that will make the world a better place.”

There are two components to this assignment:

1. An essay about the student’s own “vision of a better world.” The instructions read in part: “How could things happen to make the world safer, cleaner and more fair for everybody?”
2. A “visionary art project” in which students are to make “an artistic creation that will be saleable at our ‘Peace by Piece’ silent auction.” Students are further instructed to make an item that “will produce at least $25.00” and to “make something that other people will want to buy to support this effort.”

Here is the verbatim topic list from Mrs. Shepherd’s assignment worksheet:

• World Peace
• Racial Harmony
• Environmental Issues – Clean water, air, protecting the rainforests, respect for Mother Earth
• Cultural Sharing, global society
• Non-violence
• Communication
• Four Freedoms
• Human Rights
• Fairness to children / Children of the world
• Fair trade
• End to hunger
• Lending a hand
• Service to others
• Freedom

Some of the listed topics from which students may choose a subject for their “Peace by Piece” project appear innocuous. However, this list of topics also includes subtle and obvious overtures to potentially anti-American and anti-Christian themes such as disarmament, nature worship, “fair trade,” and globalism, among others, with little-to-no counterbalance offered.

So, who might (or should) be bothered by this bid to brainwash tomorrow’s adult Americans?

Christian families who teach their child(ren) of man’s God-given dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26) may take great umbrage with Gaia-like intimation in Mrs. Shepherd’s bumper sticker that proclaims “we belong to the earth.”

Patriotic American families who instruct their child(ren) in the Founders’ principles of American sovereignty may dispute the displayed pro-United Nations / One World proselytism as seen in stickers, photographs and posters in Mrs. Shepherd’s classroom.

Those whose families have been liberated by, have served in, or have great reverence for the American military may decidedly dispute the manifestation that “War is not the answer” (because sometimes it is) and the proliferation of pacifist messages in Henley’s classroom number 47.

Given the above documentation, can this classroom learning environment possibly be considered to follow the School Board’s stated guidelines to:

Provide resources containing a wide range of views on controversial issues so that students may develop the practice of critical reading and thinking.

or

Study under competent instruction in an atmosphere of freedom from bias and prejudice.

Is the Albemarle County School Board’s guideline for teacher presentation being followed:

The role of the teacher in the presentation of controversial issues is vitally important.+ All sides of the issue should be given the students in a balanced manner.

There does not appear to be balance of presentation in Mrs. Shepherd’s Henley Middle School classroom number 47.

To wit:

Where are the references to God, the Creator of the earth to balance the “Mother Earth” and other Gaia-inspired, environmental messages?

Where are the references that speak highly of America; her gifts of freedom and prosperity to her citizens and to much of the world, and the belief, held by many Americans, in “peace through strength,” to balance the globalist United Nations messages?

Where are the balancing political references? While one party (Republican) is mocked (i.e. the Republican governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin), references to the other party (Democrat) are non-existent.

Perhaps, Mrs. Shepherd is unaware that there exist alternative viewpoints to those she liberally proffers within her classroom, or perhaps she is unaware of the Albemarle County School Board policy which may apply here. Ignorance of policies or of alternative opinions and beliefs, however, is no excuse for contravening division protocol. In all cases documented here, information representing a “wide range of views on controversial issues”—as required by the Albemarle County School Board’s own guidelines—appears notably absent within the walls of Henley Middle School’s classroom number 47.

Parents, citizens, teachers, administrators, and School Board members alike, you have been informed of a potential policy violation within one of your classrooms. It is now up to you to evaluate and respond, or not.