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Take the time to watch the video. Really.
“Once a week church attendance is sufficient for a13-year-old boy.” With all those block meetings, firesides, priesthood previews, family home evenings, seminary classes, and mutual nights, you might be imposing “too much religion” on your children. And the government might need to step in.
One of my biggest frustrations with parents is their willingness to go along with whatever idiotic stuff public school impose. As the most prevailing government institution in most families, schools have an inordinate amount of influence.
In my opinion, good families go along with things mainly because that is the price of getting “free” education. To keep getting the flow of freebies, we keep voting more and more money to schools and we certainly don't rock the boat or challenge the status quo (or the teachers or administrators).
I know many of you will claim otherwise. You might be some of the few who really do know what's going on, who really are willing to keep government entities in line by speaking up, who are willing to do what's necessary (even doing without the “free” stuff) in order to take care of your kids.
But far too many parents are fooling themselves. They let things go, they look the other way, they fear retribution, they can't be bothered to get involved given the cost of the alternatives. (“Why do your kids take classes at Timpanogos? The busses don't even go there?”) And little by little the schools and legislators and courts remove our freedoms. And we just keep smiling.
You can just watch the the first 32:39 of the movie. The rest is an appeal for ParentalRights.org. A worthy cause, I think, but not the only way to address these issues.
Please sign the sign the petition for the Parental Right Amendment if you agree.
Alison Moore Smith is a 61-year-old entrepreneur who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 40 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons. She is the author of The 7 Success Habits of Homeschoolers.
I watched this movie. All I can say is wow, scary. But I’m not surprised when I see what goes on in the schools here.
People really are blind. They have already forgotten what was sacrificed to get our freedoms and they are willing to “give up their birthright for a mess of pottage.”
As long as they get their entitlements, who cares? Makes me pretty sick.
This was eye-opening, I have to admit that I will hold my tongue because I don’t want to deal with the teachers targetting my kids or what to do in the future if it’s too hard to stay at the school.
But what do you do with teachers and staff that are control freaks?
I **SO** wish they could give me the information (which is important) without the theatrics. I find myself automatically suspicious when they use so many dramatizations. I think a lot of this information is probably correct, but I am suspicious because I feel they are also spinning things a bit. Also, I don’t feel like this is widespread, but I think we have to fight it becoming widespread. We have to be watchful, always. We haven’t had anything like “My Two Dads” showing up here, but our fifth graders were asked to attend a workshop on sexual harassment. We were given the ‘opt out’ paperwork (which I complained about – why not an ‘opt in’? instead of ‘opt out’? ), which I forgot about. My daughter said they used the word ‘sexual’ about five times right off the bat so she tuned it out. She has no idea what they were talking about.
The most disturbing to me is definitely the case in Washington, but it is also hard for me to imagine this happening. I mean, it did happen, but that law was overturned. My experience has been quite the opposite – that parents who neglect their children are often allowed to continue doing so indefinitely if there is no actual physical abuse.
As far as schools go, the older I get and the older my kids get, I hear more and more: “you are the first parent who has ever complained about this.” From rated R movies in the classroom to in class health screenings, they tell me I am the only one to complain. It drives me crazy! I am frustrated by the parents who are silent and I am frustrated by the schools who try to silence them (such as asking to ‘opt out’ instead of ‘opt in’ for questionable things). They claim they want parental involvement, but they don’t know what to do when they get it.
One case in point – each year, we are asked to sign a Learning Compact, related to extra funding that our school gets because we are in an urban area with lots of poor people and lots of kids who fall behind academically. It asks you to commit to doing a lot of nice things like reading with your children every day, completing homework, having routines and getting plenty of sleep and lots of really nice things that most responsible parents would do anyway. But it’s a compact! When I first read it, I thought it was a typo, then I looked it up. A compact is a formal agreement or contract. It seems harmless, but since it is a formal agreement, I refuse to sign it. It seems to me that if I sign it, I might be legally responsible if I miss a few nights reading to my kids or have a late bedtime now and then. I politely tell our teacher, each year, that I will not sign it. I will do all of those things because I am a parent who wants to have children who don’t grow up to be ignoramuses but I am not signing a compact about it. At every possible opportunity, I remind the teachers (and the principals) that they are not my superior or my supervisor. I choose to let them be partners in educating my child, but they are not my boss. (That’s usually the point where I see what they are made of –if they have a fragile ego, this really offends them. I had one burst into tears.)
partone: “what do you do with teachers and staff that are control freaks?”
I am sure it will vary depending on your neighborhood – in our neighborhood, most of the ‘control’ stuff is because the teachers take too much responsibility on themselves with the best of intentions. They also fall prey to the notion that ‘the parents’ aren’t involved/don’t care/don’t know. I try to establish a good relationship with the teachers early on, and then keep an eye on them. I make sure they know that we should be partners, and I will support them, and help, and volunteer in the classroom and go on field trips. I also make sure they know that I am the ultimate authority in my home and for my child. This year, it has worked well. Some years, they treat me like I’m a nut or like they fear me. Whatever it takes. 😉
Pooey!! I started to watch this last night, got about 3 minutes into it, but then it was time to read, pray etc and I didn’t get to finish. So I came back today to watch the rest and now it’s saying the video has been “removed by the user”.
Try this:
If that doesn’t work, go here:http://www.overruledmovie.com/
Tracy, I changed the link. It looks like the uploaded it again and then pulled the older vid. The new one is now embedded above.
It is really unfortunate that this piece is so heavy-handed. The issues surrounding this treaty are so vitally important that they speak for themselves and do not require all the melodrama.
Yeah, after watching the video, I have to agree with everyone else. The ISSUES presented are criticially important for us to know about– but I think the delivery HURTS their purpose and makes them look like a bunch of histrionic conspiracy theorist whack-jobs. Even if the re-enactments are word for word what happened, (and I can’t help but think they aren’t) the bad acting on top of the incredibly extra-dramatic music makes it SEEM like a bunch of over-exaggerations. This would have been a much more effective campaign, if approached the way “Waiting For Superman” was done, or the way John Stossel does he’s presentations on issues like this. Unfortunately, I think that as it is, it will make alot of people just roll their eyes and shut it off before it’s even over.
I know the WAY it was filmed wasn’t the point of the post– but it’s SO over done, that it’s actually kind of annoying to watch– and I actaully AGREE with everything they’re saying.
I think I’m going to write in to the website and tell them so. The message they’re trying to get out is SO important, but I wouldn’t doubt if they LOSE half their probable supporters with this kind of promotion for their campaign.
What’s funny is that so many think it’s heavy-handed. Read Tracy’s post about recess. She’s talking about RECESS for heaven’s sake and people are ready to take her down for disagreeing about “walking the loop.”
I’ve dealt with numerous administrators who are just like that principle. (Mine have almost always been counselors who “know better” about how to educate than I do.) Some people are extremely threatened and defensive when you don’t “follow the program.” (Teachers do it, too. But it’s riskier to expose, because they hold a lot of power over your kids, especially in high school when the grades impact their futures so much.)
I’ve dealt with a number of doctors who acted like patients are idiots and have no right to question their “authority.”
my kids had a principle who not only acted but looked alot like that woman. i guess you dont believe me huh. but we fought it out with the board and got a transfer to another school. it didnt do too much good because we were labeled by then and even the new school heard we were trouble. so my kids couldnt get on any teams, not even the all stater. really?
move to a really liberal place with a very strong union and then tell me you can reason with them. its about showing whos boss. stupid.
Alison – I really don’t think they sound crazy, I think the movie makes them look crazy. It’s a docudrama, and I prefer documentaries. I kept getting annoyed, when the Washington lawyer was telling his story and they’d break away to show the dramatization. Just let him tell it already! If they took out the drama, they could have communicated the message in half the time. Normally, I would have ignored a video that was 30+ minutes long (okay, or even 15+), but with your ringing endorsement I watched it. But, if I’d seen the link anywhere else, the sheer length would have made me skip it.
oh i posted at the same time alison. ive learned some of those lessons the last two years. youve mentioned this stuff before but never explained it. are you ever going to tell your story?
The problem with corruption is that it always sounds like “histrionic conspiracy theorist whack-jobs.” Always. And the majority of folks, who haven’t dealt personally with corruption from very powerful people, laugh and scoff and call names. And say it’s not that bad and it’s no big deal and it’s just a misunderstanding and it’s overwrought. Blah blah blah.
Tthen one day you’re wearing a star of David on your shirt and you’re in a gas chamber. And you’re saying, “Uh, huh? What?”
As if we really have to prove that people — even people in AMERICA — are evil and corrupt and will harm innocent people to get ahead.
Few people are stupid enough (or powerful enough) to simply hop in a tank and flatten your house. But they will erode your life-saving liberties with a smile on their faces and claim it’s “for the children.”
Public schools — along with just about every other government entity — are rife with corruption. The power and vast amounts of money make it almost inevitable.
Some of you will, one day, deal directly and personally with evil, corrupt individuals on a serious, life-altering level. If you do, trust me on this, you won’t be able to tell your story. It sounds like a Grisham novel. Crazy talk.
But you will be able to understand corruption. It’s a more accurate picture of the world. But, frankly, I preferred not knowing. It was nicer to sit on the side of the people calling out conspiracy theories.
LOL I wouldn’t call it a “ringing endorsement.” I don’t care about the dramatization. It’s the kinds of things that are happening that are of concern. And they aren’t rare.
We have a country where abusers kill children on a regular basis and we’ve legalized stabbing babies in the head while partially out of the birth canal. Barbara Boxer has been a US senator for almost two decades — even though she can’t bring herself to declare a baby “born” until it’s home from the hospital — and Peter Singer is an esteemed Princeton professor — even though he thinks people should live or die based on utility.
We kill babies. Over a MILLION a year. And for the most part, we don’t say much about it.
But good parents are micro-managed and made to feel evil, stupid, and ill-advised. (Go tell your school principal you’re pulling your kids out to homeschool — just to see what they say.)
This hasn’t happened all at once. It’s the frogs in the pot of water. It’s the beard fallacy. We accept a little here and a little there. Well, this much more money, this much more control — it’s not a big deal. What can we do?
When we were asked to vote on a school bond last month, I complained about YET ANOTHER tax hike. A friend said something along the lines of, “It’s ONLY $40 a year.”
I just paid my property tax a few minutes ago online. Yea. It’s only $40 more. And all those ONLYS have added up to my $4,276.57 bill. But, hey, it’s “for the children.” Or the “cafetorium” with the soaring ceilings and ENORMOUS flat screen TV at Willow Creek Middle. Whatever.
BTW, this is the same reason the old boys in congress will mightily resist a fair or flat tax. If Americans had to pay their taxes out in one lump, they’d SCREAM. But if they pay property tax and sales tax and gas tax and income tax and social security tax and state tax and registration fees and tolls and have their income decreased because of employer matching taxes…well, it’s just $40 here and $40 there. No big deal.
We need to start looking at the accumulation of these “small” injustices and “small “intrusions on our liberties. Or we’re hosed.
P.S. It’s been fun to watch Glenn Beck the past few years. More often than not, this is the scenario:
1. Glenn says something
2. He’s called a conspiracy theorist
3. He’s called a nut job
4. He’s called crazy
5. Months pass
6. He was right
7. No one notices because they’re busy calling him whacked for whatever he’s saying now
OK, Alison. I’ll take you up on it. I’m going to tell the school principal that I’m going to homeschool my kids. It will be believable because I have a very gifted daughter who they’ve been working with and another special needs son.
I think she’ll try to talk me out of it and probably give some reasons, but my guess is that she’ll support me in doing what I need.
I’ll let you know.
SueBee, go! I look forward to hearing from you AND I hope the response is positive!
Thank you so much for sharing this video! I had not seen it before and it is seriously important. I have posted the video on my blog and hope that people will come together to get this passed!