Faith Community – Column by Bob Shillingstad
With the beginning of school, this fall is going to be very interesting on every front; the threat of a world war, an election less than a dozen weeks away, millions of illegal migrants flooding the country, and prices going up faster than wages can keep up. Schools in Idaho are facing lower enrollments and their own financial headaches as parents are taking their children to charter or private schools or just home schooling. Many school districts are going to be asking for millions of dollars in levies to keep the status quo.
To say this election season will be a choice of two worldviews is an understatement. Nothing represents the secular world view more than the teacher’s unions. For decades the National Education Association (NEA), along with the Idaho Education Association (IEA) and its local affiliates, have represented an agenda to redefine the definition of education. These associations want to radically change society and are opposed to an education system that honors family and parents and instills patriotism that teaches our history and government in an attempt to make independent citizens who can analyze and think for themselves.
In 2021, the Wall Street Journal described the NEA as “the ideological and institutional vanguard of progressive politics.” As an affiliate of the NEA, the annual dues paid by each Idaho member are forwarded from the IEA to the NEA headquarters in Washington D.C. Financial ties aside, there is no reason to believe there is any ideological daylight between the IEA and the NEA. For example, last year the IEA’s leadership team proudly participated in the NEA’s Freedom To Learn rally in Orlando, which the NEA described as a protest against Governor Ron DesSantis and like-minded elected officials. At this protest, NEA officials were joined by local and national racial social justice organizations, waved rainbow flags, and decried gun violence. At one point, NEA President Becky Pringle declared, “our students do not need protection from drag queens.”
Through the deliberate conditioning of children the forces of evil have radicalized youth to hate God, family, and their country. These are the facts. These forces have taught our youth to hate America’s Christian heritage. Instead of God-fearing and well-educated children, the schools are creating ‘global citizens’ ready to play their role as a cog in the machine of a totalitarian global society, according to author Alex Newman who has written extensively on this subject.
Most teachers have chosen their profession because they love teaching young people and want to make a positive difference. They don’t look at the parents of these children as ‘the enemy’ and instead want to strengthen positive family ties. Teachers need to stand up for what is right and realize we are in a spiritual battle. The agenda of the teacher’s union is attacking our country’s foundation.
Here are some choices for teachers that truly reflect the values most educators hold:
- The Association of American Educators (AAE) is the largest national non-union, professional educators organization, advancing the profession by promoting professionalism, collaboration, and excellence without a partisan agenda.
- Northwest Professional Educators (NWPE) provides teacher liability insurance, legal services, and caring support without paying for controversial political agendas. Partnered with the Association of American Educators, NWPE advances teacher choice in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon by providing an inexpensive, non-partisan teacher union alternative that saves teachers hundreds of dollars a year.
- Christian Educators
Teachers need to know we are in a spiritual battle for the soul of America and many feel like they have no choice but to be under the thumb of the union and a radical agenda. Make your voice heard and opt-out of the union and communicate that to the administration of your district. Don’t let the radical agenda include you in its attempt to ruin our children, families, and country.
