Postmodern Gibsonia?

I think this would have been more interesting if I had copied the comments from newest in February 2012 to January 2012, but I will post these as-is for now. Sorry for the inappropriate remarks as I did not edit them.

I thought I would list out all the interesting comments I received since Pine-Richland teachers directed students to come to my blog and express their dissatisfaction with the Symposium cancelation. The comments ceased suddenly when PR Administration and Board reversed course and reinstated the 2012 Symposium, which was later canceled by the coordinating teacher, Eroica Poukalos-Hreha.

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Don't you have anything better to do with your time?

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In response to your statement: "It would be impractical if not impossible to opt-out of all the courses involved in the Symposiums." I only ever heard of one class that required the symposium, for all of the other classes that offered it, I believe it was optional, and it would have been easy to avoid if that suited your ideas. However, your blog suggests that the students are not able to think for themselves and determine their viewpoints, since your argument lies mainly in the idea that the symposium is not balanced. Did you ever consider that the students who participated in the symposium just happened to be liberal themselves? and that we happened to agree with the documents, with the understanding of what they meant? -A student

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we actually do have debates in Mr. Byko's honors/pre-AP English 10 class, so its not as if the school ignores them. However, the way that dialogue is described above is another important perspective in today's world, where we can't simply impose our viewpoints on other people in the way that you want to. At the same time, the socratic seminars that I have experienced have been more of a mix of the two, rather than purely the dialogue described above. Not to mention, these upper level classes are designed to prepare students for college, and having at this point visited a number of colleges, I know that many of them use Socratic Seminar set-ups. Therefore, if shy kids are truly ready for these courses, they will be able to overcome that aspect of themselves, at least during classroom discussions (which would be necessary in a debate and a dialogue anyway?) Besides, I know that student success in seminars does not correlate with their "popularity" or their social skills. -A student

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also, as to your complaints about the biased view of the teachers, I know that this is to some extent true. In both directions. In eighth grade, my pre-AP/honors social studies teacher was obviously conservative and often used the drudge report, which is regarded as conservative in tone. However, just because I disagreed politically with my teacher (and my parents probably would have as well) did not mean that we felt the need to avoid having a teacher with an opposing view point?! just because you disagree with a teacher does not mean that he or she is not a good teacher, and you again presume that the student does not think for him or herself. -A student

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I do believe that ALL teachers, conservative or liberal, do at times impose their thoughts upon a student. However, how is a child supposed to learn without encountering these ideas. Leaving a child in a closed view of the world only hinders their ability to think on their own. You say that your "left brain" child does not do well in the situations you have presented, however the same point can be argued for students of the opposite nature. I see no harm in exposing people to extreme opinions on both sides of the argument. In fact, I believe that it will only help them in the long run.
Also, I'm also curious to why you were bother by the "coexsist" logo? It paints the idea that you are against any religious view other than your own.
-A student

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I don't think you understand Socratic seminars at all. We discuss points and are encouraged to say if we don't agree. Not all seminars end with everyone agreeing. And of course shy kids will have some trouble ,but in every class I have taken, teachers have been great with making sure everyone gets a chance to express their views. And Socratic seminars are the original way of teaching. They are about as conservative as it gets. -a student

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It seems to me that you are giving the word "liberal" a negative connotation. While I believe in conservative political beliefs, it is important to know both viewpoints, and understand why those who you disagree with think the way they do. Just because an idea is "liberal" does not make it bad, even to a conservative.
As for the idea of biases, you are obviously biased against liberals. In the classes that you are talking about, the ideas that you believe in would be reinforced, and you would have the opportunity to learn the opposing viewpoint.
I am not trying to be "hateful" or "boring," but you need to understand what your posts are doing. They are depriving students of the ability to see both sides of the world. In the real world not everyone will agree with you or your kids. While you might not like some of these theories, it is important that they are taught.
Mrs. Poulakos does not in any way tell us what to believe, or what is right or wrong. The discussion of religion is kept to the relevance of the class. Neither the Jewish kids, nor the strict Christians are offended (one girl in my class is the daughter of a reverend and has no problem with anything said in the class).

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I cannot believe that someone can be so closed-minded. You do realize that that there are other religions and political stances other than your own. If you happen to be upset or don't agree in the teaching of the symposium (for whatever messed up reason) then you and your kids don't have to be apart of it. But don't be a selfish prick and ruin a great thing for everyone else just cause your on your period!

Sincerely,
Pissed off

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This is ridiculous. As a student and a participant in the Symposium, I find it to be the most educationally, wordly, culturally interested event I have and will participate in during my high school career. We study some of the most well known ideas on philosophy, education, culture, religion, economics, and so on. By writing this article, you proved that your individual case is more important than all of ours. You are oppressing our views that we have a right to as citizens, philosophers, and students. You are a selfish parent who should take their child out of the Symposium if they do not like the content. With oppressing parents like you who fret when their kids watch PG movies because of content, you have stunted our enlightenment as students. You have no place in the Symposium and my education will not be stopped because you have the nerve to tell me that the views I am learning are biased. It's people like you whose enlightenment is nonexistent that prevent the continuation of my studies. Do you know where that leaves us? In a society where our children have nothing to grow up to be but half-witted followers such as yourself. To reiterate and summarize, you are a complete imbecile.

not so sincerely,
the philosopher

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Is your ass jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?

Sincerely,
Curious

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as to the comments on the cover art and the speakers, the students not only create but then vote on their favored artwork, and the students write letters to distinguished people of their CHOICE to invite them to speak at the symposium. we're not being brainwashed, our opinions just happen to agree with a lot of the ones in the documents - you'll have to face the fact that a lot of the best and the brightest are liberal.

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How can you force your OWN personal beliefs and opinions on an entire student population? This is America--the country where we have the rights for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Maybe it makes me happy to expand my horizons and, as Immanuel Kant so aptly put it, "Enlightenment is man's emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one's understanding without guidance from another. This immaturity is self-imposed when its cause lies not in lack of understanding, but in lack of resolve and courage to use it without guidance from another. Sapere Aude! [dare to know] "Have courage to use your own understanding!"--that is the motto of enlightenment." Do you really oppose a student thinking for his or her self? After all, is not the ability to make our own decisions and judgement a key part of growing up? Do you want your own daughter to be totally unprepared for the real world when she leaves your overbearing protection? Does she even agree with your absurd opinions? Global interaction is essential to success in today's world. That does in no way mean that we will not come into contact with opposing viewpoints, cultures, etc. It is expected. Additionally, the PETA keynote speaker from last year's symposium introduced NO controversial topics and delivered a thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating speech,as did all of the other speakers. Keep in mind that it is the student's decision to participate in this symposium. It is our choice. Who are you to say what we can and cannot do? The symposium has no effect on you whatsoever if you and your children choose not to take part in it. So in conclusion, you are an oppressive, uneducated, arrogant and ignorant egocentric who will stop at nothing to ruin one of the best experiences I, and most other students who have participated in the symposium, have ever had at Pine-Richland. --a student

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The biases of teachers? Don't be a hypocrite. Evaluate the bias in your own stupid blog before trolling about the bias of people who have their own parents who are just as concerned with their child's well being. The difference is they aren't idiots about it. I myself am a conservative Christian too; that does not mean we have to freak out about anything that we do not agree with.

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you just said everything on my mind. for one person to strip away one of the most educational tools from PR just makes me sick. her views are strictly based off the teachings of the bible. we cannot perceive life on the notion of close-mindedness. we, the students have the option to participate in the symposium. If you make the decision for you children to have the real "left minded view" than so be it, do not let them participate. Therefore, it is not fair for you just to be able take the rights of learning such educationally astounding pieces of literate. Whats so great about the symposium is that everyone has there own views!!! there is nothing more divine than that. we have the ability to perceive information on our own terms. please do not ruin the great opportunities that PR has to offer just because the documents are not strictly based off of your religiously, impractical views. the best thing you can do is go back to Mrs. Poulakos and Mr. Dolphin and apolgize for wrecking their ability give education to their students in the most enlightened, intellectually driven manor. thanks you crazy, close minded, and selfish bitch you are.

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You're dumb.

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First off...Crosby, may I point out the fact that you are not in the Pine-Richland District. You yourself are not a student here, nor are your children, so concerning yourself with this district is a pointless waste of time. Continuing on, may I point out a flaw in your argument in which you begin to bash each summer reading book, you contradict yourself on numerous occasions. So rather than making an intelligent argument, you make a rather idiotic one... As a student at Pine-Richland High School, I have read these summer reading books you include in this mediocre blog of of yours, and yes....for once Sherlock..you're correct on something. There are some raunchy and apocalyptical themes included in the plots, however, there is a bigger meaning to these books than what you are claiming. This may be a perfect example to prove how how narrow-minded you are, and how you are unable to comprehend the truth is any situation. As for your "followers" that say they agree with you..they are just as narrow-minded as you and they lack the ability to think for themselves. How dare you insult my teachers and district. You have no right. Just because you are insecure with your own weak, "Christian" life. I would just like to say...Congrats..you have achieved what you wanted to with this blog, you have successfully made yourself look like an idiot. You have also managed to embarrass your children and your enuresis family. I wonder how your teenage daughter feels about this? I know how I would feel...disappointed.

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You're dumb. Fag

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I blame the queers.

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Bitch stop bitching, i lost my arms in iraq.

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Crosbycat, some of your concerns left me with the following message: "I don't want my children being taught in an environment where abortion, atheism, homosexuality, etc, are addressed as possibilities."

Whether these things are right or wrong doesn't matter here. It's important for students to be informed about these growing issues, and I see no reason to deprive them of the right to voice their opinions (even if their opinion differs from yours.)

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From your description of "tidy math", all I can see is that it turns students into busywork-doing-robots who don't have a working understanding of the concept ... it seems that students would just follow the steps and are clueless when faced with a variation, applications, or a word problem.

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I'm not sure how you can expect students to function in the outside world without being exposed to and learning to respect other ideas.

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You have a few separate issues here:

1. These seminars put shy kids at a disadvantage.

Well, guess what ... sooner or later your children will have to learn to voice their opinion. Social interaction will be in all aspects of their life, and it's better that they learn now that at college.

If you're concerned about the grade, many classes don't include seminars for this exact reason, you can write down your points and turn that in for credit if you didn't have time/confidence to speak, or you could do what you did and go to a different district.

2. You're supposed to leave your opinion at the door and have an open-minded attitude.

This just means that the documents are supposed to be approached in an objective manner.

Objective: I'm going to try and read this and temporarily suspend judgment.

Subjective: I'm going to try to read these student essays and symposium papers in search of weakness to tear them apart later on my blog.

In this world, it is crucial to have an open mind and learn to RESPECT other opinions and ideas that may conflict with your own.

It's all about how you approach the ideas.

3. You're supposed to work together to reach a collaborative conclusion.

Let me clarify what students talk about: Not morals. Not whether abortion/Christianity/homosexuality/insert-other-concern-here is right or wrong. We just discover what the writer's intent was, and it's stressed that we can disagree or agree freely with the writer, but the point is to analyze the document.

Especially since the students participating are teenagers, I see no flaw with teaching them that they aren't always right!

This idea of compromise doesn't always work - the discussions often end in disagreement, and the whole point is learning to respect other opinions and work together to find a workable summary of the document. -a student

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I looked at what was available of the book Raising a Left-Brain Child in a Right-Brain World online, part of which discussed Reform Math, and I thought that I should note that you do have a valid point - although I disagree with your views on the social studies and english classrooms, I think that math classrooms have to be a mix of the Reform Math and traditional calculations - from what I have heard from other students, though I haven't encountered anything in my honors and AP math classes that resembles Reform Math myself, there is sometimes (I emphasize sometimes) practical application, like a trial involving math, that just doesn't seem entirely productive to me. I suppose that it is trying to counteract the often prevailing viewpoint that math isn't useful in the real world (not something I agree with, but many students, perhaps those challenged by math, have put out). Better ways to interest students in math I think would be to make sure that they understand what they are doing. However, at the same time, I know that the my school offers both business calc and ap calc ab and ap calc bc. this, although it only applies to students in their junior or senior years, gives than an option that might cater to their specific learning abilities, if they are particularly defined in one side of the brain. Reform math seems like overkill to me, but that is a different story from the symposium. also, I think it is important for everyone to remember that both explicitly right-brain and explicitly left-brain children exist and that both have to learn to adjust to the conditions of the real world, or else receive special attention because they need it, which I do not mean in a negative manner. -A Student

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also I should apologize for some of my fellow student's indecency and rudeness. It's embarrassing and only reflects their own one-mindedness, which should be what we are trying to combat

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Yes, I also noticed that they didn't put it on their calendar and it is buried on the high school website. "

Um, no ... not at all. Google "Pine-Richland Symposium" and its website, with oodles of information, is the third result ...
http://prsymposium.wordpress.com/ isn't exactly buried in cyberspace.

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Congrats bitch, Pine-Richland isn't having a symposium thanks to people like you. You bitched about your narrow-minded viewpoint like a little faggot and you won. I hope you're happy, you stupid bitch.

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I completely disagree with your comment "the jargon of real-world problems"...they exist in the real world, so how can they be jargon? This math system teaches students to apply the math they are learning in the real world. Without conceptual math, you cannot actually use anything you are learning. I, as a Pine-Richland student, feel that the math experience I am getting here is superior to the experience I was getting at my previous school, because it does implement real-world situations...how else would we be prepared for our future?
- A real-world student

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It seems to me that you continue making the words "liberal" and "progressive" negative ones...while you're trying to make the school conservative. One could just as easily make equally negative remarks about conservatism, which you believe to be the solution to all of this. Maybe if your arguments weren't so radical, more people would listen, but I keep hearing about some crazy woman trying to end Symposium. What's more, this woman doesn't even have a student at Pine-Richland, so why is it her business? I have a great answer for that. It's not.
Also, your comments about Mr. Dolphin and Mrs. Poulakos are wildly inaccurate, as they are well-known as two of the best teachers at Pine-Richland.
- A Real-World Student

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I find it ironic that you say that Christianity is not tolerated by "hateful, bigoted progressives," while I myself am a Christian as well as a progessive...and I've found I'm one of those people who don't hate themselves.
- A Real-World Student

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Deirdre Shope has left a new comment on your post "Pine-Richland Principal Ignores Parent Concerns (e...":

I wonder why you wouldn't be pleased for your children/students to be exposed to different world views while they are still living in your home and while they can still discuss it with you.
I have had the opposite experience since we very recently moved to this school district. For eleven years my children were educated in an extremely conservative public school, in a heavily Christian school district with virtually NO separation of church and school. Although I regularly worried and was routinely annoyed by stories I heard, I now realize that it actually provided a rich environment for family discussion. My children are ages 13-18 and have an impressive desire to educate themselves on the impact of prejudice, intolerance, and the use of religion to divide rather than unite people. What a wonderful opportunity to discuss our family's opinions and values.
My son is now in college, and it is reassuring to know that he has already been exposed to people with very different world views than his own. He has already learned to peacefully "coexist" with those people, and share opinions with them in a mutually respectful, educated discourse. Of course my experience here (in PR) is very different from yours: while you find it too liberal, I find it a big relief from the extreme Christian conservatism from which we came. However, I would not change our prior experience for anything. My husband and I have loved having conversations over dinner about seaparation of church and state, prayer in school, politics, presidential elections, the value of standing up for what you believe even when you are in the minority, etc. I don't believe we would have had such wonderful conversations if we weren't immersed in a culture so foreign to our own.
Just for the sake of clarity -- I do consider myself a progressive, maybe even a bleeding heart liberal at times. But you should know that I am a deeply religious person, and am raising my children in much the same way I was raised which includes attending church every week and regular bible study. My children are taught to regularly ask themselves, "WWJD?" and act accordingly. Both my father and my husband were career military officers and both are brilliant progressives who love to discuss the teachings of every religion and are thrilled to know that our children are exposed to all sorts of thinking. We all believe that we can learn even more from people with whom we disagree than those that match our opinions perfectly.
My recommendation to you, Crosbycat, is go ahead with your substantive curriculum concerns but relax about what the kids are reading and discussing. What a wonderful opportunity for them to wonder, question, and even challenge while you are still there to remind, encourage, and explain before they go off to college!! Of course, the other option is that you can just put your kids into a private school that only exposes them to the things that meet your approval, but at some point they're going to have to grapple with the other stuff. I believe high school is the perfect time ...... while we can still have some influence! :)
Just one request, please refrain from making sweeping remarks about "public schools" and "brilliant students" and "progressives", it can make you sound uneducated and offensive. As a mechanical engineer, I know you are not the former and I just assume that you would try to avoid being the latter. Thanks for caring about the public schools but take it from someone who knows, you and your child(ren) can greatly benefit from being in an environment that's not perfectly "comfortable". We did it. Good Luck!!

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You have testified strong anti-Marxist and pro-capitalist opinions. I agree with you. However, your beliefs give you no right to criticize the opinions or studies of others. If you are so involved and concerned about political matters in our nation, then it might be useful to read our Bill of Rights. You cannot force your beliefs upon others. You have stated that “teachers must not be inflicting their views and opinions on their students”. I agree with you. However, only a paragraph before you stated, “One student was pro-abortion and even said it was the ‘non-life’ of the fetus as opposed to an actual death. Several expressed strong anti-Christian sentiments, and several were anti-capitalist”. It seems like even though you stated that the teachers cannot inflict their views, you seem to be criticizing the students’ views. The students have a right to say whatever they want. The students at Pine-Richland High School are attempting to express their views and listen to the views of others through the symposium. These are the fundamental principles of democracy and of our founding fathers. The students at Pine-Richland are intelligent enough to construct their own views, as every American is. I am not criticizing your views whatsoever. In fact, I am a conservative, and as I can clearly tell, you are as well. However, it is simply un-American to force your beliefs upon others and encourage the prevention of free speech. The symposium that you so profoundly criticize is in fact an option to the students. The symposium is in no way required in any way. You cannot call yourself an American if you will prevent students from expressing their views and discussing views points with their peers. The symposium does not cost any money at all. You stated, “To have our tax dollars spent to advocate such views is a significant problem”. Since the symposium does not receive any tax dollars, either the symposium is okay or you are against students assembling and discussing their views. You have criticized teachers as being bias. On the contrary, you yourself have stated many strong beliefs and you are more bias than any teacher at Pine-Richland ever will be. I am simply appalled to know that you have the nerve to criticize student viewpoints, make false accusations, condemn events that encourage activities that you support, attack no cost events, and do all of this while your children have do not go to Pine-Richland and even if they did they would not be required to participate nor would they be encouraged to attend the symposium.

Pine-Richland High School Student

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Honestly,
we need to stop giving this ignorant woman the time of day and attention that she obviously is starving for. It makes me sick to read these blogs posts.

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You mad bro?

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Deirdre Shope has left a new comment on your post "Marxist Symposium Cancelled?!":

I am sorry Crosbycat, you have lost all credibility with this post. You have lost any resemblance of a concerned, clear-headed adult. I am sorry that you thrive on negative, hurtful interactions with young people. It's just not a good example for the students. You are not interested in finding solutions or even a common ground, it is sad. Sad for you. The students will move on and accomplish great things in this diverse world, luckily their future is not limited by rantings like this. I trust that these passionate young people will continue to engage in wonderful, challenging, educational (at times vulgar, but I'm confident that life experience and maturity will help them to more respectfully express their frustration) debates through high school, college and beyond with or without your respect and guidance. WWJD?

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I have to point out some flaws in your proposal(s). First of all, Marxism is irrelevant to the argument that 100 million people died in the last century. Second, the symposium has no relation to marxism. In fact, Marxism is the analyzation and criticism of capitalism. I see no problem with the symposium opposing the idea of an economy without the interference of the government.

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Coming from someone on the right wing, I can plainly say that you are wrong. You seem to just throw around pointless, untrue accusations to make yourself feel good. If you think you accomplished something by this, you're wrong. You completely destroyed a good learning opportunity, just because you don't like some of the knowledge that is being spread. People will have different opinions than you, deal with it.

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You're right. We should have a symposium based on completely conservative documents, it would give us a way to refute the arguments, which I am sure are at least better defined than yours (your strategy seems to be using negatively connoted words to describe everything about teh symposium). Since, as we have tried to convince you, we aren't actually brainwashed by everything we read, we would be able to demonstrate that our views are our own - liberal or not we are entitled to express them. And also, we know that you aren't directly responsible, but we just can't pass up a debate or a chance to share our views. -A student

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Although I am on the right, and agree that sometime the school leans unfairly to the left, it is not excuse to cancel such a great learning and enrichment opportunity. I would kindly ask that you withdraw and allow the symposium to take place. 'If' it is Marxist, then it is the student's job to argue that point, if they should disagree. In conclusion, if the symposium was truly bad, then the students themselves would be the ones who should take action.
Go Capitalization
Go Free market
Go 2012 Symposium

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You sound like a gloating child. I have lost any and all remaining respect for you and your ideas. - A concerned parent

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At this rate, I'm waiting for a counter-blog to pop up ... Jeez.

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I don't see the link here:

You're upset that your shy, bright daughter shouldn't take Honors/AP social studies because of these Socratic Seminars. You want her to be able to have these AP and advanced classes for college.

Therefore, you pull your children out of PR and put them into a very small and limited catholic school that doesn't even offer AP courses?

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Crosbycat, your ability to contradict yourself blows my mind! First you question our maturity and tell us that we are not worthy of a Symposium, and then you mock us by saying, "there will not be a 4th annual Marxist Symposium on Education. Boo hoo. Too bad so sad." Let me assure you that this statement is a direct reflection of your own maturity. Insults and mockery are the true signs of a mature scholar. You contradict yourself again when you first mention that Pine-Richland should cancel the Symposium, and then you go on to say that we should hold three more conservative Symposiums. Now you want to have a Symposium? Are you admitting defeat here? Your work leaves me feeling completely confused. I also have a hard time taking you seriously when you use words like "moi," "kinda lame" and "angry lefties." Additionally, I would like to know where you found the evidence behind the claim that "Marxism killed 100 MILLION people in the last Century." Or did you just make this up entirely? Please save yourself the humiliation. Stop trying to interfere with the education of the students at Pine-Richland, because, after all, your children no long attend this school. If you have a problem paying taxes to our district then by all means, MOVE! No one is keeping you here.
-a student

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Actual Class Notes on Islam vs Christianity for Wo...":
I fail to see the problem you have with these notes. Please enlighten me!
-a student

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As a student, I completely blame you for this. Do you realize that "Postmodern Gibsonia" is such a joke around the high school? People are free to express their own opinions, but what you have done is interfered with the education of students. You may not agree with everything that Pine-Richland teaches, and you have every right to. This is America, and everybody has the right to share their opinions. Guess what? That's what the Symposium is for! Students provide factual evidence to support their own opinions on a subject- something you can't even do on your precious "blog." I say that the Symposium goes on, and I invite you to attend it and see for yourself that there is no "left-wing Marxist indoctrination." You really need to check your facts before you go tearing apart the education of the students in your area. It's a public school in 2012, and students should be able to learn for themselves the facts behind their own opinions, and then have the OPTION of presenting their own opinions. I've commented on this blog before, and haven't always had the nicest things to say to you, but I implore you to stop your pathetic campaign against modern education. I don't know who you are (nor do I care to) and I won't make any assumptions about your life, but IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT YOU! Stop and think about that the next time you protest something before you have an understanding of what you are going against. THE SYMPOSIUM WILL LIVE ON whether you like it or not.

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I'm guessing that they taught you that God is great and your entire education revolved around that premise. I'm not disagreeing with your religion, but as an open-minded person I'm not disagreeing with any religion.

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1crosbycat: Your blog is a joke, and I'm really ashamed of people like you who just love to hamper education. Your children don't even go to PR so why don't you do PR a favor and get your head out of your a** and leave our education alone.
--a PR 11th grader

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I must admit, I find this blog exhausting…I’m tired just by reading it and absorbing the incredible amount of negativity generated here by Crosbycat. It’s difficult to understand how any sane, rational person would have the time and energy to be so passionately committed to the cause of persecuting PRSD and the teachers, administrators, students, and parents who believe in and support the curriculum of this district. I am at once concerned and amazed at the paranoia, narrow-mindedness, insecurity and immaturity demonstrated by Crosbycat. The “Postmodern Gibsonia?” version of the Pine Richland reality is twisted and bizarre.
Let’s examine a different Pine Richland reality than the one experienced by Crosbycat. In my reality, the teachers are not Marxists, the STEM addition is not a left wing conspiracy, no one is trying to promote cannibalism or promiscuity, the Socratic Circle is not a place where evil dwells, and the 3rd Grade Math book is not throwing children under the bus of Constructivism. Universities are not turning out an army of Marxist teachers, principals, and administrators armed with left wing pedagogy, ready to destroy our democracy by polluting the minds and hearts of innocent children. Dr. Bucci is not my enemy.
In my reality, it is okay to expose my children to the viewpoint of another. Even if that person is a so-called KKK-PETA extremist. Frankly, I’m not worried that my family’s core beliefs will be compromised by an encounter like that. Instead, I find that exposure to those who have different ideas, religions, and viewpoints serves to strengthen my family and our values. We debate, laugh, learn, and grow through lively discussions on the topics our children are exposed to at school. After the 2011 Symposium, we mulled the good and bad points of PETA and animal stewardship over a roast chicken dinner. The irony of that was not lost on my kids, nor was the realization that humans consume and use animals in many different ways every single day. Did anyone become a vegetarian or join PETA? Nope. Did we all grow a little wiser and more thoughtful? Yes, and that was a good thing.
In my Pine Richland reality, I think not only of the education and the curriculum of this district, but of the innumerable personal dealings my children and I have had with many wonderful, caring, dedicated teachers and principals. These are a group of well-educated, well-intentioned professionals trying to do the best they can to educate our children in a complicated world with increasingly dwindling resources. Is every teacher perfect? Does every word in class support my own personal, political, and religious beliefs? Of course not, but my children are learning and thriving at Pine Richland, and so are their peers. In my reality, STEM is not a bad word, and I’m not easily frightened nor overly impressed by new ideas in education. I think having my children educated in a state of the art environment where Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are focused on is a good thing. Certainly favorable to being educated in an outdated and over crowded classroom. To me, Constructivism is not scary, nor is a scholarly debate, a Socratic Circle, or the summer reading list. It’s okay with me if we have a “Season of Celebration” in the elementary school. I’m not worried that my kids will forget who Jesus is, or turn away from the foundation of Faith we have given them just because they learn about another religion. It does not bother me to COEXIST.
In my reality, I’m proud of the kids who are outraged by the travesty of what can happen when one negative and extreme voice is heard more loudly than the rest. I’m sorry for Crosbycat’s vastly differing state of reality than the one I experience every day, and at the same time I’m thankful to her for the blog that has brought us so many interesting dinner conversations lately. Good luck, Crosbycat. I think you and your children are going to need it to survive the “Postmodern Gibsonia?” world in which you live.

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Do you even know what Marxist Left wing progressive means?

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As a student...

You don't know what your talking about...
You are hysterical
Stop making things up, stretching the truth and bashing great teachers

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I have been watching with amusement as you have all unwittingly proved Crosbycat's point. Crosbycat was not saying that PR should teach students Conservative, Christian principals but rather students should be presented all sides of issues in an unbiased way in order for them to take the information and form their own worldview. It is ironic that every post from "A Student" has taken the exact position and could be interchanged with one another. For as much as you all claim to be free thinkers, it would appear none of you have even begun to think for yourselves. Each student has just regurgitated the liberal worldview that they have been spoon fed. It would be far more admirable if these students had been given a thorough understanding of the different perspectives people in this country have on issues such as religion and politics and have them conclude liberal ideology is the way society should best move forward. Instead of well thought out arguments and a demonstration of an understanding of the issues, all I have seen from these seemingly well rounded students are insults and anger directed at Crosbycat. If we are to believe students have all been given an unbiased, thorough understanding of all points of view, how is it possible that every student holds the exact same worldview. Not one free thinker has concluded that Crosbycat's argument has merit. This country is evenly divided and as polarized as it has ever been. Surely one of the hundreds of PR students would share Crosbycats's perspective. That is, unless they are being indoctrinated into thinking that there is only one correct worldview. It would seem to me that some students would share the worldview of their parents or Pastors unless they were only given a liberal point of view from their teacher's and were smart enough to know that there was at least the possibility that their grade and teacher’s approval was contingent on reflecting the worldview of the teacher. If it was given as an assignment to post on this blog, as I suspect, you would expect that the teacher would at least suggest that some students should be given the unpleasant assignment of arguing for Crosbycat's point of view to at least try and lend some credibility to this absurd argument that this district isn't taking an extreme turn to the left. Finally, everyone on this blog is painting Crosbycat as a crazy, unbalanced, uninformed parent whose childrent don't even go to the district and that the school has done nothing wrong involving the symposium, yet the symposium has been canceled because of Crosbycat. Why would the school cancel the symposium because of a parent who doesn't have children in the district and whose arguement has no merit? Seems to me like a weak arguement. I would suggest that all who have posted truely seek out all perspectives, determine the merit of each and shape your worldview based on a true understanding of the world,not just one given to you by teacher's and the education system in general that certainly have an agenda that you would be well served to understand.

Someone in the real world

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Crosbycat,
Can you provide examples one the bias? Quite seriously, if you post ways that the symposium was marxist, then maybe we can FIX it opposed to getting rid of an amazing learning experience.

It is amazing to me that this person has such strong ideas but will not even ATTEMPT to defend them against opposition. Why don't you take a look at the arguments made by my peers.

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My name is Addison Dishart and I am a senior and have been a presenter all three years for the symposium. I am not afraid to put my ideas on the public scene, unlike yourself.

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I feel bad for your kids.

-Rational student with normal parents

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The Symposium allows us students to learn more about the world around us. I have participated in the Symposium before and I found it a great learning tool. You have no idea the amount of work that students and teachers put into this event. You have truly ruined a great part of our school.
Also, If you don't like the Symposium, don't be involved in it. If you have kids, don't let the participate. You may have forgotten that we live in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. We are a free nation. Free to believe what we want and practice what we would like. Another point, as High School students, I am willing to bet that we know more about politics than half of the uneducated voters.
You are have disappointed so many students and teachers in the school because of your outspoken words. If you have a belief, that is great! Keep it to yourself. Stop ruining a potentially great learning experience for other students who want this great experience.
I am so disappointed by this site. Please, move away. Get a job or a hobby. Grow up and accept that all of your ideas will not always be the way things are. You disappoint me.
-A Student

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The person can remain in the area and present her ideas but as long as she isn't defending them, she means absolutely nothing to society.

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you're a very pretentious and closed individual. leave pine-richland alone? i have yet to meet one person who appreciates your "efforts." thank you.

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Right you are Crosbycat. The AP test is indeed a written exam. Care to tell me what it is like in application in College or at a job? You don't merely memorize facts and regurgitate them on paper, a method of evaluation that fosters cramming and encourages the student to remember information for only a brief time before moving onto a completely different subject. I am a product of these so called "progressive" classrooms that you seem to zeal in pointing out your self-assumed error, and I say with complete confidence that my first semester of college, one which ended with a 3.9 on the Dean's List of a very prestigious university (one that is, as it were, largely considered to be a conservative one) is due to my participation in these socratic discussions. Tell me what happens to introverts after they leave they leave high school? They either learn to cooperate, contribute and be actively engaged in discourse and debate, or they not only loose out on nearly every personally and fiscally advantageous business decision but they become obsolete as a means of competition. High School is supposed to serve as a safety net which encourages students who may not understand the workings of higher level thinking right away to get back on their feet and try again. Is it a struggle at first? Yes. Is a college level education, set up much in the same way, a struggle the whole way through? Absolutely. This "progressive" teaching method is absolutely essential to a modern education; one which prepares our students to be ready and willing to face the challenges, international and domestic, that face them in whatever field they choose. Your logic, my dear Crosbycat, is a fallacy of the greatest kind. I find your lack of enlightenment and fixation on nonexistent political extremes disturbing. -A proud Alumnus

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Hello 1CROSBYCAT. We are Anonymous.

In recent times, we have been watching your blog and campaign of misinformation, depict, and complete disregard and disrespect to the virtues of Freedom of Speech and expression. It is a common trend in your arguments that you systematically refute any and all debate arguing for the continuity of the so-called Symposium. For the manner in which you operate, thriving on a baseline existence of rude and unclear exchanges with students, Anonymous has decided that your blog, as a clear and eminent threat to the continuity and protection of civil rights and the education on liberty, is a threat. Your choice of methods, your hypocrisy and the general ignorance of your words have sounded its own death bell, an ugly noise which has reverberated across the world wide web and come to our attention. Consider wisely how you proceed with your posts, for we will be closely watching. Do not believe that we cannot harm you, for you have no where to hide.

We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not Forgive. We do not Forget. Expect Us.

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Were you not hugged as a child? You just sound like a playground bully--the way you gloat and say things like "too bad, so sad." Who over the age of 8 says that anyway? Sounds like you were trying (and failing) to be funny. I don't even go to this school and I was angered by your comments. Your post is truly the definition of cyber-bullying.

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The student's language is in fact no worse than your own. In addition, you have seriously misunderstood the symposium. There are no Marxist readings that the students are required to read. I would know, being one myself. The symposium explores many viewpoints, from all ends of the political spectrum. Now, you tell me this. What is so bad about learning different perspectives other than the conservative American one, because we are well aware of that viewpoint? There is nothing. Just because students learn about something does not mean they believe it. It is better to know about all history and not just fragments. We all know why you are deleting the student's comments. Because you know that they know more about the symposium than you ever will, and they all know that your perception of the symposium is wrong. You are afraid of the students because you know that you are wrong. By the way, I will not be surprised if you delete this comment because someone else has caught you wrong.

Pine-Richland High School Student

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You are honestly one of the most pretentious/ignorant/foolish people I have ever known to exist. You're definetly more stubborn than a donkey and complete idiot for interpretting everything to be the exact opposite of what it truly is. You're a complete dumbass.

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You guys should read my blog @ http://concernedindependent.blogspot.com/

... Goes for you as well, Crosbycat. :D I don't really feel like copy + pasting my feelings on this matter.

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This is all really unbelievable. For all of your preaching about tolerance and coexisting and freedom of speech and this being America, not one of you students has the first idea of tolerance and freedom. Crosbycat is free to express her opinion and if there is something going on that she doesn't like she has the freedom to try and change it. That is the United States. This is just as you, as students, have the right to make an argument to the school not to cancel the symposium. Why no anger directed to your passionate teachers for caving in to the pressures of a blog and not fighting for what they believe to be right? You students have the right to a protest to continue the symposium, to have a sit in, to go occupy PR if you want to. You can refuse to shower for a week if you like. These are all your freedoms. Instead, you are the ones who act like petulant children and cry and moan. In your world there is freedom, but only for those who hold the same opinion. You sound like a bunch of little Communists. Your posts are full of threats and profanity and name calling. This is what you have been taught? You don't unnderstand the first thing about how the world operates. I am amazed about the hatred that you spew and the threats that you make because Crosbycat followed a process, took action, and from what you say succeeded. You sound like a bunch of baby's who didn't get there way. You need to grow up, educate yourselves, and become far more effective in a reasonable, honest, fair way skipping the angry words and threats. You love Coexist so much but doesn't the Coexist the you support have a peace and love symbol in it or are you only willing to coexist with people who agree with you and don't challenge your thinking and comfort level. If this remains the case you are going to have a very difficult time in an unforgiving world.

Still in the real world

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What all of you don't seem to understand is that it was not just one person (crosbycat) that opposed and spoke out against the symposium. So your attempts to villify her are misguided. She is not a scapegoat for the fact that the symposium was clearly not supported by the administration or the rest of the community.

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What you seem to have not considered is that maybe the teachers aren't telling us these things. Maybe we are forming these opinions by ourselves. Although you may not like it, we may have liberal opinions that haven't been planted there by our teachers. The Symposium offers a chance for students to show their points of view, conservative or liberal, and cancelling that shows that you, not the teachers, are the one who is unable to accept different viewpoints. I'm highly disappointed that the symposium was cancelled, but know you weren't the only reason behind this. So, thank you for your opinions, of course you are entitled to them, but students are also entitled to have opinions and share them, whether they fit with community values or not.

-Yet Another Student

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As a student, I can honestly tell you that none of the teachers that I have ever had here have told me what to think, in fact what I have learned from them is quite contrary to what you have been saying. All of my teachers have taught me that I should always think for MYSELF. Not only do the teachers here encourage you to have your own opinion, they also provide you with information from BOTH sides of the political spectrum. Despite whatever complaints you have about PR, it is a great school and we are all very lucky to be going here.

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Addison Dishart again. One of my peers informed me of this blog. I never, and still have never heard it mentioned in class. You are not in our classes and would have no idea of knowing if it is discussed in class, which it is not.

That is one of the issues with this debate. You are arguing against students who are developing their own ideas and you seem overwhelmed by the notion that we are being brainwashed. Please combat my points instead of going after the comments written from anger, which I admit exist.

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First of all lady, anyone who makes fun of Dr. H is an idiot because she was the best principal ever. Making fun of. Her hobby of breeding dogs is a very immature move on your part. Her hobby was something she enjoyed and her favorite thing besides school, while your hobby is trolling on Pine-Richland. Also one of the previous commenters is the most conservative ever, but you called him a left wing communist. Maybe it is just you that is the commie after all. I am also a republican and your views just plain offend me and makes me embarrassed to call myself a republican.
-- A PRHS student who is embarrassed for your daughter

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The Symposium is supported by the vast majority of the student body. It's our education... Shouldn't we be allowed to choose what we do and do not want?

The Symposium is a positive experiences that allows students to diversify their opinions and see "the other side of things", while still learning how to debate in college. If the students want this experience, the school board has no right denying it to them.

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So what exactly is your obsession with our school? Your kids do not even go here and yet you consistently criticize a perfectly fine high school! Also let me get another thing straight, this is a PUBLIC school. Not everyone here is christian, nor do we share your narrow minded, ignorant beliefs. Anyone here can see that you are clearly doing this for your own purposes, and anyone who makes a crappy blog to try and convince everyone that you are a concerned 'intellectual' clearly has some personal problems.

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I remain aghast at people who call students names and belittle them for trying to navigate the confusing world of small town politics. They are not always eloquent or even appropriate (and I am disgusted by the threatening one but will not condemn others for that one bad post), but they are making more of an effort to effectuate change than I ever made at their age. They care more than I ever did in high school. Whatever happens, I'm really proud of them!

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The Awakening actually does not end on a positive note, but a reflective one, telling that, even though she had everything that she 'wanted', she was still unhappy not being accepted by society. It's a moral; you can't totally break the mold.

And with the reference referring to the Catholics taking over the world, the book was referring to Alexander the Great, who did attempt to take over the known world.

Please, learn some insight before you post biased and distorted facts.

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I too thought the above posting from "Anonymous" was written by students at the school. However, my husband said it sounds like the words of an internet "vigilante" group that has been in the news (e.g. see this message from "Anonymous" in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/01/1021957/-A-Message-From-Anonymous-to-Wall-Street,-New-York-and-the-Protesters). There are many other organizations that this group has "declared war on." (I did a web search to find out more about the group since I had never heard of them. There is a lot out there.)

Most of the comments from students that I have read online seem well thought out and free from negativity. I admire the students who have posted or discussed the cancellation of the symposium for sticking up for something which they believe is a valuable learning experience. -Pine Richland High School Parent

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Well, Crosbycat, in my opinion this situation is one you have created entirely, not the fault of PR teachers inciting their students. You've expressed your paranoid views numerous times, not just through this blog, but also the email that you openly sent to all Pine Richland families last year. When your views differ so radically from that of the mainstream, and you so openly attempt to force your viewpoint onto others, you are bound to anger people. What exactly was your point in creating this blog in the first place? Why do you insist that the teachers are inciting the students to post on your blog? Don't flatter yourself - the teachers have far more important things to do than occupy their class time with this nonsense. Word of your blog is being passed the old fashioned way - by students word of mouth. If these posts make you feel uncomfortable, well, "too bad so sad". You apparently wanted attention when you created this blog and sent your email last year. Now you've got the attention you wanted, so deal with it or make it go away. As you and many others have pointed out, your left brained children no longer attend Pine Richland. Perhaps you ought to consider moving to another district and see what your tax dollars buy there... Butler County property taxes are reportedly lower. Perhaps Mars is the place for you. Maybe your out of this world views will be more accepted there.

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Okay the person claiming to be a member of Anonymous up above, yeah, your are a complete idiot. Anonymous believes in free speech, which is just what happened on this blog. So Shut up
And for the rest of the students. Yes, she crossed a line with some of her comments. But you are still naive, I have been getting a lot of leftist vibes from the school.

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The post by the so called "Anonymous Member" was outrageous. He is not a true member
He is not what we believe
We Believe in Freedom.
Which is what you are doing right now.

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Everyone please stop posting on this site. This lady is a nobody. She isn't worth your time. Her ludicrous opinions aren't worth the discussing. There are many fools in the world and it is impossible to try and knock sense into them, no matter how frustrating. She isn't the God she seems to think she is. Yet, she claims to be "warning parents" of the dangers of Pine-Richland, which is another ludicrous and somewhat comical lie. Why don't you express your hate towards every school in America? Why single out PR? If you think every school but PR is perfect then you need your head reexamined. I admit that there are some faults to PR (none of which you speak of) but the positives far exceed the negatives. So please, I ask of everyone, post "Goodbye" and leave this worthless site

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we would not attack her viewpoints if she did not attack our viewpoints first. I know that seems immature, but through her actions she is restricting our liberty to express our views in the symposium, and that is why we protest, admittedly in some cases too vehemently and perhaps ignorantly, but not in all cases. As I see it, we only have the freedom to act as we please so long as it does not interfere with the freedom of others. Also, if you think our only action has been to comment on a blog, you are severely mistaken. Besides, though some students may have misunderstood the message from the teachers, they did not put up a huge fight because they wanted us to be able to take matters into our own hands. You should reread the posts, I think you will find that the majority are not filled with name-calling, threats, or profanity. Besides, I don't really support tolerance, I support equal rights, as tolerance implies that one thing is lesser to another. -A student

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Unfortunately, some other members of the community may not support the symposium, but at the same time, a significant number of the community does support it. My family supports it, and I know that we do not stand alone. Unless you take a census of the entire community's view on the symposium you really can't support your statement. -A student

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What you don't seem to realize is that the teachers didn't make us upset, and they didn't misinform us either, though I don't think all the students were paying the best attention when the situation was explained in brief, considering there were questions as to why the symposium had not been brought up yet as an optional event which we look forward to. I highly doubt that the threatening post was from a student. -A student

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Goodbye, best of luck with the rants Crosbycat. I don't support your views in the least, but feel free to express them in whatever manner you choose. Tis the beauty of our civil liberties and a great use of the internet.

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We really should leave this blog alone. 1CrosbyCat is obviously an attention whore and is loving us all getting mad at her. It's her right to bitch on here all she wants, but I think we should stop humoring her self-centered blog.

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Dear Crosbycat,
Continue to believe whatever you will. Parents will hold onto their beliefs without anyone telling them to do so, but at least the most sensible of us attempt to respect the viewpoints of others. It is the only thing you have shown you cannot accomplish. You shame this community by not being able to do so. I appreciate that you are worried about what is going on at Pine-Richland as I am, but your complaints are counterproductive and a waste of breath. That does not mean you cannot make a difference at PR, but complaining will not get you there. Complaining is for children younger than the high school students who post on your blog. If you would like this "leftist" radicalism in Pine-Richland to disappear, you are better off proposing a solution to the board instead of babbling about it. A conservative symposium obviously isn't an option because the leftists will make a blog complaining about how right-winged the symposium is and how using the Bible as a source is turning people into Christians instead of Marxists (because that is what any sensible person would do). You were not responsible for the Symposium being cancelled although many students, our children, falsely believe so. If the students were informed, they would realize you are not nearly as important or influential as this blog might make you seem. Students posting on this blog are making a mistake by giving you any attention because your viewpoint is just as radical as the “radical teachers” at Pine-Richland you seek to defame. You are nothing but an outspoken minority. Countless students that I have spoken to that participate in the Symposium love the experience and do not always agree with what the speaker has to say. Many students laughed at the PETA representative because they acknowledged how radical he was. We ask you to grow up and maybe take some tips from the teachers at Pine-Richland. A more global perspective could do you good. Our children will not succeed without it. We hope they hold onto their religious beliefs throughout their lives, but at least their decisions will be informed. Have a nice day.
Sincerely,
The True Community Majority

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I have an idea. Let's stop humoring this whack-job crosbycat and let's stop commenting on this dumb bitch's blog. She is such an attention whore, and it disgusts me. Every time we post a comment, she seems to consider it another victory. I'm perfectly okay with people being able to express their own opinions in a public forum, but then again, THAT'S WHAT THE SYMPOSIUM IS FOR!

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@ Both people that claim that they are Anonymous... You aren't, sorry.

They're really busy with SOPA, right now. Even so, Anonymous would not support Crosbycat's side... They're all for freedom of speech, but not in a negative connotation against the liberal agenda. You knew that they are super-liberal, right?

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They don't claim to be part of the group anonymous, they just don't want their name to be known here. You might want to get that straight...

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Well no, they claimed to be part of the Internet activist group 'Anonymous'

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Yet again, you continue to bash Pine-Richland, a school in which your children no longer attend. I think it is comical you blame the teachers at PR for us finding out about this blog and voicing our opinion. You have all the right to speak what you believe, it's a right given to all Americans, but that right was given to us in hopes it would be used for important and meaningful reasons, unlike attacking a perfectly good high school that you do not see eye-to-eye with. Clearly it brings you enjoyment to see how the Pine-Richland community reacts to your blog, so this is my parting statement.
...There is one of you and an entire community of people ready to take you down. Know your place.

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Yeah they did. How about you get your facts straight and actually read the posts?

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I have read all of the posts from students and I have patiently waited for one to make a mature, well thought out, fact based argument that they have indeed been given a well balanced presentation of both sides of issues utilizing literature and information from both sides, which I would hope they would cite. This would demonstrate that the Pine Richland teachers are actually presenting a well balanced view of our country's diversity and allowing the students to process the information and draw their own conclusions. This, however, has not been argued by any student. No, not even one. Crosbycat cited the literature that was utilized for the symposium and any brief Google search would quickly proved that it was a who's who in Marxism and leftist thinking. No student has shared literature or even thoughts shared with them from a teacher showing that there is a completely opposite ideology from that in the literature that they were to read and form an opinion. These students have been rude, angry, and argumentative (and not in an educated, effective way). They have not been at all persuasive to anyone who would not already share their point of view or may be undecided because their arguments have been devoid of facts and educated opinions. Most of their arguments can be summed up as "yes our teachers have presented us with a very liberal ideology, we all like it and agree with it, and it's none of your business so stay out of it". They are, unfortunately, forgetting that Crosbycat is a taxpayer in Pine Richland (as am I) and it is our tax dollars that are paying for both their education as well as the liberal, Marxist propaganda that they are reading. Taxpayers do and should have a say in what is taking place in our schools, although liberals believe they are entitled to taxpayer dollars and should have the freedom to do with it whatever they would like. That may be their eventual goal but we are not there yet. These students have been sheltered and lulled into thinking what their teachers are telling them is the only way things are. It seems the teachers may fear that presenting both sides may actually allow the students to pick a point of view contratry to their own. How tragic that would be! These students have been shown a great disservice and it shows in their writing in these posts. How unfortunate.

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Excellent post - completely agree. I am a parent AND a taxpayer.

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I have come to a conclusion...I admit that the students and parents are determined to sway your idea of our school just as you are determined to get your point across in these blogs...except there is a major difference in the purpose of our posts. The students and parents are responding to defend our school, a good school at that! And you are blogging because................. oh that's right, no one knows! Yes you are a tax payer...that's great..fantastic, simply amazing.....MOVE!!! Move if you don't want to pay the taxes, because your blog seems to be trying to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Here I am doing the same as the rest of the PR community, trying to persuade you to think differently of our district, but just honor this simple request...stop blogging. 10 years from now, will you look back and say....wow, I am so glad I blogged about Pine-Richland and harmed that school....?

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Anonymous - why do you care that Crosbycat is blogging? Why does it bother you so much that you went so far as to ask her to stop? Do you fear that there is some truth to what she says and that she may actually influence others? Please do not assume that everyone in PRSD thinks the way you do. Why don't you stop reading it if it bothers you so much? I personally think that Crosbycat is doing a great service to the community. In the end, the truth will prevail.

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Students have things that they would rather do than comment on someone's blog that makes absolutely no difference whether the symposium is held or not. Like it or not, the ideas of Crosbycat don't matter, what matters are the ideas of the community as a whole. And if crosbycat thinks she represents this community as a whole, than she is mistaken. I, reading over the documents, do not believe that they represent marxist views. They can be interpreted that way, but the students are free to interpret the documents any way they choose. The students aren't forced to agree with the documents, or guided towards either viewpoint by the teachers.

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You say that "in the end, the truth will prevail." But what is truth, and what is opinion? Very early on at PR, students learn how to detect truths and opinions. Crosbycat's statement "The restrictions put on our country are not intended to protect the environment but to redistribute our wealth, to diminish our influence as a free nation, to eliminate our freedoms delineated within our Constitution" is her opinion, not the truth. Her statement "We have the best system of government in all of history" is definately her opinion. Students at PR are taught to make their own decision, and the teachers do their best to not include bias in their lessons and documents so students are able to decide things for themselves.

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Have you been to a class at PR before Crosbycat? Statements of yours like "American exceptionalism is a foreign concept to our young people, who have learned everything bad about our country with all of the good diminished" come without you having ever stepped into a class. I have never once heard a teacher saying "America is bad" or "All the other countries are better than America." Teachers try to give students the facts about America, which isn't the "America can do no wrong" opinion which you seem to think. America, and Americans, can make mistakes, and students need to learn this. If you want your children to learn that America is some perfect nation that can't do anything wrong, home school them.
As a student, learning more about the environment is extremely important to their future. The generation of our students and their children are the generations that will be most affected by environmental problems, and they need to learn how to solve these problems, before our planet is completely uninhabitable. The only way to solve these problems is to work with other countries.
I respect your opinions Crosbycat, but I'm extremely surprised that you think that the opinion that America is somehow fundamentally better than other countries should be taught in school. Its this type of attitude, that "We're better than you," that results in these environmental problems. Countries can't work together if one country thinks it's better than all the others. As you say, America was built on the principal of equality, and this equality should be shown between the US and other countries also.

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Crosby-cat, Are you unable to help your children understand that, although far from perfect, we are fortunate to have been born American? Is your confidence in our American way of life so weak that you cannot help your children navigate the pros and cons of democracy and capitalism? Do you worry that your children are more likely to listen to outside influences than what they hear at home? Maybe this is a parenting issue. Maybe one day you can experience other cultures with your children and expand your world, and learn that knowledge is not dangerous and protest is not unpatriotic.

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I agree with your comments 100%.
The U.N. agenda is NOT what we want to promote in our schools!!!
How do we put a stop this nonsense?

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I am quite disgusted at the propaganda being promoted in the PR school district, especially in the high school. I believe that many, if not most parents are unaware or uneducated about what is happening in the U.N., especially, the U.N. Treaties!
I plan to get more involved!!

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Wow! My eyes are open. My children are not yet in the PR school district, but if this is a representation of the parents and students in Pine Richland, attacking someone for their opinion, I may look into the Catholic schools or homeschooling.

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You talk about practicing good Christian morals in a educational setting. However do you practice these at home? No, you do not. Your daughter is listed as being married to another female on Facebook. I personally have no issue with this, and I feel people are accustomed to do as they wish. But I feel it's hypocritical to state a school doesn't practice good morals when you yourself are not attending school at the district, your children don't attend school at the district, and your family does not fulfill these morals you claim to follow.

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You're dumb

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I totally agree. People shouldn't be attacked for having an opinion. Crosbycat is wrongfully attacking the school, as it should be allowing the students to share their opinions at the symposium.

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It sure seems like we are living in "Bizzaro World". Crosbycat is not attacking PR Schools for utilizing leftist material, she is pointing out that they are presenting students with only one point of view in a very biased manor which is not allowing them to hear a presentation of all perspectives and to draw their own conclusions. For all the preaching about "Critical Thinking" there seems to be a tremendous amount of trepidation on the part of the PR Administration and teaching community to give the students access to a more conservative perspective which would be supported with writings by conservative thinkers. This would be done to supplement all of the extremely left leaning list of materials and authors that Crosbycat has outlined in this Blog. Not one student or post has pointed out any materials, readings, or lessons which has clearly laid out a conservative argument in an unbiased manor. When one reads the many posts you would think one student would point out where Crosbycat is wrong and provide substantiation that the PR School District is indeed providing a well balanced education which outlines schools of through ranging from extremely conservative to Marxist and allow the students to process it all, do their own research, take their questions to people they respect (and to whom their grades don't depend) and formulate an opinion. The students have been unable to list any materials that they have utilized that would refute Crosbycat's argument and show that the school is doing what they should be doing in providing a balanced education. It would be shocking to find out if any student realizes that Man Made Global Warming is not a fact and that there is a portion of the scientific community that teaches and believes in normal fluctuation of the Earth's temperature. I would wonder if they have been taughts that some in the academic community have been caught doctoring data related to Global Warming because it did not support their agenda and/or political affiliation. I wonder if they are taught that regulations related to industry and their impact on the environment are crippling US companies and causing families to lose jobs to places like China and India where they freely pollute the air, sacrificing their air quality for manufacturing opportunities. If Global Warming is real, yet only the United States regulates itself and other large countries, with even larger populations continue to pollute, what possible impact could be made on the problem. I know that these are all inconvenient arguments to make when one has an agenda to fulfill and it is easiest to make to students who have yet to go out into the world and earn a living, pay bills, maybe take some personal risk and start a business. All of these things can certainly have an impact on one's thinking. Young people's opinions are much easier to shape when they aren't faced with these particular types of challenges and the person they are trying to please is their teacher who assigns them a grade. The world of Pine Richland may seem big according to their "global" agenda but is very small when considering the diversity of America.

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Oh yes because it's rediculous for students in a public school to learn from another source besides the bible. The amount of close-mindedness you express in your posts is despicable. Students have the right to learn about different opinions, some they agree with, and some which they may not. As all of the information on this blog is coming from someone who's children do not even go to pine richland and who gets all of their "information" from the Internet and not from the actual student body can not even be considered a viable source. Any idiot can make a half-assed attempt at a blog not to mention that the entire purpose of this whole blog baffles me. Get off the computer, stop trying to impress your misguided beliefs onto a school that doesn't even effect you, and take care of your own children. You're irrelevant.

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You can't say that America should be viewed as a "City Upon a Hill" and then question why we aren't in tune with Brazilian policy. If you think America is the best, then maybe we should set an example for the Brazilians.

I believe that we should learn the culture and history of other countries and cultures as well, so that we can see how they see things. One of my favorite songs is "The Living Years".

"Say it loud, say it clear; you can listen as well as you hear.
It's too late, when we die, to admit we don't see eye to eye."

By learning more about other cultures and countries, you can be an advocate for world peace, as you can see the world through someone else's eyes, too. They should teach the right and wrongs of America... We're sure as hell a great country, I'll give you that. But we're not perfect, and both sides of the story should be told, so that people can choose what to think.

Don't call yourself an advocate of America when you don't know what America is truly all about. It's about freedom to be whatever culture and religion you are. What you're saying isn't American; it's closed-minded conservatism.

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You are the most closed minded, politically incorrect, ignornat, mean, and possibly racist/anti-semetic person i think i have ever heard and i have never even met you. Coming from students of Pine-Richland we will be the first to admit that our district is far from perfect, but for none of the reasons you have said. There is nothing wrong with students getting to think for themselves. Everyone is allowed to have their own views, their own beliefs, and their own political affliation, and there is absolutely NOTHING wrong with talking about them, especially since you like to voice your rude opinions all the time you should know about that. Stop attacking nice, innocent people, and get off this computer and actually do something meaningful with your time. You disgust me. Oh and by the way there is a different between being liberal and different, than being a marxist, get a dictionary.

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Your insults and personal attacks on the author only demonstrate how thoroughly brainwashed Pine-Richland students can be. You show intolerance and hate only because the extreme ideology of your teachers has been exposed.

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I love how you can feel that it is right to get so angry about any teachings that put a negative light on christianity, while you get so angry about other religions being protrayed even some what positive. The teachers aren't taking over all sides or trying to change anyone's beliefs. they are teaching history, and in history christianity has often been wrong and unethical like any other religion. for you to discriminate like that is so incredibly prejuidice and rude. you really need to think before you type some of the stuff you do because it is really offensive to others of different religions. Also, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a liberal, I am one and I'm proud.

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Again, Is this vitriol against Crosbycat representative of the students and parents in the PR schoold district? If so, I think Crosbycat has proven her point. You truly are brainwashed...

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I agree. The behavior/language on this site of the PR students is atrocious! The owner/blogger of this website/blog is being threatened, abused for merely stating her opinion...good Lord!!

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Leftist vibes isn't the half of it..
The district has done a 180. Next thing you know, they'll be inviting Hugo Chavez to give the commencement address. Or maybe Castro or Obama...

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As a parent of two students, I can say I knew of VERY FEW people in the district who were 'for' this symposium..So, I do think the blogger in question, Crosby Cat is being made a scapegoat,

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“Stacy” Says: My daughter pointed out your blog to me; she found it interesting and thought I might as well.

Although I don't agree with every view you have, I really enjoy the fact that you have taken the time to place your opinions down in what is, for the most part, a well written blog that explains your stance fairly well. Kudos to you.

Too often people simply go along with whatever over-cooked half-brained idea is slammed down their throats; it is refreshing to see a dissenting opinion. This blog reminds me of an excellent quote: "If you always find yourself with the majority then it is probably time to stop and reflect". It is a shame that so many on this blog, including yourself, feel they need to remain anonymous; THAT may be the saddest statement of all written here in cyberspace.

All the best to you and your followers.

Postmodern Gibsonia?

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Indoctrination or Brainwashing?

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Marxist Mary Bucci Resigns after Termination

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Angry Pine-Richland Students Harass Innocent Blogger

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