Townhall.com, Where Your Opinion Counts
Talk Radio:   Bill Bennett   Mike Gallagher   Dennis Prager   Michael Medved   Hugh Hewitt   
BREAKING NEWS  LeftArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican   RightArrow - Townhall.com : Conservative, Political, Republican  
Columns, funnies & more in your inbox!
Login | What's Hot
  • Check the boxes and send us your email address to receveive your free newsletter
  • Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
  • Townhall.com’s weekly inside scoop on what’s happening behind the scenes in the world of politics. When news breaks, we report.
  • Signup to receive the latest daily Townhall cartoons
Friday, July 07, 2006
Mona Charen :: Townhall.com Columnist
From the high school frontlines in the culture war
by Mona Charen
Forward Print Share Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
[+] Text [-]
 
 
Poll
Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


"The older child must always set an example for the younger children. (Good example that is.)

"Children should always obey their parents. (And it's the parents job to see that their children make the RIGHT decisions -- the decisions the parents want. Then when the child reaches the magic age of emancipation -- 18 or 21 -- the Good Decision Fairy will plink the child on the skull with a charmed wand and make the child a full-fledged adult who always makes Good Decisions.)

"Don't talk about your family to anyone outside the family. (Outsiders will just spread malicious gossip. So always pretend that everything's OK at home, even if it isn't. there's nothing worse than being disloyal to your family.)"

Let's assume that this diatribe is the work of only one irritable teacher and not schoolwide, or, God forbid, countywide, instruction. Still, it represents something. This health teacher obviously believes that delicate matters of family dynamics, as well as highly intimate subjects like sex, obedience, money and family privacy are within the purview of her course. And while she cannot take the time even to proofread her copy, she is prepared to heap scorn on parents who presume to know better than their minor children. In fact, she sounds very much like a petulant child herself, whining about having to set a good example for her younger siblings and delaying gratification.

Sure, this teacher may have had a bad day. But across the nation, public school students are being indoctrinated in "health" classes and other venues to treat their families with skepticism and to regard traditional mores as "dysfunctional." Liberals have achieved what the Italian communist Antonio Gramsci only dreamed about: They have completed "the long march through the institutions" and now control the commanding heights of the culture. Conservatives are going to have to figure out the same trick if they do not want to see the country drift irrevocably to the left.

While liberal teachers preach, conservative parents must teach their own kids to become screenwriters, journalists, professors, teachers and producers. The rallying cry of Gramsci's acolytes was "Capture the culture." Ours should be "Recapture the culture."
1 2
| Full Article & Comments | < Previous
Share:
Forward Print Single Page
Vote on It:
Average Vote:
 
About The Author
Mona Charen is a syndicated columnist, political analyst and author of Do-Gooders: How Liberals Hurt Those They Claim to Help .
 
TOWNHALL DAILY: Be the first to read Mona Charen's column. Sign up today and receive Townhall.com daily lineup delivered each morning to your inbox.
 
©Creators Syndicate

Join The Debate!

Post Your Comment
(29 comments so Far)
View in ascending order     View in descending order
Reply # 1
Date: Jul 27, 2006 - 7:03 PM EST
Part right, part wrong
When I read through the teacher's description of a dysfunctional family, I thought she was partly off. Some of the things she describes about males being expected to "suck it up" and not express emotions, except for anger, and females being expected to just act nice, I think are just cultural, and are not part of dysfunctional family dynamics. She was part right in saying that dysfunctional families don't talk about problems, especially to others. Everyone is expected to keep up a nice front, because they're ashamed of anyone thinking they have problems. The teacher is also right in saying that in dysfunctional families the children are never allowed to make up their own minds or make their own decisions--part of learning responsibility. Instead they are treated as passive blank slates who are "written upon" by their parents. I don't think she meant that parents shouldn't be respected, though it kind of came out that way.

The main characteristics of dysfunctional families is that no one is allowed to be themselves, within appropriate limits. Further, there's no concept of personal boundaries. As a consequence the environment becomes about power, and a pecking order, not about growing up and developing a healthy sense of self, and relating to others. In short, it's an anti-social environment, and it doesn't allow children to grow up emotionally as they mature physically and mentally.

I don't think it's necessarily bad for dysfunctional family dynamics to be broached, but I wonder where this health teacher would go with it. I know people who grew up in dysfunctional families and spent years going through psychological therapy to "reprogram" themselves so they felt comfortable in their own skin. I don't know. I just wonder if it's appropriate for a high school teacher, whose students are still under their parents' care, to bring up this subject. Once they're identified as being in a dysfunctional family, what are the students expected to do about it? In reality they can't do much of anything until they get out on their own.

I agree it's apparent the teacher has a liberal bias. She apparently thinks that traditional ways for males and females to act in this country are "dysfunctional".
Flag as Offensive

Reply # 2
Date: Jul 26, 2006 - 12:59 PM EST
Public Schools: A jobs program
Another example of the schools being a jobs program. Most of the liberal posts do not get it:
Parents do not want the schools in the business of teaching new age ethics and mores especially when they conflict with the conventions of most families. Stick to the 3 R's. The problem is many/most of the public school teachers are not capable of ably teaching the basics. The stats show most educators graduate at the lower 1/4 of their class and most are fixated on the time off versus the profession. Sit in your public school classes--you will be amazed at the ingnorance, chaos, lack or organization ON THE PART OF TEACHERS
Flag as Offensive
Sign Up to Post Your CommentsSign Up to Post Your Comments
If you are already registered, click here to login. Otherwise, please take a few seconds to register with Townhall.com. Once you sign up, you’ll be able to post your comments immediately, use the action center, get podcasts, and more!
Note: Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required.
Salutation:
First Name:
*
Last Name:
*
Email:
*
Nickname:
*
Note: Nick name will be shown when you post comments.
Address 1:
*
Address 2:
City:
 *
State:
 *
Zip:
 *
Phone:
       
Your daily must-read of conservative columns, cartoons and news. Coulter, Sowell, Krauthammer and more.
(Bi-Weekly) We highlight the best opportunities from our partners for surveys, action items and more.