Schools Teaching Kids How to Be "Good Citizens"

Meredith Jessup | November 10, 2009 11:48 AM

Listening to talk radio this morning, one caller phoned-in with more complaints about schools teaching children messages that conflict with their own family values and pride in country. This particular caller specifically mentioned a worksheet her child had brought home from school about being a "good citizen." Needless to say I was pretty shocked by some of the items she read off the sheet and did a quick Internet search to see what other examples I could come up with.

Lo and behold, I found this one right off the bat. Here are just a few items that were especially concerning:

What is a right? A right is something you are allowed to have. The right to vote means, when a citizen turns 18, he/she is allowed to vote for who they want to be president or even vote on how money in his/her town should be spent. Citizens also have the right to a free public education. Some countries don’t have those rights. There are many rights citizens of the United States have.

This definition of "rights" not only runs contrary to what I believe, but runs contrary to our country's founding documents which outline the principle that man has "been endowed" with rights by his Creator. Rights don't come from a government telling us what we are and are not allowed to do. And with the ACLU practically camping out on playgrounds with their secular friends, how is it that educators can even quote these documents without facing some kind of church/state separation lawsuit?

There's that familiar phrase Obama likes to use a lot: "doing their fair share." With this logic, rich people apparently have more responsibility than the rest of us. But what about personal responsibility? Nope, no mention of that one.

Other gems include:
Who makes the rules for people to follow?
What are some ways citizens show respect for their country?