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In This Issue:
UPCOMING ROPE Report LIVE!
August 2, 9am, Yvette Hampton, Schoolhouse Rocked
August 4, 9am Amy Cook, Author of Warrior Up! and founder of Guardian Academy
Schoolhouse Rocked ~ School Choice: Unmasking the Euphamism
Free Your Children Podcast with Homeschooling Single Mom tips from Kathy Weihe
DON'T MISS last week's podcasts with Michele Fenno and Lauren Straka
IN THE NEWS
Undercover, Underage~Featuring Canadian County Sheriff Dept.
The Queer Blended Learning Center paid for by School Choice taxpayer funds
Click on links in pictures or in RED for articles and information
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There’s a revolution transforming education and it’s not happening in the classroom!
Click here for the trailer
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Schoolhouse Rocked
JUNE 8, 2023 BY GARRITT HAMPTON
School Choice: Unmasking the Euphemism
“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.” – George Orwell, 1984
As is so often the case in politics, pundits and activists give friendly sounding names to hot-button political movements to mask the true character of these matters. Abortion advocates are labeled “pro-choice.” Genital mutilation becomes “gender affirming care.” Illegal aliens become “undocumented workers.” Women become “birthing persons.”
This is certainly the case with the “school choice” issue. At the most basic level, the term “school choice” substitutes the concept of choice (options, opportunity) for the true focus of the movement, government education funding. School choice programs take on many forms – public charter school programs and virtual charter programs, magnet schools, intra-district transfer programs, school vouchers, education savings accounts and tax-credit education savings accounts (ESAs), tax-credit scholarships, individual tuition tax credits and deductions. The unifying thread that ties all of these programs together is the “public money” that is being distributed under each program.
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It is important to note that homeschooling and private schools are usually included in the school choice conversation, but the references to homeschooling and private schools always devolve to a discussion of how these programs will include or exclude homeschooled and private schooled students in the distribution of these funds.
School choice advocates, who are actually advocating that our tax dollars should be given to individuals for the funding of private and (sometimes) home education, want taxpayers and voters to believe that these measures increase choice (educational opportunities) for families. While it is a subtle distinction, it is critical to understand that government funding has no bearing on actual educational choice.
I recently had an exchange with school choice lobbyist, Corey DeAngelis, on Facebook and I was, once again, convinced I needed to explain why I am so strongly opposed to the school choice movement and believe it is an existential danger to homeschool — in spite of pleasant sounding catchphrases like “fund students instead of systems” and “money follows the student,” all of which, like the “school choice” moniker, are used to lull parents into supporting big-government programs that will ultimately hurt every student.
Following our Facebook exchange, I will share an extensive breakdown of the problems with school choice measures. While it should be noted that most of the arguments against school choice that I present in this article apply equally to private schools (both secular and religious) and to homeschools, because the Schoolhouse Rocked ministry specifically serves homeschool families, for the most part, I will only address homeschooling here.
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I was happy to see that in this thread Corey shared a link to the referenced Oklahoma bill he was referencing: Oklahoma House Bill 1934: “Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit Act.” Thankfully, I was already familiar with the bill, and as an Oklahoma resident, I had already had an in-depth conversation with one of our (very conservative) state senators on the subject of school choice. Unfortunately, like so many other conservative politicians, he was partially under the school choice spell and was a supporter of this bill – in spite of being homeschooled himself.
What we need to understand is that government programs grow over time. It’s what they do. What starts today as a voluntary “tax credit” in Oklahoma will always have the lurking threat of ubiquity behind it. Someone will always be pushing to make these programs mandatory – for the sake of the children. And when all school options are government funded, we really have NO school choice, because all school is public school. (Click here or on the pictures for full article)
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They say single moms can’t homeschool. That’s simply not true! If you missed the interview with Kathie Weihe listen to how she navigates homeschooling as a single mom. This is just one of several shows in a series showcasing single moms who are successfully navigating this journey.
Listen here!
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You can tune in every Wednesday and Friday morning at 9am to ROPE Report LIVE or watch our archived streams on our FB Page, YouTube Channel, Rumble, or Instagram! Click on the links below to go to our YouTube stream. We have had some amazing guests and I promise the hour+ will fly by.
Also, while you're on our pages to view the videos, look in our ROPE archives for a plethora of topics and interviews that we have done through the years. It is all completely applicable to what is happening in our world today.
| Click that replay button on our podcast from Friday!! We SO enjoyed our time chatting with Lauren and we think you’ll enjoy listening in. | |
Discover the Untold Stories of Education Join Jenni, Julia, and our guest, Michele Fenno, as they delve into the unpleasant world of teaching in public schools, private schools, and the EPIC approach! Tune in for eye-opening discussions about the challenges and fears that teachers are facing today.
Click on the picture below to go to our archived live streams!
| I found this series to be much more realistic and informative than Sound of Freedom... and this is in our own back yard. | Tune in to watch this season! Also, you don't want to miss our podcast from Friday, July 7, with Major Flowers as our guest. We talked about his years working undercover in the Canadian County Sheriff's Child Sex Crimes Division. | |
As Oklahoma follows AZ and the School Choice cabal into the abyss, the tangled web they are caught in is exactly what ROPE and other Oklahomans warned against.
School choice at work! “An Arizona middle school for LGBTQ students funded by state voucher money is set to launch in August, according to the Arizona Republic.” Daily Caller
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Do you need help getting information from your school?
Do you need to research a campaign or a Political Action Committee? Michael is paving the way!
ROPE Resources for Open Records
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We know our newsletter is full of very heavy topics. We encourage you to stay engaged, but to always look to God to give you strength for the task!
Blessings to you all!
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Reclaim Oklahoma Parent Empowerment
21900 N. Indian Meridian
Luther, OK 73054
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