Chosen? … Or Targeted?

Some school districts have special programs that take chosen high schoolers out of the classroom several times a week for special learning. The promotional material of one I saw hints that the invite is for cream-of-the-crop students.

I’m deliberately not naming the program I learned about. I don’t want readers to see that and think you’re OK because your student is in a different program. If students you know are invited to any such program, investigate and learn more.

Here are some red flags that stood out. Note that I read related info multiple times, peeled back layers, clicked through to other connections.

• Students in this program would gain respect for diversity, develop an awareness of global issues, experience activism, get a new understanding, desire equality … Remember, those terms may not mean what you think they mean. Dig in to decode the definition that the sponsors actually mean. (Don’t be afraid to ask, “Respect diversity? In what way?” … “A new understanding? Can you explain what about my child’s old understanding is messed up?”)
• Students would “become” analytical thinkers and responsible citizens. Do they mean that students can’t become those things without this program?
• Students will learn about religion by visiting temples and mosques and churches. It’s one thing to visit and hear explanations. But I recall a group of Christian college students who visited a Buddhist temple in Japan. Turned out, they were expected to bow in reverence. One girl politely refused and stepped outside; the others complied. The average person may not realize the significance/danger of reverencing a pagan deity. And a Christian teenager on a school field trip in the US can be intimidated, labeled “intolerant” in refusing.And speaking of religion … Anything religious in the way of speakers and field-trip locations seemed Eastern religion or New Age. I saw nothing of conservative Christian or even the mention of “Christian.” Except that the program itself is “based” at a church that would be classified as Protestant but in actuality (if you looked around their website) is a church that openly blends the world religions.
• One of the principles indicated that teenagers are mature enough to be treated like adults and that they can handle that responsibility. Hmm. Might want to inquire as to how that’s to play out.
• This program indicated that it’s a branch of  , which is sponsored by  , under the direction of   … I’m more and more uncomfortable when a program is coming down from a string of other entities. It’s almost impossible to decipher who’s really behind it, what their actual purpose is. (Sidebar: I have the Berit Kjos book How to Protect Your Child from the New Age and Spiritual Deception. I have no reason to doubt its thorough documentation. But if even only 1/10 of it is true … yikes almighty! It exposes a number of alarming things that are being introduced to school kids in the name of various “educational” organizations/programs.)
• The more I read of this program, the more it seemed that part of what students are to come away with is not just an understanding of a variety of ideas in the world but an acceptance that everything people do/believe is good.

So just please be on guard.

Interesting that when I flipped through a nonrelated, full-color brochure about a different school district’s general program, I had trouble finding a mention of math, science, English, or history. You know, school stuff. But lots about various other programs/social issues, some vague titles. My gut instinct about all this is that the government and various agencies are meddling with topics that belong under the guidance of parents and the church. Can we encourage the schools to stay in their own lane?

Bottom line: Go back to the title of this post. If the bad guys are out to influence/enlist others, wouldn’t they target the cream-of-the-crop students?