Guest Post by Mara Zebest
Question 2 DOWN on the Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle states:
“the political belief of preserving traditional moral values by restricting personal freedoms and encouraging prosperity through economic freedom”
The answer is “Conservatism.” Is this a disguised way of saying conservatives don’t believe in the “Nanny State“? A larger image of the crossword puzzle can be seen here. An image of the question quiz on the back is found at this link.
EAGnews reports the following:
UNION GROVE, Wis. – Eighth-graders in Wisconsin’s Union Grove school district were assigned to fill out a “Liberalism vs. Conservatism” crossword puzzle, and they learned some new and very questionable “facts.”
Students learned conservatism is “the political belief of preserving traditional moral values by restricting personal freedoms … ”
Conversely, they learned liberalism is “the political belief of equality and personal freedom for everyone, often changing the current system to increase government protection of civil liberties.”
The crossword puzzle was part of a civics assignment that was forwarded to EAGnews by Tamara Varebrook, a local conservative activist whose eighth-grade daughter received the lesson at Union Grove Elementary School yesterday.
Varebrook said she posted the assignment on her Facebook page to share with other parents who might not be aware of the blatant political bias and effort at indoctrination, disguised as “civics.”
“The definitions of conservatism and liberalism make me sick,” Varebook told EAGnews. “I think it’s horribly distorted and it’s biased.”
Varebrook, who serves on her local Republican Party board and has appeared in commercials promoting conservative values, said she was particularly disturbed by the definition of conservatism as “restricting personal freedom.”
“It’s insinuating conservatives don’t believe in people having civil liberties. That it’s only for old-fashioned fuddy-duddies,” Varebrook said. “That’s completely negative. It’s completely false.”
Last time we checked, it’s the big government progressives who are determined to restrict personal freedoms. You know, the bans on sugary drinks, fatty foods, snacks at school lunch time, salt intake, etc.
But apparently that’s not the case, according to Sunburst Visual Media, the puzzle’s producer, or the Union Grove school district.
Varebrook said she doesn’t believe her daughter’s teacher is the problem, but rather the curriculum she’s forced to teach.
“I don’t think her teacher is a radical indoctrinator, it’s the curriculum,” she said. “It’s not factual. Every piece of homework I’ve seen paints conservatism in a negative light.
“I can only imagine what high school is going to bring.”
On the back side of the crossword puzzle was a political survey students were required to fill out to identify their beliefs, something Varebrook believes is equally troubling.
“It’s about guns, it’s about freedoms, it just goes on and on,” Varebrook said.
Varebrook said her daughter is 13 years old, and likely has little interest in political philosophy.
“She didn’t pick up on (the bias), she was just happy to get it filled out,” Varebrook said.
Varebrook plans to email her daughter’s teacher about political bias in the assignment, but is skeptical of what good it will do.
“My guess is most students got this done in class and didn’t bring it home,” Varebrook said. “I put it on my Facebook and people were just shocked.
“I think if it’s shared, parents will question their kids to see what’s going on in the schools.”
We certainly hope they do.
Read more here.
