Brookfield7: April 2, 2013 Election: Wisconsin needs Don Pridemore, a fresh, independent leader, for State Superintendent of Schools

Want more local control over schools? What about increasing a parent's right to choose which school they send their children to? How about an independent leader for State Superintendent of Public Instruction instead of one tied to the teachers union?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, I urge you to vote for Don Pridemore on Tuesday, April 2, 2013.

Add to these concerns the very disturbing news of the Wisconsin Department of Instruction "White Privilege" sensitivity courses that are being taught to our teachers, as part of a training program called CREATE Wisconsin for public school teachers. I watched the following video, compiled by the Education Action Group, and was sickened by some of the ideas being promoted by our DPI and courtesy of our tax dollars!

At the 38 second mark, this quote caught my attention: "We must be aware of how power holders oppressed all people of color to shape the country as they wanted it. Racism is one of several systems of oppression. Others are class, sexism, hetero-sexism, the institutionalized primacy of Christianity, and able-bodiedism. These systems work toward a common goal: to maintain power and control in the hands of wealthy, white, heterosexual, Christian, able-bodied men." The quote came from Dr. Francis Kendall.

And Wisconsin teachers aren't the only ones subject to this type of indoctrination. "White Privilege" is creeping into some Wisconsin public schools as well. In January, the Delavan-Darien District made national news when it was learned students there were being taught similar white privilege ideas.

Interestingly, the DPI website used to include information on White Privilege on their public webpages. It has since been removed from public view!

Another area of curriculum concern is "Common Core." Wisconsin agreed to use that Federally mandated curriculum when Gov. Doyle signed us on to the the U.S. Department of Education's Race to the Top program. (In order to compete for Federal dollars, we had to agree to use their national "Common Core" curriculum.) The math program in Common Core is called "Just Math."

We all know a firm foundation in math is necessary for so many career choices, but unfortunately, the Federally mandated "Just Math" curriculum transforms mathematics into a vehicle for pushing social and ecological justice subject matter onto our students. Don Pridemore is concerned about this as well. He believes we need to take a "closer look" at Common Core and its Standards, "This Federally administered program has a far reaching impact on a local school district’s ability to control the curriculum of their schools."

I also like that Pridemore wants to take an audit of DPI, “'DPI has never been audited as a whole but only on individual instances,' Pridemore said. 'Because we are in tough economic times we must ensure that every tax dollar is spent efficiently and with a purpose of giving our children the best chance to succeed in our educational system. Due to all the mandates and programs DPI is responsible for and some of the alarming issues that have come from that department, we must determine that our tax dollars are being spent wisely. A thorough audit will answer that question.'"

Don Pridemore has served as a Representative in the state Assembly since 2004, and has been on the Education Committee there during the 2011-2012 session and again this 2013-2014 session.

Everyone in the state votes for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the Tuesday, April 2, 2013 General Spring Election. Public education accounts for the lion's share of most people's property tax bills. Don't you want your hard earned dollars to be used wisely?

Take a few moments and explore the issues on Don Pridemore's website.
DonPridemore.com