Targeting the Naïvety of Youth

"Ever since Plato, the idea of capturing the hearts and minds of children has fascinated social planners. Mussolini cast himself as 'schoolmaster' to the nation, while in the Soviet Union a prize was given by the State in honour of a boy who informed against his mother and father. Late last year [2008], a British energy company created a website to teach children how to become 'climate cops' and turn in their own parents" [Jonah Goldberg, Daily Mail, 04 January 2009].

"In the old communist countries, the regimes also encouraged denunciations by children, who usually had little idea what would follow. In Soviet cities, until 1991, there were statues of a little monster called Pavlik Morozov, who turned his own parents in to the secret police for hoarding grain. Schoolchildren would be marched to these shrines of evil and told to revere his memory. And yet the 'Conservative' Party is proposing to write childish denunciation of parents into the law of the land this summer" [Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday, 06 April 2014].

"I pledge allegiance to the Earth and all its sacred parts, its water, land and living things and all its human hearts" [Earth Pledge, Global Education Associates, 552 Park Avenue, East Orange, NJ 07017, USA].

"The earth is not dead matter. She is alive. Now begin to speak to the earth as you walk. You can speak out loud, or just talk to her in your mind. Send your love into her with your exhalation. Feel your heart touching upon the heart of the planet. Say to her whatever words come to you: Mother Earth, I love you. Mother Earth, I bless you. May you be healed. May all your creatures be happy. Peace to you, Mother Earth. On behalf of the human race, I ask forgiveness for having injured you. Forgive us, Mother Earth" [US Student Textbook, 'Prayer to the Earth', quoted at: source].

"The Gaian hypothesis, absent the spiritual connotations, has now been accepted into mainstream science and renamed the Gaia Theory. It can be found in most environmental science textbooks" [source].

"[T]he original copy of the Earth Charter has been placed in a specially constructed Ark of Hope. Placed within the Ark, along with the Earth Charter, were various items called 'Temenos Books' and 'Temenos Earth Masks'. Temenos is a concept adopted by Carl Jung to denote a magic circle, a sacred space where special rules and energies apply. Some of the Temenos Books were created within this magic circle by children, who filled them with visual affirmations for Mother Earth. Fashioned with the 'earth elements', the Temenos Earth Masks were also worn and created by children. The outside of the Ark is covered with images depicting native spirits of fire, earth, air and water. This Ark forms a major part of 'the Earth Charter outreach programme' and visits hundreds of schools and universities around the world each year" [source].

"UNESCO’s 'lifelong learning', now being implemented through Goals 2000, takes education far beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Its goal is socialization and preparation for a global workforce. Everyone - in homes, schools, and workplace – must be mentally prepared to participate in the consensus process. In the name of 'unity' and 'community', people of all ages must help form new values, challenge contrary beliefs, report non-compliant friends and relatives, and oppose all other obstacles to compromise, 'common ground' and 'mental health'" [source].

"I'm all for a broader education as long as the 'toolbox' subjects of literacy and mathematics are covered thoroughly, because without an easy familiarity with them, the pupil is hamstrung trying to learn any other subject. What I'm against is the skewing of education for political ends and the unquestioned elevation of pseudo sciences to somehow be on a par with real hard science. ... Our children are being taught junk science in our schools. Their heads are being filled with conclusions without ever referencing the facts and figures used to reach those conclusions because, as in the case of the Polar bear and so many other environmental areas, the data simply does not support the conclusions. This isn't science education, it's political indoctrination" [source].

"The basis for all education restructuring is 'holistic', that is, viewing life on the planet as interconnected, with no life form having any greater standing than any other life form. This, in turn, is based on the evolutionary view of life. ... It is cosmic humanism: the belief that all life forms are evolving to higher states of consciousness. mankind, though representing the highest mental consciousness on earth, is yet deficient in his attainment of perfection. That is to be overcome through the next stage of evolution which will see the emergence of a new species of human being - a true planetary citizen that is psychologically, spiritually and physically superior to present mankind. The hope for the quantum leap to perfection lies in the upcoming generation - the generation that will usher in the New Age on a global scale. That is why children are to ... develop their own values. ... Holistic education is not merely how a child studies but how the child is studied. It has little to do with academics and everything to do with creating a new species of human being. We learn this from [the New Ager] Alice Bailey ... in her book Education in the New Age" [Al Dager, Education Reform for the New World Order, Media Spotlight Special Report].

Only Warmists Could Pass This A-Level: While Michael Gove tries valiantly to remedy our dysfunctional exam system, he might take a look at some recent papers, such as that set last June for A-level General Studies students by our leading exam body, AQA. Candidates were asked to discuss 11 pages of 'source material' on the subject of climate change. Sources ranged from a report of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to The Guardian, all shamelessly promoting global-warming alarmism. One document from the Met Office solemnly predicted that 'even if global temperatures only rise by 2 degrees C, 30-40 per cent of species could face extinction'. A graph from the US Environmental Protection Agency showed temperatures having soared in the past 100 years by 1.4% - exactly twice the generally accepted figure. The only hint that anyone might question such beliefs was an article by Louise Gray from The Daily Telegraph, which quoted that tireless campaigner for the warmist cause, Bob Ward of the Grantham Institute, dismissing all sceptics as 'a remnant group of dinosaurs' who 'misunderstood the point of science'. If it were still a purpose of education to teach people to examine evidence and think rationally, any bright A-level candidate might have had a field day, showing how all this 'source material' was no more than vacuous, one-sided propaganda. But today one fears they would have been marked down so severely for not coming up with the desired answers that they would have been among the tiny handful of candidates given an unequivocal 'fail'." [Christopher Booker, Daily Telegraph, 22 September 2012].

"One means that Sustainable Developers have to ensure continuing support of their anti-human programs is through molding the minds of the next generation. Chapter 25 of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 21 calls for the need to 'enlist and empower children and youth in reaching for sustainability'. Even a cursory look at the federally-mandated curriculum being taught in classrooms in every government school in America would show that the doctrines of Sustainable Development are finding their way into every subject. French classes are used to teach students to 'save the earth'; economics classes feature lectures discouraging individual initiative in the marketplace and decrying private ownership; history classes obscure the importance of America's founding documents; mandatory 'service-learning' programs enlist students to work for government-approved Sustainable Development partner organizations. The list goes on and on" [Understanding Sustainable Development - Agenda 21 - A Guide for Public Officials, Prepared by Freedom 21, Santa Cruz, (01 January 2009), pp.11-12].

For more Articles and Quotations on Education please see here and here.

See also the Education sections here and here

UNESCO

The following extended quote is from the book by Ron Taylor, Agenda 21: An Expose of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Initiative, pp.35-36,39-40,42.

"A leading educational philosopher, Benjamin Bloom, proudly proclaims education is a process of changing a student's thoughts, actions and feelings. According to Bloom, this is best accomplished by challenging his or her belief system. At the root of this educational reform is a drive to reduce the role of the individual in society in deference to the needs of the community. This so-called educational reform teaches our children the values of the new world order in place of real education. ...

"[E]nvironmentalists believe educated people consume more resources than uneducated people. Therefore, to reduce consumption and achieve sustainable development, we must simply offer educational opportunities that focus on values, rather than facts.

"This educational reform initiative is evident in the UNESCO program called 'United Nations' Decade of Education for Sustainable Development'.  It is their stated goal in this program to steal one generation of children and teach them to place loyalty to the state above loyalty to the family. Once this objective has been realized, it is a simple task to then inculcate the children with the basic tenets of sustainable development. These tenets include:

• End of national sovereignty;
• Abolition of private property;
• Restructuring of the family unit;
• Restriction of individual mobility and opportunity;
• Abandonment of constitutional rights;
• Relocation of people into smart growth zones.

"According to the website unesco.org, 'The United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014), for which UNESCO is the lead agency, seeks to integrate the principles, values, and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning, in order to address the social, economic, cultural and environmental problems we face in the 21st century.' ... education will 'challenge us all to adopt new behaviors and practices', and will focus on holistic, rather than subject-based learning, and an emphasis on values rather than subject matter. ...

"[W]hy would UNESCO and the Agenda 21 program want to redefine the belief systems of children around the world? ... By destroying the moral fabric of a society they can instill their values and beliefs in their place. ... [T]he new model of education will teach students the values of collectivism and loyalty to the state over family and individual"

[End]

No Pressure

The following extended quote os from the book by James Delingpole, The Little Green Book of Eco-Fascism, pp.192-193.

"Counterproductive snuff-video made by green pressure group 10:10"

"Scene:  a typical English schoolroom where a lovably kooky teacher ... is asking her class how they plan to reduce their carbon emissions for an eco-campaign called 10:10.  Obviously it's not compulsory, she says, sweetly. If the children don't want to play ball, it's up to them. 'No pressure.'

"Sundry do-good creeps in the class tell teacher what they're planning. One is going to cycle to school instead of taking the car. 'That's fantastic, Jemima!' says teacher. She asks for a show of hands to see who else is going to participate. Only two children abstain: a glum-looking pair called Philip and Tracy. 'That's absolutely fine', the teacher assures them. 'Your own choice.'

"Then she reaches for a red button hidden beneath paperwork on her desk. She presses it once. Tracy explodes in a spume of pink gore. Teacher presses it again. This time it's Philip's turn to die horribly. The rest of the class screams in terror, their uniforms smeared in blood, their school room covered in the body parts of Philip and Tracy. A dismembered limb thuds onto a desk. Teacher continues, oblivious: 'Now everybody please remember to read chapters five and six on glaciation. Except for Philip and Tracy.'

"You can maybe see from that description why the video backfired. The amazing thing was the people who made it, couldn't. Not director Richard Curtis ... not Radiohead (who did the soundtrack); not Gillian Anderson [the teacher]; not the famous footballers who appeared later in the video; not the organisers of the charity whose aims - incidentally - had been publicly endorsed by everyone from Prime Minister David Cameron to fashion designer Nicole Farhri...

"Initially released to much fanfare, the film had to be hastily withdrawn in a wave of public outrage. It became a viral hit on the internet, where sceptics gleefully rechristened it 'Splattergate'.

"For the environmental movement it was indeed what the kids might call an 'epic fail'.  Those kids, at least, who hadn't already been executed for showing insufficient concern about the deadly menace called Climate Change"

[End]

Three Views of the Earth
© Berit Kjos (1992)

© Elizabeth McDonald     https://www.bayith.org     bayith@blueyonder.co.uk