Exposing The Dangers of International Agreements on Our Children, Our Families, and Our American Sovereignty

Many years ago, we had Dr. Allen Quist speak at a regional Eagle Forum meeting. He spoke about the changes in American Education and spent a great deal of the speech that evening on The “New Math” being developed, and the “International Baccalaureate”, the brainchild of Unesco and the United Nations.

Dr. Quist, a highly respected professor of Political Science at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, Minn., a theologian, and a popular speaker throughout the United States, served three terms in the House of Representatives in the Minnesota Legislature from 1883-88. An author of numerous books, including a best seller, FedEd: The New Federal Curriculum and How It Is Enforced, he exposes the dangers of International Agreements on our children, our families, and our American Sovereignty. His passion for Self-Evident Truth, and Unalienable Rights in preserving Liberty for our children and grandchildren was most informative and inspirational, while still exposing serious dangers to that Liberty we have long enjoyed.

Recently, I discovered a brilliant review of the FedEd book by Steven Yates, whom I have heard speak at the von Mises Institute at Auburn. His review of the book is right on target and much more articulate than I could write, so I am taking the liberty of using much of his review, knowing that you will gain more understanding of what is taking place today in your community by thoughtfully reading this article, and then searching for the full review.

The review is titled: FedEd: Education for Global Government, by Steven Yates (Steven Yates Archives). And I am very grateful to draw from his review at this time.

Dr. Quist reviews the public education system for the last hundred years, when Horace Mann and the Harvard Unitarians studied the Prussian model in Europe. Bringing back to America the concept of the state raising the children, to meet the needs of the state, crept in even with the very young. The model gave us the term “kindergarten,” raising children (kinder) and “growing them” in a garden (garten).

It is so evident that there has been a slow decline in American Education since Dewey's Progressive Education became the fad, as that is all documented. Dr Quist points to much evidence that the Progressives' intent is to dumb down the citizenry of this country and produce a “new serfdom,” a global workforce totally subservient to the needs of omnipotent world government and its international corporate partners. To name them: Goals 2000, Educate America Act, The School To Work Opportunities Act, and a bill known as HR6, a funding appropriations bill for most federal education programs, was created to achieve the goal. Bill Clinton signed all three. George W. Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Together, all of these turned over the curricular content to the federal educrats, resulting in the new FedEd, which Allen Quist brilliantly exposes in detail.

He identifies seven themes running through the FedEd in his book (p.43, p.100, pp.131-132)

1. Undermining national sovereignty (moving us toward world government under the auspices of the United Nations).

2. Redefining natural rights (substituting for the American view a Marxist and international view, justifying a massive redistribution of wealth).

3. Minimizing natural law (essentially by neglect).

4. Promoting Environmentalism (emphasizing the global nature of environmental issues, including the pagan pseudo- religion of Gaia, Mother Earth).

5. Requiring multiculturalism (including acceptance of homosexuality).

6. Restructuring government (toward the idea that we live in a global village defining citizenship in global terms).

7. Redefining education as job skills (preparing "human resources" for the global workforce).

What will the future look like if these numerous multi-culturalist and environmentalist groups are teamed up with the Marxists educrats? Can we imagine a world in which the majority of people are Information Age serfs ruled over by a global elite, celebrating diversity, embracing tolerance, and worshipping Mother Earth. If they succeed, gone will be the grasp of Economics, Constitutional Principles, any knowledge of true Historical origins, or even much knowledge of basic math. They will have calculators, after all. How do these “world class standards” sound for your child and grandchild?

Steven Yates points to Professor Quist's explanation of “themes” in the curriculum. Traditional American education stressed academic subject content in Math, Science, Geography, Literature, History, and so on. The new concept of “themes” emphasizes attitudes, values, and beliefs in what educrats call the affective domain (cf.p.42). More important than communicating information and real cognitive skills, is inculcating the right attitudes and values...indoctrinating, in other words, instead of educating in the historical sense.

There is this discussion of sovereignty: “The world is divided into nation-states that claim sovereignty over a defined territory and jurisdiction over everyone within it.” (quoted on p.47). This stresses a unified world of internationalism that is consistently viewed not just as desirable, but inevitable.

The changes in the Standardized Tests reflect the preoccupations and values of FedEd, the new Federal Education Curriculum. Students who have not adopted the desired attitudes will simply not do well on the tests. A federal funding bill, JR1 requires that all states administer the NAEP: National Assessment of Educational Progress. In the edition of the test Quist reviewed, there were 14 key terms relating to environmentalism, 18 terms relating to multiculturalism, 39 terms relating to vocationalism, and zero terms relating to Geography. Terms involving history (apart from the history of government designed victim groups), were zero. Terms refering to national sovereignty, natural law, and natural rights, zero.

Among the chief goals of FedEd is to turn out “global villagers.” Now education can be interpreted as "job skills." The goal is to impose a vocational model for every child, with career choices imparted via “career clusters” as early as eighth grade. Who knows in the eighth grade what career path one wants to pursue? Isn't it obvious that God's principle of Individuality will be cast aside? The article points toward the devaluation of the autonomous individual from person-hood to “human resource.”

FedEd is sold in many places as “good for business.” Both Quist and Yates take this on. Some Chambers of Commerce buy the idea that FedEd will turn out loyal, technology-savvy and business-savvy employees. The key phrase is “private-public partnership.” Quist says that too close ties with government and business leads to corporatism not capitalism. Corporatism may sound good to some, but it leads to a Statist and Collectivist society. “The New Federal Curriculum sets out to indoctrinate and train individuals to meet the needs of the State and its Corporate partners.”

Parents might ask, “How is this to be enforced?” While presented as “voluntary”, the new Federal Curriculum, according to Professor Quist, is the law of the land. HR6 stipulates that the U.S. Dept. of Education can simply withhold federal money from any state not signing on to the new program (pp.92-93). All fifty states have signed on. Every federal dollar comes with strings attached.

How Professor Quist envisions that the FedEd program will be enforced.

We are drawing from his excellent article which is available on line. The three bills outlined above gave control of education to the government in 1994: Goals 2000, Educate America Act, the School To Work Opportunities Act, and ESEA Authorization Act (the infamous HR6).

Part of the overall package was put in one bill and another part in a second bill, and so on. Goals 2000 uses the word voluntary over and over again. But HR6 says that if a state doesn't comply, it will lose its federal education money. The bills and laws are deceptive.

While HR6 mentions the Constitution and Bill of Rights, it is now the authority of the feds to determine what they mean, not your local school board, not their teachers. Dr. Quist reminds us that you cannot have a free society if the federal government determines what is true.

The non-governmental organization CCE (Center for Civic Education) has been authorized by federal law to determine curriculum in civics and government. Dr. Quist states that not one of this unelected body ever faces the voters. They are self appointed.

Page two of the National Standards states that “Civic education instead should be considered central to the purposes of American Education.” The standards state that civics and government will be taught in every academic subject. Dr. Quist believes that their desired change in our form of government can only be done, by teaching a new form of government.

Dr. Quist explained the use of “themes” in the curriculum. An example of further explanation, he cited theme 4, environmentalism. In a lesson, we read this in a textbook titled, The People Who Hugged the Trees: “Before she left the forest, Anita kissed her special tree. Then she whispered, 'Tree, if you are ever in trouble, I will protect you. The tree whispered back with a rustle of its leaves'.” This is obviously more pantheism.

The text, We The People, states: “The culture we live in is becoming cosmopolitan, that is, belonging to the whole world. National corporations have become international. Environmental concerns transcend national borders. Entertainment---music, sports, and film--- command worldwide markets. The achievements of modern technology are turning the world into a global village, with shared cultural, economic, and environmental concerns.”

Quist concludes one article with this statement. “We have come to grips with the fact that, in the core curriculum now required by federal law, there is one unifying theme, which is the disbanding of the United States of America as a sovereign, free people, and the creation of an international one-world government. This is the glue that holds it all together.”

Most of the public does not know what is taking place. Money is tight and most states are dependent on federal dollars. Steven Yates has done a fantastic (10 page print out) report on Allen Quist's FedEd book, which the reader can locate on the internet through the von Mises Institute, Steven Yates Archives, or through the old archives at www.edwatch.org.

This article has just touched the surface, and I am so grateful both to Professor Quist and Steven Yates to provide this excellent review. Please take time to go the archives and read it in full, for the sake of the children, who are the victims. Please go to the internet www.edwatch.org for articles by Allen Quist and the Maple River Education coalition. This one is titled The New Federal Curriculum and How It Is Enforced and/or for a Review of FedEd from LewRockwell.com.

Sincerely, Bobbie Ames.