The following comes from a Dec. 18 report by the Cardinal Newman Society.
An initiative to promote the controversial Common Core State Standards in Catholic schools, led by the National Catholic Educational Association, has amended a first-grade unit plan to remove three books celebrating families headed by same-sex or divorced couples.
The Common Core Catholic Identity Initiative removed The Family Book by Todd Parr and Who’s in a Family? by Robert Skutch from a recommended first-grade unit plan in English Language Arts after parental protest, according to journalist Mary Jo Anderson writing for Crisis Magazine.
And the Cardinal Newman Society has identified a third book that has been removed from the unit plan, All Kinds of Families by Norma Simon.
Although the initiative’s original unit plan identified a revision date of July 2012, the group quietly removed the three books without acknowledging a new revision date in the current version or announcing the changes to the plan.
A review of The Family Book from the School Library Journal, cited at Amazon.com, describes the many different types of families celebrated in the book: “Some families include stepmoms, stepdads, stepsisters, or stepbrothers; some adopt children. Other families have two moms or two dads, while some children have only one parent.”
A description at Amazon.com of Who’s in a Family states that “this equal opportunity, open-minded picture book has no preconceptions about what makes a family a family” and that “[t]here’s even equal time given to some of children’s favorite animal families.” And a review cited from Publishers Weekly explains, “[T]his slight book catalogues multicultural contemporary family units, including those with single parents, lesbian and gay parents, mixed-race couples, grandparents and divorced parents.”
All Kinds of Families embraces “the full spectrum of families, nuclear, traditional, adoptive, racial, and divorced households,” according to the School Library Journal as cited at Amazon.com. On the site, a customer claims that the book’s diverse family members “even include someone who is in jail.”
….Of the 31 books remaining on the first-grade unit plan for Catholic schools, the Catholic Common Core lists only three books that appear to be explicitly Christian according to their titles: Child’s Guide to Baptism by Sue Stanton, My Baptism Book by Sophie Piper, and Stinkbug Saves the Day: The Parable of the Good Samaritan by Bill Myers.
In Crisis Magazine, Anderson reports other examples of troublesome literature resulting from the Common Core State Standards. Public school parents protested a “pornographic” ninth-grade book and an eleventh-grade book that portrayed a “sado-masochistic relationship.”
Anderson describes the “most alarming” book recommended by Common Core, which includes an “explicit depiction of rape, incest, sexual violence and pedophilia” and shows “sympathy for the pedophile….”
To read the entire report, click here.
Thank you bishops for your inaction and for ignoring your teaching responsibility towards our Catholic children. Presupposing that your education departments are capable and not merely joining the bandwagon set in motion by the Gates’ Foundation is proving false. Just because the “C” in the NCEA stands for Catholic doesn’t mean they haven’t taken money from this pro-abortion, pro-SSM organization (they have, which has given millions to Cristo Rey, as well).
The consequences are of epic proportions – there is a general consensus among most of the laity that Catholic education is sliding downward and becoming identical to public (or government) education. Common Core is the slide that will hasten its completion.
You knew this was coming from Common (Hard) Core, didn’t you? The math standards are less problematic since the topics and sequence in elementary mathematics has been the same since Man discovered fingers and toes. But reading and literature cannot be taught without moral values, declared or implied in the text. Bless those who’ve uncovered this horror, but rather than corrections to the CC curriculum, why can’t we toss it and write our own Catholic ELA programs? We did once.
The lack of leadership by the bishops – in all areas – is disheartening. I keep thinking about what Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
By commencing the perverse propaganda program that same-sex marriage and divorce are normal and acceptable in first grade, it will become part of the child’s thinking and fully accepted. Though parents may teach their children at home that this is morally wrong, how can a parent counter this daily reinforcement? One can only imagine what ideas are taught in the upper grade literature. Before even seeing what the Common Core program contained, Catholic leaders accepted it. Obama is pro-abortion and pro-same-sex marriage. He is anti-Christian and has declared war on the Catholic Church by forcing Catholic institutions to provide health insurance for employees which provides for abortion and birth control medications and devices. Why would Catholic educators believe anything good could come out of the Obama administration?
Sarah,
Your above question is simple to answer, it is because most of the so called Catholic “educators are Demoncrats or Republicrats!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Founding Director
Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc.
The brainwashing of children is their goal.
Public Schools have no business in social engineering and their own twisted ideas of morals, but to teach reading, writing, math, real science, accurate history, and employment skills.
Since Common Core is preoccupied with sex and sexual activities, are they going to teach ABSTINENCE?
Abstinence would save the taxpayers trillions $,$$$,$$$,$$$,$$$ annually in health care costs – sexually transmitted deseases, abortion, contraception, voluntary sterilization, etc.
Is Common Core going to teach teenage boys of their required financial responsibility if there is a pregnancy – such as doctor and hospital bills, and paying for the needs of a child for the next 18 years with graduated increasing costs as his income rises over the years?
Diocese Bishops have full authority over “CATHOLIC” Schools within their own Diocese.
The problem lies with the inclusion of same sex parent children in parochial schools. Now the truth has to be subverted because the child’s point of view and experiences have to be accommodated. Everyone in the school knows who is who and students will experience a diversity and tolerance program throughout their years at the school. Rainbow kids show up on bulletin boards along with paper kids of all nationality. ” We love everyone”, becomes the mantra. Yes we do love everyone, but not all lifestyles are equal. A same sex marriage does not have the same validity as male female marriage in the eyes of God. The same sex act is not equal to the marital act of a man and woman. Who is going to teach that to parochial school kids. Before you post that parents will, remember that if only the parents are saying this it becomes suspect in the eyes of the child, especially as they enter their teen years.
We must NEVER subvert the TRUTH as stated in the ‘Bible’ and the ‘Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition’.
We must love our neighbor, but never tolerate sin. If you truly love your neighbors you will want them to get to Heaven for eternity – NOT HELL.
QUOTE: ” Read in this light, the prophetic text leads to one conclusion: we need knowledge, we need truth, because without these we cannot stand firm, we cannot move forward. Faith without truth does not save, it does not provide a sure footing.”
&
” These, then, are the four elements which comprise the storehouse of memory which the Church hands down: the profession of faith, the celebration of the sacraments, the path of the ten commandments, and prayer.
The Church’s catechesis has traditionally been structured around these four elements;
this includes the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is a fundamental aid for that unitary act with which the Church communicates the entire content of her faith: “all that she herself is, and all that she believes”. ” UNQUOTE – Pope Francis (Encyclical Letter LUMEN FIDEI, 2013)
https://whatcatholicsreallybelieve.com/
Bring back the index!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One wonders if the fine folks at NCEA are indeed educated themselves. Faithful Catholics saw this coming. Apparently they didn’t. And there is more coming. (Just like the rollout of Obamacare).
Del,
The NCEA has been far from being truly Catholic for far too many years!
While the “bishops” slept or worse yet cooperated, the Faith was lost!
May God have mercy on an amoral Amerika!
Viva Cristo Rey!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher, Founding Director
Concerned Roman Catholics of America, Inc.
Parents complain about what’s happening to their kids in “school” yet they leave them there for the indoctrinators. I don’t care if you can’t afford private school, or don’t want to do home school. The bottom line is you have take your kids away from them. Don’t fool yourself that you can change anything. Twenty-five years ago I was foolish enough to think I could make a difference by “fighting”. Things have only gotten worse, much worse. The only thing that works is to take your kids away from them. Don’t kid yourself that your influence in the home is greater than what’s going on “out there”.
CCC: ” 2223 Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. …….”.
CCC: ” 2229 As those first responsible for the education of their children, parents have the right to choose a school for them which corresponds to their own convictions. This right is fundamental.
As far as possible parents have the duty of choosing schools that will best help them in their task as Christian educators.
Public authorities have the duty of guaranteeing this parental right and of ensuring the concrete conditions for its exercise.”
This issue is more of an “age appropriate” issue than an inclusive concept of the family. Those first graders will get plenty of exposure to the more erratic family models in our society in the years to come, and will probably get classroom instruction by the time they’re in the ninth grade. The best lesson in what makes a good and strong family is what goes on at home. Solid nuclear family, great; dysfunctional family at home, get ready for future problems.
Here is a six grade assignment from Common Core in a Catholic school:
It was an argumentative writing assignment of a hypothetical scenario of 8 people on a space ship, and one has to be eliminated in order for the others to survive. The class was divided into groups of 8, and each child assumed the role of one of those people on board (captain, engineer, doctor, pregnant woman, 17-year-old student, scientist, nurse, and reporter). Each student had to write a persuasive argument to convince the others why he or she should live and not be eliminated. Then the group voted on whom to eliminate (which individual dies).
Initially they wanted to eliminate the “pregnant woman”, but she argued well her position and so the group voted to eliminate the student, because the student was deemed a burden, and did not contribute much to the survival of the others.
Does that not sound like something from the Nazi era? Shame on those so-called Catholics who would allow such diabolical teaching in our Catholic schools!
“Whom am I to judge” Sounds familiar?