Bob McCarty Writes

Leftist indoctrination starts early in the public schools. In this case, it surfaced in the form of information about a contest that rewards kids $5 for exercising their pro-union writing skills — in 150 words or less, that is.

I came across contest details while perusing the once-weekly stack of papers my fourth-grader brought home from his school in a Republican-dominated suburb outside St. Louis Friday. They appeared on the back page of a mini-newspaper, Missouri Studies Weekly, copies of which were purchased by the local school district from Alpine, Utah-based North Mountain Publishing. But it wasn’t the first item in the newspaper to catch my attention.

The first item was an article, Labor Unions Improve Working Conditions, which appeared on the cover (right) of a recent issue (Vol. 8, Issue 3 Third Quarter Week 20). By itself, I have no major problems with the article. Had I written it myself, though, I would have made mention of the fact that conditions which inspired the formation of modern-day unions bare little resemblance to the conditions in which workers find themselves today.

When taken together with the first item, the second item — the Let’s Write writing contest instructions that appeared on the back page of the publication (below right) — actually made my blood pressure rise. Why? Because the instructions for the contest appear as if they had been written by a union organizer:

Imagine that you are the head of a labor union for a shoe factory in St. Louis. Write a letter to the factor owner telling him or her your demands. What do you want to see changed? What do you want to see changed? What do you and the other workers think is fair? What will happen if your demands are not met?

No fourth-grade student — not even my straight-A student — possesses the economics savvy to understand economics and the complexities of big business (i.e., just-in-time manufacturing, labor-management relations, OSHA standards, etc.) at a level high enough to generate a “letter to the factory owner” that’s worth the paper upon which it’s written. So what was the purpose of the exercise if not to expose school children to pro-union propaganda and invite them to practice their pro-union writing skills?

Alas, I suspect there was no other purpose.

[Editor's note: I've withheld the name of the school and school district in question in order to minimize possible repercussions against any of my school-age children still attending district schools.]

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See also: Contest Rewards Kids’ Pro-Union Thinking — Part 2