Making the Leap

Viable Options in the Face of Decaying Public Schools

The US government’s fixation on forcing transgender ideology and identity politics in its schools is on a dangerous and lethal trajectory. NJ 4th graders have dropped academically from the top 4th in the nation to the 16th in the nation. With more and more parents waking up to the evils being perpetrated on our children by the very people who claim to want to educate and guide them is growing each day. Our government schools no longer care to focus on the values that make America a great and free country. The political agenda of the government elites couldn’t be clearer. It takes the most vulnerable segment of the population and indoctrinates it beyond recognition with traditionally marginalized behavior and normalizes it—forcing children to accept behaviors that go against core American values of out God-given, inalienable rights, family, and hard work.

The transgender frenzy being brought to us by public schools and libraries by way of drag queens reading books to elementary school children is not a virtuous show of inclusivity. It simply shows what drag represents: an extreme sexual exaggeration of females by men.

It can also be argued that this overtly sexualized display of men dressed as women is a statement about women as nothing more than deviant, perversely sexual beings.

Is anyone wondering what the end game is here? Are there actually Americans in our midst who want nothing more than to create division, confusion and a loss of independence and authority for parents? Is it not the parents who ultimately should be establishing the moral compass for our children and not the government?

What lesson, exactly, are we teaching children when they watch grown men dressing as over sexualized women? Is it possible that the ultimate goal is not to send a virtue signal of acceptance, but actually a gateway to creating confused transexual children who will break ties with their parents and ultimately accept the government as their savior and religion?  Is there a way out of this insanity? Is there a way for parents to ever get back that long-held trust we used to have in our public schools that generally, they were safe and wholesome places?

Well, Chris Stigall, talk show host at 990am The Answer in Philadelphia and podcaster extraordinaire has some ideas about that. He and his wife, Christine Stigall, have recently created a podcast for parents with children in the public school system as well as in private schools.  The podcast, Making the Leap (on apple podcast), airs regularly and presents alternatives for our children’s education. The podcast features guests who give their take on exploring alternatives to public schools which many parents are fed up with.

Given the unprecedented scenarios over the last two years, thousands of parents began pulling their children out of these government schools and decided to homeschool. Presently, the total number of homeschooled children is approximately 5 million.  According to US census data, about 11% of U.S households are homeschooling. In 2019-2020 school year, the number of homeschooled children was at just 5.4 percent. That is quite a jump.  In many other instances, parents wanted their children in a traditional educational setting, so they opted to enroll their children in Christian schools instead. Christian schools have also seen a large jump in their enrollments.

Stigall is acutely attuned to the reality many parents face about the dilemma of whether to keep their children in these failing schools or put them in private education which can indeed be costly. Fortunately, quite several of his podcasts focus precisely on this dilemma and he provides real world options that would make the transition wholly possible, whether seeking to explore private or Christian education or even homeschooling. In this episode, “Crafty Ways to Afford a Christian Education,” the guest explains how she and her family were able to fund her children’s private education in an engaging and inspiring fashion.

There is no denying that sacrifices have to be made to afford a private education, but when advocating for children, the price is worth the sacrifice. There are always paths to create a better educational opportunity once convinced that the alternative is toxic. Many private schools offer scholarships, for example. These scholarships can help tremendously and it’s worthwhile applying for them. Other episodes on ways to afford a private education are also available on the podcast and definitely worth a listen. The podcast also offers many insights on the differences between public and private schooling and the discussions are compelling as we hear stories from guests, with most favoring the latter because of smaller class sizes, the focus on respect of other class mates, and the attention on Christian ideals.  Once the mind is open to a different path, many opportunities may unfold such as creating partnerships with churches, synagogues, community centers, and homeschooling associations. Among other topics covered, the Stigalls provide perspective and insight on homeschooling, a growing alternative among parents turning away from public schools. They site examples from parents who have homeschooled and discuss many of the important questions people have about this generally untraditional path. Homeschooling has changed a great deal in the last few years and the resources for homeschoolers are now abundant which has made it much less daunting for those who were hesitant to even consider it previously.

Unfortunately, public schools no longer advocate for traditional American values based on our Constitution and natural rights and now openly push an America-hating agenda. Moreover, they have now taken on the role of ultimate arbiter of social and cultural engineering in the most extreme manner possible.  When parents wake up to this reality, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify keeping their children in the public school system.

The options for parents seeking educational alternatives are most certainly available today, and with the help of podcasts like Making the Leap, a positive way forward for our children becomes clearly within reach.