School is starting, and so is the annual campaign to have parents join PTA. This is something many parent's do as an annual right for the new school year.
Prior to joining the PTA, you should learn about its policy positions, or perhaps I should say try to learn about their positions. They have a wonderful website at www.PTA.org. At this website, they have a high level listing of legislative goals such as calling for improving educational opportunities -- you know the Applehood and Mother Pie type of information.
Unfortunately, it is impossible for you to get more detailed information on what they mean by improving educational activities. You cannot access any lower levels of information to see if you want to support the "Official" PTA positions on these issues. Any meaningful list of top secret centralized organizations must include the National PTA.
My prior experience has shown me that PTA is dominated by extreme liberalism. This experience includes 4 years as the President of Martensen Elementary PTA and 2 years as the Central Area Vice President for the Jefferson County PTA. Additionally, my wife served for 2 years as the Jefferson County PTA Secretary and 2 years as the Colorado State PTA Parent Education Director. Additionally, we attended two National and numerous State PTA conventions.
An example of the far left leanings of the PTA leadership can be demonstrated towards their position regarding honoring Veterans. In November 1990, I prepared a short resolution that listed America's Veterans by War and the associated casualty rates. This listing was pulled directly from the latest World Almanac. The totals came to about 40 million Veterans, with about 4 million having been casualties. The resolution did not call for a school holiday, and merely requested that the sacrifices of these 40 million men and women be brought up in each school around Veterans Day. To me it seemed a fair bargain, without them our system of government would not exist.
At the Executive Board meeting, consisting of the County PTA Officers, a representative from the Jefferson County teachers union and the District Superintendent, this resolution could not draw even one other supporter and died without having a second. THAT'S Right NOT EVEN ONE OF THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS WANTED TO HONOR VETERANS.
Interestingly, when this identical resolution was brought up at the broader County PTA meeting which included the Board as well as delegated from each of the Schools, it was overwhelmingly sustained. This kind of stuff shows how far out of touch even the County Board is from most parents in the district.
The same type of thing occurred at the State Convention. After being passed by the State Convention, I was approached about having it modified to include the sacrifices of those who went to Canada during Vietnam.
Another occurred when I was appointed to a committee to review the then new 10th grade Sex Education program. The program included the following question for students.
Q. A person with a sexually transmitted disease is a bad person.
A. False
I pointed out that this was a values question, and had little to do with sex education. If I counseled my own children against pre-marital sex, the answer would be true. Others might not feel the same way. Either way, this was the District teaching values and not simply providing the facts about what sexually transmitted diseases are and how to prevent them.
Once again, my position was ridiculed, only this time it included the District personnel who developed the program. It seems that it is perfectly fine for the school district takes on the task of teaching values, as long as it is there values they teach. I have no problem with sex education, as long as it sticks to the facts and gives students valid information to make their decisions on. But they go to far when they try teaching values that are as contriversial as pre-marital sex.
Finally, the PTA pretends that its Officers are elected. This may be true at the School level, but nothing could be farther from the truth regarding County, State, and National officers. A nomination committie selects one and only one person for each position, and then this is presented for ratification. This is much closer to the Communistic way of life than to how we elect our leaders in public life.
So the next time you hear from a State or National PTA President, recognize that they were selected for the position by a closed process, and ask yourself if you really want to join this type of organization.
Lloyd K. Pearson