PTA misleads parents, students

John F. Kennedy High School Orientation packet | Kennedy High School PTSA

[AVNevis]

Your PTA membership also supports the State of California legislative lobby that has improved our students school experience by promoting among other things: Reduced class size, Healthy snack food, Pesticide Use Notification in Schools.

[AVNevis]

The above is a portion of the letter the PTSA of the High School I am attending next year sent to all of it's students. I face a dilema now. I would really like to support my school by joining, but I also do not want to support liberal special interest groups who are actively working to use my and my classmates as tools to take more money from people's paychecks. So please give me your responce to weather I should join or not.

[AVNevis]

*response. Sorry for the mispelling

[Tax-chick]

No, of course not. The PTA is a tool of the teachers' unions, and supports the same politically liberal and educationally disastrous agenda.

p.s. its students, dilemma, my classmates and me, response, whether

[coconutt2000]

Start an SPA, Students-Parents Association...

[AVNevis]

I haven't considered that idea, but I have considered creating a campus conservative club and then using it to pressure the PTSA to end affiliation with the national and state PTA, because that's where most of the lobbying comes in.

[AVNevis]

I know, my spelling and grammer is horrible while typing. They need to have a spell and grammer check when you post a new thread.

[Tax-chick]

Smart idea - make sure you invite conservative teachers and other employees, such as cooks and janitors.

Sorry about the editing. I've got an 8th grader at home!

[ZGuy]

This article from last week might help you decide.

[AVNevis]

Thanks for the link. I have decided after reading about what they did at their convention that I am not going to join the PTSA.

[ColoCdn]

Congrats, ZGuy.

Winning 'em over one 8th grader at a time. It's not glamorous, but it's where the future lies.

ColoCdn

[valkyrieanne]

Start a Young Republican or Conservative Student club instead. There's got to be at least *one* conservative teacher at your school to sponsor it. If not, start your own web page/web log for conservative students.

[itsahoot]

There's got to be at least *one* conservative teacher at your school to sponsor it. If not

Don't count on it, but you may find one that disagrees with your premise, but feels you have a right to espouse it :)

[AVNevis]

There has got to be at least one. Two out of Six of my teachers were conservative in my middle school; my English teacher even worked for President Bush at one point.

[valkyrieanne]

Don't count on it, but you may find one that disagrees with your premise, but feels you have a right to espouse it :)

I suppose that's possible - but students can always start their own web pages / web forums, and advertise them in the student newspaper. Normally I hate the ACLU, but because of several ACLU-inspired cases, students who publish their own stuff on their own web sites, outside of school, are protected by the First Amendment as long as they don't violate the libel or slander laws, and don't post personal material (photos etc.) without permission. Schools try to shut them down but invariably they lose if the student is within legal bounds.

[pubmom]

There is an entire laundry list of legislative positions National PTA holds that would make every decent, freedom-loving American scream bloody murder. Don't join.

At our elementary school this year, we will be attempting to educate parents as to what has been going on at the state and national level with their dues. We are attempting to get our school the heck out of the PTA.

[AVNevis]

Good luck. That is what I would like to do at my school, too