Chapter 4 -- School
Wars: Resolving our Conflicts over Religion and Values
Strategies and Tactics
Pulling the Alarm
One strategy is to paint a picture of the future that is dire if public education is not altered.
The Stretch Technique
The "stretch" technique is often used in relationship to the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment which gives parents the right to inspect classroom materials or teacher's manuals used in connection with "research or experimentation" projects.
Taking Legal Action
Taking complaints to the courts.
Infiltrating the School Board
Electing sympathetic school board members.
The PSA kit workbook is concentrates on a five-step process with the acronym AWARE:
| Assess -- Committee members are told to call the local school district superintendent's office and get the names and addresses of school board members. |
| Write -- Articulate clear, written goals for the committee and its involvement in local public schools. |
| Analyze -- Members are encouraged to evaluate their goals |
| Report -- Publicizing what the PSA committee has learned and enrolling others into the committee if possible. |
| Energize -- Members are directed to engage in Christian action designed to maximize change in the schools. |
Opposition Efforts
One of the most active groups battling the efforts of critics is People for the American Way (PFAW).
Liberal and media organizations claiming openness may also be guilty of intolerance and even false assumptions and accusations.
Grady, B., Hall, T. & Marzano, R. (1996). School Wars: Resolving our Conflicts over Religion and Values. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.