Tuesday, November 16, 2010

indoctrination

Our kids have been attending a really great charter school here in Waco.  Overall we have been very impressed by the academics and the teachers are all great.  There are a few teachers that have taken special interest in the Livesay kids and have made a point of encouraging and guiding. We are thankful for them. The kids have learned a lot and all four have advanced quickly in the short time they've been there.

Troy leaves with a truck full of kids each day and on the ten minute drive to school they always pray together.  The prayers are heartwarming and adorable to listen to. Yesterday I got to bring them (in order to avoid being home with the electrician) and Noah ended his prayer, "God we love you but we know you love us so much mow gweatow - thank you."

The school pushes their 'six core values' almost as hard as Stephen Covey pushes his seven principles.  The six core values at Rapoport Academy have some overlap with Covey and are all great things.  We have been highly entertained at how well our kids parrot these values back and what a part of their vernacular they have become.

Fotunately, the school isn't pushing getting ahead at any cost, stepping on whomever you need to step on to achieve, no respect for the weak, take advantage of the oppressed, look down on anyone less fabulous than yourself, and cheat if necessary - or we would have a real problem on our hands because our kids are totally indoctrinated, sold out, bought-in believers in all the values they have been taught.

(It is kind of scary, actually. They excel in the area of teach-ability and seem to be quite pliable ... And are likely just a few passionate lectures shy of joining fellow Wacoan D. Koresh and the Branch Davidians or maybe bringing back the 70's and becoming members of the Hare Krishna cult.) ;)

Their morning and bedtime prayers almost always include three or four of the six core values.  Isaac often prays "God help me be respectful and help other respect me and give me responsibility while I work hard and do hard work."  Noah has his little Elmer Fudd speech issue and prays each day "fow integwity, cweativity, cuwiosity and wespect."

If they're going to be indoctrinated I guess it could be worse. The world certainly needs mow integwity. :)