Author: Anita Christy

Open Letter to Dr. Bob Branch, Clueless About K-12 Classrooms

Anita Christy

Dear Dr. Branch,

Several parents were shocked to read your comments in the 1-18-18 briefs.  It’s obvious that you don’t understand what is really going on in Arizona’s classrooms —which is very disappointing, since you are a candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction.   

You have a massive misunderstanding on the recess issue.  The traditional three 15-minute recess has been eliminated in most schools across the state.  Many schools are down to one 10-minute recess per day, and some have no recess at all!  These are not college students.  They’re young children! They need to move!  Studies have shown that physical activity improves academic performance.  Americans are well known for their creativity and ingenuity —unlike China where academics are all that matter.  We foster entrepreneurs and inventors in the USA.  Recess promotes these desirable American characteristics.  Recess is correlated with improved student behavior in the classroom. Recess also promotes social skills and helps kids learn how to deal with bullying —which is the opposite of giving them “comfort lamas and safe places,” as you stated.

Read more

Meet and Greet for Frank Riggs, Candidate for SPI, Feb. 24, 2-4 pm

Anita Christy

Come join Mommy Lobby AZ at an ice cream fundraiser for Frank Riggs, candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, on February 24, 2-4 pm at Settler’s Point Greenbelt- 289 East Sagebrush Street, Gilbert, AZ 85296.  View Map

Who doesn’t like ice cream, games, and family fun when the weather is beautiful outside? Click on Meet & Greet for Frank Riggs to register, so we will have a headcount on how much ice cream to plan for. 

2018 is an Election Year! Time to tune in! Time for ice cream!

Arizona’s education system can use a major upgrade.   We are thrilled Frank Riggs is bringing his many years of experience to lead our state education system.

Please join Diane and Jared Taylor for some ice cream and to meet Frank. Other great local candidates will also attend.

Bring your family! Student and Pre-Students are welcome!

Please consider a $25 donation.  Click HERE. 

If you would like to know more about Frank Riggs, donate to the campaign, or sign his petition directly, please visit his website Frank Riggs for Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

Paid for by Jared and Diane Taylor.

 

Read more

Frank Riggs: The Only Candidate with a Record for Fighting to get the Feds out of K-12 Education!

Anita Christy

An opponent of Frank Riggs, who is running for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, is promising to "get the federal government out of state education."  That rhetoric sure sounds good.  However, it’s doubtful that Frank’s opponent knows much about the federal government’s role in Arizona, or how to get it out of the state without jeopardizing our rural communities and our most vulnerable student populations.  

Frank Riggs knows that K-12 education is primarily a responsibility of state and local government. In fact, former Congressman Riggs is the only candidate with an actual record and legislative history of fighting to restore state and local control in K-12 education.  But he also understands the truth about the federal government’s involvement in K-12 education, and where the money is, how it’s spent, and what it will take to replace those federal dollars.  

Here’s Frank Riggs in his own words:  

Read more

Arizona K-12 School Finance Statistics: Why does Arizona Rank #49 in Per Pupil Spending?

Anita Christy

You’ve heard that Arizona ranks 49 in per pupil K-12 spending. On its face, it sounds disgraceful.  But that doesn’t mean it’s causal to education outcomes.  It also doesn’t mean that Arizona is stingy.  There is much more to the story.  The Arizona Tax Research Association (ATRA) has put together a 9-page document titled Arizona K-12 School Finance Statistics: Providing Context to a Complex Measurement, that provides factual information relating to the reasons and fallacies surrounding the commonly argued narrative that Arizona doesn’t fund K-12 education adequately. 

Summary

Read more

HAVE YOU CONSIDERED Evidence Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Anita Christy

By Julie Von Vett and Bruce Malone
Published by Search for the Truth 

As stated on the cover of HAVE YOU CONSIDERED Evidence Beyond a Reasonable Doubt,  “For over 200 years, the American judicial system has upheld a standard so strong that a person’s very life can be ended based on this level of confidence.  It is a verdict supported by evidence that is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’… This book is the third in a series of unique devotions presenting evidence for every day of the year that demonstrates it is beyond ANY reasonable doubt that we have a Creator."

Topics cover Anatomy, Biblical Accuracy, Biology, Botany, Christian Truth, Geology, God’s Design, History, and  Paleontology.  Below are eight summaries from 365 more detailed daily devotionals  covered in this extraordinary book.

January 25:  Again and again, archeology confirms that the Scriptures are true.  The Bible tells of slings and stones being used as deadly weapons.  David used them when he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17), and 700 Benjamites used slings and stones and never missed (Judges 20:16).  So, what have archeologists discovered?  They now recognize that the ancient armies’ most important weapon was the sling.  See Ancient Slingshot Was as Deadly as a .44 Magnum  and Slings and Stones.  

Read more

Arizona Origin Science Association Meeting “Censored Science and the Bible”

Anita Christy

Please attend a presentation titled "Censored Science and the Bible" at the January 23, 2018 meeting of the Arizona Origin Science Association (AzOSA) to be held at the Payson Public Library meeting room, 328 N. McLane Rd,  at 7:00 pm.

The guest speaker is Bruce Malone, formerly a chemical engineer and patent holder for new products with Dow Chemical.  His  presentation is an overview of the strongest evidence for biblical creation from geology, biology, and astronomy. Explaining how science operates and moving on to visual and unforgettable examples from each area of science, listeners are shown how evolution is a scientific impossibility while creation is the universal reality.

This meeting, as with all AzOSA meetings, is FREE to the public.  

Bruce Malone has published many DVD’s and books, including HAVE YOU CONSIDERED Evidence Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.  Please see a review of this book on Gila Watch and Gilbert Watch.   You can find additional publications on his website, Search for the Truth.  

Click HERE for the flyer. 

Read more

More Common Core Double-talk by Diane Douglas

Anita Christy

When does “repeal and replace” not mean “repeal and replace”?  When Supt. Of Public Instruction Diane Douglas says it. 

Incumbent Douglas has been cranking out media releases, including taking a recent victory lap on the anniversary of the State Board of Education’s adoption of “Common Core Rebrand #2.”  Her false “Common Core has been repealed and replaced” narrative has recently appeared in Frosty Taylor’s 12/20/2017 Briefs.  It also appeared in the 12/19/2017 issue of the Yellow Sheet.   

For the record, the Common Core Standards haven’t been repealed or replaced.  At most, they’ve been “tweaked.” 

Don’t be fooled by Douglas’s red herring argument when she states:

Read more

High Stakes Testing – Expensive, Wasteful, Ineffective Child Abuse

Anita Christy

Hopefully, you read the letter that educational tutor Barry Jackson sent to Betsy DeVos.  In it you can see the damage that is being done to our children by the Arizona State Board of Education when they, along with then Gov. Jan Brewer and Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, in 2010, brought the Common Core Machine to Arizona.  They did this in hopes of "winning" millions of dollars from our federal government via Race to the Top.  

Since that time, Common Core has been rebranded, twice.  Further, the pro-Common Core State Board has ensured that the damage continues.  These people consider themselves "experts," a term that is being met with cynicism by a growing number of critically thinking people. 

"Board member Jared Taylor, who has been consistent in his opposition to Common Core, was the lone “no” vote.

“The bottom line is that I am very disappointed that we kicked the parents to the curb and ignored the will of the voters when they elected Diane Douglas. Yet she led the way today; we just renewed Common Core,” stated Taylor.  Arizona State Board Of Education Approves Rebrand Of Common Core Standards

If you have any doubts about the negative effects of High Stakes Testing, there are many others who agree with Barry Jackson.  They also say it is counter-productive, expensive, wasteful, and it is also child abuse.   

As you read some of the comments below from the real experts, both local and national,–there are thousands more that I have not quoted–please recall that the Arizona State Board of Education voted in April 2017, to make 90% of a school’s A-F grade dependent on how well their students scored on the High Stakes test, AZMerit.   

Read more