Fighting the Battle for Middle-School Algebra

Readers of Education Reporter know how drastically U.S. education has declined during the 40-plus years since the release of the landmark report “A Nation at Risk,” and particularly in recent years. In 2023, NAEP test results showed that fewer than 30 percent of government-school students were reading at grade level and a paltry 26 percent were proficient in math. Today, it’s not about teaching academics but about indoctrination with politically charged concepts such as DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion), social and emotional learning (SEL), and more.

Among the subjects under attack by liberals is algebra, which is critical for launching not only STEM careers but college careers in general. The push to delay algebra until 9th grade or later has been going on for at least a decade, and a February 4 article in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) points out that currently only about “a quarter to a third of eighth-graders across the U.S. take algebra.”

Authentic Abstinence Education: The Last Program Standing

Since the 1990s, pro-life educator Scott Phelps has followed in the footsteps of Phyllis Schlafly and her trusted Eagle leader, Kathleen Sullivan, in promoting authentic abstinence program materials for teens. Authentic abstinence means education focused on marriage as the ultimate goal rather than on “risk avoidance,” of which Phelps contends abstinence programs today typically consist.

Education Reporter visited with Phelps recently to find out more about The Success Sequence, his organization’s program offerings that spread the positive message he and his predecessors so enthusiastically supported. Phelps worked with Kathleen Sullivan, and has authored and distributed authentic abstinence until marriage materials through his company, Abstinence and Marriage Education Resources (A&M) for the past two decades.

Authentic Abstinence Programs Explained

Abstinence & Marriage Education Resources (A&M) has provided the Success Sequence Program to schools in all 50 states and Puerto Rico for an estimated 2 million teenagers, presenting a clear alternative to non-stop cultural messages that promote sexual promiscuity.

Today’s teens are exposed to 9 hours of media per day, much of which not only promotes promiscuity but denigrates the institution of marriage. We must be particularly concerned about our youth, who are the primary recipients of these constant and pervasive negative influences.

What Books Should Kids be Reading?

(First in a series of recommended reading lists for children of all ages. We will publish additional lists in Education Reporter over the next few months. — Ed.)

In the twisted world of today, when both school libraries and the “children’s” section of public libraries are riddled with pornography masquerading as “children’s” books, parents may wonder what books might actually benefit their kids.