No, ‘Chosen Families’ Are Not Better Than Biological Or Nuclear Ones
The danger of the 'chosen family' trend is not that it elevates profound friendships, but that it cheapens or even demonizes true familial relationships.The danger of the 'chosen family' trend is not that it elevates profound friendships, but that it cheapens or even demonizes true familial relationships.AI in the classroom is here — what parents need to know
For decades, artificial intelligence was something students only encountered in science fiction books. They read stories about robots, ultramodern computers, and machines that could think for themselves. But in just the past few years, the AI revolution has leapt off the page and into real life, quickly reshaping virtually every aspect of our society, including our education system.
The AI revolution is happening so quickly that we must work fast to wrap our heads around the reality and implications of it in education before it’s too late. For parents, especially those concerned about what’s happening in our schools, AI represents both an opportunity and a potentially serious threat. Like social media before it, this technology is advancing faster than most of us can keep up with, and the decisions we make today will determine how it influences our kids for the rest of their lives.
AI doesn’t have to be a threat to our children. But if parents don’t get involved now, this powerful technology will shape our kids without our vital input.
If you are a parent, you cannot afford to ignore what AI is doing in education. Here are five things every parent must understand:
AI is already in your child’s classroom
The AI revolution isn’t some looming event; it’s already here. Schools throughout the country are already adopting “smart” learning platforms, tutoring apps, and grading and curriculum systems powered by AI.
Some school districts are experimenting with AI software that generates lesson plans, constructs writing assignments, and even helps teachers communicate with students. One platform called MagicSchool bills itself as “the go-to AI assistant for educators worldwide, designed to simplify teaching tasks, save time, and combat teacher burnout.” MagicSchool has existing relationships with numerous public school systems, including Atlanta, Denver, New York City, Seattle, and many others.
This means decisions about how your child learns, what material they see, and even how their performance is evaluated are increasingly influenced by Big Tech algorithms. The question is: Who controls those algorithms, and what values are embedded into them? Parents deserve answers before handing their children’s education to algorithms.
AI is a great tool and could be a great indoctrinator
AI can certainly be a valuable tool for educators and students. It can open the door to new levels of personalized learning that provide help to struggling students.
Used well, it can identify where a child is falling behind and provide extra practice, tailor lessons to a student’s strengths and weaknesses, and even spark new excitement for subjects that once felt out of reach. In an educational environment where one-on-one interaction is lacking, AI could offer desperately needed specialization.
AI can also carry significant hidden biases. The people who design AI systems decide what information is “correct,” what is “misinformation,” what viewpoints are acceptable, what viewpoints are “harmful,” and how to present material. For example, several studies show that the leading AI models have left-leaning political slants. These entrenched biases, coupled with the personalization capabilities of AI, could be a very powerful tool for indoctrination.
If you think debates over curriculum were intense before, imagine an invisible algorithm quietly steering how your child learns history, civics, or even basic facts about the world. AI could become the most effective indoctrination device ever placed in a classroom.
AI comes with major privacy and safety risks
AI feeds on data. And when it comes to schools, that is your child’s data. Everything from test scores and study habits to behavioral patterns and even emotional responses can be collected, stored, and used to refine Big Tech algorithms.
Where does that data go? Who has access to it? Can it be sold, tracked, or used years later when your child applies for a job or college? Parents must demand transparency and strict limitations. Protecting the privacy of all children in the age of AI is essential.
Lawsuits are already popping up on this issue. For instance, Google is currently facing a lawsuit over allegations that it collected data on millions of students through its educational tools, raising serious privacy concerns about how much information tech companies gather on kids without parental consent.
AI can damage mental health
Education is about far more than memorizing facts. It includes mentorship, human connection, and building social and emotional skills that prepare kids for life. If AI tutors, chatbots, or grading systems replace too much of a teacher’s role, children risk becoming isolated and less resilient.
Parents need to insist that AI supplements teachers, not replaces them. A screen is no substitute for a caring adult who knows your child, believes in them, and holds them accountable.
Another risk comes from what researchers call “AI sycophancy.” This is when chatbots or AI tutors simply tell students what they want to hear, reinforcing their opinions instead of challenging them. Over time, that can stunt critical thinking and give kids a distorted sense of reality. This is especially troubling in an educational setting.
Parents must be the first line of defense
The lessons of social media are clear: Parents cannot rely on bureaucrats, politicians, or tech companies to put kids’ best interests first.
The same is true with AI. Parents have the right and responsibility to ask tough questions. What AI tools are used in your child’s school? What data is being collected? What guardrails are in place? And most importantly: Who is in control?
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Parents should also demand policies that protect children’s privacy, dignity, and freedom of thought. Our kids’ future is too important to leave in the hands of unaccountable algorithms.
AI doesn’t have to be a threat to our children. But if parents don’t get involved now, this powerful technology will shape our kids without our vital input. Parents must lead the way in demanding transparency, accountability, and human-centered education.
Our children deserve schools that prepare them for the future without compromising their privacy, freedom, or humanity. That’s only possible if parents step up now, before it’s too late.
Missing Florida teen texted family that he got shot, was pursued by 4 Hispanic men — but cops say nothing was what it seemed
Law enforcement in Florida went into overdrive mode late last week when it was reported that 17-year-old Caden Speight was missing.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office issued an Amber Alert Thursday night stating that Speight was last seen around 4 p.m. Thursday in the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 in Dunnellon, which is about an hour south of Gainesville.
'Oh, dear Jesus, please bring this young man back to his family safe and unharmed.'
The alert also stated that "law enforcement believes he may be with four unknown men, possibly Hispanic, who are driving a light-colored van. If you have any information about his whereabouts, or if you see him, please do NOT approach and call 911 immediately."
As time wore on and the crisis heightened, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods noted that he had dedicated all of his available resources in an effort to find the teen, and his personnel worked through Thursday night and into Friday on the case. In fact, Woods later said "federal agencies" as well as reinforcements "from around the state" turned out to help.
It was a big operation, indeed.
Many observers also were worried; one replied to the alert on Facebook with the following: "Oh, dear Jesus, please bring this young man back to his family safe and unharmed."
But the original story soon got a bit hinky.
In an updated alert Friday, the sheriff's office said that "detectives obtained information and collected evidence that are unsupportive of the initially reported facts" and that "there is no evidence to indicate that he was taken by four Hispanic men in a light-colored van."
Officials added that they arrived at this determination after an initial investigation of the teen's disappearance as well as a shooting reported in the 12800 block of SW Highway 484 around 4:10 p.m. Thursday. It was the same time when — and place where — the teen was last seen.
The updated alert added that it was possible the teen "left the incident location on a black bicycle with a red and grey tent, which he purchased at Walmart on SW 19th Avenue Road in Ocala just prior to this incident being reported." Ocala is about 40 minutes northeast of Dunnellon.
"Since Caden is still a missing endangered juvenile, MSCO is asking anyone who may have seen a male matching his description with a dark-colored mountain bike and a tent to call 911," the sheriff's office added.
WESH-TV reported that when deputies arrived at the scene of the reported shooting, they found a car belonging to Speight, but he was not there. A separate WESH video report indicated that a bullet hole was found in that vehicle.
But a witness named Jackson McClure also spoke to the station Friday morning, and WESH reported he had the following to say: "I passed by here around 4 o'clock, and there was a boy, young man, believed to be the guy they're looking for, getting something out of the truck and shoving it into a book bag, and then about 10 to 15 [minutes] later, I believe he drove by my house on a bicycle. I called [the] Marion County non-emergency line and told them what I had seen, and they said, 'Thank you very much, that's very helpful.'"
WESH noted that McClure also said police "did ask me if he was bleeding as he went by, and I told them no, he looked normal, and he wasn't struggling to ride his bicycle."
Finally, by late Friday afternoon, the sheriff's office said Speight "has been located safe in Williston," which is about 35 minutes northwest of Ocala.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave
Sheriff Woods soon announced in a video some major developments in the case — but they cast a decidedly negative light on the teen whom law enforcement worked so hard to find.
First off, the sheriff's office on Tuesday told Blaze News that Speight was the one who made the claim about the four Hispanic men. In fact, the sheriff's office added to Blaze News that Speight in a text message "claimed that four Hispanic men in a white van were following him, and that he was shot."
Woods addressed this issue and didn't hold back, revealing that "the initial details that Caden texted to his family were proven to be false. Completely made up."
Woods added that evidence indeed was found "of a single gunshot where Caden left his truck. However, his claims that he had been shot and abducted were quickly disproven. We then learned that he had purchased a bicycle, tent, and camping supplies just prior to him reporting this."
The sheriff's office on Tuesday added to Blaze News that "based on the information he provided to his family and the evidence located on scene, MCSO was working his disappearance as a possible shooting and abduction. It was clear that Caden made an effort to leave the scene in such a state that, in the context of his last text, it would appear he was shot and kidnapped."
Woods added that "we had witnesses that contradicted the initial information. Caden simply rode away toward Williston while the rest of us were left to think the worst, and my team was working in overdrive to solve this case."
Then came the kid's outrageous coup de grace, which Woods detailed: "Now, content to continue the ruse, Caden — who had a handgun with him since the beginning of all of this — chose to shoot himself in the leg, causing a non-life-threatening injury just prior to walking out to the roadway where he would be located by citizens in Williston. There is zero chance that Caden's gunshot wound came from any type of an assailant."
Woods added in his video update that many people have wondered if Speight will face any charges and what the cost to taxpayers will be after this "large-scale investigation and search."
"Trust me," the sheriff said. "It is on my mind. I can tell you those items are not off the table at this point. Right now, we are still processing all of the evidence in this case. I don't want to make any statements on that until we have fully examined it all."
However, despite detectives having "a lot of questions for Caden," the sheriff added that "his parents refuse to allow my detectives to speak with him so that we could come to a true, final conclusion in all this."
"Again, thank you citizens for your tips and information that you sent in," Woods concluded, "and when we do have any updated information on this case, I promise you, we will provide it to you."
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What Government-Run Schools Can Learn From A 19th-Century Teacher Homeschoolers Adore
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America’s youth are struggling, and they need help fast.
Currently, 1 in 5 U.S. children ages 2 to 19 are obese. Over the past 20 years, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes “in the 10‐ to 19‐year‐old population has doubled.”
I sincerely believe that it takes good parenting, not a bunch of strangers, to raise a well-adjusted child.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that by 2060, the number of American children and teenagers with type 2 diabetes could increase by an incredible 700%!
In terms of mental health, things are not much better.
Sadder and dumber
“Among adolescents, mental health, substance use, and suicide are concerns,” the CDC notes. “Data obtained directly from youth can tell us more about the scope of these problems.”
In 2023, “40% reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year,” “20% reported seriously considering attempting suicide in the past year,” “16% reported making a suicide plan in the past year,” and “9% reporting attempting suicide in the past year.”
Perhaps most concerning of all, American children are becoming dumber.
Thanks to the release of the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress report, we now know that “the average reading score for the nation at grade 4 was 2 points lower compared to 2022 and 5 points lower compared to 2019.”
Likewise, “the average reading score for the nation at grade 8 was 2 points lower than in 2022 and 5 points lower compared to 2019.”
How about math? “In 2024, the average score at fourth grade was 2 points higher compared to 2022 and 3 points lower compared to the pre-pandemic score in 2019.” Among eighth graders, “the average score was not significantly different from 2022 but was 8 points lower compared to 2019.”
When it comes to science, the trend continues. “In 2024, the average science score at eighth grade was 4 points lower compared to 2019. Scores in 2024 decreased at all five selected percentiles compared to 2019.”
Help starts at home
It is quite difficult to read these statistics and remain optimistic about the future. I hope it is not too late to reverse course; nevertheless, doing so will be much easier said than done.
A myriad of reasons are to blame for the sudden and steep decline in children’s physical and mental well-being. Some blame corporations for pushing ultra-processed, sugar-laden foods. Some blame technology companies for getting kids addicted to screens and social media.
I, however, blame the parents.
I reject the mantra that it takes a village to raise a child. I sincerely believe that it takes good parenting, not a bunch of strangers, to raise a well-adjusted child.
Parents should be responsible for what their children consume. As the ones buying the groceries and paying for their children’s expensive devices, it’s incumbent upon parents to teach their children about moderation, discipline, and all the other life lessons that turn them into responsible adults.
It is also misguided to put all the blame for students performing poorly academically on the broken public school system. As a former public school teacher, I understand most government-run schools are failing to properly educate America’s millions of students.
But, again, what about the parents’ role in their children’s education? Are the parents doing everything they can to ensure that their children are on the right academic path? Are the parents demanding more from the public schools that their taxes fund? Are the parents at all engaged in their child’s education? Are parents monitoring the garbage their kids encounter on social media?
These are the types of difficult questions we must ask.
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Children crave discipline
When I taught high school students years ago, I held them accountable. At the time, many of the students whined and complained. They said I was “mean” because I didn’t let them get away with stuff that most other teachers would.
The funny thing is that many of those students came back years later and thanked me for holding them to such a high standard. Deep down, they craved order and discipline.
Children need adults to keep them in check. Sometimes, they need tough love. They need help, and no government program can provide the support that they so desperately need right now.
A strong family unit always has been and always will be the backbone of a healthy society. America, if we want to save the children, we must save the family.
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