I was reading about an institute on Oklahoma called the Character Training Institute, which is supposedly based on the controversial methods of Bill Gothard.
Now I have questions as to whether a some charter schools which are partially funded with public money are using a program based on his system called Character First. More on that in a minute.
I was reading this article from last year called
Cult of CharacterIt is about an institute in Oklahoma.
Cult of Character
How the ‘secular’ Character Training Institute is working to build evangelist Bill Gothard’s vision of a First-Century Kingdom of God—one city, one state, one school board, one police force and one mind at a time.
"From the outside the bland, unmarked exterior of the Character Training Institute’s headquarters blends remarkably well into its immediate surroundings. This is a section of Oklahoma City that hasn’t yet benefited from the nearby, upscale urban development intended to draw both tourism and business to the area.
..."Inside the institute, Arizona state treasurer David Petersen takes to the conference podium to tell how his state’s Family Services Committee passed “Character Education Legislation.”
“All schools now have it implemented,” he says proudly. “We’re fighting for the soul of this nation.” Petersen is not being hyperbolic. He attributes his passion for “character” to a personal meeting with evangelist Bill Gothard.
Gothard, the 74-year-old, unmarried man at the head of the Oak-Brook, Illinois-based Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP)—which brings in an estimated profit of at least $63 million annually—has been in the evangelism business since 1964. Originally named the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts, IBLP changed its name in 1990. All totaled, IBLP boasts that at least 2.5 million people have attended the organization’s seminars and ministries in the United States and other countries, including Russia, Mongolia, Romania and Taiwan.
Another search on that group led to this article from 1999 about a Ft. Lauderdale school. I remembered then that several years ago here we discussed that the board of directors of the school were not aware of Gothard. When they were told about his policies and his connection to their curriculum called Character First....they said it had no place in a public school.
The program is listed on their website at the Charter School of Excellence.
Character First curriculum still listedCharacter First!
The Character First! Education series is designed specifically for elementary-age students. Students are taught the positive character qualities vital for them to become successful and productive citizens in our society. They are inspired to achieve excellence in every aspect of their life.
Character First! Education
520 W. Main St.
Oklahoma City, OK 73102
(405) 815-0001
Fax (405) 815-0002
http://www.characterfirst.com Sounds like the program based on Gothard's principles is being taught there. But they said it wasn't.
About Bill GothardGothard has been accused by fellow Christians of everything from misinterpreting the Bible to ignoring spousal abuse to being a borderline cult leader. (...)
Gothard doesn't focus on the Ten Commandments... he teaches his seven "universal, nonoptional Principles of Life," and he extends those principles to what food to eat and what clothes to wear. Breaking any of Gothard's principles leads to the highway to Hell, quite literally. (...)
Now Florida is slated to become Gothard country State Rep. Tracy Stafford and Sen. Howard Forman, both Democrats from Broward County, have introduced bills that would force every public elementary school in the state to teach Character First! which is mentioned by name in the bills or, as the bill vaguely puts it, a program "similar" to it. (...)
When asked about Bill Gothard, both Stafford and Forman are stumped. Neither did his homework on the curriculum. They've never heard of Gothard and weren't aware that the man behind Character First! is an evangelical minister. When told about Gothard's emphasis on the "chain of command," Stafford immediately recognizes the danger in such teachings. "I can see how that could lead to a continuation of child abuse," he says.
Howard Forman now says he doesn't believe Character First! should be put in Florida's public schools. "I never heard of Gothard, and I think his ideas sound kind of screwy," Forman says. "I don't support the kind of character training where people sing songs about discipline. I don't support religious extremists of any kind." (...)
Well, it is listed there. And Forman is a director and surely knows it.
This is from 1999. It is called
Little Soldiers in the Culture WarIt is about that school in Fr. Lauderdale.
One of the lessons for today is obedience, and the first graders at the school inside the First Christian Church building in Fort Lauderdale sing about it quite obediently.
While the students at the Charter School of Excellence are divided fairly evenly between blacks and whites, they dress alike, with the boys in dark blue pants and green buttoned-up golf shirts and the girls wearing white blouses under plaid jumpers. All eyes are focused on their young and attractive teacher, Mrs. Blocker, who leads them in song:
Obedience is listening attentively,
Obedience will take instructions joyfully,
Obedience heeds wishes of authorities,
Obedience will follow orders instantly.
For when I am busy at my work or play,
And someone calls my name, I'll answer right away!
I'll be ready with a smile to go the extra mile
As soon as I can say "Yes, sir!" "Yes ma'am!"
Hup, two, three!
The school's website is there, that curriculum is listed there. Does anyone have any knowledge of changes made in the school's status as charter school which at that time received about $800,000 a year from the state? Is it still charter which means it receives public money?
This is alarming.
One last question about a paragraph in the very long Little Soldiers article. I am not aware of what they are referring to here.
The teachers at Bush's Liberty City school have been trained by CTI representatives in how to use Character First!, which will soon be installed there, says Katrina Wilson, the Liberty City school's principal. Forman's Charter School of Excellence teachers say Character First! has been a success and has helped to bring good behavior and discipline into the classrooms.
I was trying to remember what program we used before I retired, but I don't remember anything quite like this.
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