Progressives believe that conservatives are easy to fool — and there is a lot of evidence for that view.

For example, by and large conservatives are honest citizens with no hidden agendas. As a result, they assume that others are likewise. In other words, conservatives are trusting people. However, trusting people are much easier to take advantage of.

(Another example is that an inexplicable number of conservatives did not vote in 2020! They trusted that other good citizens would step up, so their participation wasn’t needed. BIG MISTAKE!)

A current major example of North Carolina conservatives being tricked is the Leandro education case. I am well aware of the brilliant insight: “It’s easier to con people than it is to get them to realize that they have been conned” — but here goes…

For those who haven’t followed this exceptionally important matter, the Leandro case germinated nearly 30 years ago (~1994). It basically is a complaint that K-12 students in certain state school districts are not getting a satisfactory basic education.

Over the years the multiple complaints and rulings have almost exclusively been about who has the authority to decide how much money is needed to fix these claimed deficiencies and who has the authority to demand that such money be spent.

Yes, those are unquestionably very important issues — but from my perspective as a K-12 education expert, they are actually secondary to what is really going on.

We are seeing a classic magician’s trick: misdirection. This is where the performer distracts us with a shiny object, while they pull off a con right under our nose.

What is really the issue regarding NC K-12 education is this profound question: should we primarily be teaching children WHAT to think or HOW to think?

It can not be overstated how important this is to students, our state, and America.

The left is 100% behind the “WHAT to think” position. The reason is that we have allowed them to infiltrate every level of our education system, so that they now almost totally control the “WHAT” content that our children are being taught.

Just a few examples of this are that they are dictating to us WHAT our best energy options are, WHAT the facts are about climate change, WHAT really happened when the universe began, WHAT is the truth about American history, etc., etc.

The reality is that all of these (and many more) are controversial topics, which have many credible sides to them. Students should have objective and comprehensive facts presented to them about these types of issues, and then they should come to a conclusion after applying critical thinking — rather than a faceless and unaccountable bureaucrat pre-determining what is right and wrong.

This is where North Carolina conservatives are dropping the ball, as they should be parading down Main Street demanding that our children be taught HOW to think.

That is what is really the main issue with the Leandro case: the left is trying to solidify their long-term effort of getting the NC K-12 education system to officially go more in the direction of WHAT to think.

How do I know this? I’ve waded through hundreds of pages of legal documents and reports in the Leandro case — and there is hardly a single word about teaching our children HOW to think!

If you’d like the details, you can find them here in a six-page report.

So, which is more important to conservatives: who pays for our K-12 education system, or what our children are being taught?

The illusion artists want us to focus on the money — so don’t be fooled!

By the way, when deciding between the 2024 candidates for NC Superintendent of Public Instruction, pay attention whether the candidate seems more focused on teaching students HOW to think or WHAT to think.

YOUR choice!