My 15 year old daughter lives out-of-state with her mother. She and her mother are still TBM. A school called the "Kimber Academy" is making waves in the Moses Lake mormon community, and after doing on-line research, it appears that its a quasi private school, home school type of academy. The founder of these schools, Glenn Kimber, is the son-in-law of W. Cleon Skousen, and his main themes seem to be God and Constitution.

My daughter just sent me an email, asking permission to drop out of public school, and start attending the Kimber Academy. I obviously wish she wouldn't, because I have a feeling that if growing up LDS isn't bad enough, getting involved in this Kimber Academy type of learning will be brainwashing to the nth degree.

Ultimately, I'm going to tell her that its her decision, but I want her to make her decision with all the facts in front of her.

So, I guess I'm asking for a little parenting advice, and also, if anyone has any info on Glenn Kimber and the Kimber Academy. Thanks in advance!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2011 07:24PM by idahotortfeasor.

There are some articles on line about it. It sounds very, very churchy and they do not have a wide variety of elective classes. I would guess that there aren't a lot of extracurricular activies either, I don't know anything first hand about it, but I'd be skeptical myself. One of their core classes is Book of Mormon and history is taught as God's dealings with man.In my book, Cleon Skousen was a nut and was so far from my political views that I would run like hell.I thought that even as a Mormon.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/27/2011 07:40PM by bona dea.

I put 2 of my kids in it for a year in Boise. they didn't advertise so it was only going 1 year. but the school is intended to be for homeschoolers. It is for teaching some of the basics. We financially struggle and had to pay 250 dollars a month for each child. that was like a 3rd of our income. I also had to drive them into school everyday 30 miles one way. our boy was 15 and our girl was in kindergarden. the other kids went to traditional schools. Our 15 year old before going there was depressed, failing school, not good at anything, hated school so we had nothing to loose in putting him in.
I prayed for this school and it was a blessing to us. Worth every cent we paid, worth every mile we drove, worth every hardship we bore by taking our kids there. Our kindergardener learned about the human body, made cell models, understood the different systems in the body. etc. learned how to write, understood geography, knew the bible stories better then I did, would ask very intelligent inquisitive questions while we drove from school. She could speak to others of any age and make conversation. It was amazing...
My son who hated girls learned to respect them, learned to have confidence in himself, became a prominent member of our community by talking to people and doing service for them where they learned to respect him and trust him and hire him to do jobs for them. His curiosity in learning thrived at home as well, where he built an air engine on his own out of plastic containers and things around that house and it worked. He learned to like not school but learning. It made him a better person. He dosen't go to church with us as mormons, but this school changed him to be a better man in the world. I would give anything if that school were back to put my kids into. It was worth everything for us. EVERYTHING!!! and I would do it again.

They had to close down because they weren't accredited and weren't going to be accredited. It was actually kind of funny because the seniors weren't getting into BYU because BYU wouldn't recognize their credits.


Stay away!!!

raptorjesus Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> They had to close down because they weren't
> accredited and weren't going to be accredited. It
> was actually kind of funny because the seniors
> weren't getting into BYU because BYU wouldn't
> recognize their credits.
>
>
> Stay away!!!

I wouldn't allow my child to attend an school that isn't accredited. That is going to be a problem when trying to get into college. Even if your daughter is not planning on going now, she could change her mind and be very sorry.

I don't see anything on its webpage that says its accredited. The links to univ.'s on its webpage don't don't say anything about unacredited high schools, only accredited & home schooling. I don't see how you can be an "academy" and then suggest that your students can get in to college as having been home school.

But hey, a Mormon would never try and deceive for money.

You're her parent. So be one.

Tell her that you cannot support her dropping out of a decent school to attend one that does not have proper accreditation, thus ensuring that she can NEVER get into college.

Tell her that part of her education is learning about people who aren't just like her, and attending public school is a good way to meet people from all walks of life.

Tell her that schools like this exist to RESTRICT her education, not expand it. Tell her that she has all the time in the world to adopt whatever beliefs suit her and interpret history however she wants, but first she needs a good education that covers all the conventional knowledge on which our society is based.

In other words, tell her no.

And then pray to the Flying Spaghetti Monster or whoever that this isn't one of those schools that teaches that the Earth is 6000 years old, America is the only moral nation in history, and Adam and Eve rode to church on the backs of dinosaurs.

Going to college is overrated.

Learning how to make decisions, however, is priceless.

Besides, SLCC will pretty much take anybody.

Athena Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> You're her parent. So be one.
>
> Tell her that you cannot support her dropping out
> of a decent school to attend one that does not
> have proper accreditation, thus ensuring that she
> can NEVER get into college.
>
> Tell her that part of her education is learning
> about people who aren't just like her, and
> attending public school is a good way to meet
> people from all walks of life.
>
> Tell her that schools like this exist to RESTRICT
> her education, not expand it. Tell her that she
> has all the time in the world to adopt whatever
> beliefs suit her and interpret history however she
> wants, but first she needs a good education that
> covers all the conventional knowledge on which our
> society is based.
>
> In other words, tell her no.
>
> And then pray to the Flying Spaghetti Monster or
> whoever that this isn't one of those schools that
> teaches that the Earth is 6000 years old, America
> is the only moral nation in history, and Adam and
> Eve rode to church on the backs of dinosaurs

I agree. Look into it very carefully and if it is not accredited, doesn't teach real science, offer good electives,etc, then tell her 'no'. She will thank you later. Perhaps the lack of extra curricular activities, if there aren't any, might help you make your point. Kids are very much more into the social aspects of school than the academics. If you ex is TBM, don't make this about religion, make it about getting a good education.

Wasn't Glenn Kimber tied up with the failed AFU online university, and the highly controversial George Wythe University?

Hmmm,

PROVO — A Kimber Academy — a collection of private schools that focus on reuniting church and state with a heavy emphasis on LDS scriptures — will be coming to Utah County in February. The new academy will be located in either Provo or Orem, depending on final student enrollment...

Taken from the Deseret News
I'm guessing they charge admission...

I know that many of you posting here are angry at how you have been treated in the Mormon culture, and that is where much of your animosity stems. I don't blame you for being put off, but can someone besides Kym and Matt be a little voice of reason? If you don't know what you are talking about, just don't comment.

So many of you are making erroneous assumptions about the Kimber Academy based on little or no information. Kym went there and I taught there when she was attended. Out of the hundred or so kids that I have personally known that graduated from Dr. Kimber's program, at least 85% have gone on to college right after graduation (another 5 or 10% have waited a year or two because they graduated so young, but ended up in college as well). Accredited or not, they GET RESULTS. What is the percentage of public school graduates that go right to college? I won't say because I don't know, but I do know it is nowhere near 85%. There are kids I know that graduated around the same time as Kym who are at Harvard and Yale now finishing off their PHDs or doing other post-graduate work. I know many others who graduated with Bachelor's degrees and are now "productive members of society" raising families, and brainwashing their children to a culture of peace and love.

Sure, there is a strong religious influence at the school. That is what some people want for their kids. No, we do not teach that the world is only 6000 years old, but we do place Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden around that time, therefore the start of recorded history. If you don't believe Adam and Eve are literally the parents of humanity, that wouldn't fit your expectations. But, just like Mormons that have kids in public schools teaching rubbish science and history as fact, you can tell your kid that isn't how it is. Darwin had some wonderful ideas, but even he believed in God. Einstein believed in a higher organizing power, and refers to God often in his writings. Yet, it is illegal for a science teacher to propose creationism in public schools for fear that someone's religion might rub off on some unwitting impressionable student.

I do not mean to be preachy, but I love the Kimber program and have seen incredible results from it. I hope we can all acknowledge that what's good for me isn't always going to be good for you, and just respect each other in our own decisions to seek out what is best for our families. Love you Kym. Thanks for standing up for the school. Honestly, I did not expect that from you. I guess I assumed you resented your time at Kimber. Thanks for surprising me again.

"at Harvard and Yale now finishing off their PHDs"

Sifu Wrote:
> ...public schools teaching rubbish science and history as fact

That tells me all that I need to know about the quality of a Kimber Academy education.

I know I'm quite a few months late in putting my input on Kimber Academy in, but I feel I may as well. I, myself, attended Kimber Academy in SLC, UT from 2001-2005. I had attended public school from grades k-9. Public school was hell for me. I was bullied, not only by my fellow students, but from my teachers as well. Every year. By ninth grade I was getting straight f's and was headed down a very hard and trying path. My grandmother decided to put my sister, brother and myself into Kimber Academy and I absolutely owe a lot to Dr. Kimber. They have high standards for their students and staff. It changed my life for the better. I say if your daughter wants to go to Kimber Academy support her. She'll be with peers who have the same beliefs and standards. She won't be around the smut and garbage that public school has. She won't have to worry about guys trying to sleep with her or have to be around people doing drugs and what not. They did offer some awesome extra curricular activities when I was a student. We had Kung Fu, Choir, Art, Spanish, Dance, Drama, and a few more. As far as being able to go to college after you graduate, I've had quite a few friends who have been successful in getting into colleges. I did hear some Universities would have you go to a community college for I believe a semester before they would accept the Kimber graduate, but that's probably because they don't offer a High School Diploma, you just get your GED. It really isn't that bad being LDS.. And they don't brainwash you at Kimber Academy. I had some friends who weren't LDS who attended Kimber Academy and they said they enjoyed going to that school, some more than public school. I hope this helps you feel more comfortable with your daughters decision.

^ But you do seem brainwashed.

A school that is not accredited and cannot give out HS diplomas is not worth the money.

"She won't have to worry about guys trying to sleep with her or have to be around people doing drugs and what not."

Of course, there are no sexual predators or drugs in Utah County. Yes, crawling into a cultic hole will 'protect' you from the 'world'. It will also divorce you from reality.

These schools are nonaccredited for a reason. They are poor at educating. Sorry that comfort trumps education for you.

The young guys that go to Kimber academy have no sex drive? I can't stop laughing

It does not matter a damn if your school is credited personally by the President, if you are being bullied by fellow pupils and staff -sadly, it can happen- then the accreditation matters Jack shit to you.

Because all you learn is that your life is a ball of shit.

but I would try a transfer to another public school before giving up on public school entirely.

It's irresponsible and unfair to the child to dismiss the accreditation issue. It's huge, and it should be. Having your school credits rejected later can also turn your life into a "ball of shit".

But in the case of a child who in Kym's case was getting straight "fs", all the accreditation in the world matters very little.

Subtracting the praise for the religious aspects of the curriculum, I think the same positive "failing public school, thrived and enjoyed learning once s/he started home school" testimonials can be found for secular home schooling programs, or at least accredited religious home school programs if that is an issue. The standard educational model does not fit everyone, and a lot of children do not thrive in the classroom setting, and for those children, home school can change their future from potential middle or high school drop out to top-of-the-class, college graduate. Additionally, the same outcome could be realized via homeschooling for victims of bullying, specifically those who turn to truancy to avoid bullying. Homeschooling has some merit, but that merit is probably found across the spectrum of homeschooling programs. I don't think the positive results posted here are unique to Kimber Academy.

If homeschooling is necessary or good for some kids, why not go with a program that WILL set them up for a future without barriers (like needing to attend a community college before a 4 year college just because they lack a high school diploma, or only being accepted by non-accredited colleges like that George Wythe University)?

No experience here but read my post about Ricks vs public education:
http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,337009

Obviously if your daughter is being bullied or having a hard time by all means pull her out and put her in a different environment but don't just do it to protect her from the world, she will eventually have to live on her own in that world.

Put her in a school that is accredited. Key word there that should matter to her mom and to her. It would have mattered to me at that age because I would not want anything at all limiting my options or causing me a problem down the road. I wouldn't care if they gave me the best education in the world if they weren't accredited.
Perception also matters. Sorry, but people label you sometimes by what schools you attended and Mormons have a hard enough time as it is fitting in to society.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/28/2011 03:12PM by suckafoo.

I attended an LDS-Based private school called Deseret Academy for over three years. If your ultimate goal is to keep your child sane and make it so her level of dedication to the Church is not the basis of her acceptance and popularity, I do NOT recommend Kimber Academy (with which I have experience via joint school functions and second-hand information from many of the school's students) or any other LDS-Based school.

LDS-Based learning, in my opinion, takes an already fanatical belief system and ties it into everything the child learns about EVERYTHING.

At Deseret Academy, we were required to tie LDS teachings into everything we did, from going to the bathroom (you should be thinking about the Lord while you do your business...pray while you pee) to mathematics (isn't it grand that the Lord created all of this math for us? Why don't we see if we can decode the glyphs in the Book of Abraham with our new math skills?) to lunch (remember to pray before you eat!).

There were group testimony meetings, after which a loose ranking system would be established among the students to determine popularity, based on the "effectiveness" of the testimonies given.

It is like a training ground for fanatical Mormons.

The leaders of these schools (Glenn Kimber included, though he seems like a rather nice man) often treat themselves like miniature versions of the "Prophet" Joseph Smith, and there is a lot of "revelation" talk thrown around in the school circles. ("I was led to start this school...God wanted me to...we mortgaged our house to start this school, and we're in debt and may have to go bankrupt, but the Lord will provide for us...we can't pay any of our teachers, but they shouldn't mind because the Lord "called" them to these positions...et cetera.)

Shady business practices typically abound...in the name of the "Lord" of course.

I could go on, but I see no need to. Suffice it to say, if you value your daughter's sanity, either send her to a decent public school, or home school her. If you send her to Kimber, you may regret the decision for years, especially if you'd like to ever see her leave the Mormon Church.

I had some experience with it growing up. At the time it was called benjamin franklin academy but they used some of glenn kimber's material.

I don't remember much of it, and obviously reject most of it, but what I can remember included a lot of scripture references mixed in with every school subject.

I also remember a heavy emphasis on creationism which led me into an argument over evolution with my M.D. bro-in-law when I was 12 which thankfully started me on the road to rational thought.

I would suggest talking her out of it if possible. Kimber is heavy on the christianity and light on reality. However I survived and managed to learn a few real facts on my way to med school so maybe it won't be the worst thing for her either.

Good luck.

I think I remember the Ben Franklin Academy in San Diego. At the end of the day, the program was a non-credited farse, and the kids all had to take the GED test in order to have a diploma. It destroyed a lot of bright smart kid's future.

I could be thinking of something else though. I remember it was a TBM favorite, and it was named after a founding father.

Tell her that a major part of education is hearing, and thinking about ideas that you don't agree with, and learning how to politely talk about these ideas. It doesn't hurt that this is actually true. Tell her, that you worry that if she starts to shelter herself from theories and ideas that she disagrees with, she will never develop the skills she needs to debate, and critically think, and therefore you do not approve of this school.

Then tell her that you do admire her interest in learning more about the founding documents of our country, and that you want to send her some books that discuss the founding of our country, and the meaning of the constitution. Now here's the hard part, send her books that are educational, but either political neutral or politically balanced. It will be tempting to send her stuff that is biased towards your views, but she will likely see through that. There are a lot of good books that could teach her valuable lessons on history, but that she wouldn't read, and would be offended that you sent them to her.

I don't have any personal experience to share, but I think Glenn Beck used to plug this, or at least promote Glenn Kimber in general, along with that "university" he used to plug, George Wythe University. At the time, I remember looking up GWU and laughing at its dubious history, and at Glenn Kimber's "degrees" - his doctorates are all honorary, all from unaccredited schools. He has no formal education IN educating, so I would be concerned about the quality of education your child will receive. It seems like it would be heavily opinion-based, rather than fact based, and factual material would probably be taught through a particular lens. It's probably safe to equate it to any other non-accredited, fundamentalist-based homeschool package, for example the program created by Bill Gothard/ATI (I can't remember the name of the home school program, Abeka, maybe? I always confuse it with the program created by the people behind the extremely creepy Pensacola Christian College.)

If I was the parent in this situation, I'd try to get to the bottom of WHY she wants to attend. It might be that her primary desire is to be homeschooled, and this school's popularity in the area, and her mother's approval of this program, creates the perfect opportunity to drop out of public school and get into a homeschooling program. If that's the root of the issue, rather than HER desire to be enrolled in this particular curriculum, I would research good, accredited, secular home school programs and find out if any seemed like a good and practical choice for my child. If so, I would make a compromise and allow her to drop out of public school and enroll in a homeschool program, but only one that was acceptable to me (accredited, secular and rigorous curriculum). Additionally, some public school systems allow homeschooled students to participate in some enrichment programs, like drama, band, or other, similar activity. I would research to find out if any schools in the district allowed this, and if so, would require her to participate in some program for well-rounded social and enrichment purposes. To me, personally, this seems like a productive and positive compromise if her motivation is homeschooling rather than the specific Kimber Academy program.

If her motivation is related to the Kimber Academy curriculum, then no, I would absolutely not allow it. A good educational foundation is too important to compromise. She's TBM now, but will she still be in a year? In three years? What if she ends up at BYU and a semester or year in, she wakes up and smells the non-coffee? Will the Kimber Academy program provide her with the appropriate foundation to successfully attend and thrive in a non-church school? Probably not. I would not allow my child to risk something as important as an educational foundation based on a regional fad and possible personal phase.

This place is an evil right wing brainwashing fanatic school. Their end goal is to rewrite the constitution to make not being a True Christian a capitol offense.

No doubt they will teach your children to hate science by saying insane things like the world is only 6,000 years old, that the federal government is a part of the socialist New World Order. That anyone in the Democratic party deserves to be executed by firing squad.

Don't send your children to those lunatics.