Wis. 8th Grade Crossword Puzzle Definitions: Conservatism = 'Restricting Personal Freedoms,' Liberalism = 'Personal Freedom for Everyone

A mother at a Wisconsin public school said her daughter's eighth grade class was assigned a worksheet with some eyebrow-raising definitions for "conservatism" and "liberalism."

Conservatism, it stated in part, believes in "preserving traditional moral values by restricting personal freedoms" while liberalism is for "equality and personal freedom for everyone."

"This is indoctrination," Tamra Varebrook, a Republican activist in Racine, Wis., told TheBlaze on Thursday after her 13-year-old daughter showed her the crossword-style vocabulary sheet from Union Grove Elementary School earlier this week. Varebrook first talked about the assignment with the news arm of the conservative Education Action Group.

Image source: EAG News

Varebrook said she complained to Brenda Stevenson, district administrator at Union Grove, who apologized profusely and said it never should have been taught. Varebrook was told the teacher was required to correct the definition to the class Wednesday while the assistant principal observed.

Stevenson did not immediately return a request for comment from TheBlaze.

The worksheet was a product of Sunburst Visual Media, and Varebrook said she was told the teacher hadn't read through it closely before handing it out. Varebrook said she believed that -- until she was forwarded a PDF of the entire educational unit and found the same definition for "conservatism" repeated multiple times.

Varebrook didn't name the teacher, whom she described as a "kind" person who -- along with Stevenson -- was not among the educators to sign petitions to try to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker last year.

Still, she wants answers as to how the worksheet was assigned. She said there are four eighth-grade classes and assumes it was part of the lesson for all students.

"Somebody has got to be held accountable to know what is being taught," Varebrook said.

A closer look at the worksheet is available here.

Cerebellum Corporation, the parent company of Sunburst Visual Media, did not immediately return an emailed request for comment from TheBlaze.