Your task is to extract the thesis of an opinionated news article by selecting some of its text segments. The thesis is a summarization of what the author wants to persuade the reader of. Your answer should consist of segments of the given text. Note that you are not allowed to combine different sentences.

Input: Consider Input: High School: Islamic vocabulary lesson part of Common Core standards. Parents in Farmville, North Carolina want to know why their children were given a Common Core vocabulary assignment in an English class that promoted the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic faith . "It really caught me off guard," a Farmville Central High School student who was in the class told me . "If we are not allowed to talk about any other religions in school - how is this appropriate?" The Islamic vocabulary worksheet was assigned to seniors . "I was reading it and it caught me off guard," the student told me . "I just looked at it and knew something was not right- so I emailed the pages to my mom." "In the following exercises, you will have the opportunity to expand your vocabulary by reading about Muhammad and the Islamic word," the worksheet read . The lesson used words like astute, conducive, erratic, mosque, pastoral, and zenith in sentences about the Islamic faith . CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW TODD ON FACEBOOK FOR CONSERVATIVE CONVERSATION! "The zenith of any Muslim's life is a trip to Mecca," one sentence read . For "erratic," the lesson included this statement:"The responses to Muhammad's teachings were at first erratic. Some people responded favorably, while other resisted his claim that 'there is no God but Allah and Muhammad his Prophet." Another section required students to complete a sentence :. "There are such vast numbers of people who are anxious to spread the Muslim faith that it would be impossible to give a(n)___ amount." I spoke to one parent who asked not to be identified . She was extremely troubled by what her child was exposed to in the classroom . "What if right after Pearl Harbor our educational system was talking about how great the Japanese emperor was?" the parent asked . "What if during the Cold War our educational system was telling students how wonderful Russia was?" The parent said the material was classwork disguised as Islamic propaganda . "It's very shocking," she said . "I just told my daughter to read it as if it's fiction. It's no different than another of fictional book you've read." A spokesman for Pitt County Schools defended the lesson  - noting that it came from a state-adopted supplemental workbook and met the "Common Core standards for English Language Arts." "The course is designed to accompany the world literature text, which emphasizes culture in literature," the statement read . The problem is it's emphasizing a specific culture and religion - and the school district acknowledged there were concerns "related to the religious nature of sentences providing vocabulary words in context." "Our school system understands all concerns related to proselytizing, and there is no place for it in our instruction," the statement goes on to say . "However, this particular lesson was one of many the students in this class have had and will have that expose them to the various religions and how they shape cultures throughout the world." I asked the school district to provide me with a copy of vocabulary worksheets that promoted the Jewish, Hindu and Christian faiths . The school district did not reply . I also asked for the past or future dates when the students would be given those vocabulary worksheets . The school district has yet to reply . The student I spoke with told me they have not had any other assignments dealing with religion- other than the one about Islam . Why is that not surprising? Based on its official statement, Pitt County Schools seems confident that the vocabulary lessons are in compliance with three Common Core standards related to literacy . If you want to look up those standards , reference CCSSELA- Literary L11-12.4. A, 12.4. D and 12.6 . Since the Common Core folks seem to be infatuated with sentence completion - let me try one out on them . Use "Islamic" and "proselytizing" in the following sentence : Somebody got their ____ hand caught in the ____ cookie jar . UPDATE : I asked the school district if there had been similar vocabulary assignments about Judaism, Christianity or other religions . I also asked for the exact dates of those assignments . Here's the reply I received from the school district :. "The class recently finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel . As part of the study of this book, students were exposed to Judaism . I'm told that one of the next couple of lessons that will be taught in this class includes an examination of Psalm 23 as part of the lesson . Additionally ,  the workbook in question has another vocabulary lesson with words used in a passage about India's three great beliefs (Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism) . Keep in mind that this workbook is just one of numerous resources used in the course . Students are exposed to various cultures, values, and beliefs through the reading of multiple types of literature, but teachers certainly aren't advocating for any of them." Notice how the school district dodged my question?

Output: Parents in Farmville, North Carolina want to know why their children were given a Common Core vocabulary assignment in an English class that promoted the Prophet Muhammad and the Islamic faith For "erratic," the lesson included this statement:"The responses to Muhammad's teachings were at first erratic. Some people responded favorably, while other resisted his claim that 'there is no God but Allah and Muhammad his Prophet."


Input: Consider Input: Mario Cuomo and the folly of progressivism. How precious in the sight of progressives was one of their saints, Mario Cuomo, the three-term governor of New York who died last week at age 82 . He was a model of progressivism and a gifted rhetorician . In most media accounts, references were made to two speeches Cuomo delivered in 1984, one at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco where Walter Mondale was nominated for president, and the other at the University of Notre Dame where Cuomo spoke about abortion and the "proper" role of religion in politics . The thing about progressivism is that it resembles floor wax -- all shine and no depth . In his Democratic convention speech, Cuomo referenced Ronald Reagan's line about America being a "shining city on a hill." Cuomo responded,"A shining city is perhaps all the president sees from the portico of the White House or the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well . But there's another city; there' s another part to the shining city.... In this part of the city, there are more poor than ever . More families in trouble . More and more people who need help but can't find it . ... There are people who sleep in the city streets, in the gutter where the glitter doesn't show." This is boilerplate Democratic rhetoric we've heard since the days of Franklin Roosevelt . After Democrats Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Carter, Clinton and Obama, are fewer families in trouble? Are there fewer poor people, especially since Johnson's "War on Poverty" promised to end it? Statistics reveal there are not , so why do so many embrace progressive ideas? If something isn't working , why repeat the errors? As Reagan noted, government too often adds to problems ; it doesn' t solve them . Government doesn't create jobs ; a thriving private economy does . Government welfare mostly doesn't incentivize people to escape poverty, but too often sustains them in poverty and addicts them to government handouts . On the issue of church and state, Cuomo bisected the subjects in his Notre Dame speech . While he said he accepted Catholic teaching against capital punishment , he rejected its opposition to abortion . In this, the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin expressed opposition to both issues while eloquently arguing that the Catholic Church believes that each is part of a "seamless garment" of life and that all life matters and should not be taken by individuals, or the state . This is another flaw of progressivism . Progressives are happy to embrace church teachings when it favors their political agenda, but reject them when those teachings don't conform to their politics . My one encounter with Cuomo came after a column I wrote following his 2007 debate with former Speaker Newt Gingrich at Cooper Union in New York, the site of a famous speech by Abraham Lincoln . I said that Gingrich clearly won the debate and made a mockery of Cuomo's liberalism . Cuomo called me and after identifying himself launched into a tirade that lasted about 90 seconds . He then hung up giving me no opportunity to say much more than "hello, nice to hear from you." Vanity . Vanity . Most obituaries and news reports called Cuomo "inspiring." A New York Times editorial correctly noted:"For all his idealism, Mr  Cuomo's years as governor were dogged by economic recession that blunted his hopes to leave great programs and innovation as his legacy . He had to cut services and scratch for scarce revenue." Inspiration is good if it motivates people to do for themselves and improve their lives . Otherwise ,  it's nothing more than floor wax . May Gov  Cuomo rest in peace .

Output: How precious in the sight of progressives was one of their saints, Mario Cuomo, the three-term governor of New York who died last week at age 82


Input: Consider Input: Welcome 2015: It may be two steps forward, one step back, but here's what matters. Today, January 1, 2015 is the very first day of a brand new year . And for many that means renewed efforts at a fresh start . New Year's resolutions, we call them . This is the year . It all starts now . We resolve to turn over a new leaf - and this time we're serious . This time we're really going to try , we're not going to quit . We promise ourselves that we're going to quit bad habits and start good ones . We're going to get in shape, eat better, be more content, more disciplined, more intentional . We're going to be better husbands, wives, fathers, mothers . We're going to work harder, serve more, plan more, give more, read more . We're going to finally be all that we can be . No more messing around . Well ... I say try . Seriously, try . You might make some great strides this year . I'm hoping to . There are a lot of improvements I'm hoping to make over the next 12 months . But don't be surprised a year from now when you realize that you've fallen short... again . For those who try and try, year after year, again and again, to get better and better, only to take three steps forward then two steps back, one step forward then three steps back... I have good news for you : you're in good company! Everybody I have ever talked to sounds just like me over the years . Try and fail . Fail then try . Try and succeed . Succeed then fail . Two steps forward. One step back. One step forward. Three steps back . Every year I get better at some things, worse at others . For example ,  this past year I've become more patient with my children -- more tolerant of their mishaps . Therefore ,  I've been enjoying them more and micromanaging them less (one step forward) . But ,  due to a lack of discipline on my part, I've also allowed myself to be stretched too thin this past year and as a result, those I love most have suffered (one step back) . Furthermore ,  no matter how hard I try--no matter how serious I am about resolving to change-- I still get frustrated by the same things that frustrated me 20 years ago: traffic jams, unexpected interruptions, long lines, feeling misunderstood, and so on and so forth . You get the idea . In some ways we get better . In some ways we get worse . And in other ways we basically stay the same . Whoever told us that the experience of life was one of escalating progress lied to us . Most of the time it feels rather static, doesn't it? New Year's Resolutions are a burdensome attempt to fix ourselves and make ourselves more lovable . But (and here's the good news), God loves us as we are, not as we should be . God's love for me, approval of me, and commitment to me does not ride on my resolve but on God's resolve for me . The good news that gets me through bad times is that God's devotion to me is not dependant on my devotion . Knowing that God always meets my messes with his mercy, my failures with his forgiveness, and my guilt with his grace, helps me survive my daily disappointments with me . The Gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to those who've been crushed by unmet expectations of life -- it announces that because Jesus won for you, you're free to lose ; because Jesus was strong for you, you're free to be weak ; because Jesus was extraordinary, you're free to be ordinary ; because Jesus succeeded for you, you're free to fail . So , as this new year gets under way, I'll still going to try and get better at things , but it's so much more restful to know that I live my life from love rather than for it . Thank God! Happy New Year!


Output: For those who try and try, year after year, again and again, to get better and better, only to take three steps forward then two steps back, one step forward then three steps back... I have good news for you New Year's Resolutions are a burdensome attempt to fix ourselves and make ourselves more lovable