Republican and Religious control of education

[Carol]

Education decissions are the most important decisions human beings make. Education decisions determine our cultural, econonic and political reality. The decisions made in Texas effect all of us, because they buy so many text books, the text book companies catar to Texas. Personally I do not like the Republican and Christian control of public education. What is your opinion?


From the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html

Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: March 12, 2010
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CloseLinkedinDiggMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Democrats and Communist control of education.

Fixed.

 

[Madeline]

It is hard to write a history text without bias...but eliminating Thomas Jefferson? And including Phyllis Schafly? That's just bizarre.

 

[Leweman]

I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. You can't complain about this but support revisionist history on the left, that makes no sense. We need to accurately teach history. Although the problem I see here is it may be skewed too far to the right. There needs to be a teaching of several ideas so people can get the facts from both sides and make up there minds. It can't just be one sided. Education is important but as a nation the education system sucks ... maybe this change will help.

 

[Madeline]

Both sides have legitimate complaints. No history book can be "accurate" because all of them leave out important facts....it's impossible to avoid. But Texas has gone too far.

 

[Carol]

I was holding my breath when I read your replies. this is the best smilie I see for a happy smile. You have given thoughtful replies. Thank you so much.

Yes, the challenge of education is great and at the same time so powerful. China didn't need to kill their intellectuals to have social change, because all that is needed for socail change is control of education! I have taken a lot of hits for speaking of the Military Industrial Complex, and education that serves the Military Industrial Complex, and saying we are now what we fought against, but I am hoping eventually to have understanding of how powerful public education is, and how important our decisions are. We stand to loose the democracy we defended in two world wars, if we do not become aware of what happened and why, and what education has to do with preserving the culture of our forefathers, or being what we fought against.

This fight for our democracy hinges on this question of who will control public education. I want you to take responsibility for the control of public education. Please, do not let a fundamentalist Texan, determine how your children and the child across town will be educated.

Okay, it is a huge problem to determine what our children will be taught, and how we teach our history is very important! My opinions are different from almost everyone, because I collect and read old text books. Education for technology has resulted in many exciting improvements. Many writers of history are writing history better than it has been written in the past. Like some old history text books are so boring, it is cruel and inhuman punishment to force a child to read them. Further more, some of the old history text books are USA mythology, not exactly accurate history. But, the opposite is also true. Those educated for technology can make a mess of history text books, because they are promoting their agenda, and in the process, serously distorting our histiory. This is serious folks. Texas has too much power over the text book industry for us to ignore this.

Any thoughts on how we should determine what goes into a history book?

 

[Madeline]

Now that is an interesting question, Carol.

 

[Leweman]

thats a complicated issue for sure.

 

[HUGGY]

Education decissions are the most important decisions human beings make. Education decisions determine our cultural, econonic and political reality. The decisions made in Texas effect all of us, because they buy so many text books, the text book companies catar to Texas. Personally I do not like the Republican and Christian control of public education. What is your opinion?


From the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html

Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: March 12, 2010
Facebook


CloseLinkedinDiggMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

Shouldn't this be in the conspiracy forum?

 

[JakeStarkey]

None of it matters in Texas. The teacher has autonomy in the classroom. S/he can say, "The text book committeewants you to reconsider the role of Joe McCarthy in the early 1950s. Yes, I think that is a great idea. Let's see why he was one of the great evils in American history." And, "Oh, by the way, we will do a quick comparison of him with Thomas Jefferson at the end of the study."

See, no problem.

 

[Carol]

Thank you to the two of you who gave some consideration to how we determine what is good history and what is not.

http://www.mckenziestudycenter.org/society/articles/history.html

It has been said that he who controls the past controls the future. Our view of history shapes the way we view the present, and therefore it dictates what answers we offer for existing problems. Let me offer a few examples to indicate how this might be true.

At this web site, the author explains the shocking account of USSR hisotry, where for decades children learned to almost worship Stalin and Linin, and were taught all the problems experinced by the USSR were caused by capitalism. Than how these citizens came to doubt their history, and how this lead to the fall of commumism in the USSR.

A major problem between Palastinians and Israelis, is their separate school system where each teaches a differet version of history. Of course, each presents a history explaining how they have been victims of other. This has pitted Palastinians and Israelis against each other, and their conflict threatens US interest in the mid east, and lead to the 1970 recession, and to the US military build up in the mid east, which becomes our present national debt problem, and engagement in war. I think perhaps our own history is as distorted as Isreal's and Palistine's, and I hope to see more intelligent replies than suggesting this thread be put in the conspiracy theory forum. Our national histories brings us to wars, and shouldn't we be aware of this, before jeaprodizing our whole economy with war debt, not to mention killing people and sacrificing our own?

When the Prussians took control of Germany, they centralized public education, and focused it on technology for military and industrial purpose. The Prussians destroyed Germany's heroes, as the US has destroyed its own heroes, with the same political ramifications. The Prussians praised efficiency as the US is now praising efficiency, although democracy was never efficient. The Germans came to feel badly about themselves, and this was not improved by their involvement in two world wars. Vietnam is one war that harmed the self image of US citizens, but is not the only reason US citizens are not in agreement about how great their nation and how good it was to destroy traditional values. How we teach history makes a huge difference in our self imagine, and political decissions, and in how we organize ourselves. A technological family is now any combination of people who want to consider themselves family, but what might this do to children? How about children growing up in foster homes where they are easily abused and no one finds out about this until the child is dead, because no longer family nor think in terms of family duty?

How many of our history books explain our industry was modeled after England's autocracy, and the horrors of our early industrial history? Do you have any text books, explaining the US adopted the German model of bureaucracy and that the German model of education replaced our own liberal education, and that Germany had a natiomal pension program, health care and workers compensation long before the US? Actually even before the world wars. Might we understand anything differently if this information were in our history books? I can handle omitting this stuff, but come on, I can not handle Christianizing our history, and the complete elimination of our knowledge of the Greek and Roman classics upon which our democracy depends.

Please, thrown in some ideas of what should be included in our history books.

 

[Madeline]

Well, just a thought, but mebbe a word or two about Thomas Jefferson might be nice.

 

[rdean]

The US has been number One for years in Science and Technology when all we had was that awful liberal education with biology, physiology and botany, all based on the Science of Evolution. Then there was all that math and computers and all the nasty liberal arts stuff. The rest of the world called our educational system the BEST in the world. They sent students here to learn how those awful liberals did it so they could copy it in their country.

Now the right wing has changed all that. They brought in God and "natural science" in favor of research. They had such a wonderful effect on our system, the US has dropped to 12th from 1st in the number of degrees per percentage of people.

Their economic policies. Their foreign policies. Look at everything they've done to, uh, I mean, FOR America. Yep, they are taking us in the "RIGHT", get it? The "RIGHT" direction. Only it seems that direction is "down".

 

[Carol]

Okay why should a history book mention Jefferson? How about the Federal Papers, and then the Federalist Party that opposed Jefferson, who was a Republican, and how later still the Republicans stood against slavery while the democrats defended salvery.

I think, what our children should learn is that people do not agree, and sometimes these disagreements can be very serious. People have different ways of resolving these differences, and in a democracy the ideal is reason, not force. This is true, because democracy is a concept that comes from ancient Athens, is it is modeled after the Greek gods. Democracy is based on the idea that, reason is the controling force of the universe, and we can discover the reason of all things, and govern ourselves with reason.

Our Statue of Liberty, Lady of Justice and Spirit of America, are the three aspects of Athena, Athens parton goddess of Liberty, Justice and Defense. Without knowing the meaning of these symbols of the reasoning of democracy, as far as I am concerned, we do not have a United States worth defending.

Good grief, now I have to start a new thread and ask a new question.
What Makes the US Worth Defending? I think a history book should answer that question.

 

[Gunny]

Education decissions are the most important decisions human beings make. Education decisions determine our cultural, econonic and political reality. The decisions made in Texas effect all of us, because they buy so many text books, the text book companies catar to Texas. Personally I do not like the Republican and Christian control of public education. What is your opinion?


From the New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/13/education/13texas.html

Texas Conservatives Win Curriculum Change
By JAMES C. McKINLEY Jr.
Published: March 12, 2010
Facebook


CloseLinkedinDiggMixxMySpaceYahoo! BuzzPermalink AUSTIN, Tex. — After three days of turbulent meetings, the Texas Board of Education on Friday approved a social studies curriculum that will put a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks, stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.

You're setting a record for being a dumbass, huh? You aren't related to truthdoesn'tmatter are you?

 

[psikeyhackr]

A very curious thing happened with education in Florida in 1987.

Computers as Tutors: Solving the Crisis in Education

Florida has established for its students a passing score on the GED among the highest in the nation.7 The national GED Testing Service has compiled data showing how graduating high school seniors across the country would do based on various score requirements. Under the Florida criteria, only sixty-six percent of regular graduates receiving normal high school diplomas across the United States can pass the test.8

Authorities in Vero Beach knew their pupils in computerized education were learning. Nonetheless, they were unable to graduate because twenty-four credits were required. Credits depend primarily on time spent in completed classes. Even if the computer students knew enough, they still lacked sufficient credits. Therefore, authorities decided to use the GED exam as a replacement. This option set up a horrendous complication for the at-risk students trying to graduate. Only sixty-six percent of successful graduates can pass the GED with the Florida requirements after twelve normal years of learning in school. The at-risk students had been markedly behind when they entered the program. Now the school demanded that they not only equal other graduates, but that they do better than one-third of them. If they failed, their quest of a diploma had also failed. Odds against these students passing the GED were enormous. No one unfamiliar with the power of computers could have given them much chance to graduate.

When the tests were given and scored, questions about the effectiveness of this novel way of teaching vanished. Computers had effectively overcome those oppressive negative odds. Eighty-five percent of these students taught by computers pass the GED with the Florida requirements on their first attempt.

Computers as tutors - section I

In 1987 Intel had not even introduced the 486 processor. These $300 must be more than 10 times as powerful. The hardware for solving education problems is staring us in the face. But does the existing educational establishment want to let that genie out of the bottle.

So I guess it is up to parents to short circuit the schools for the sake of their own kids.

The Fun They Had by Isaac Asimov
The Fun They Had

psik

 

[Christophera]

Any thoughts on how we should determine what goes into a history book?

Good thread Carol!

There is huge dependence relating to what needs to go into history books on the matters lost through the dumbing down. It is really severe. It actually enables the very political environment we have now where people who have taken the soldiers oath will not discuss the principles of the Constitution, let alone defend it. They do not know how to support it. Indeed, they are afraid to. If you asked them why, they would not be able to tell you.

I've made a few posts about it in my threads because it is so important. Here's a clue to how bad it is.

We don't even have a way to explain the behaviors of people like Terral, who think they are doing the right thing, but cannot reason, or refuse to reason. Just like like many of those who have taken the oath

They are given credibility like anyone else and the degradaton of our way of life, along with Contsitutional government just goes down the tube and their actions comprmise the credibility of those who can and will reason.

This post.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/1521476-post147.html

in this thread

http://www.usmessageboard.com/consp...ion-psyops-and-infiltration-of-us-gov-10.html

And this one will give you as about as much information as you can find on the web explaining how this has happened.

http://www.usmessageboard.com/1470019-post349.html

http://www.usmessageboard.com/consp...eceives-nation-about-twin-towers-core-24.html

There are other factors that contribute being brought up in your thread but the religious control, or WHY it has been imposed are not understood. People just know it is in control and has been in control and it shouldn't be.

 

[Skull Pilot]

Education decissions are the most important decisions human beings make.

Which is exactly why people should make their own education choices not the government.

 

[JakeStarkey]

skull, the people elect the government and direct its priorities.

You don't like it, then run for school board.

If you just want to yell like Dude, go ahead, with the understanding everybody will listen as closely to you for insight as they do to Dude.

 

[Skull Pilot]

skull, the people elect the government and direct its priorities.

You don't like it, then run for school board.

If you just want to yell like Dude, go ahead, with the understanding everybody will listen as closely to you for insight as they do to Dude.

Just because you like to abdicate your personal responsibilities to government does not mean the opinion of those who don't is meaningless.

If the fucking government is doing such a good job directing our priorities then why are our schools so fucking bad?