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Oh come on. Even if you believe that crock; the book is pretending to be a science book, written by a poet and filled with social activism, urging kids to persuade their parents to "vote green" and buy organic, etc.
If that's what you think science is, then my guess is that you're a recent public school graduate. Congratulations and good luck at McDonalds.
It may not be science but it references very good facts and ideas and I'd want children reading it at the appropriate age. You talk as if these ideas are bad which is astonishing to me. Are you visiting from the 12th century?
You oppose Fed involvement in Education, which to me is utter nonsense. This doesn't mean I approve everything it's currently doing, but I want educational standards to be set at the federal level, not by some local board hijacked by neocons, anti-education types, Christians pushing a religious agenda, liberals with a single dominating agenda, or others. We either teach the facts to everyone's child in equal measure, or burn the flag because there won't be much of a country left.
People like you who turn your back on public education do a tremendous disservice to your country. Just like those who oppose the government, you turn your back on it, ignore it, and thereby let it be all the things you despise. Conveniently forgotten is the power at your disposal to do something about it because it (government, public education, etc) is collectively OURS. When you turn your back on something all of us own and contribute to, you insult everyone else. You divide. You break apart. You destroy.
I will never understand how the supreme selfishness of conservative thinking escapes their attention.
And what the frick is so bad about social activism? Do you want your kids to just sit there like lumps and do nothing? You don't want them solving our problems because you don't want to inform them what they are? Please, keep your idiotic opinion of education to yourself because it exposes a big hole. Quick, we need a roll of yellow caution tape to keep everybody else from falling in.
You oppose Fed involvement in Education, which to me is utter nonsense. This doesn't mean I approve everything it's currently doing, but I want educational standards to be set at the federal level, not by some local board hijacked by neocons, anti-education types, Christians pushing a religious agenda, liberals with a single dominating agenda, or others.
I pretty much agree. I do agree with local administration of the schools, but I do wish standards would be more uniform across the country. It'd be fantastic if the Deep South caught up with New England, educationally speaking. Imagine how great that would be for our country!
Quote:
People like you who turn your back on public education do a tremendous disservice to your country. Just like those who oppose the government, you turn your back on it, ignore it, and thereby let it be all the things you despise. Conveniently forgotten is the power at your disposal to do something about it because it (government, public education, etc) is collectively OURS. When you turn your back on something all of us own and contribute to, you insult everyone else. You divide. You break apart. You destroy.
I will never understand how the supreme selfishness of conservative thinking escapes their attention.
[/quote]
I agree, and this is what I don't get. Our government, our public schools belong to us, the people. That gives us enormous power to fix any problems we see, but so many turn their backs, forfeit their power and instead actively work to destroy it. Gibbon claimed that Rome fell because of lack of civic virtue. If anyone lacks civic virtue in this country, it's those on the right and their relentless assault on our institutions.
The Government is not "somebody else" WE ARE the government!
You don't want them solving our problems because you don't want to inform them what they are? Please, keep your idiotic opinion of education to yourself because it exposes a big hole. Quick, we need a roll of yellow caution tape to keep everybody else from falling in.
They need the core fundamentals of education first (reading, math skills, science foundation) before they can go off and "solve the problems".
IMHO..K-8 is core fundamentals. Then introduce these social issues in HS.
By then they have foundations upon which to use for critical thinking.
At 12 years old..they don't have enough information to "solve problems".
I think we're pushing too much on the lower levels of education.
They need the core fundamentals of education first (reading, math skills, science foundation) before they can go off and "solve the problems".
IMHO..K-8 is core fundamentals. Then introduce these social issues in HS.
By then they have foundations upon which to use for critical thinking.
At 12 years old..they don't have enough information to "solve problems".
I think we're pushing too much on the lower levels of education.
I see your point that you need the foundations first--or else, you won't know how to analyze the facts that you've learned. Since I teach high school, my job is a bit different, since I'm supposed to really up the critical thinking. Although, I do think kids can handle some of those critical thinking issues starting around 13 years old.
<edit> My bad. I thought you were responding to me. Didn't mean to butt in there.
I see your point that you need the foundations first--or else, you won't know how to analyze the facts that you've learned. Since I teach high school, my job is a bit different, since I'm supposed to really up the critical thinking. Although, I do think kids can handle some of those critical thinking issues starting around 13 years old.
I understand that MS is where abstract ideas are introduced and it's a hard transition for many. 6-8 is a major transition and overloading the kids with even more "you can fix the world" issues is a bit much IMHO.
Half of these kids can't remember to bring a pencil to math class on any given day
I understand that MS is where abstract ideas are introduced and it's a hard transition for many. 6-8 is a major transition and overloading the kids with even more "you can fix the world" issues is a bit much IMHO.
Half of these kids can't remember to bring a pencil to math class on any given day
Boy isn't that the truth! I did my student teaching with 8th graders and went through SO MANY pencils that semester! Bless their scatterbrained hearts.
Luckily, folks in Michigan caught this nonsense trying to pass as science. The book called, "A Hot Planet Needs Cool Kids" was recalled from 32 school districts after school officials realized it was written by a progressive poet and was included in the jr. high science curriculum. I'm glad they caught it and recalled it, but why did it make it into the science curriculum in the first place? Shouldn't the title have been a hint???
"The book holds up Al Gore as an “eco-hero;” promotes organizations such as Greenpeace and Rainforest Alliance; urges children to persuade their parents to “Vote Green” and buy organic; cautions against new-home construction, the plastics industry and conventional agriculture, and notes “many people believe that it is best for the earth for families to have no more than one child.”
Wonder how many schools in the less conservative, coastal states are wasting our kids time with this nonsense? And people think if we just pump a little more money into the schools, we can bring up those science scores...
If you have any children and have read thier text books, you understand that political correctness and left wing agendas are common in text books. One of my uncles, who recently retired from teaching, would "black out" all the PC propaganda from his social studies texts and actually teach real social studies.
In our current social studies texts, the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements are given many pages of discussion, while that of Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, and Roosevelts are almost second thoughts. The Tuskegee airmen won world war two single handedly, and the Vietnam War was "won" through demonstrations.
"Global warming" is accepted as a hard fact in science texts. It is sad as hell.
If you have any children and have read thier text books, you understand that political correctness and left wing agendas are common in text books. One of my uncles, who recently retired from teaching, would "black out" all the PC propaganda from his social studies texts and actually teach real social studies.
In our current social studies texts, the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements are given many pages of discussion, while that of Lincoln, Jefferson, Washington, and Roosevelts are almost second thoughts. The Tuskegee airmen won world war two single handedly, and the Vietnam War was "won" through demonstrations.
"Global warming" is accepted as a hard fact in science texts. It is sad as hell.
So what you're saying is...instead of encouraging students to decide for themselves what is right or wrong, he decided for them by blocking out information he found objectionable based on what he considered "PC"??? That's no different than the brainwashing that you guys accuse us of doing. He should have presented the other side and made kids decide for themselves.
So what you're saying is...instead of encouraging students to decide for themselves what is right or wrong, he decided for them by blocking out information he found objectionable based on what he considered "PC"??? That's no different than the brainwashing that you guys accuse us of doing. He should have presented the other side and made kids decide for themselves.
I think the brainwashing has been going on for decades only we didn't realize it or complain about it and it was bipartisan so neither side felt slighted.
Example: we all learned about the Civil War..the war against the states to abolish slavery in the South. That's what is taught in K-12.
It wasn't until college where I took a history class about the Civil War era that I learned of the economic reasons and that there were some very wealthy Black slave owners in the South that wanted to keep the status quo. Abolishing slavery was not the primary reason for the Civil War; it was more a means to the end..cripple the economy of the South.
It was very eye opening to me about how US history is taught in K-12..very one sided and very white washed.
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