Huffpo reports on Texas Education Board approving far-right curriculum changes:
Conservative Republican Terri Leo, a member of the powerful Christian conservative voting bloc, called the standards "world class" and "exceptional."
Board members argued about the classification of historic periods (still B.C. and A.D., rather than B.C.E. and C.E.); whether students should be required to explain the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its impact on global politics (they will); and whether former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir should be required learning (she will)…
Conservatives beat back multiple attempts to include hip-hop as an example of a significant cultural movement.
Numerous attempts to add the names or references to important Hispanics throughout history also were denied, inducing one amendment that would specify that Tejanos died at the Alamo alongside Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Another amendment deleted a requirement that sociology students "explain how institutional racism is evident in American society."
Thanks to Saleema Gul.
I imagine there is some special signifigance to Golda Meir that merits this post.
Well let us be honest…in most cases K-12 education is really just institutional brainwashing, even if the people who determine the curriculum mean well…no? To say it in a more appropriate manner that doesn’t have negative implications : It is to teach kids to see the world through a point of view of the people who determine the curriculum; of course people say that education is meant to expand one’s world view; from my view, to teach effectively is to instill a sense of being a skeptic into one’s students and pupils; I’m not talking about being an extreme skeptic, but a skeptic who doesn’t automatically believe what they are told…but that is not what happens in practice. For most kids….if the teacher said it, it must be true. If a book says so, it MUST be true. Thus, there is a vested interest in what is said because kids will take the word of teacher’s as pure truth. I know I did.
They just want kids to see the world as they see it.
Thank God I don’t see the world the same way they do lol. Now too bad far right Christian conservatives blind themselves as to what happens in the ME. I honestly believe if they were exposed to what is actually going on with first hand experiences, then we can see a change. But its easy to read the Bible, take an interpretation that the Holy Land is for “Jews” (race/religion/what???), and then immediately rationalize all information that you hear (which is biased to hell anyways…in that sense keeping up with news in the modern media is just taking in the reporter’s point of view and is essentially brainwashing as well). One bane of modern media is that because the source of news is so far away and distant that we become dulled to what goes on. Anyways, enough rambling.
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I think the best of inquiring non-Jewish American minds sans a university education, or even a coummunity college education only reach the low insight that “The Palestinians are as guilty of wrong-doing as the Israelis.” Most of such people never even heard of Rachel Corrie, although some have even made pilgrimages to Anne Frank’s house. They know virtually nothing about how US foreign policy in the Middle East has affected their nation, hence them and those they care about. These people do feel their country has been hijacked; they feel the government is taking away their freedom domestically, and there’s something seriously wrong with US banking system. They want a return to
governing by “We the people” which they think, e.g., the Grand Jury procedure epitomizes. Now, that’s the best insight of the more inquiring US masses with a HS education, no matter how intelligent they actually are. Texas ED seems to represent them very well.
Careful now…there are some who would say that we are trying to turn Rachel into the Anne Frank of the anti-zionist side. :p
Personally I would love to see that happen, of course it should be in the power of her friends and family to make that decision.
Of course, then watch the settlers or someone come up with their own ‘girl martyr’ to counteract it and win over the more…I don’t know what to call it, but those who would well be more influenced by a pretty face.
Of course, they’re going to have to try harder than “holding up a bunch of signs with pictures of jewish Rachels who have died to Palestinian violence.”
And thus is the pitfall of trying to win a war through the use of the female image. Or something.
Israel has traded well on subject image. I correspond reglarly with the semi-curious non-Jewish American masses I commented on. I wasn’t spinning anything about their state of mind, of analysis. I don’t know what would happen if they no longer had their default hope hole card: JC.
Texas curriculum – Thomas Jefferson is OUT, Golda Meir is IN.
link to huffingtonpost.com
Can we just give Texas back to Mexico? Seriously? It’s more trouble than it’s worth.