bergall

I hear the next burr under the lefty saddle is cultural studies. Seems those commie crapbags have been teaching the kids that America is a hotbed of hate and prejudice, along with the workings of the governments of various South and Central American nations.....


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100512/...ethnic_studies


Don't think I like it much...if it can't be taught objectively, it should not be taught. I dont have a problem with a kid making his/her own mind up one way or the other, but to DICTATE to students that the United States, their home country, is less than just downright peachy ought to get them a trip to the unemployment office.....IMO of course.

boysda

isn't "ethnic studies" something best left to the judgment of an individual teacher? doesn't seem to me to lend itself well to either promotion by specific curriculum, or by legislation. a good history teacher with 70% latino students in a class should be able to focus the broader lessons in a way to relate to the audience being taught.

LBR

And a good science teacher with 70% Christian students in a class should be able to teach the beginning of the universe in a way that relates better to the audience being taught--right?

bergall

Ideally, I would think there would be a course of study about a specific culture or country or indigenous population or whatever the scope of a particular 'ethnic studies' course would encapsulate. What the Arizona law wants to address, apparently, is the negative portrayal of America in these classes. By all means, offer the classes...from an anthropological standpoint, a culture can be studied without bias or comparison...why can't a stupid 'ethnic studies' class take the anthropological approach to this, rather than telling a bunch of Latino kids in a "Latin American Studies" class, that los Norte Americanos son sucios ? What gives the teacher to the right to include opinion or editorializing in his/her lectures ? Apparently, the teachers had the opportunity to NOT bash America but passed on that opportunity in favor of portraying us as an imperialist scumbag.
Certainly if students want to hear that sort of thing, they can go to school in Mexico or Nicaragua, but then, they'd be going to Mexican History class, or Nicaragua History Class. The fact that lefty-libs are teaching kids their country sucks, is what needs to be addressed, and Arizona is taking steps to ensure that American culture is not denigrated in the teaching of other cultures. I'm OK with it...heck...I'd like to see penalties for non-compliance...hehehehhe

H80Hunter

Generally the sciences believe in things with evidence, ANY evidence, that supports them. I mean, you can just say whatever you want in some situations, but science is generally not one of them.

boysda

do you tweak the druid on purpose?

boysda

to be perfectly honest with ya, i don't think these offerings have any justification as a stand-alone course in high school. anything beyond the basics (math, science, literature, history) are luxuries we usually can't afford.





no disagreement, although i got from the article the law's proponent felt folks were bashung the U.S., but i'm not sure there was any other evidence thereof. possibly true, but also very possible this guy's just capitalizing on the current political climate

bergall

What's the issue with teaching science to Christian students ? Are we gonna jump back to
1925 and "Scopes vs. The State of Tennessee" ? Are Darrow and Bryan STILL rolling in their graves ?

bergall

Agreed on point #1, sort-of. Certainly the basics are requirements of a bare minimum on the high school level...esoterica is something to 'fill out' or 'round out' a student's education and is generally a positive thing. But the denigration of this country by schmucks with an agenda is offensive to many. There have been any number of anecdotes which may or may not be accurate, whereby students are forced to regurgitate offensive class material to pass a class taught by a teacher/professor with an anti-American agenda. In fact, there are enough of those anecdotes that they are accepted as truth.
On point #2, you have a VERY good point....I do not believe the article described how the law's proponent came to 'feel' the way they do. Did they sit in on the class ? Were there complaints from the students ? It's interesting but I can say with 100% certainty that there are a lot of teachers who can and do bash this country as a part of their course material, and they do so under the very protections this country provides to them. Let 'em try it in Venezuela and see if they can avoid taking the reality class "Using the Cattle Prod as a Teaching Aid"....

Fieldmouse

Didn't Newt get in trouble for a nonexistant course on the federal government? If it truely was something of contraversy, we would have seen some kind of evidence of it?

I'm glad they ended the "ethnic" studies. Schools need to worry about core classes and turning out good students not poor ones that feel good.