I am a firm believer that education is one of the most valuable resource that we can give to our children…..and in the past several decades there has been an assault on the system to reinforce stereo-types, hatred, biases and fear and it has only gotten worse in the past couple of years.
This assault is lead by, surprise, surprise, the GOP….
Over the past two and a half years, Republicans across the United States have introduced nearly 380 bills aimed at establishing a climate of fear among educators, librarians, and other school officials, according to a report released Wednesday by the free expression group PEN America.
Distinct from the outright censorship measures that GOP lawmakers have unveiled in a number of U.S. states in recent years, “educational intimidation” bills “pressure educators to be more timid in the content they teach, pressure librarians to be more restrictive in the books they make available to students, and pressure students to limit their self-expression, without imposing direct prohibitions,” the new report notes.
“Put simply, these ‘educational intimidation’ provisions, as we dub them, empower the use of intimidation tactics to cast a broad chilling effect over K-12 classrooms by mandating new and intrusive forms of inspection or monitoring of schools, as well as new ways for members of the public—including, in some cases, citizens with no direct connection to the schools—to object to whatever they see that they do not like,” the report adds.
Often introduced under the guise of protecting “parental rights,” such bills require students to receive approval from their parents before taking part in any instruction related to gender identity, give parents and other state residents more power to review and protest instructional materials, prohibit school libraries from offering any material not deemed “age-appropriate,” and more.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/republican-education-bills
Then there is the under-taught subject of civics…every good citizen needs a working knowledge of how our government works….today they do not have the faintest idea what the government does….
While the idiots on the Right are worried about bathrooms, sports and ‘porn’ in the libraries….the students are functionally illiterate on the government and its duties.
The teaching of civics should be mandatory in every democracy, especially in universities. In that regard, I agree wholeheartedly with Richard Hass’s point of view. Democracy has become increasingly fragile in recent years, and only through a reemphasis on the education of citizens can this slide be reversed. No country is stronger than its people, who believe they all have an obligation to serve others, the community, the nation, and the world itself. As Kennedy famously said “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. It is a message we still need to hear today.
To sun up….our educational system is dying, our students are ignorant and the GOP is the culprit destroying what is left of our so-called democracy.
Education should be the priority no matter which sleazy party you are a member of at the time.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
“Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army.” – Edward Everett
So very true chuq
Retired teacher here. “You are spot on” although the civics I encountered in the Sixties was as much propaganda as it was instructive.
That is true….but at least it was a base for getting to know the government….too many today have no idea. chuq
Once again thanx so much chuq
This seems to be the opposite of ‘Woke’. Some countries appear to be dividing into supporters of one or the other. It is happening over here too, on a smaller scale.
Best wishes, Pete.
All this division is an assault on democracy. chuq
For those who don’t know, the Governor of Florida has instituted a teaching curriculum that includes discussing the “positive” aspects of slavery, like these imprisoned people were learning valuable skills and had a place to sleep…it is sickening and I wonder if, after making him a slave for a month, his idea of “positive” skills learned would change…especially after being whipped and chained
What ignorant man that governor.
Those “positive aspects” of slavery.
His ignorance and stupidity make angry to say the least.
Slavery was/is wrong!
The whole essence of owning a human being is wrong.
They might have been treated a bit better, but that doesn’t make it right.
The excuse of someone who wants to turn wrong in right.
My father and grandfather were forced labourers in nazi-Germany.
If you want to discuss ‘the positive’ he had a place to sleep (but day and night the bombs fell)
They had food, that is if you want to call it that.
Let’s say as my father came home.
He was very ill. He lost a lot of weight. He had several infections. The one on his ankle was very bad and some he had other healthproblems.
The docters feared for his life. It took a long time to regain his health so he was strong enough to undergo several operations. He had to learn to walk again.
For the rest of his live he was scarred in body and soul.
Thank you for sharing this…is so awful what we can do to each other…
I have written about that change…..and it is true that they have no idea…..all this does is feed the hate and bias. chuq
and, I fear, it is only going to get worse in the future.
2024 will be the tell….as it is now I think you may be right. chuq
I have been known to be right in times past but only about 97-percent of the time…I have been wrong about 3 percent of the time …that is why i am so damned cocky and arrogant all the time …LOL
I have never been wrong but mistaken a time or two…..LOL chuq
For all the more recent clownery by the GOP on “wokeness” in education, one can’t only blame one party for the decline in civic education and other traditional education topics……in favor of campaigns to make kids feel better about themselves. Hell does any school even still teach home economics, which included personal finances? I would guess no.
I do not blame one party I think both parties share the blame just one more than the other….it is more important to worry about bathrooms than the students. chuq