What people know.......

[annaraven]

Quote:
I'm sure this will stir the pot, but the main reason is that the teaching profession is inhabited by liberals who gave a virtual high five, in their minds, when they saw America taken down a notch or two.

It's not just about teachers though. (Although don't even get me started on the teachers guild, erm, I mean, teachers union...) It's about the parents. What parent doesn't talk to their kid about current events? How can they NOT be talking with their kids about being at war, about 9/11, about what the government is doing, and not doing, for us or to us? Yeah, it should be taught at school too, but it's a parent's job to also impart some sense of civic responsibility in their kids, isn't it?

ETA: Just checked with my teen about are we at war "well, we pulled out of iraq but we're still in, what'sitcalled, ... oh yeah, afghanistan." And yes, he's also heard about the protests in Egypt. And that's from a student in the Left Coast of Kalifornia. So yeah, it's not just the schoolsystem - it's also about the parents of those kids.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
I'm sure this will stir the pot, but the main reason is that the teaching profession is inhabited by liberals who gave a virtual high five, in their minds, when they saw America taken down a notch or two.

Oh, that's complete and utter bull. The reason the current war is not taught is because the texts that the curricula come from go through a writing, approval, re-writing, approval and printing process that takes years. Another reason is that history is written and taught by the victors and we haven't won anything yet. Liberals, really? Have you seen the nutjob dumbing down texts that were approved for teaching in Texas? The teachers in my school actually told my kid that she was WRONG when she expressed a liberal view on current political matters and shut down any chance of discussion or debate with her own conservative, religious diatribe. And I'm proud to be a liberal but my family is also very proud of it's family tradition of military service and we would never, ever want to see America "taken down a notch". These kinds of grossly exaggerated generalizations sound like the unimaginative blather bleated out regularly by certain FOX comedians....errrrr, journalists.

I've always thought the problem with the school system is that the curriculum can, in fact, be controlled by a single government over such a large area. Referring to state governments here, but the feds have more than their fair share of influence, too. The curriculums, IMO, should be controlled by local school boards, with no state or federal interference. After all, if one district teaches a lie, it only affects that district. If the feds (or the state governments) mandate the teaching of a lie, most of the country (or state) learns said lie, and the mistake would be FAR more damaging and far-reaching.

Royd, I strongly disagree with a lot of liberal thought, but most liberals I've met are rather patriotic - they don't want America taken down a notch.

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
I'm sure this will stir the pot, but the main reason is that the teaching profession is inhabited by liberals who gave a virtual high five, in their minds, when they saw America taken down a notch or two.

It's not just about teachers though. (Although don't even get me started on the teachers guild, erm, I mean, teachers union...) It's about the parents. What parent doesn't talk to their kid about current events? How can they NOT be talking with their kids about being at war, about 9/11, about what the government is doing, and not doing, for us or to us? Yeah, it should be taught at school too, but it's a parent's job to also impart some sense of civic responsibility in their kids, isn't it?

I have a homeschooling SIL who refuses to let her son watch TV or hear about current politics or war because it might upset him and traumatize him. Yeah, this boy is 18 now. I can assure you that he has no idea that there even WAS a WWII or 9/11. He can VOTE (he's a registered republican like his parents) and he has no clue. My kids were reading newspapers as soon as they could read and we talked about politics and news every night. We all sat and cried over 9/11 together even though the kids were young. It's important that children know about this and other the things that are going on in other countries. We've been discussing Egypt quite a bit lately.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
I'm sure this will stir the pot, but the main reason is that the teaching profession is inhabited by liberals who gave a virtual high five, in their minds, when they saw America taken down a notch or two.

It's not just about teachers though. (Although don't even get me started on the teachers guild, erm, I mean, teachers union...) It's about the parents. What parent doesn't talk to their kid about current events? How can they NOT be talking with their kids about being at war, about 9/11, about what the government is doing, and not doing, for us or to us? Yeah, it should be taught at school too, but it's a parent's job to also impart some sense of civic responsibility in their kids, isn't it?

Because they don't CARE. Let everyone dumb themselves down with talking heads on TV, followed by junk on the Internet, and then factor in the fact that a LOT of parents (I know a few, mind you, who do this) let the schools raise their kids. Something about that situation isn't good.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
It's not just about teachers though. (Although don't even get me started on the teachers guild, erm, I mean, teachers union...) It's about the parents. What parent doesn't talk to their kid about current events? How can they NOT be talking with their kids about being at war, about 9/11, about what the government is doing, and not doing, for us or to us? Yeah, it should be taught at school too, but it's a parent's job to also impart some sense of civic responsibility in their kids, isn't it?

I have a homeschooling SIL who refuses to let her son watch TV or hear about current politics or war because it might upset him and traumatize him. Yeah, this boy is 18 now. I can assure you that he has no idea that there even WAS a WWII or 9/11. He can VOTE (he's a registered republican like his parents) and he has no clue. My kids were reading newspapers as soon as they could read and we talked about politics and news every night. We all sat and cried over 9/11 together even though the kids were young. It's important that children know about this and other the things that are going on in other countries. We've been discussing Egypt quite a bit lately.

Wow. Just wow. What parent could be that irresponsible? I REALLY don't feel safe with people like that voting.

Don't let that put a bad taste in your mouth of homeschoolers, by the way - myself and all the HSers I know are in-touch with current events.

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
It's not just about teachers though. (Although don't even get me started on the teachers guild, erm, I mean, teachers union...) It's about the parents. What parent doesn't talk to their kid about current events? How can they NOT be talking with their kids about being at war, about 9/11, about what the government is doing, and not doing, for us or to us? Yeah, it should be taught at school too, but it's a parent's job to also impart some sense of civic responsibility in their kids, isn't it?

Because they don't CARE. Let everyone dumb themselves down with talking heads on TV, followed by junk on the Internet, and then factor in the fact that a LOT of parents (I know a few, mind you, who do this) let the schools raise their kids. Something about that situation isn't good.

I agree. Too many families don't talk to each other about anything let alone things that are important like what's going on in their own local government and how it will affect them personally. People should be more aware of local and national news and processes and they should make sure their kids at least have some passing interest in those things. I realize that politics and war and current affairs aren't as sexy as the latest Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen scandal but the importance of learning about what's happening from MANY different media sources cannot be stressed enough with our children.

 

[farmerlor]

Quote:
I have a homeschooling SIL who refuses to let her son watch TV or hear about current politics or war because it might upset him and traumatize him. Yeah, this boy is 18 now. I can assure you that he has no idea that there even WAS a WWII or 9/11. He can VOTE (he's a registered republican like his parents) and he has no clue. My kids were reading newspapers as soon as they could read and we talked about politics and news every night. We all sat and cried over 9/11 together even though the kids were young. It's important that children know about this and other the things that are going on in other countries. We've been discussing Egypt quite a bit lately.

Wow. Just wow. What parent could be that irresponsible? I REALLY don't feel safe with people like that voting.

Don't let that put a bad taste in your mouth of homeschoolers, by the way - myself and all the HSers I know are in-touch with current events.

Oh no, we homeschooled for a couple of years as we have several kids with special needs that the school was unable to address. We got them caught up and then sent them back to public school but we still make sure they read and learn about current events and as an amateur historian I'm always ready with a story about some famous war or person.

 

[Q9]

Quote:
Because they don't CARE. Let everyone dumb themselves down with talking heads on TV, followed by junk on the Internet, and then factor in the fact that a LOT of parents (I know a few, mind you, who do this) let the schools raise their kids. Something about that situation isn't good.

I agree. Too many families don't talk to each other about anything let alone things that are important like what's going on in their own local government and how it will affect them personally. People should be more aware of local and national news and processes and they should make sure their kids at least have some passing interest in those things. I realize that politics and war and current affairs aren't as sexy as the latest Lindsay Lohan or Charlie Sheen scandal but the importance of learning about what's happening from MANY different media sources cannot be stressed enough with our children.

It's sad - I've asked some people, "Have you heard about the situation in Egypt?" Cue the blank stares. They can sure tell you who won the Super Bowl, though!

Here's the thing: I don't expect everyone to know all kinds of details about everything. But if somebody's gonna vote, I would like it if they knew some minor things - like, oh, the Bill of Rights? Not what talking heads (FAUX News or the liberal stations) say, but what it ACTUALLY says. It would also be nice if people knew SOMETHING about the major schools of economics. When people vote, they're voting for one of the schools of thought or another. I want 'em to know what they're voting about!

 

[Royd]

Quote:
I'm sure this will stir the pot, but the main reason is that the teaching profession is inhabited by liberals who gave a virtual high five, in their minds, when they saw America taken down a notch or two.

Oh, that's complete and utter bull. The reason the current war is not taught is because the texts that the curricula come from go through a writing, approval, re-writing, approval and printing process that takes years. Another reason is that history is written and taught by the victors and we haven't won anything yet. Liberals, really? Have you seen the nutjob dumbing down texts that were approved for teaching in Texas? The teachers in my school actually told my kid that she was WRONG when she expressed a liberal view on current political matters and shut down any chance of discussion or debate with her own conservative, religious diatribe. And I'm proud to be a liberal but my family is also very proud of it's family tradition of military service and we would never, ever want to see America "taken down a notch". These kinds of grossly exaggerated generalizations sound like the unimaginative blather bleated out regularly by certain FOX comedians....errrrr, journalists.

Let's see. We have whole months set aside, to celebrate some kind of diversity or other.....9/11 rolls around, once a year. It should be set aside, specifically, as a day of remembrance and reflection....Discuss the how, why, where and when, and no need to bring pc into the discussion. Tell the truth. It was caused by men, who believed that what the were doing, was a basic tenet of their religion.

Have you noticed, in the last couple of years, that Dec. 7th no longer gets discussed, on its yearly anniversary?.....I guess it's just old hat, for the news people, or maybe, they are trying to make it disappear, because the mention of it, makes certain people uncomfortable.

 

[Imp]

Hijack...Imp did you play basketball? I just wonder if you might have played against my brother. I think he was the SE free throw champ in 1977.

Funny how this is not a hijack, but almost on topic:

At Kayhi the basketball coach was the history teacher. I being about the tallest kid till about the 11th grade, was asked repeatedly by the coach to play, I had no interest and was and still am somewhat clumsy, so I repeatedly said no. My history grades suffered dramatically.

On the good side I read a lot and had some great history classes in college, so although I may not remember all the details some 3 decades later, I am not illiterate in history. In fact I like to read about ancient history.

Imp- I might have met your brother though. I worked concessions frequently at games.​