Bias in Education Against Founding Fathers

[ClydeR]

The Tea Party in Tennessee is asking the state legislature to require that teachers remove politically correct bias against the Founding Fathers from the school curriculum. The purpose of schools is to make young people grow up to be good citizens. They won't be good citizens if they don't recognize that America was founded on good principles. Legislatures all over, not just in Tennessee, should get rid of politically correct bias in schools.


Regarding education, the material they distributed said, “Neglect and outright ill will have distorted the teaching of the history and character of the United States. We seek to compel the teaching of students in Tennessee the truth regarding the history of our nation and the nature of its government.”

That would include, the documents say, that “the Constitution created a Republic, not a Democracy.”

The material calls for lawmakers to amend state laws governing school curriculums, and for textbook selection criteria to say that “No portrayal of minority experience in the history which actually occurred shall obscure the experience or contributions of the Founding Fathers, or the majority of citizens, including those who reached positions of leadership.”

Fayette County attorney Hal Rounds, the group’s lead spokesman during the news conference, said the group wants to address “an awful lot of made-up criticism about, for instance, the founders intruding on the Indians or having slaves or being hypocrites in one way or another.

“The thing we need to focus on about the founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn’t existed, to everybody — not all equally instantly — and it was their progress that we need to look at,” said Rounds, whose website identifies him as a Vietnam War veteran of the Air Force and FedEx retiree who became a lawyer in 1995.

More... (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/jan/13/tea-parties-cite-legislative-demands/)

[Warriorbird]

I love Republican educational reform.

[~Rocktar~]

I love Republican educational reform.

As opposed to Liberal educational whitewash or neglect?

[waywardgs]

As opposed to Liberal educational whitewash or neglect?

I have a challenge for you. Here's a map of the world:

http://www.mapsofindia.com/worldmap/world-map.gif

Point to a country you like. A country that, in your opinion, gets it right. You know, that isn't riddled with liberal bullshit, that isn't communist, that isn't European, or socialist, or a dictatorship- you know, some place on earth that fits your worldview.

Can you find one?

[diethx]

I have a challenge for you. Here's a map of the world:

http://www.mapsofindia.com/worldmap/world-map.gif

Point to a country you like. A country that, in your opinion, gets it right. You know, that isn't riddled with liberal bullshit, that isn't communist, that isn't European, or socialist, or a dictatorship- you know, some place on earth that fits your worldview.

Can you find one?

Gor is not on that map.

[~Rocktar~]

I have a counter challenge for you. Looking back to your map there, can you find one country that has developed, emerged or been born that arrived in the world without people who had a future view of things could be and how they could be made better?

Can you find one country that is perfect in your world view, that is exactly, completely perfect in every way? Is there any country on the planet that can't improve in at least one major way?

Can you find one?


The reason is, if you don't see a better way and strive for a better way, you accept the steady state status, then nothing improves. I don't accept the current state, I don't think that everything in the past of the US was better. I also don't think everything currently is better than in the past. I do think some things worked better and will work better and we have room for improvement.

I just strenuously believe, and there is much evidence to support, that the path of no personal responsibility (welfare and the nanny state) is wrong and a failure waiting to, or in our case, in the process of happening.

[~Rocktar~]

Gor is not on that map.

At least you can spell it right. Too bad you are still a clueless moron with no real ability to assail a logical argument. Keep clinging to your personal attacks.

[Warriorbird]

At least you can spell it right. Too bad you are still a clueless moron with no real ability to assail a logical argument. Keep clinging to your personal attacks.


As opposed to Liberal educational whitewash or neglect?

That's a logical argument? Or were you referring to agreeing with ClydeR's troll post? That'd actually suggest a conservative whitewash.

[Drew]

I love Republican educational reform.


“The thing we need to focus on about the founders is that, given the social structure of their time, they were revolutionaries who brought liberty into a world where it hadn’t existed, to everybody — not all equally instantly — and it was their progress that we need to look at,”

I agree with this statement though. Revolutionaries are products of their time, and it seems like some people (Note: I'm not yelling "LIBRULS") are too caught up in hand-wringing about the social mores of the time and feel that they must spend 50% of the time addressing that and 50% addressing the actual part that was revolutionary.

The Founding Fathers, Martin Luther, Ataturk, etc. all will look somewhat dim viewed through a modern compass and too often the modern writer can't divorce himself from that and focus on what made them so different at the time, but rather what makes them look different from us.

[Warriorbird]

I agree with this statement though. Revolutionaries are products of their time, and it seems like some people (Note: I'm not yelling "LIBRULS") are too caught up in hand-wringing about the social mores of the time and feel that they must spend 50% of the time addressing that and 50% addressing the actual part that was revolutionary.

The Founding Fathers, Martin Luther, Ataturk, etc. all will look somewhat dim viewed through a modern compass and too often the modern writer can't divorce himself from that and focus on what made them so different at the time, but rather what makes them look different from us.

Of course. They're complex, human, but often wonderful people. I don't think doing things like pretending many of them didn't keep slaves, for instance, does them a service (especially ironic with Rocktar defending this point).

[Drew]

I don't think doing things like pretending many of them didn't keep slaves, for instance, does them a service (especially ironic with Rocktar defending this point).

Hah, that is funny.

[diethx]

At least you can spell it right. Too bad you are still a clueless moron


Keep clinging to your personal attacks.


:thinking:

[Back]

Didn’t the Nazi Socialists invent this tactic of revisionism?

[TheEschaton]

I'm pretty sure that slavery was a vital part of the founding of our country, especially that 3/5ths person part in the Constitution.

Furthermore, is anyone else like "lolwut?" when people say the Founders "brought Liberty to a world that had never seen it before"? Are you serious?

[Back]

I have the internet at my finger tips but I seem to recall from bookish days that Gobbel, the Nazi brain villian, brought the psychosis of propoganda.

[~Rocktar~]

Of course. They're complex, human, but often wonderful people. I don't think doing things like pretending many of them didn't keep slaves, for instance, does them a service (especially ironic with Rocktar defending this point).

Actually I am not defending the revisionist bullshit in education. Only morons like you could make that leap. I am attacking the idea that it is Republican revisionism and that it might be considered exclusively Republican in nature. Not hard to understand why you would miss such a point.

[Warriorbird]

Actually I am not defending the revisionist bullshit in education. Only morons like you could make that leap. I am attacking the idea that it is Republican revisionism and that it might be considered exclusively Republican in nature. Not hard to understand why you would miss such a point.

Uh. While they might be embarrassed by it and dismissive of it (largely rightfully so), I'm not sure that any of the other Republicans on this board would say this wasn't conservative in nature. It was proposed by the Tea Party.

[Drew]

Furthermore, is anyone else like "lolwut?" when people say the Founders "brought Liberty to a world that had never seen it before"?

No.

[Warriorbird]

I'm gonna agree with Drew on that bit. While these people are obviously idiots I see nothing wrong with stressing the uniqueness of the American experience.

[Latrinsorm]

It's unique from a European point of view, but that's symptomatic of a huge problem in primary education's take on history - Europe and America is all anyone ever talks about. If there hadn't been a particular black kid at my elementary school, I never would have been taught anything about Africa. There weren't any openly Middle Eastern kids at my elementary school, and I was never taught anything about Islam, or Persia, or Sumeria. The pilgrims were not as important to world history as the rashidun, but kids only learn about (a cartoonized version of) the pilgrims.