In case I haven’t expressed my absolute disdain for public education here in Texas (and nation-wide, really), this story is perfectly illustrative why I feel that way. And just one more reason why I’m adamant about our boy, rather then send him off to be indoctrinated by the soulless and immoral Leftists that run the show in public education.
AUSTIN – You know America is changing when leftists have even infiltrated Texas schools.
According to the website txcscopereview.com, a lesson plan for 6th graders in government schools reads as follows:
Notice socialist/communist nations use symbolism on their flags representing various aspects of their economic system. Imagine a new socialist nation is creating a flag and you have been put in charge of creating a flag. Use symbolism to represent aspects of socialism/communism on your flag. What kind of symbolism/colors would you use?
Texas legislators looked none too kindly on this revelation as they questioned the curriculum’s creators at a recent hearing.
I wouldn’t look on it too kindly, either if my boy brought home this assignment. First of all, I wouldn’t allow him to do it. And second, they’d have to have a team of surgeons to remove my foot from the ass of whichever moonbat tried to make me kid participate in this crap.
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I’ll try this one again, because apparently it didn’t go through the first time.
Now I’ll admit that I haven’t read the whole lesson plan, but I think I see what it is about and don’t think it is a bad one.
The state standards here in Texas require those of us who teach the various social sciences to cover communism and socialism and their various characteristics. This assignment seems to be asking kids to take what they know and use it to create a visual representation of one of those two systems based upon their knowledge of them. That actually requires a bit of higher order thinking on the part of the students.
Would I give the assignment in question? Probably not — I teach students a few years older than these kids, and I’m not so sure that it is gauged to their level. But I’m not really offended by it, either.
The hearing reported on over this is why we on the right are so often depicted as closed-minded enemies of education — including those of us who are actually teachers. Both legislators and commentators (including you, Robbie) have gone off half-cocked over something that isn’t really that outrageous when you take the time to understand what is going on. It is this sort of stuff that has left me quite disenchanted with Dan Patrick, who was one of the two chief grandstanders — and to actively oppose Larry Taylor in last spring’s primary when he was opposed by a close friend.
I respect your opinions on this Greg, and appreciate the view from the inside.
These are 6th graders.
How many of these children do you think have been taught the history of socialism/communism in all its blood-drenched horror?
Considering the abysmal ignorance of those being handed high school diplomas, it’s a safe assumption they know nothing of the hundreds of millions enslaved and/or murdered by socialists/communists.
Yet they’re being instructed to develop a flag for a philosophy and system they know little to nothing of.
Finding this abhorrent isn’t ‘going off half-cocked’ but an entirely appropriate reaction to an assignment that under the best construction could only be considered amazingly idiotic but under a more realistic construction can and should be seen as yet another attempt to obviate the deep and inherent differences between constitutional governance and totalitarian subjection.
How many of them have been taught about socialism and communism? Well, here’s what the curriculum adopted by our very conservative SBOE requires that sixth graders be taught.
(9) Economics. The student understands the various ways in which people organize economic systems. The student is expected to:
(A) compare ways in which various societies organize the production and distribution of goods and services;
(B) compare and contrast free enterprise, socialist, and communist economies in various contemporary societies, including the benefits of the U.S. free enterprise system;
(C) understand the importance of morality and ethics in maintaining a functional free enterprise system; and
(D) examine the record of collective, non-free market economic systems in contemporary world societies.
(11) Government. The student understands the concepts of limited and unlimited governments. The student is expected to:
(A) identify and describe examples of limited and unlimited governments such as constitutional (limited) and totalitarian (unlimited);
(B) compare the characteristics of limited and unlimited governments;
(C) identify reasons for limiting the power of government; and
(D) review the record of human rights abuses of limited or unlimited governments such as the oppression of Christians in Sudan.
(12) Government. The student understands various ways in which people organize governments. The student is expected to:
(A) identify and give examples of governments with rule by one, few, or many;
(B) compare ways in which various societies such as China, Germany, India, and Russia organize government and how they function; and
(C) identify historical origins of democratic forms of government such as Ancient Greece.
(13) Citizenship. The student understands that the nature of citizenship varies among societies. The student is expected to:
(A) describe roles and responsibilities of citizens in various contemporary societies, including the United States;
(B) explain how opportunities for citizens to participate in and influence the political process vary among various contemporary societies; and
(C) compare the role of citizens in the United States with the role of citizens from various contemporary societies with representative and nonrepresentative governments.
So you see, they should have been taught these things.
The entire text of the middle school standards are here, straight out of state law. http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/rules/tac/chapter113/ch113b.html
In a way I concur with Aelfheld and here’s my reasoning:
6th graders have no clue regarding the form of government represented in the US, the county and even the city they live in. Instruction about the political processes should first encompass a good understanding of your own nations’ politics and the time for instruction about global issues can be accomplished a little later. Hack, just ask any 6th grader what the capital of Texas is and the state’s political leaning? I am of the opinion that 6th graders have more than ample time to become indoctrinated into the global economy.
Just my three cents or rubles or coronas or francs
The colour’s easy – Red.
I just can’t figure out how to represent hundreds of millions corpses, even on one of those jumbo-sized flags.
I would just have my sons draw a naked person against a red backdrop, hands reaching forward with palms up. Full of symbolism it is….
I would then ask my sons to write up the symbolism of it, take it to the principal, l and ask to blow up he whole thing say to the size of 20 x 24 poster, and demand of the principal to hang up my sons’ work in his/her office.
Don’t forget the fetters.
Around the naked person, ABSOLUTELY Aelfheld. Two heads are better that one, heh? Thank you!!!!!
And also I think the person would better be a child too since children are indoctrrinated and carry this stuff into adulthood…
I’ll try this one again, from the perspective of a conservative social studies teacher here in Texas.
It is important that you remember that our state social studies standards — written and adopted by a very conservative state board of education — requires that students learn about the nature and features of both communism and socialism. This assignment seems to be one designed to allow students to demonstrate that understanding, and presumably includes an explanatory essay of some sort. As such, I see it as a legitimate form of assessment — though not necessarily one I would choose for my high school students. Quite frankly, it shouldn’t even raise an eyebrow among sensible people.
That said, we aren’t talking about sensible people here — we are talking about a couple of grandstanders. Dan Patrick has shown himself to be something of a buffoon when it comes to education issues, and Larry Taylor is apparently following in his footsteps, which is a big part of why I supported a close friend in the primary against him this past year.
RWR, retrieved your posts in the spam filter. Very odd to find them there.
Thanks — I was wondering if I had offended the Urban Grounds gods!
Not sure what happened there, Greg.
heh..I’m still trying to figure out what happened with me, and not getting the live page but the archived one. *headshake* whatever it was resolved itself it seems but…no UG for a week or so? That was annoying.
I think the appropriate “symbolism” for any socialist government would be George Orwell’s famous description of the future:
“If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.”
Perfectly sums up socialism.
or a hand pushing your face down, same thing…
How about a flag dipicting a nation without liberals?
Communists and socialists are all liberals, the collectivistic kind.
I’m looking forward to Robbie posting his home-school lesson plans here at UrbanGrounds in 5-6 years. (Especially the ones on “gun control”!)
The gun-control lessons will start much earlier than in 5-6 years
I figured as much. That will probably be advanced tactical training at that stage.