Republicans and independents often complain of being an outcast political minority in the heavily Democratic Washington, D.C. However, one parent was unprepared for the homework assignment that his child brought home from McKinley Tech Middle School: asking students to draw comparisons between Adolf Hitler and George W. Bush.
No, this was not an art class comparing painting styles (here and here if you want to compare and contrast)
The students were told to fill in a Venn diagram comparing and contrasting the two figures:
“Now that we have read about two men of power who abused their power in various ways, we will compare and contrast them and their actions. Please refer to your texts, ‘Fighting Hitler — A Holocaust Story’ and ‘Bush: Iraq War Justified Despite No WMD’ to compare and contrast former President George W. Bush and Hitler. We will use this in class tomorrow for an activity!”
The parent called to complain and was told that the assignment was part of a curriculum unit approved by the school system as part of a focus on both the Holocaust and the Iraq war.
A spokeswoman for D.C. Public Schools later said the two readings were among suggested curriculum the school system had previously approved but that the texts were not meant to be compared in the manner assigned by the teacher who “deeply regrets this mistake, and any suggestion to malign the presidency or make any comparison in this egregious way.” “Suggestion [of] . . . any comparison in this egregious way”? A bit more than a suggestion, I would think. It is like comparing Obama and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and has a certain loaded quality. It is like saying “Ebola has killed thousands of people. Bush killed thousands of people. Compare and contrast.” This is bit misleading without a tad more information.
What is interesting is that the assignment has the same quality as a push poll designed to influence or voters under the guise of conducting a poll. It has the same impact as the neutral poll used recently against a Democratic candidate when people were asked “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch if I told you she had had an abortion?”
How is this for the next Venn diagram: “Propaganda is used to to give biased or misleading information from a particular political point of view. Your last assignment sought to compare a recent president to a genocidal murdering fanatic that killed millions. Compare and contrast.”
Source: Washington Times
@Olly
That was a great link! I copied and pasted it to my word processor. All 40 pages.
@PaulCS
I think that was maybe Freud who went apesh*t over the Oedipus stuff. I went to Man and His Symbols. and Jung only mentions it once in relation to “negative anima.”
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
squeeky – Freud was a mythology buff and required his students to use mythological characters to come up with stuff. Not a fan of either.
Paul,
A good source to show what children were being taught in the early 19th century is “The Elementary Catechism on the Constitution of the United States” by Arthur Stansbury 1828
http://www.constitution.org/cmt/stansbury/elementary_catechism_on_the_constitution.html
@Mark Kernes
Actually, I said “the ones who don’t learn to think for themselves” become educators and leftists. FWIW, I doubt that those who believe the Noah and the Flood Story suffer any permanent damage from it. Most of those who believe in God save a lot of time chasing around looking for answers that are already there.
As far as “myths” in general, I would recommend Man And His Symbols, by Carl Jung and some other guy. You might also want to check out this article:
http://www.stenudd.com/myth/freudjung/jung.htm
I have a few Joseph Campbell books, and two by Mircea Eliade, that I borrowed from my father’s library and neglected to return. I don’t think that I have been damaged too much by reading them. But who knows???
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
squeeky – my problem with Joseph Campbell is that he is too Jungian in his interpretation of myths. For instance, Oedipus never had an Oedipus complex. 🙂
Markkernes,
“Systems where the parents get to choose the “best education” for their children often wind up with the kids learning…”
What systems? Identify them so we can evaluate the results of those systems.
“if kids are taught things in school that are provably incorrect, it will harm them in later life if they continue to believe those myths.”
That statement could be true depending on what they did with that incorrect knowledge. What is a greater threat to our existence, a belief in what you consider the myth of Biblical history or a belief that the American founding history has no relevance in the 21st century?
P.S. You could really save me some money if you could provide me the proof God does not exist.
Olly – I can tell you from personal experience when I went from undergraduate to graduate school, I thought I had lied to for years. One of the challenges of education is what to expose students to at what level. Stories we tell first graders about George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are not the same ones we tell in high school and they change in college and then again in graduate school. Each time they get more complex and more layered.
Olly: I refer mainly to parochial schools and public schools where the teachers/administration don’t have a problem mixing religious mythology into courses in sex education, biology, geology, history and other disciplines—and I can’t help but notice that some who claim to teach “the American founding history” are as steeped in religious mythology as the current crop of conservative religious organizations that have so much power in Congress and on the Supreme Court.
As for disproving the existence of God, as you’d know if you were aware of the scientific method, it’s virtually impossible to disprove a negative. The actual question is what scientific evidence there is FOR the existence of a “supreme being,” and I’ve yet to see any.
markkernes – you are not seeing evidence of a supreme being because you are not looking hard enough. If matter is neither created or destroyed, then where did the ‘first’ matter come from? Who or what caused the Big Bang.
Paul: Gee, you’d think a “supreme being” would make its presence pretty easily known, especially if it wanted the beings it supposedly created to worship it in some way. And as for where matter (or, for that matter, energy) came from, one could just as easily ask that same question about this so-called “supreme being.” Same for the “big bang”: Just because we may not know the details, there’s no reason to assume some supernatural being was/is involved.
markkernes – logic dictates an Uncaused Cause or First Cause. There is nothing in what I have written that has anything to do with a Supreme Being wanting to be worship. I am just giving you logical reasons why such a being must exist.
There ARE no “logical reasons” why a supreme being should exist. Just because we don’t yet know how something came about doesn’t mean we have to assume that there was some supernatural cause.
markkernes – logically explain creation from nothing without an Uncaused Cause.
For the second time, “logic” doesn’t enter into it. Either something exists or it doesn’t. If there’s no evidence for the existence of a “First Cause” or “creator” or whatever you want to call it, you (or at least I) can’t just assume the existence of one, especially in light of the fact that so many claims about that being in the book it supposedly authored, the Bible, have been shown to be false. Of course, the best evidence for a supreme being would be for it to show itself to the world and announce its powers and intentions—and even then, scientists should test such an appearance for it simply being somebody’s special effects show. But the mere existence of “stuff” doesn’t automatically mean there was a creator for it. sure, we can show that SOME things have been created, mostly by humans, but so far, no one has shown that anything in the universe, much less the universe itself, was indisputably created by some supreme being. In fact, there’s no reason not to assume that the universe has always existed—and if you’re up for proving a negative, try that one.
We know the universe has not always existed and we know that at some point it will end. You need to keep up with quantum physics. However, logic dictates an Uncaused Cause. Don’t bring the Bible or any other text into the discussion in an effort to deflect. If you can show me scientifically that the universe has always existed and will always exist, I am willing to change my opinion. Ball in in your court.
Paul: I assume you’ve heard of the “big bang theory,” the *theory* that at one time, the universe consisted of one a single point which eventually expanded into stars, planets and other celestial bodies as well as the space inbetween? The question then is, where did that point come from? Some would say it was created by a supreme being, but in fact, there’s no proof that that point hadn’t always existed, and there’s no evidence that it didn’t. So in fact, we do NOT know that “the universe has not always existed,” though that existence may at one have have been very, very small. And as for whether or not it will end, I am not familiar with the various theories on that—but I’m certainly not about to ASSUME that if/when it does, god will be the one that does it.
I am quite familiar with the Big Bang Theory. However, there is no evidence there is no Uncaused Cause. And logic tells us that something cannot always have been in existence. It defies logic.
Paul: No, it doesn’t. None of us is an expert on “cause” at the universal level, and no one knows that that point which eventually became the universe as we know it today (and we certainly don’t know a lot about it yet) hasn’t always existed. It’s entirely possible that NOT everything has a “cause”—and again, “logic” doesn’t enter into it.
markkernes – here are the comparison of Bush/Kerrry grades.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/benedetto/2005-06-10-benedetto_x.htm
markkernes – here is an article written by a Bush senior adviser.
http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/
@Mark Kernes
No, actually the ones who don’t learn to think for themselves tend to become educators or enter other leftist-dominated fields.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
(Plus, there is no “e” on the end of my name.)
Ms. Fromm: Sorry about the “e.” So.. it’s your position that people who are steeped in biblical mythology at an early age are more likely to become teachers and “leftists”? Thanks: That was the best laugh I’ve had all morning!
Don’t forget Mussolini.
Olly – yes, include Mussolini, Mao and Chang.
Markkernes,
I’m going to review those systems you identified and look at their curriculum and the metrics used for graduation. Please provide me the list your citing.
Also, if I want my children to believe as you suggested then that is my right and their right of conscience. If you have evidence to suggest those beliefs prevent one from learning to read, write, do mathematics and other critical-thinking skills then please provide that as well.
Thanks
Olly: I don’t recall citing any “list,” but it should be obvious that if kids are taught things in school that are provably incorrect, it will harm them in later life if they continue to believe those myths.
@markkernes
Yes, the nostrums are interesting. Such children also learn that they are not the center of the universe, and that if they misbehave, they will receive a dose of pain on their backside. Such children learn to read and write pretty well, though. And even their math skills are pretty good. And those silly things they learn about the earth being 6,000 years old, they pretty well don’t believe anyway, sooo some actually go on to become scientists.
The lesson I take away is that children who go to religious schools, or are home schooled, do better in life than the ones taught in public schools. Which is what scares the heck out of the Education Establishment.
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Ms. Fromme: So, you’re apparently good with corporal punishment, because how could THAT turn out poorly? And I guess the kids who DON’T become scientists after having had 6,000-year-old earth drilled into their heads become… girl reporters?
Any chance this teacher would survive in a system where the parents get to choose the best education for their children?
http://thefederalist.com/2014/09/09/these-lucky-parents-get-to-control-their-kids-state-education-money/?utm_source=The+Federalist+List&utm_campaign=64699f3ad5-RSS_DAILY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cfcb868ceb-64699f3ad5-79248369
Olly: Systems where the parents get to choose the “best education” for their children often wind up with the kids learning that the earth is only 6000 years old, that a massive flood wiped out all of humanity except for a few animals on a big boat, that modern medicine is a crock because if god wants you dead, you should go along with it, and various other interesting nostrums.
I think a Venn diagram comparing Churchill, FDR, Stalin, Hitler and Tojo (not sure if Hirohito qualifies) would be a great assignment that no one would complain about.
Paul,
No syllabus and tenure; what could possibly go wrong.
I’d like to see the syllabus for this class and the text book they will be using to complete the comparison. Why not compare Hitler and FDR for better context?
Olly – they don’t use syllabus for middle school usually, although they should.
Olly: Comparing Hitler and FDR *would* be interesting. I’d read that.
Venn diagrams are actually quite “in the box.”
Nick – the only thing this teacher did outside the box was to select the wrong two things to compare. Teachers are either given or buy a set of various methods to break down literature. I used to use about 5 different methods and have my students use the one I thought most appropriate to the text.
Middle School (junior high students 7-8 or 7-8-9) do not have enough information, regardless of reading a single book to compare the two. Maybe as a year end assignment and they had all year to work on it with additional sources.
I cannot begin to tell you the amount of bad information middle school students bring to high school and have to be disabused of. And college is the same, they correct the mistakes of the high school teachers.
This is suppose to be a free country. Yes they have much similarities and everyone here saying they don’t have no idea what they are talking about. Remember 9/11 now remember Gestapo? Both men got (one still gets) from the elite. Hell the list can go on and on. At least this teacher was one to teach kids to think outside the box. Our education system is downright scary. We are not even taught our rights or laws. We are just taught this is how it is or was and don’t ask questions because nowadays your a domestic terrorist, fascist liberal, and so on. Grow the hell up America.
Paul – I know, right? The LAT is hardly a bastion of right wing sentiment.
Jack – thanks for the Word Press info.
Karen, Check your email. I don’t want to sidetrack this thread but there was a problem w/ a GBer[not anyone here now] deleting comments. JT handled it assertively.
Darren – oh my gosh, is that common for personal info like SSNs to get posted? I take back every unkind thought about Word Press if its filters catch that.
Professor Turley posted at least once that he is the only one who can delete posts or block commenters. It is my understanding that none of the guest bloggers have the capability of deleting a post.
This is NOT a moderated blog, where each and every comment would have to be read and released by a moderator. Only specific triggers will send a comment to moderation, otherwise known as the Vortex of Doom, because a flood of spam also gets sent there. Posts can and do get lost in the Vortex of Doom, especially if they’re not caught right away and get overwhelmed in the tide of spam, etc.
Word Press has an apt nickname, Word Mess. All blog software filters likely have their bugs. The only filter triggers I am certain of are curse words, more than 2 links, and somehow it detects spam. My only wish with Word Press is that it would publish a simple list of filter triggers, but I suppose they can’t be cause it would allow spammers to get around it.
If anyone loses a post, they just need to post something like “help” to flag those with edit capability’s attention.
This is my understanding, so if I’m wrong, please correct me.