In Venezuela, the Chavez regime is “achieving” what our teachers’ unions dream about doing for all American schools:
President Hugo Chavez threatened on Monday to take over any private schools refusing to submit to the oversight of his socialist government, a move some Venezuelans fear will impose leftist ideology in the classroom.
All Venezuelan schools, both public and private, must submit to state inspectors enforcing the new educational system. Those that refuse will be closed and nationalized, Chavez said.
A new curriculum will be phased in during this school year, and new textbooks are being developed to help educate “the new citizen,” added Chavez’s brother and education minister Adan Chavez in their televised ceremony on the first day of classes.
Just what the curriculum will include and how it will be applied to all Venezuelan schools and universities remains unclear.
But one college-level syllabus obtained by The Associated Press shows some premedical students already have a recommended reading list including Karl Marx’s “Das Kapital” and Fidel Castro’s speeches, alongside traditional subjects like biology and chemistry.
The syllabus also includes quotations from Chavez and urges students to learn about slain revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara and Colombian rebel chief Manuel Marulanda, whose leftist guerrillas are considered a terrorist group by Colombia, the U.S. and European Union. […]
“We must train socially minded people to help the community, and that’s why the revolution’s socialist program is being implemented,” said Zulay Campos, a member of a Bolivarian State Academic Commission that evaluates compliance with academic guidelines.
“If they attack us because we’re indoctrinating, well yes, we’re doing it, because those capitalist ideas that our young people have — and that have done so much damage to our people — must be eliminated,” Campos said.
Somewhere on the campaign trail, Hillary Clinton and the usual suspects are taking notes.
If you think having a federal education department is bad, just think how bad things will get if the extreme left has their way with America’s schoolchildren. Their “education reform” will make the “Bolivarian” curriculum look like a homeschool program.
Update: Chavez’ money shot: “Society cannot allow the private sector to do whatever it wants.” Sounds like something Hillary would say…
Castro regime supporters are quick to mention that in Cuba, every child receives a free education. Well, that so-called “free” education comes with a high price.
Visit The Real Cuba to find out more.
(link via Babalu Blog)
Previous Post: The Cost of “Free” Health Care
In my old neighborhood, of all places…
Incorporating Ebonics into a new school policy that targets black students, the lowest-achieving group in the San Bernardino City [Calif.] Unified School District, may provide students a more well-rounded curriculum, said a local sociologist.The goal of the district’s policy is to improve black students’ academic performance by keeping them interested in school. Compared with other racial groups in the district, black students go to college the least and have the most dropouts and suspensions. […]
Mary Texeira, a sociology professor at Cal State San Bernardino, commended the San Bernardino Board of Education for approving the policy in June.
Texeira suggested that including Ebonics in the program would be beneficial for students. Ebonics, a dialect of American English that is spoken by many blacks throughout the country, was recognized as a separate language in 1996 by the Oakland school board.
“Ebonics is a different language, it’s not slang as many believe,’ Texeira said. “For many of these students Ebonics is their language, and it should be considered a foreign language. These students should be taught like other students who speak a foreign language.’
Texeira said research has shown that students learn better when they fully comprehend the language they are being taught in.
“There are African Americans who do not agree with me. They say that (black students) are lazy and that they need to learn to talk,’ Texeira said.
Damn right I don’t agree with her. I learned to talk just like any other black kid growing up — and I didn’t need to use Ebonics in class.
Dumbing down any student in the name of learning is asinine stupidity.
(link via Daily Pundit)
Related: Commentary from Michael King, La Shawn Barber, Resurrection Song, Joanne Jacobs, and Michelle Malkin.
Update: Independent Sources is following the Ebonics debate. Meanwhile, Wizbang is taking flak for the biting satire used in their entry on the issue.
Today, the quality of education in Georgia went down a notch:
A Gwinnett County teacher was fired early Friday after refusing to raise a student athlete’s grade he lowered because the student appeared to be sleeping in class.The Gwinnett County School Board voted 4-1 early Friday _ after a marathon Thursday night meeting _ to fire Dacula High School science teacher Larry Neace, said school system spokeswoman Sloan Roach.
Neace left the building after the ruling and would not comment.
His lawyers said they planned to appeal the dismissal to the State Board of Education within 30 days. […]
Neace, who has taught at Dacula High for 23 years, was removed from class after he refused to raise the grade he had given a football player on an overnight assignment. Neace said he cut the student’s perfect grade in half because he thought the student had fallen asleep at his desk the day the assignment was made.
School officials said they gave Neace a chance to restore the football player’s grade. When he refused, they sent him home. He has not been allowed back at school since April 14, when he was told he could resign or face being fired.
Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks recommended to the board that Neace be fired.
“He cannot have a policy that supersedes board policy,” Wilbanks said. “He had no right to do that.”
Neace said he had a practice of reducing the grades of students who waste time or sleep in class. His course syllabus warns that wasting class time can “earn a zero for a student on assignments or labs.”
No administrators had previously complained about the practice, which he adopted more than a decade ago, Neace said.
“What we have in this case is a case of a pampered football athlete sleeping in class and being given favored treatment on an academic grade,” said Michael Kramer, another of Neace’s lawyers. “What we have here is the principal essentially attempting to coerce and intimidate a teacher.”
Expect a recall campaign against the sitting Gwinnett County school board sometime soon.
When I was in grade school and college, I recall several teachers who used similar policies in governing their classrooms and determining their overall grade. Whether you were the school’s favorite jock or not, you were expected to shoulder a degree of responsibility in working toward a passing grade. Sleeping in class was a sign of non-participation — as it should be today.
Neace’s practice was never called into question until it involved a lazy student athlete who was given preferential treatment by school officials for his brawn instead of his brain. Not only should Neace be reinstated immediately, he should also replace the current Gwinnett County superintendent of schools. It’s evident that, unlike his idiotic superiors, his priorities for educating students are in the right place.
Update: Winfield Myers of The Democracy Project has more.
California professor flunks Kuwaiti’s pro-U.S. essay
A 17-year-old Kuwaiti student whose uncles were kidnapped and tortured by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s invaders more than a decade ago said his California college political science professor failed him for praising the United States in a final-exam essay last month. Ahmad Al-Qloushi, a foreign student at Foothill College near San Jose, Calif., said he was told by professor Joseph A. Woolcock to get psychological treatment because of the pro-American views expressed in his essay.”Apparently, if you are an Arab Muslim who loves America, you must be deranged,” said Mr. Al-Qloushi, who feared the failing grade could cost him his student visa. “I didn’t want to be deported for having written a pro-American essay, so as soon as I left his office, I made an appointment with the school psychologist,” he said. Mr. Woolcock did not respond to telephone and e-mail inquiries. College officials declined to comment, saying it is a confidential matter because Mr. Al-Qloushi and Mr. Woolcock have filed complaints.
Paul @ Wizbang has found a link to the actual essay. On presentation alone, the paper would have earned a failing grade. Poor sentence structure and grammatical errors in a college-level academic paper are unacceptable.
However, if Woolcock did verbally attack Al-Qloushi and suggested that he needed psychiatric help for his view on America, he ought to be sanctioned.
[*the occasional feature formerly known as Celebrate Diversity (Just Watch What You Think), with credit due to Dr. Marc Miyake]
Well, I guess this incident gives new meaning to the phrase “knee-jerk reaction”.
Fort Lewis College [Durango, CO] student Mark O’Donnell said he was showing people his College Republicans sweat shirt, which said “Work for us now … or work for us later,” when Maria Spero kicked him in the leg at an off-campus restaurant.Spero then said “she should have kicked me harder and higher,” said O’Donnell. “To physically take that out on someone because you disagree with them, that is completely wrong.”
Spero, a visiting instructor of modern languages, apologized to O’Donnell in a letter dated Oct. 29.
“I acted entirely inappropriately by kicking you, giving vent to a thoughtless knee-jerk political reaction that should never have happened,” she wrote. “Before the incident, I did not know you and that you are a Fort Lewis student.”
The college also formally apologized, said David Eppich, assistant to the school’s president.
O’Donnell said the apology wasn’t enough and he plans to file a complaint with the college.
Had it been a student wearing a College Democrats t-shirt who was kicked, the media would’ve been all over it through Election Day. Frankly, I’m surprised that O’Donnell didn’t press assault charges against Spero. If anybody kicked me for no reason, you can bet I would –while mustering all the strength within me to refrain from kicking more than just a leg.
(link via Joanne Jacobs)
Ideological bias at America’s colleges marches on!
I am bothered by the double standards I believe exist in the educational system. From my personal experiences and core beliefs, I greatly value diversity as well as individuality, whether it is that of thought and ideas or race and background. While great strides are being made to promote diversity of different types – ethnic, social and economic diversity – intellectual diversity is not only severely lacking, it is being stifled.When discussing issues of education and socialism, I made a comment that I thought was relevant to the discussion. “You are not an individual,” the professor told me, “you did not make it here on your own, but because of society.” In discussions on society, a professor constantly referred to “rich white kids that grew up in privilege” and inferred that people from the South were ignorant and dumb.
When a student asked a question during class, the professor didn’t appreciate it and asked the student if he was from Vidalia [a city in southeastern Georgia]. She even went on to say that she had asked this question to many students and she loved using Vidalia as her city. Another student was highly offended, being born in Vidalia and having family from there. She apparently was inferring that people from Vidalia, or the South, were uninformed and slow. Of course this stereotyping of the “stupid southerner” brought on much laughter from the class.
I believe this mentality perpetuates conflict – by using class warfare, group stereotypes such as race, gender, and class. When the issue of religion comes up, as is often the case, professors have dismissed our beliefs as “fundamentalist” and constantly refer to the “religious right” in a negative manner – statements that I find highly offensive.
It is very frustrating to be in such a position and to be forced to deal with this on a regular basis, but it is very encouraging to see a growing awareness that this problem exists and a commitment to do something about it. It is obvious that we need a definitive course of action, and we are faced with perplexing questions. How do you balance deference to authority while still holding professors accountable for the way they conduct their classes? As students, should we be forced to choose between expressing the courage of our convictions and risking lower grades? Is the academic system intrinsically biased towards one side of the political spectrum, and if so, how can we move towards objectivity? Ultimately the issue is one of promoting scholarship, not partisanship; education, not indoctrination.
From Georgia Tech to UNLV, the veiled threat is clear: Think our way, or else. Individualism is anathema. If you’re not thinking Happy Progressive Thoughts, you are warped and must be struck down at once.
It makes you wonder who the real haters are sometimes.
(link via Boortz)
I was less than a year old when Sesame Street first aired on public TV.
It’s amazing how the program has managed stay on the air for so long…
I know that I’ve been a harsh critic in the past of the leadership in the National Education Association. However, I would never call the NEA “a terrorist organization”.
Being an ex-NEA member myself, I know damned well that the rank-and-file are not terrorists. They are mostly good people who work hard to educate America’s youth and provide support services to public education.
My main complaint with the NEA is that the overpaid leadership and UniServ staff are solely interested in exerting absolute power and control over education by forcing a socialist worldview upon its members and the school districts they work for — which led me to resign my membership.
While some of my peers in public schools see the NEA in a different light than I do, I have the utmost respect for them individually and for the work that they do. Many of them are members solely for the benefits offered to them, and not necessarily for the activism that I think goes against their best interests at heart.
Whether or not Rod Paige intended to slam solely Reg Weaver & The Legion of UniServ, it just wasn’t the right thing to say during wartime, let alone a presidential election year — jokingly or otherwise. The bottom line is that Paige handed a political powderkeg to the NEA and the Democrats on a silver platter, and they’re now igniting it. Such a wrath could cost President Bush his own re-election.
Rod, it’s time for you to fall on your sword. Tender your resignation now.
Related: Commentary from John Cole and Chris Lawrence.
Retraction: On second thought, Paige is standing his ground and his job as EdSec is safe. I was wrong to opine that he should resign.
Despite loaded language, he spoke the truth — and the truth hurts.
NEA leadership are obstructionists who do not give a damn about education. They only care about oppressing public schools, lining their own pockets with six-figure salaries, and viciously attacking anyone who refuses to line up with their way of thinking. No matter how you look at it, it is a non-violent reign of terror.
Let Reggie Bin Weaver light that powderkeg. May it blow up in his face.
“Peace” activists in L.A. are persuading high school students to avoid the so-called siren song of the military recruiter, who promises young ones adventure and glory, but deliver only war and death after the induction.
Thankfully, military veteran Juliette takes the activists to task:
My message to these students? Please, dont join up. Those who actually want to serve dont want to have to pull your weight. It hinders the mission: protecting your collective butts from enemies foreign and domestic.
When I was in school, the honor roll system served to recognize students who excelled at academics, and also served as a motivator to other students to do their best.
Now, the Nashville school system wants to change all that:
The school honor roll, a time-honored system for rewarding A-students, has become an apparent source of embarrassment for some underachievers.As a result, all Nashville schools have stopped posting honor rolls, and some are also considering a ban on hanging good work in the hallways - all at the advice of school lawyers.
After a few parents complained their children might be ridiculed for not making the list, Nashville school system lawyers warned that state privacy laws forbid releasing any academic information, good or bad, without permission.
Some schools have since put a stop to academic pep rallies. Others think they may have to cancel spelling bees. And now schools across the state may follow Nashville’s lead.
(link via Ray Garraud)
Update: From Kathleen in Nashville:
Several days ago, Dr. Pedro Garcia (Director of Schools for Metropolitan Nashville, Davidson County) announced that Metro schools will *not* abolish the honor roll. Parents *will* have to provide permission for their childrens’ names to be posted publicly, but the honor roll is not going to be disbanded. I couldn’t find anything about this new information on the Web, but it was on the local news a couple of nights ago.For once (and for now), common sense prevails.
Agreed.
Marquis Harris is a 22-year-old black man, a recent double-major college graduate with high honors, and a member of Mensa. In college, he was privileged to take advantage of a host of opportunities that other college students would’ve passed on, and overcame a host of misconceptions and victimizations.
Upon graduation, he decides to make a difference in the lives of others by pursuing a teaching career in Atlanta. However, the school districts there have dismissed him as being too smart to help kids become smarter.
“Though your qualifications are quite impressive, I regret to inform you that we have selected another candidate. It was felt that your demeanor and therefore presence in the classroom would serve as an unrealistic expectation as to what high school students could strive to achieve or become. However, it is highly recommended that you seek employment at the collegiate level; there your intellectual comportment would be greatly appreciated. Good luck.”
It’s asinine that school districts hem and haw about being unable to recruit teachers, and along comes a qualified person who WANTS to teach — and they say no to him. The mind boggles.
Read the entirety of Harris’ op-ed.
(link via Joanne Jacobs, by way of Amritas)
Soy milk and granola bars in school vending machines. That’s the ticket:
Schools are trying to teach students a lesson in healthy eating, but the kids literally aren’t buying it.Since Snicker bars and soda were replaced with granola and soy milk, snack sales have slumped by more than 40 percent at schools in a limited pilot program in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
That’s worrying some officials who fear they may have to cut sports and after-school clubs traditionally funded by revenue from campus snack and soda sales. But others say that the program, in place since March, needs more time and that sales of healthy snacks are picking up.
I’m all for healthy snacks (but I draw the line at soy milk — I ain’t drinking that nasty s*** even if I was offered money to do so), but forcing it on kids instead of allowing them to make their own snack choices is wrong. Dealing with the obesity factor should involve educational focus on nutrition, diet, exercise, and personal responsibility. Stocking vending machines with products that students don’t like does nothing to make matters better, especially when kids can bring sodas and snacks from home or get them on the way to school from the nearest convenience store.
Meanwhile, the obesity problem continues to skyrocket due to a loss of snack machine profits going to fund athletic and physical education programs.
But they’re healthy snacks! It’s For The Children. Honest!
(link via Joanne Jacobs, by way of Amritas)
John Ogbu was an anthropology professor at UC Berkeley whose concentration was on minority education, culture, and identity.
Though he will be missed, the fruits of his research will live on.
(link via Negrophile)
From the Education Intelligence Agency:
Washington Pay Raises An Egregious Attack on Bargaining Rights.
The Washington Education Association (WEA) is out to prove that teachers unions arent just about higher pay for teachers. In fact, WEA is threatening to go to court to prevent the state legislature from increasing the pay of new teachers.Its an egregious attack on bargaining rights, said WEA President Charles Hasse in an interview with The Olympian.
The union is happy to use low salaries for new teachers as an argument for more education funding, but when the state appropriated money for teachers with seven years of experience or less, WEA announced it was highly likely to sue, saying any state money is subject to collective bargaining at the local level. A WEA spokesman said the issue was not about salaries but about local control over salary negotiations.
Shoot. If it were any other teachers’ union, they’d be shoutin’ “Hallelujah!” and doing the holy dance over the mind-boggling fact that the state legislature WANTS to give more money to schools for teacher salaries. Guess not.
As I’ve opined before, the NEA and their cadre of pimps affiliates don’t care about education employees or the children they educate. They’re in it for power, control, and enslavement to the DNC party line.