Government class instruction comparing Obama to Hitler draws public ire in Baldwin County (Alabama)

[Xzi]

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2018/01/post_131.html

(Title is same as article)

Now, I understand colleges are more liberal-leaning, but I still doubt there are any professors out there requiring their students to read Michael Moore (as a sloppy parallel). This is a high school forcing this garbage on their students, essentially "thought policing," which I thought the right-wing was against. What are your thoughts/opinions on this and requiring the study of political material in schools?

 

[osaka35]

Huh. I live/d here. Doesn't surprise me, but yes, highly inappropriate.

This is a high school, not a university. You'll get this kind of complete nonsense in high schools. Probably a 9th or 10th grade class. If you're going to convince people this stuff is real, you've got to get them before their critical thinking has matured. People are usually far more accepting of things they acquired before they began to think rationally, even if it is absolute hogwash.

 

[DRAGONBALLVINTAGE]

Huh. I live/d here. Doesn't surprise me, but yes, highly inappropriate.

This is a high-school, not a university. You'll get this kind of complete nonsense in highschools.

you live in Alabama?

 

[Xzi]

Huh. I live/d here. Doesn't surprise me, but yes, highly inappropriate.

This is a high-school, not a university. You'll get this kind of complete nonsense in highschools.

Yes, which makes it all the worse/more problematic. Taxpayer money goes to these high schools, and not entirely from in-state.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

"Liberalism is a Mental Disorder: Savage Solutions" what the actual fuck

 

[Viri]

Did you know that Obama and Hitler both drank water before? I guess Obama is literally Hitler.

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

[Xzi]

"Liberalism is a Mental Disorder: Savage Solutions" what the actual fuck

The list is 100% political books mostly by 2-3 known hardline right-wing authors. Funny enough I agree with at least one of these, "End the Fed" by Ron Paul, but it's still an opinion book like all the others. Opinion isn't what's important to teach high school students.

 

[osaka35]

you live in Alabama?

yes. In mobile at the moment, working on my Ph.D., though lived in daphne/spanish fort area for a while. I move around a lot. I don't particularly care if anyone knows where I live.

 

[VinsCool]

That's seriously fucked up.
Who thought that was ok?

 

[the_randomizer]

I'm okay with schools teaching politics as long as students aren't ridiculed by whatever political party they side with.

 

[MaverickWellington]

Is there a publicly available source of this document?

 

[Xzi]

I'm okay with schools teaching politics as long as students aren't ridiculed by whatever political party they side with.

IMO that's a slippery slope, if schools can teach politics they can teach religion or fascism, and there really is nothing to stop students from being outcasts for not conforming.

Is there a publicly available source of this document?

I seriously doubt it, the list was pulled from the school last June per the article.

 

[CallmeBerto]

WTF

Me thinks they should just stick to the facts instead of going bat shit crazy to one side.

 

[smf]

Funny enough I agree with at least one of these, "End the Fed" by Ron Paul, but it's still an opinion book like all the others.

He's pretty crazy, although he's right that inflation calculations are flawed. But you can fix that.

 

[MaverickWellington]

IMO that's a slippery slope, if schools can teach politics they can teach religion or fascism, and there really is nothing to stop students from being outcasts for not conforming.

While we're at it, they could teach students about capitalism, or communism! Imagine coming to an economics class and learning about economic policies like that. Man, our kids HAVE to be shielded from this!

For real though, how is that a slippery slope? They SHOULD be taught about those things. We teach them about wars, war crimes, and so on as they get older, why is it a "slippery slope" to teach them about various government policies and ideas? So long as you don't glorify one side over the other it's perfectly fine.

 

[Xzi]

He's pretty crazy, although he's right that inflation calculations are flawed. But you can fix that.

I don't care for the FED, it's not a government institution. What is essentially a corporation should not be regulating currency. That said, they've been surprisingly accepting of Bitcoin and other crypto. The FED is also way too entrenched in our everyday systems by now to be eliminated anyway.

While we're at it, they could teach students about capitalism, or communism! Imagine coming to an economics class and learning about economic policies like that. Man, our kids HAVE to be shielded from this!

For real though, how is that a slippery slope? They SHOULD be taught about those things. We teach them about wars, war crimes, and so on as they get older, why is it a "slippery slope" to teach them about various government policies and ideas? So long as you don't glorify one side over the other it's perfectly fine.

It's teaching opinion, it's not going to prepare students for the real world in any measurable way. It doesn't make them more employable or knowledgeable about how real government/financial/technical systems work. It just numbs their brain when they don't have a base of knowledge to layer that opinion on top of.

 

[TotalInsanity4]

IMO that's a slippery slope, if schools can teach politics they can teach religion or fascism, and there really is nothing to stop students from being outcasts for not conforming.


I seriously doubt it, the list was pulled from the school last June per the article.

You can teach whatever you want in the public education system, as long as it's in a historical/current event context, and the teacher isn't indoctrinating the students

 

[RustInPeace]

Makes me relieved my AP Government teacher was a sweet goober of a man. He had us watch Swing Vote too, which I remembered to be a good movie. Also he taught in the same room as my AP World History class 2 years prior.

 

[Xzi]

You can teach whatever you want in the public education system, as long as it's in a historical/current event context, and the teacher isn't indoctrinating the students

Yes, there are obviously degrees of subtlety. Making the entire required reading list teach to only one political view is something else entirely.

 

[Gourmet]

WTF

Me thinks they should just stick to the (((facts))) instead of going bat shit crazy to one side.