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We Teach Nothing, We Know Nothing—and That Could Cost the United States Everything
PJ Media ^ | 14 Oct 2019 | Bryan Preston

Posted on 10/15/2019 2:22:12 PM PDT by Rummyfan

A couple of years ago, a retired teacher who stays in close touch with history teachers across Texas told me something disturbing. Like most states, Texas has standardized testing. Unlike most states, Texas requires public school students to study Texas history in the 4th and 7th grades. Texas history is red in tooth and claw and full of big personalities and big ideas. Standardized testing is forcing teachers to drop about half of the second semester of Texas history to focus on U.S. history -- not to deepen students' understanding of American history, but to teach to the standardized tests.

This, according to my friend, shortchanges students from learning about key parts of Texas history. Teaching to the test is shallow. Add in that history teaching is being watered down overall across our public education system, and we have a problem.

That problem was exposed, unintentionally, by an Obama administration official.

(Excerpt) Read more at pjmedia.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: arth; bloggers; curriculum; education; history; learning; schools; teaching; texas
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1 posted on 10/15/2019 2:22:12 PM PDT by Rummyfan
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To: Rummyfan

I remember when Bush rolled out standardized testing in the No Child left behind program.

They had a teacher on TV complaining they were going to have to cut back on social studies and focus more on reading and arithmetic because that’s what the test required.

And I thought, “Good, more important that the kids can read and do math than that they have social studies.”

I feel the same way about this. American history is more important than Texas history. I just hope they are teach real American history and the values that drove that history. And not some leftists revisionist dream.


2 posted on 10/15/2019 2:28:32 PM PDT by DannyTN
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To: Rummyfan

You can’t teach history through multiple choice questions. If there is no critical thinking involved, it’s a waste of time. Besides, after 8 years of O’Dumbo’s administration, I can only guess what the questions would be:

Who was the worst slave owner:

a. George Washington;
b. Thomas Jefferson;
c. Andrew Jackson; or
d. The Jew Menendez of Rhode Island.


3 posted on 10/15/2019 2:28:37 PM PDT by Eleutheria5 (If you are not prepared to use force to defend civilization, then be prepared to accept barbarism.)
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To: Rummyfan

“And along with losing foundations in history, public schools no longer teach rhetoric or critical thinking.” A foolish oversight or a deliberate policy to make people easier to brainwash and control?


4 posted on 10/15/2019 2:30:37 PM PDT by sinsofsolarempirefan
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To: sinsofsolarempirefan
A foolish oversight or a deliberate policy to make people easier to brainwash and control?

The latter. Anyone who believes this isn't by design really isn't paying attention. If students don't know American history and are taught to demonize their own country, it's much easier to sell globalism. It's political indoctrination pure and simple.

5 posted on 10/15/2019 2:37:11 PM PDT by Bernard Marx
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To: Eleutheria5

Eleutheria5 wrote:

“You can’t teach history through multiple choice questions. If there is no critical thinking involved, it’s a waste of time. Besides, after 8 years of O’Dumbo’s administration, I can only guess what the questions would be:

Who was the worst slave owner:

a. George Washington;
b. Thomas Jefferson;
c. Andrew Jackson; or
d. The Jew Menendez of Rhode Island.”

Please freepmail me about this list.


6 posted on 10/15/2019 2:42:06 PM PDT by WildHighlander57 ((WildHighlander57 returning after lurking since 2000)
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To: Rummyfan
History is not dusty books and broken swords and statues without arms and noses. History is how we got where we are -- and it's often a foreboding warning. In modern times it's a stream of events from the bloody French Revolution through Marx and Engels to the Cold War and the Killing Fields to Havana and Caracas to prisons full of Chinese dissidents being harvested for organs, to statements coming out of the mouths of people who, without irony, refer to themselves as social justice warriors and "Democrats."
7 posted on 10/15/2019 2:44:24 PM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: Rummyfan

This is what happens when you let leftists take over the Schools of Education in the Universities and the Teacher’s union. The mis-education of America’s children is not by accident.


8 posted on 10/15/2019 2:45:04 PM PDT by Brooklyn Attitude (The attempted coup against President Trump is/was TREASON.)
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To: sinsofsolarempirefan

‘A foolish oversight or a deliberate policy to make people easier to brainwash and control?’

the major function of any socio-cultural behemoths such as governments, education institutes, and organized religions is to control and pacify the populace...


9 posted on 10/15/2019 2:47:59 PM PDT by IrishBrigade
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To: Rummyfan

See tagline.


10 posted on 10/15/2019 2:51:01 PM PDT by outofsalt (If history teaches us anything, it's that history rarely teaches anything.)
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To: sinsofsolarempirefan
I loved the poly sci class in HS which was taught by a leftist pot head...but he brought up deeper issues....encouraged critical thinking.....

nobody wants to really delve into the reasons behind why things happen.....

11 posted on 10/15/2019 2:51:13 PM PDT by cherry
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To: cherry

He must have been a leftist before the leftists managed to seize control of the cultural and political mainstream. Before that point it was in their interests to get people to think ‘outside the box’ and question the system, now they want everyone to believe in the system they created.


12 posted on 10/15/2019 2:55:22 PM PDT by sinsofsolarempirefan
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To: DannyTN

Real history hasn’t been taught in most of the US for a long time.


13 posted on 10/15/2019 2:56:28 PM PDT by colorado tanker
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To: metmom

HS ping?


14 posted on 10/15/2019 3:05:57 PM PDT by upchuck (Democraps say the President is out of control. They mean the President of out of THEIR control.)
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To: colorado tanker
True and when/if it is...it's just a tiny bit of it.

And nobody, at ANY level, now, is actually taught history the "right" way anyway.

What's the "right way"?

Making it all about people, real flesh and blood people...what drove them/made them tick,and the background and outcomes...NOT just strange names, dates, and places.

15 posted on 10/15/2019 3:07:18 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: Rummyfan

This is a wonderful time to be alive.

It is a wonderful time to learn.

When I was in school, my family had a set of encyclopedias. They were horribly out of date by the time I went to high school.

If I needed to find more information, I had to go to the library.

Finding information in the library was difficult. Collecting that information to study it was also difficult. The information in the library was also often outdated.

Now, I just pick up my notepad computer.


16 posted on 10/15/2019 3:12:17 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Rummyfan

[From the Article] “Most people literally know nothing about history. And along with losing foundations in history, public schools no longer teach rhetoric or critical thinking. So people don’t know what they don’t know, and don’t know what that means.”

Every televised “man on the street” interview and questionnaire confirms that most Americans are shamelessly ignorant, intellectually lazy, blissfully incurious, constantly distracted and inexplicably impulsive. This disturbing reality renders us all dangerously vulnerable to exploitation on every level.

Totalitarians have long known that the most effective means of neutralizing the threat of an enlightened society is to keep people distracted and desensitized with “bread and circuses,” while inspiring widespread acceptance of allowing “others” (The State) do all their thinking for them.

The Cultural Marxist’s are counting on the American proletariat to be perfectly content with their self-inflicted stupor. Tonight’s Democrat “debate” will be a classic example of “trust us because we know what’s best for you.” Your opinions and beliefs are neither solicited, nor relevant to their agenda because your right of free self-determination will NEVER be part of their plan.


17 posted on 10/15/2019 3:14:03 PM PDT by Ancient Man
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To: Rummyfan

There is at least one article a month on Free Republic where FReepers maintain that the only important thing in life is to get a good job and that you only need to study math and science to get a good job,


18 posted on 10/15/2019 3:15:33 PM PDT by blueunicorn6 ("A crack shot and a good dancer")
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To: Brooklyn Attitude

The average LEGAL IMMIGRANT who takes the takes and passes the Citizenship Test for their Naturalization knows more about American History than 99.99% of college graduates.


19 posted on 10/15/2019 3:17:43 PM PDT by 5th MEB (Progressives in the open; --- FIRE FOR EFFECT!!)
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To: blueunicorn6

And about 85% of what you read there has been altered and rewritten to reflect the politics of GOOGLE and WIKIPEDIA.

In other words 85 percent of it is just pure leftist CRAP!


20 posted on 10/15/2019 3:23:16 PM PDT by 5th MEB (Progressives in the open; --- FIRE FOR EFFECT!!)
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