Educrats Ban Founding Fathers, Mount Rushmore, Hot Dogs, Yachts, Snowmen

NewsMax.com ^ | 4/30/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

If you wonder why children in America's failed government school monopolies aren't learning, perhaps it's because P.C.-crazed educrats are too busy acting as left-wing thought police.

Out in La-La Land, educrats are rewriting history to appease those who make a career of taking offense at reality. California's textbooks are being changed as follows, according to Fox News Channel:

• Even though all the signers of Constitution were specimens of those dreaded white males, "Founding Fathers" is a no-no, to be replaced by "The Framers."

• Pictures of naughty foods such as hot dogs, soft drinks, butter (even though that's better for you than margarine) and cake are banned.

• The euphemism "senior citizen," once politically correct, is now politically incorrect. The new P.C. term: "older person." Older than whom? Who knows?

• Mount Rushmore can't be mentioned because "it appears to offend" some American Indians. ("American Indians," of course, was long ago replaced by the silly term "native Americans," even though anyone born in the U.S. is a native American.)

• American Indians can't be depicted with long braids, in rural settings or on reservations, even though many American Indians have long braids and live in rural settings or on reservations.

• Snowmen aren't allowed. Snowpersons are. Hey, that could be part of sex ed.

• Yachts can't be mentioned. Too elitist.

• "Jungle" is banned; "rain forest" is the P.C. euphemism. (Are all references to "swamp" changed to "wetlands"?)

  "I think our textbooks should to our greatest capacity be free of any type of stereotyping," Sue Stickel, who is "deputy superintendent for curriculum and instruction" for the so-called California Department of Education, told Fox News. "We need to make sure that all ethnicities are represented. We need to make sure that both males and females are represented. We need to make sure that our materials cover the full gamut."

  Others, however, know what is going on.

  "It's outright censorship," said author Diane Ravitch, who has written extensively on this school issue. "It dumbs down our textbooks, makes them bland, far less interesting than anything children might see in the movies - even in G-rated movies or TV.

  "The problems that have happened in education is that the textbook publishers and the test developers have become so sensitive to any controversy that whenever they receive a complaint it is very likely that they will remove the source of the complaint," explained Ravitch.

  And what about the complaints of those who are offended by P.C. lunacy?

  Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
  

  School Choice
  

[LiteKeeper]

education reform read later

[goldstategop]

To liberals the wrong words can mess up your self-esteem for the rest of your life. Our psyches are too fragile to handle reality.

[Howlin]

I believe alot of this will die with the 60s generation. Since they totally ignored all history and believe the earth was essentially created the day they were born

Listen, you young whipper snapper......LOL.

Would you be surprised to know how many people post right along with you every day on this forum that are from the 60's generation?

We got it.

[microgood]

Would you be surprised to know how many people post right along with you every day on this forum that are from the 60's generation?

I am not surprised at all. There are some very good people from that generation. I am just talking about the other ones. And I am not that young, early 70s generation (which is about the same in terms of number of idiots). Its just that I spent of lot of time with my grandfather, where I got most of my values. I worship the WWII generation, have contributed the last few years to the memorial in DC which is being build as we speak.

[Howlin]

Yes, the "other ones."

The Clinton administration.

[mlmr]

OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH! I think I am going to be OFFENDED! Yep. I am. Who can I SUE???????

[Howlin]

How can you be offended? They've removed all the "good stuff."

[VOA]

Here is a good start on the subject:

The Language Police
Hardcover: ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.18 x 9.48 x 6.60
Publisher: Knopf; (April 15, 2003)
ISBN: 0375414827
Amazon.com Sales Rank: 10

I've heard the author, a seemingly no-nonsense educator, interviewed on
The Laura Ingraham Show, The Dennis Prager Show and The Savage Nation.

The author got a belly-laugh out of Dennis Prager (a conservative Jewish commentator
for my old friends in flyover country) when she said that Jews could not be portrayed
as doctors.

[mlmr]

I assure you, people who think the word "refused" must be replaced with the word "declined" can find offense anywhere. A blank white wall? White hedgmony. A blank black wall? It is a wall of color, and I am offended that you called it anything else.

I could continue....but....

BTW. I do think that there is a portions of our generation that continues to be lost...

[mlmr]

I read it, it is wonderful.

[OXENinFLA]

http://www.dianeravitch.com/

I heard this on SAVAGE the other night, he had Diane Ravitch on live. Great show.