Thursday, July 1, 2010

[One of the] Stupidest Comment[s] Ever

I read the following comment on a blog today:
Public school is cracked and failing. It is basically a socialist program - maybe even communist since they try to keep all students on the same standard. Teachers so fear being sued that they have lost their purpose. They can make a student memorize some horrible poem that no one would agree with or enjoy. They can make students learn about all sorts of religions and cultures so that students will be tolerant of others. But they won't teach about Christianity or anything to do with their own culture/American patriotism for fear of stepping on toes. Definitely cracked!
Now don't get me wrong, I think the commentor makes a few valid points about public schools. I am far from suggesting that they are places of utopia with no problems to be found. They have many issues. Period. Full stop.

But, please.
... It is basically a socialist program - maybe even communist since they try to keep all students on the same standard.
You know, that's so far beyond the pale that I can't even begin to formulate a response to it.

~ shakes head and walks away ~

3 comments:

Kris, in New England said...

Well since it was my blog where you read that comment...I feel like I should say something.

I think I know what Lou meant in that comment. It could have been worded better but...

The fact is that the public schools in the U.S. are not places where children learn any balance. They are supposed to toe the party line as taught by their teachers - and quite a bunch of teachers they are.

Of course there are good teachers out there who genuinely want to teach children the things that children should learn - the way it should be learned - unvarnished and without opinions and P.C. B.S. attached to it.

In the post that you read, the issue was about a school that flatly refused to allow its students to voluntarily say the Pledge of Allegiance to our nation's flag - which is a time-honored tradition in public schools across this country.

Voluntary. That the students even had to ask the school for permission speaks loud volumes about the entire issue at hand.

And the school's reason for not allowing it is equally egregious - that they couldn't find any teachers who would want to recite the pledge.

Now I'm not sure why it's necessary for teachers to have to recite the Pledge along with any students who wanted to - as the entire thing was proposed as a voluntary action.

So - I get Lou's point. Since the school doubted their teachers would recite the Pledge - why should they allow the students? It's a plain vanilla way to treat something that is, essentially, an issue of freedom of speech, which is guaranteed in the First Amendment to our Constitution, or the Bill of Rights.

Rights - as in something these students can do because the law says they can.

The school also commented on the practice of patriotism - and that it might offend people.

Um - this is AMERICA and if someone here doesn't like this country - we can show them the door. And that would go for the school administrators and teachers.

Michelle Morgan-Coole said...

So, like, I hadn't mentioned or linked to the comment or blog because I was trying to be a little ... discreet. So much for that idea! :D

I agree with the point of your post, Kris. There's no reason why those students who want to recite it shouldn't be allowed to do so. Anyone who wants to should be allowed to. Anyone who doesn't should not be forced. It's just another example of things getting too politically correct, in my mind. And like, I said in the post, I think public schools have a lot of other issues as well.

Perhaps Lou didn't mean it the way it sounded (or perhaps he did) but to jump from those valid points at to paint public school as socialist, maybe even communist ...??!!

Remember what they talked about in the McCarthy era, something about seeing a Communist under every bed ... well, a lot of the comments I hear now from the right re: Obama and his minions are starting to sound very similar to me. And Lou's comment seemd to fit right in.

Perhaps we should just abolish all public education then?

Kris, in New England said...

Michelle - well, if the shoe fits. Obama is trying turning this country into a socialist state. We shouldn't abolish public education but we need to encourage more balance in instruction rather than the indoctrination we see going on more and more.

And the school in question is in MA - which is about as socialistic a state as you will ever find. I know, I grew up there.