It Is Really Scary That Teachers Like These Exist.

[puente]

Still think Che was a great guy? Doesn't take a lot of courage to order the shooting of defenseless Cubans, IMO.

 

 

Dude, it was a war...

[Mark Vader]

Dude, it was a war...

And war brings out the worst of us.

 

So Che would have been satisfied with just rebelling in Cuba?

[LeviF]

Dude, it was a war...

I was waiting for this.

 

It's no longer battle when the enemy soldiers are bound, gagged, blindfolded, and on their knees in front of you, and ordering their executions doesn't help you a lot in future battles compared with just taking them prisoner.

[Adam]

Way to completely miss the point as usual.

 

The point is the radicals are specifically attempting to subjugate critical reasoning skills by making it educational policy that kids be taught that point-of-view XYZ is the 'correct' view. That means little Johnnie isn't free to use his critical reasoning skills to take the opinion that the AZ law is completely logical and reasonable because his slimy, wetback teacher will give him an 'F' if he does so.

I agree- but the problem is that parents do the same thing.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Even know it is going on about 15 years, here is a good read:

 

The End of Education: Neil Postman

 

 

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly: Claiming that our current educational system teaches students to worship technology and consumerism, Postman argues for more humanistic "narratives" as the basis for schools.

Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal: After 20 books (e.g., Technopoly, LJ 1/92), Postman, social critic par excellence, has returned to his original turf: education. Sharp, witty, and frequently quotable, he demolishes many leading popular themes as lacking in meaning. Education without spiritual content or, as he puts it, without a myth or narrative to sustain and motivate, is education without a purpose. That purpose used to be democracy and could still be, if only we were willing to look for the elements that unite rather than separate. Postman considers multiculturalism a separatist movement that destroys American unity. Diversity, however, is one of the themes he would employ in teaching language, history, and culture. Postman offers a number of positive and uplifting themes around which a new education philosophy could be formulated, some of which are far-fetched or extreme but nonetheless interesting. A most welcome addition to the education debate; highly recommended for all libraries.

-?Arla Lindgren, St. John's Univ., New York

Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist: One of the best writers among contemporary cultural critics, Postman is never better than when writing about education. His Janus-faced title refers both to the idea that schools as we know them are on the way out and to his own perception that American schools need new reasons--ends for learning. He calls such reasons "gods" --cultural conceits intended to inspire students to learn. He critiques gods that are failing in today's schools, such as the god of economic utility, in whose name students are supposed to believe that if they get through school halfway well, they will then get a well-paying job, and the god of consumership, whose golden rule is: The one who dies owning the most toys wins. He then proposes five new gods to make schooling vital again. He calls the five "The Spaceship Earth," "The Fallen Angel," "The American Experiment," "The Law of Diversity," and "The Word Weavers/The World Makers." If each of these rubrics has the ring of a familiar belief system, well, each is meant to. As Postman defines the five, they are myths, in the most complimentary sense of the word, for realizing ourselves as responsible individuals in our communities, from smallest to largest. Beautifully written, breathtakingly high-minded, this is Postman's best book on American education. Ray Olson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review: Postman should be saluted for his courage. This New York University professor is no abstract theorist; he jumps into the fray with concrete suggestions on how to revitalize education. These range from very specific ideas--get rid of all textbooks--to general proposals on reorganizing schools or the curriculum. -- The Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Russell Jacoby

Product Description: Postman suggests that the current crisis in our educational system derives from its failure to supply students with a translucent, unifying "narrative" like those that inspired earlier generations. Instead, today's schools promote the false "gods" of economic utility, consumerism, or ethnic separatism and resentment. What alternative strategies can we use to instill our children with a sense of global citizenship, healthy intellectual skepticism, respect of America's traditions, and appreciation of its diversity? In answering this question, The End of Education restores meaning and common sense to the arena in which they are most urgently needed.

"Informal and clear...Postman's ideas about education are appealingly fresh."--New York Times Book Review

 

From the Inside Flap: Postman suggests that the current crisis in our educational system derives from its failure to supply students with a translucent, unifying "narrative" like those that inspired earlier generations. Instead, today's schools promote the false "gods" of economic utility, consumerism, or ethnic separatism and resentment. What alternative strategies can we use to instill our children with a sense of global citizenship, healthy intellectual skepticism, respect of America's traditions, and appreciation of its diversity? In answering this question, The End of Education restores meaning and common sense to the arena in which they are most urgently needed.

 

"Informal and clear...Postman's ideas about education are appealingly fresh."--New York Times Book Review

[rockpile]

My biggest problem is when people cannot distinguish between immigrant and illegal immigrant.

 

An illegal immigrant's first act on entering our country is to break the law. If you are here illegally you do not have the same rights (or benefits) of LEGAL immigrants.

 

Yes, this teacher should be fired. Then he is free to say whatever he wants as long as he does not break the law.