George Rebane
In the latest effort to find common ground in our fractured country, a new civics curriculum has been devised by a few hundred scholars under the aegis of Educating for American Democracy Initiative. Bipartisan support comes from Sens Coons and Cornyn who have authored the Civics Secures Democracy Act to pump $1B of federal money into teaching a federal curriculum on history and civics at TBD K-12 levels. (more here)
The initiative is funded by the National Endowment for Humanities and the Dept of Education. The intent is for “states to evolve from the traditional approach to curriculum—listing a series of events and concepts for students to learn—and embrace an “inquiry focus” that encourages students to explore open-ended questions from multiple perspectives. Topics would include how the system of American constitutional democracy came to be and what it means to participate in it, the place of the U.S. in the world, and the debates that characterize contemporary American civic life. Instead of focusing on facts about the Constitutional Convention or Shay’s Rebellion, for example, lessons would pose questions, such as ‘How did the institution of enslavement and practices of indigenous removal and even extermination affect national unity in the U.S.?’ Or, ‘Why does a society need shared rules and what do rules do?’” (Note the ideological drift here.)
Such questions, of course, are less than meaningless to young minds empty of any historical context, context which will somehow be absorbed through the ether since there are no plans to extend the 24-hour day. Given this approach, and the ideological tint of the curriculum’s progenitors, it is highly probable "that (many) have criticized the initiative as a pretext for teaching left-wing ideas” as is the reasonable concern of some conservative groups.
With some grounding in American history, the group could have suggested some more meaningful pro-American questions for students to discuss, such as, ‘How did the US become the world’s beacon of freedom and enterprise as the ‘shining city on the hill’ of liberty, when it had to work through its difficult decades of slavery, civil war, and years of subsequent racial segregation?’
The way this federal program is to be foisted on local school districts gives pause to even some of it proponents who are concerned “that continued political polarization will likely make it hard for schools to adopt the initiative’s recommendations.” There are also some other material concerns with the ability of current curricula to educate students so that they will be “civics ready” by 2030. The most important of these concerns is that the Right and Left see diametrically opposite futures for America's governance and therefore the kind of civics required to produce a citizenry that is supportive and compliant with each of these futures – no such civics exists nor is conceivable.
We refuse to even adopt a conversation that would allow us to try to cobble together a mutually acceptable American future. Note that I offered a plan and tried to start a conversation with that aim in these pages (here). That went over like a fart in church with our RR readership, no one is interested in any rapprochement. North Carolina State University professor Paula McAvoy thinks that this program will run into strong headwinds. She concludes with –
We’re in a moment in which there’s incredible disagreement about whether democracy is a good idea in the first place, what a good democracy looks like, what civility looks like and what truth looks like, and because we have all this churning in the public about what a good society is, I think this initiative bumps up against the very thing it’s trying to fix.
This is another example of seminal futility that our country’s leadership can’t wrap their heads around.
[19aug21 update] The country’s Left has been successful in implementing Lenin’s dictum about educating young minds in order to transform a country’s governance and social order. Its success in America, as in other places, comes from inattention and lack of concern for what is taught in our schools. With all the other problems in the land, people just aren’t interested in what is poured into the heads of little Jacks and Jills by their unionized leftwing teachers, who by and far are marginally competent to teach them ‘regular subjects’. This lack of interest arises from a wide spectrum of political beliefs, and isn’t isolated on the Right or the Left.
These pages contribute their own evidence of this particular form of ennui. This commentary highlights a very recent and damning initiative contributing to the ongoing demise of our public education system, and it has drawn exactly zero comments in its first five days of posting. I can understand the readers’ disinterest in my more technical topics – after all, our country does not ‘do numbers’ – but what is being taught to our kids should IMHO raise an eyebrow or two here and there. Our last great century indeed.
Not all roll their eyes and tune you out, Dr. Rebane. Sometimes when you write a fine post there is nothing more to add. We all grieve in different ways. Adding to one of your better writing would be like.....well....like VDH following Mark Levin. Maybe on topic. Take the fight to them.
‘The Taliban May Have Provided a Sputnik Moment for Wokeness’
https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/the-taliban-may-have-provided-a-sputnik-moment-for-wokeness/
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WATCH: Colorado School Board Bans Critical Race Theory After Black Father’s Fiery Speech
A school board in Colorado Springs, Colorado, banned critical race theory from being taught after a black father gave a speech describing how racism would “by and large be dead” in the United States if institutions were not “keeping it on life support.”
https://thefederalist.com/2021/08/20/watch-colorado-school-board-bans-critical-race-theory-after-black-fathers-fiery-speech/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 20 August 2021 at 03:19 PM
Quillette's Best on Critical Social Justice
https://quillette.com/2021/08/21/quillettes-best-on-critical-social-justice-2/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 28 August 2021 at 03:27 PM
rather long essay...Sunday reading
'Soviet Methods of Character Attack-Based Scandals Thrive in the New Media Environment'
What do a Cold War-era conspiracy theory, a modern-day political operation involving a hoax concerning domestic elections, and a global media influence campaign concerning the death of a Saudi operative have in common?
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/08/character-attack-based-scandals/
Posted by: Bill Tozer | 29 August 2021 at 12:00 PM