[TheBagman]

YOUR GOVERNMENT SCHOOLS AT WORK

There is a history teacher in a government school in Nevada who is risking his job by teaching his classes about the American Revolution. Yup. You heard me right. It's happening in Carson City, Nevada, and in schools across the country. Joe Enge teaches 11th graders history in the Carson City government schools. His custom is to begin with the birth of our Nation and to finish with Watergate. Now the people who run his school want his course syllabus to change. He has now been instructed to begin his history lessons with post-Civil War reconstruction. He is not to teach anything about Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Bunker Hill, the Declaration of Independence, George Washington, Dolly Madison, Paul Revere, The Revolutionary War or the debate leading up to the ratification of our Constitution. The school principal excuses this absurd requirement by saying that other schools are doing the same thing. Well, he's right. According the the Fox News Channel report I saw last night, many schools around the country have dropped any requirement for American history completely! Others, like the school in Carson City, are just focusing on our 20th Century history, completely ignoring what came before.

Could there be an ulterior motive here? The post-Civil War history of this country is a history of growing federal government, the weakening of state governments, increased personal dependence on government, the end of the rule of law brought about by the emphasis on majority rule, and the deification of politicians. Perhaps there is a reason government schools don't want to emphasize the self-reliance and love of freedom that dominated American culture before the Civil War. No sense upsetting the government-owned apple cart, right?

Always remember the central lesson your children will be taught at all state educational institutions. Government is good. Government is great. All rise up in praise of government.

http://boortz.com/nuze/index.html

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Wtf is this? Leave it to the government schools to leave out the most important parts of our American history. Especially the ones that promote small government, and state and personal freedom.

[TheBagman]

Veteran teacher fears his career might become history
Educator says administrators question curriculum choice, teaching methods
Tim Anderson

A veteran history teacher at Carson High School said he's being targeted for dismissal because administrators have questioned his determination to thoroughly cover America's colonial period and the Revolutionary War and his teaching methods.

But Carson City School District officials contend teacher Joe Enge's situation -- which has caught the attention of a national group -- has nothing to do with the curriculum, but reflects an employee unhappy with performance evaluations.

"The administration wants to manipulate content and micromanage everything I do. It's a creepy policy that goes directly to educational freedom," Enge said Monday.

Enge, a 15-year classroom instructor in his fifth year at Carson High, said he's been told by school officials to start his 11th grade U.S. history course from the end of the Civil War and to ignore earlier periods of the nation's formation except for a cursory review. The school's course description book calls for a review of historical events beginning with Reconstruction.

'Misguided policy'

The teacher's response has been to ignore this "misguided policy" and follow the state education mandate, which he said he helped write. These guidelines call for high school juniors to learn about America's early periods.

Enge also said he's come under fire for emphasizing factual-based education at the expense of "student-centered" teaching where students have an opportunity to share ideas and feelings.

Enge, a Fulbright scholar and Madison Fellowship award-winner, said he has received three consecutive unsatisfactory evaluations and fears a fourth is on the way -- even before the usual review period in the spring.

In his most recent evaluation last spring, he said administrators noted his students weren't engaged in the topic.

"I teach to the traditional model centered on content and for this my job is at stake. This is a hatchet job," the 43-year-old Enge said.

Carson High principal Fred Perdomo was unavailable for comment. But district Superintendent Mary Pierczynski said Enge's complaints are without merit.

"This has nothing to do with the curriculum. We have a mandate to follow the state history education standards and that's what we're doing. We have never told a teacher not to teach to the standards," Pierczynski said.

She said she doesn't understand Enge's complaint about being forced to abandon his teaching methodology and style.

"This is simply a case of a teacher not being happy with his evaluations," Pierczynski said. She declined to say why because it is a personnel issue.

However, after Washington, D.C.-based Citizen Outreach became involved in the teacher's case, organization president Chuck Muth said Enge signed a waiver allowing the evaluations to be released to the group as part of the group's discussions with school officials.

In Enge's April evaluation, Perdomo was critical of the teacher's preparation and told him to begin submitting lesson plans to the department chair weekly. Also, Perdomo ordered Enge to exclusively use the district's textbook and supplemental materials.

Big expectations

Pierczynski said the district has big expectations of its teachers.

"We expect them to provide direct instruction to students and for the students to learn the subject matter, write about what they've learned and to have an intelligent discussion about the issues in class," Pierczynski said.

The schools chief, who declined to say whether any students or parents have complained about Enge, said the teacher is eligible for a binding arbitration hearing.

Muth, who recently moved to Carson City, said the district recently offered to buy out Enge's contract with one year's salary. He said Enge initially considered it before the offer was withdrawn.

Pierczynski denied an offer was made.

Muth defended Enge for standing up to the district's "history-Lite policy" and said a petition started by his organization in early November in support of the teacher has been signed by 1,360 people.

"This problem has been going on for some time, and I'm convinced it's reached the point where school officials are going after Joe for insubordination," Muth said.

A former student, Carson High senior Autumn Hamilton, said Enge makes history interesting.

"I learned more from Mr. Enge than in any other class," Hamilton said.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...59/1010/NEWS07

[Boondock]

jesus christ. unreal

[KO]

that is rediculous

in my HS we focused on certain yrs in different grades. We had world history freshman yr, and in 8th grade.

US History, Pre America through the 1812i believe sophmore yr.

1812 though to about the WWII Junior yr

and modern american history sr year

[Ta'veren]

that's bullshit

[gilligan]

thats why i nor my kids will go to public school.

[AnnonUSA]

You miss one important factor in all this. Many history class curriculum changes are being made to protect the "fragile" nature of the students. Curriculum is being changed in a lot of classrooms because of foreign children. The thought is not to portray the United States as better than any other Country. So we can't teach the kids that the USA is the greatest country because some French or Mexican or Islamic kid might be offended by that lesson. This is just more PC bullshit.....

This is true and if anyone is interested in this nonsense and how deep it runs just read "One Nation Under Therapy" by Christina Hoff Sommers.

[blunts&teriyaki]

I couldn't agree more Annon....

at the same time, history has long been taught in public schools, that minimizes "small" govt. mistakes-- slavery, segregation, japense internment

Another problem is all the interest groups (from the NAACP to right wing religious groups) that all fight to influence the boards that decide which textbooks will be bought and supplied and supplied to school districts.

[AnnonUSA]

Not to minimize the "small" mistakes you alluded to, but a lot of the horror over the countries past digressions is because we look at them through the politically correct eyes of today. Were those things wrong, yeah, but when they were happening, it was a different time and a different climate in the countries. (And the US was not alone in doing things like this). The real issue is that we learn from our mistakes (sometimes) and become a stronger, better nation because of them. Dwelling in the past is counterproductive.

[blunts&teriyaki]

No this is a very flawed arguement Annon...there was many intelligent, educated and compassionate people that argued slavery was wrong when the slave trade was going on (1700 and 1800's). Same goes with discrimination, internment and the like...the arguement u give is akin to many Nazis that were put on trial...they just said they were following orders and the social and political climate at the time, prevented them from doing anything even if they personally disagreed.

We should not excuse ourselves from not acting, because it is against the current trends (climate)

Why else do we continue to smoke weed?

I agree with u 100 percent on "The real issue is that we learn from our mistakes (sometimes) and become a stronger, better nation because of them. Dwelling in the past is counterproductive."

As some motherfucker once said "those who don't learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat their mistakes in the future" or some such bullshit

[Tasha]

That's bullshit to the highest degree.

[Del420]

When I wen't through U.S. History they basically taught nothing on the American Revoultion.. We spent a few days on it max.. While every other section went on for a good week or two.

[gilligan]

at the same time, history has long been taught in public schools, that minimizes "small" govt. mistakes-- slavery, segregation, japense internment

i went to a private school and we spent a fair amount of time on all 3 of those things in American history.