High School Textbook Under Fire
By The Associated Press Associated Press Writer

Apr 8th, 2008 | Excerpts being criticized from the 10th edition of the textbook “American Government” by James Wilson and John Dilulio:

—”Science doesn’t know whether we are experiencing a dangerous level of global warming or how bad the greenhouse effect is, if it exists at all.”

—”Since 1947, the (U.S. Supreme) Court has applied the wall-of-separation theory to strike down as unconstitutional every effort to have any form of prayer in public schools, even if it is nonsectarian, voluntary or limited to reading a passage of the Bible.”

—”The (2003 Lawrence v. Texas) decision had a benefit and a cost. The benefit was to strike down a law that was rarely enforced and if introduced today probably could not be passed. The cost was to create the possibility that the Court, and not Congress or state legislatures, might decide whether same-sex marriages were legal.

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Source: “American Government” by James Wilson and John Dilulio.

Let me just say this–my skepticism about the USA having the political and social will to provide good K-12 education is based on my disillusionment before NCLB and the associated testing mainia even took effect.

I agree it has only gotten worse since then.

KTHNXBYE for now…

It is appropriate for someone to want to attain an advanced degree and to be given every chance to gain that degree, it is equally appropriate for them to decide after they have it that they would be happier doing something else. It is equally appropriate for someone to decide that they don’t want an advanced degree but want the option to gain it at a later date. The education is never wasted, it is simply applied in a different context. Going for an education system that opens everyone’s options up is very expensive, the only thing more expensive is NOT doing it.

It is appropriate for someone to want to attain an advanced degree and to be given every chance to gain that degree, it is equally appropriate for them to decide after they have it that they would be happier doing something else. It is equally appropriate for someone to decide that they don’t want an advanced degree but want the option to gain it at a later date. The education is never wasted, it is simply applied in a different context. Going for an education system that opens everyone’s options up is very expensive, the only thing more expensive is NOT doing it.

You were saying?

I fell in love with Lisa.

The Apple Lisa.

I’ve seen so much and am glad to have been a part of it. But ‘Now watch this drive’ Bush and his unpatriotic ‘base’ have decimated the industry and this country. I have a better chance of getting hired in India as a native than I do here. (Or in China)

Ahh the time we live in… The future so uncertain.

But there were kids that could ‘milk the system’.

I often wonder what about them allowed them to succeed in that environment. Most were from more well to do families but there were some that weren’t.

I really think that it’s the family structure that they come from and return to. I feared school just about as much as being at home. I was constantly picked on and beaten at home and school. My psyche was so battered as a child. (Did I mention that I was an ‘Army-brat’? Yet another generation of victims of Bush’s war is being bred right now at this very minute. A whole host of silent victims of the war on democracy.)

I can’t fault my past for the future and have tried hard to get past it. And this is turning out to get too close to the bone but suffice it to say that the reason why American education sucks has a multitude of reasons. Yes tenure plays a role but so does the familial stress and home life. My therapy was getting a motorcycle in high school. Escapism takes many forms. Pre-mix fumes and chain lube stench coupled with bugs in my teeth and dirt in my ears was what kept me sane in the insane world I knew. Thank you Mr. Suzuki!

And people wonder why I laugh when they talk about public education being no place to have sex ed. HAH!!!

‘Have a nice day’

Since when do people with J.D.’s commonly find themselves wishing they had some sort of trade skills to fall back on?

I don’t know how common it is but I know three. One was pushed by his family to get his law degree, they worked long hours and sacrificed and after he made it, he found that the stress was killing him. He is now a mason like his father and his grandfather. Another was in corporate tax law and the hours were excruciating. To get time with his family he opted to go back to school and become a teacher. A third is now a plumber after he realized that he simply wasn’t cut out for the culture of a law office.

Not everyone is ideal for every job and school should be structured to present ALL students with as many options as possible. It is bad enough that media presents wildly skewed views of ‘popular/successful/high paying’ careers without schools doing the same thing. This is part of what leads to NCLB type legislation, the belief at the highest level that if you aren’t going to make it as a lawyer/doctor/CEO then why bother educating you in the first place. Sink or swim with the definition of what it means to swim be Olympic gold medalist.

Pinky, you mean you’re an expert in computers based on vacuum-tubes and relays with hand wiring for programming? Really?…

As another IT guy in his late 40’s, I know exactly what you mean. Sometimes it feels like I must be old enough to have known Charles Babbage personally.

IT is not kind to those who get old without moving to upper management. The job landscape gets pretty barren for those of us with gray hair…

Good luck with your quest. And know there are many more of us out here in the same aged and leaking boat…