Politically Correct Homework Assignment in Texas Enrages Parents

[ObamaPhoneLady]

Not really seeing the problem with a pro-con list, even for the indefensible.
It Forces the test-taker to more deeply consider the issue at hand. A school should be producing and stimulating curious minds and encouraging critical thought.

Indefensible? What if you want to undertake a large project that will require a large labor force, but you don't want to pay anyone? Then slavery is really your only option.

 

[Limbo Pete]

Universities are full of liberal idiots that want to rewrite history to fit their chosen narrative.

 

[Harry Flashman]

Pro:How many slaves in America had better living conditions than they did "free" in Africa.

 

[Trotsky]

Sure, it totally had to do with blacks not being able to govern themselves and people trying to help them.

Absolutely nothing to do that after the compromise of 1877 and racists came back to power they moved to completely disenfranchise black people at every single step.

I generally skip over his posts, and that one is a good example of why. It isn't even historically coherent, as slaves that "had it good" could stay under the employ of their masters as contracted employees. It wasn't some "drive the puppy out into the country so that it can't find it's way home" type deal.

And that faux justification doesn't cut against slavery at all, since that would just mean that (a) the arrangement was not such that the slave wanted to stay and (b) s/he was not endowed with marketable skills in the arrangement such that meaningful employment could be had thereafter. And considering the amount of freed slaves who died trying to track down and reunite with their loved ones who were ripped from them and sold elsewhere, the "it was good for them because they couldn't make it on their own" rationale is especially gross. And I'm sure those Southern Confederates were all about "family values" too...

 

[Trotsky]

That's how it should be but as a history student, I learned that isn't the way it works in practice.

Maybe you shouldn't have studied a subject that you 100% can learn independently through the internet in 2018. The fact that you sought a fucking history degree just shows you were just in it for the degree and not the education.

Universities are full of liberal idiots that want to rewrite history to fit their chosen narrative.

Reads as: full of educated people that are smarter than you, but you'd rather get mad and throw a tantrum than learn shit.

 

[Madmick]

You don't see how a parent might have a legitimate concern here? Especially given the history of Texas when it comes to trying to downplay slavery in education?

One warranting a suspension rather than a simple meeting with the teacher after class? Absolutely not. Not for a matter of insensitivity arising from poor or myopic structure in a class handout.

I address problems when problems avail themselves. I don't police crimes before they've been committed. Again, that's the Minority Report approach.

If the next week she's showing The Birth of a Nation, talking about how exploitative black carpetbaggers were, how because of that slavery of the Grand Old South was a healthier time, and that the KKK was a righteous reaction to black hostility, then I would say, "Okay...now we've got a serious problem."

 

[Trotsky]

Today we have people that want to increase modern day slavery. The more modern slaves the better.

Do you ever feel disgusted with yourself for living in a society supported by modern day slavery? This is a question for everyone living in the West and those that want to bring more people here to keep it going.

Why don't you fuckwits ever try to, I don't know, improve labor and wage standards? Support unions?

No, you'll continue to vote for the party of the rich that busts unions, suppresses wages, guts oversight and safety standards, exacerbates economic inequality through shitty tax codes, and destroys upward mobility.

It's almost like you're not really concerned about economic issues and are just using it as a veneer for a different issue....hmmm....wonder what that other issue could be.

 

[Islam Imamate]

One warranting a suspension rather than a simple meeting with the teacher after class? Absolutely not. Not for a matter of insensitivity arising from poor or myopic structure in a class handout.

I address problems when problems avail themselves. I don't police crimes before they've been committed. Again, that's the Minority Report approach.

If the next week she's showing The Birth of a Nation, talking about how exploitative black carpetbaggers were, how because of that slavery of the Grand Old South was a healthier time, and that the KKK was a righteous reaction to black hostility, then I would say, "Okay...now we've got a serious problem."

What if she showed Birth of a Nation and asked them to do a pros/cons list for the Ku Klux Klan? Or for Jim Crow?

 

[7437]

Pro:How many slaves in America had better living conditions than they did "free" in Africa.

If anything black people should pay reperations to previous slave owners as thanks

 

[tonni]

Why are people defending a worksheet that infers you should pretend that slavery is good?

Next up: What are the pros and cons of your head being bashed in with a hammer?

 

[tonni]

Why isn't anyone talking about how murder victims don't have to fill in their tax return?

 

[Madmick]

What if she showed Birth of a Nation and asked them to do a pros/cons list for the Ku Klux Klan? Or for Jim Crow?

That would be more problematic, but I would still need to know the details of how everything was handled, and full context. After all, if the previous week she showed The FBI's War on Black America, then assigned a pro/con handout asking, "Are law enforcement officers racist?", I might not assume racist intentions, and instead favor the belief that I had an idiot or a troll for a teacher.

An alternative possibility, again, is that if after the students handed in the assignment, the teacher then used it as an opportunity to point out how heavy the "pro" columns were for the KKK, before then teaching the history and controversy surrounding that film, making it clear how horrible the KKK was, maybe by following that up with a showing of 4 Little Girls, in order to demonstrate to the children how easy it is for them to become the victims of propaganda, and how they should consider the sources of their information when they weigh questions like that...well, I think we have one of the best fucking lesson ideas in the history of middle school.

See?

Fortunately, your hypothetical doesn't in any way mirror her assignment because she didn't load up a racist pro-Antebellum propaganda film immediately before assigning a pro/con consideration asking questions about it. Your argument has failed in the absence of an analogous textual perpetration on the teacher's part, so you're not attempting to insert text into your hypothetical that perpetrates it.

 

[Islam Imamate]

That would be more problematic, but I would still need to know the details of how everything was handled, and full context. After all, if the previous week she showed The FBI's War on Black America, then assigned a pro/con handout asking, "Are law enforcement officers racist?", I might not assume racist intentions, and instead favor the belief that I had an idiot or a troll for a teacher.

An alternative possibility, again, is that if after the students handed in the assignment, the teacher then used it as an opportunity to point out how heavy the "pro" columns were for the KKK, before then teaching the history and controversy surrounding that film, making it clear how horrible the KKK was, maybe by following that up with a showing of 4 Little Girls, in order to demonstrate to the children how easy it is for them to become the victims of propaganda, and how they should consider the sources of their information when they weigh questions like that...well, I think we have one of the best fucking lesson ideas in the history of middle school.

See?

Fortunately, your hypothetical doesn't in any way mirror her assignment because she didn't load up a racist pro-Antebellum propaganda film immediately before assigning a pro/con consideration asking questions about it. Your argument has failed in the absence of an analogous textual perpetration on the teacher's part, so you're not attempting to insert text into your hypothetical that perpetrates it.

Dude it was your hypothetical to begin with, you're the one who brought up Birth of a Nation.

And second, I didn't ask you about all that hypothetical shit about the hypothetical. If you want to drag this into the weeds so you can pat yourself on the back at the end of it all then feel free to do so, you're being way too tedious for my liking anyway.

 

[MiniCraque]

I generally skip over his posts, and that one is a good example of why. It isn't even historically coherent, as slaves that "had it good" could stay under the employ of their masters as contracted employees. It wasn't some "drive the puppy out into the country so that it can't find it's way home" type deal.

And that faux justification doesn't cut against slavery at all, since that would just mean that (a) the arrangement was not such that the slave wanted to stay and (b) s/he was not endowed with marketable skills in the arrangement such that meaningful employment could be had thereafter. And considering the amount of freed slaves who died trying to track down and reunite with their loved ones who were ripped from them and sold elsewhere, the "it was good for them because they couldn't make it on their own" rationale is especially gross. And I'm sure those Southern Confederates were all about "family values" too...

I'm honestly loving the fact a lot of the Pros being conjured up by imbeciles ITT are essentially "it can end".

It's like writing a list for cancer and putting "you might recover" under Pros. Or "eventually you leave" for going to prison.

 

[Soul Crusher]

Outside of pimping i cant think of many cases of slavery in the West...

Are you implying that hookers support the West?

The West, especially the progressive liberals love Mexican/South American illegal immigrant slaves that can be used to work the fields and nightmarish factory farms. They love the Chinese slaves (suicide nets) that make a large portion of our stuff. They don't seem to mind the child slaves in Africa mining rare earth minerals for our electronics.

Is it becoming clear now?

He's Christian Takferi and literally can't help himself.

Christian Takferi? That doesn't even make any sense seeing as how I'm not a Muslim.

Kafir.

 

[Soul Crusher]

Why don't you fuckwits ever try to, I don't know, improve labor and wage standards? Support unions?

No, you'll continue to vote for the party of the rich that busts unions, suppresses wages, guts oversight and safety standards, exacerbates economic inequality through shitty tax codes, and destroys upward mobility.

It's almost like you're not really concerned about economic issues and are just using it as a veneer for a different issue....hmmm....wonder what that other issue could be.

Why so angry all time Trotsky? Constantly throwing out insults, raging so hard and making up lies.

The system in the West is not going to change. People like the progressive liberals want a constant flow of immigrants to the West so the system doesn't change or have a hiccup. The rich and powerful will always get what they want regardless of who you vote for. They're bringing in more people that will vote for their preferred party as we speak.

Disarmed, physically weak (whinny nu male tone) fragmented and enslaved populations is the glorious end goal.

 

[RockstarChris]

Props to Manú, the kid knows what's up.

***Edit, there is a video in the link for this story, and that video is about a different incident involving fourth graders. This story is about an eighth grade class at a different school***



Charter School Alert!
(lulz)



Ah, Texas. You silly golden goose. The suggestion that slavery should be evaluated from a "balanced" point of view is probably the most outlandishly stupid and offensive piece of right wing political correctness today. The teacher is clearly a dolt, but it's not clear whether the teacher is just a "both sides" fool or a racist propagandist.

The Superintendent moved swiftly, placing the teacher on leave and starting an investigation. The worksheet is apparently not connected to the textbook publisher Pearson, and appears to be solely a product of the teacher.

I think if we can agree about any one thing on the teaching of slavery in American schools, it's that we should evaluate it honestly, and not from a presumption that both sides have merit.



https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/San-Antonio-school-responds-to-homework-12847564.php

good thing all those people are dead. what do you want?

 

[Fawlty]

It's all really pretty straightforward lol
I mean, I get frustrated and ticked off when I see stuff like this, but i'm also looking down the barrel of potentially teaching history for a frickin living
There's been a lot of grandstanding and overly-verbose nuance splitting going on in here, but really i'm just gonna go ahead and double down on my own opinion- formed from my experience and education- that teaching history with a pro-con list is fundamentally problematic. Using such a thing as some sort of critical thinking exercise may have some merit in some circumstances, but not all merit is equally appropriate or effective. History shouldn't be taught by breaking things down along normative judgement lines. Not taught well, anyway. There's a fundamental, pedagogical problem with that hogwash.
I would literally never use a pro con list in a history classroom, even with college students. People can disagree, but imo it's profoundly flawed.

That makes sense and you know I respect your ideas about history. I wonder though, because elementary-middle school education is in some ways more about instilling values than questioning them, if there's more of a place for that kind of thing.

Tangent here- my only experience with that side of education (apart from working with Downs kids) is developing a lesson plan for fifth graders on evolution. I had to justify everything I was doing, it was quite a process. I wonder if this lesson is documented somewhere- it should be. Who developed it? A publisher, the teacher, the school board? Are charter schools there even required to document this stuff to a high standard? The method itself should be justified somewhere, right? I know that according to how I was taught, it would be. I'd like to sleuth them up.

 

[Fawlty]

"I don't encourage it, but I support it and think it should be investigated."

If you can collect yourself again, the discussion can continue being a good one. I'll give you another crack at it.

I want the school system to investigate the teacher where appropriate, and I want journalists and/or higher level educational orgs to investigate the school systems to determine whether this is a wider problem. At no point do I want cyber stalking of the teacher, pitchforks, public floggings, or otherwise inappropriately digging around in this teacher's ass for a "gotcha." I have already stated plainly that if this teacher was using supplemental material from a third party, that it would invalidate any CYA suspension by the school board.

 

[Fawlty]

good thing all those people are dead. what do you want?

But Manú lives, Mr. Loosener. Manú lives.