What’s driving events in the Denver suburb of Arvada for sure is a controversial move by the local county school board to, as the Associated Press reported, “Establish a committee to review texts and coursework, starting with Advanced Placement history, to make sure materials ‘promote citizenship, patriotism, essentials and benefits of the free-market system, respect for authority and respect for individual rights’ and don’t ‘encourage or condone civil disorder, social strife or disregard of the law.’” Students who are alarmed to know they’re not allowed to learn about civil dissent and protest have quite rationally chosen to protest. As other reports have noted, the controversy goes way beyond the borders of Colorado. The AP course that’s causing controversy has become a favorite target of right-wing extremists on a national level. Valerie Strauss at The Washington Post explained, “Conservatives have said that the new history framework – being used this fall in classrooms around the country – does not highlight American achievements or mention key American historical figures but spends a lot of time talking about America’s worst period. Top officials at the College Board, which owns the Advanced Placement program, have said there is nothing anti-American about the document.” Hmmmm--Americas Worst Period? Which one is that? Now? The Bush era? Vietnam? ...
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 21:32:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015