Reply #67: I have an 8th grader who has made it through [View All]

elementary and middle school without once participating in a discussion of anything going on in the world. No what we used to call "current events" at all. And guess what, if not for us discussing politics and issues at home, she'd be completely clueless - as are her friends.

It's all about memorizing a bunch of "facts" to pass a standardized test. And we live in a "Blue Ribbon" school district.

The way they teach history is a joke. In 5th and 8th grade they learn U.S. "History" - which starts with Columbus and ends at the Civil War. The school district is so into "art projects" - like create a civil war trading card with a nice picture of Jefferson Davis - that they move at a snail's pace and get bogged down. She'll be in 11th grade before she again encounters U.S. "History" and who knows if she'll ever once be taught that there have been Presidents and world-altering events after Lincoln.

Government/economics isn't mentioned until 12th grade - one semester each. It sends the message that these subjects aren't important. I attended the parents' night for incoming freshman awhile back and the PE coaches dominated the discussion with sports talk. That's what the parents were concerned with: "How can I be sure my kid makes the team?"

What the point of all this is escapes me. Supposedly, this district sends 98% of its graduates onto college - where they must arrive ill-prepared to do anything except shoot baskets and color.

Other parents have told me I should run for the school board, another joke. Those people are so entrenched as incumbants that they get re-elected based on name recognition alone. I am not making this up. One guy was on the board for 30 years. He had a stroke, was in a nursing home, couldn't attend meetings, and was still re-elected. When he finally died, his wife suggested keeping the seat open "in his memory" until the next election two years off - and they did! And no one gave a damn.

It's all fucking unbelievable.