Last Monday, the Pennridge School Board, located outside of Philadelphia, imposed a new social studies curriculum that will require teachers to incorporate lessons from the 1776 Curriculum, a controversial K-12 course of study developed by Hillsdale College, a private Christian institution that promotes right-wing ideologies.
This just BEGS for a class-action lawsuit by the parents. And, it emphasizes the need to pay attention to who you're voting for, particularly on the local and State level. Shows that who sits on your local school board is just as important as who sits in the West Wing.
agree and check candidates carefully. i had a couple of school board candidates on the democrat candidate ballot who were not in fact so democrat in some of their views
An editorial in today's Philadelphia Inquirer offered a bold solution - put the two curricula side by side and let the students decide. The writer argues that the students will be able to see both the ugly side of America's past and the whitewashed and sanitized version offered by Hillsdale. What a brilliant exercise in critical thinking, and most HS students will see right thru the tripe being forced on them by the right wing school board. Imagine the conversations in the classroom...and around the dinner table...and in future school board meetings. Of course it will never happen, the right wing cannot allow that Defcon 6 level threat to unfold.
The good people of PA, especially the good people of the Pennridge district need to contact their school board (the right wing screamers should not have a monopoly on expressing their opinion), the state legislature and the state board of education. Fetterman, Casey and Shapiro are all good men and would have a megaphone, but likely not much actual influence.
And the beat goes on. I get Hillsdale Collage (sic) mailings and boy oh boy, those are some sick puppies there in Hillsdale (what a dumb-ass made-up name).
Their toxic mix of pseudo-religion and pseudo-history are a heady brew to be sure and that authentic authoritarian flavored brew definitely "hooked" up to 5 members of the school board. Or, was there money involved?
Remember the formula? Conservative=Grifter every GD time!!!
We know that this reeks of dark money and dirty politics. Thanks to Judd and his team we are keeping abreast of those who are striving to put money and power in charge of turning our hoi poloi into obedient dolts. I just looked up the origins of Moms for Liberty--I remember this issue and The brouhaha over Moms against CRT being what swept Glenn Youngkin into the governorship of Virginia. Well, here goes, back in 2021 (?, maybe earlier):
"Moms for Liberty’s press is being handled by Calvary Strategies whose CEO is a former campaign manager and chief of staff to Sen. (then-Gov.) Rick Scott." [Tampa Bay Times] Very active in this movement: Ben Carson, Fox News Megyn Kelly, of course Betsy DeVos, and Florida Republicans' "great white hope" Ron DeSantis.
Then, I find "Parents Defending Education" is Koch-connected. The Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council claims credit for the havoc wreaked by anti-Critical Race Theory legislation."
I'm wondering if Trump's lack of education (eg about American History, the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and much else) has inspired more clever people to come up with these tactics to dumb down the rest of the country in order to get Republican votes--"if this is what makes Trump so popular, let's use it." ??
Yes, I am aware of the Koch history--I read and listened to Dark Money when it came out, and encouraged others to see the hard cover copy in which the inside cover maps out their extraordinary history. And, Nancy MacLean is a gem. I'm adding the idea about Trump's popularity because it has less charismatic Republicans licking their chops, and I think, inspired by his ways. We were informed that DeSantis was copying Trump's gestures and hand movements at the beginning of his campaign!
Yes, I too have a hard-cover copy that I show to friends who ask. I don't try to "sell" the book at all. I give a brief synopsis (if asked) and leave it. Oddly, no one asks to borrow it.
Now Koch is marketing their propaganda en español via The Libre Initiative.
"The LIBRE Initiative is a conservative grassroots organization that targets Hispanic voters. It is a a 501(c)4 nonprofit and has ties to the Koch brothers."
Just following the strategy of the Lewis Powell Memo, and strategy of James Buchanan. Business take over of higher education, then move down the ranks. Teach half truths. Emphasize on what makes America look good. Never look beneath the surface....
I live in the Philly burbs and have a Google alert on my local school district because of things like this. They need to sneak it in because the curriculum doesn't stand up to sunlight. This district sits in a purple congressional district so it's not a given parents or students will be on board with this Board.
What the F**K is happening in America? People with no experience or qualifications in education are creating curriculum for children?!?! Of course it's far right religious and racist propaganda. Who could vote for this? Every member of the board who voted for that should be fired immediately. Conservatives have to start indoctrinating children into their racist way of thinking as early as possible because they can't win on their merits or policy.
This is why I get a kick out of this 'parents know best' crap about educating their children. I'll wager they have never looked up the academic standards for their state. Hell, they probably don't know what an academic standard is.
I'm retired but I can assure you that if I ever got an employment application from someone educated in Florida it would go directly into my circular file.
Ironically, if every person counts once, it’s probably true that most residents of the confederacy did not hold slaves. No enslaved people had slaves. Most white people were poor farmers without slaves. Women, even white women in wealthy slave holding families, were property themselves until widowed. The deception is in the premise, the writer clearly expects only white men to be counted as ‘southerners’ who were not enslavers.
HILLSDALE "college" is no more a college than Trump U. It's spiteful, shameful and disgusting that these folks can stamp ANY curriculum with their lies and propaganda! Keeping "religious" drivel out of ANY education is more important than giving these nutjobs a say in any child's education. WAKE UP, AMERICA! You're being trolled and used by the FAR RIGHT MAGATS - THEY THINK they OWN education. Freedom FROM RELIGION is a tenet of public schools. These clowns should be nowhere near any real education. Hillsdale should be shut down - a cult bought and paid for by Prager, DeVos, other degenerates who push their "religion" on education. Then it's NOT EDUCATION!
Jordan Adams would fit right in working for the Ministry of Truth department of The Party that rules at the whim of Big Brother. His proposed curriculum aims to guide students to be infatuated with an ideological based version of the history of the U.S.A.
Hillsdale is also offering an online class on...Dante! Having an interest in Italian literature, I was interested — until I saw that it was being offered by Hillsdale!!
Actually, 1920 "women's right to vote" was ONLY for white women. Many, many states restricted and/or didn't allow women of color to vote at all. All Native/Indigenous women gained that right finally in 1962. Asian Americans gained the right in 1952. 1929 & 1935 for Latinas who were English literate only. 1975 voting expansion act removed English literacy requirement. All Black women finally got to vote in 1965!
Be careful not to generalize to the white experience perspective and actions only.
Thank you for the info and the link. The older I get the more I see the truth in Mark Twain’s response to the question about where he was educated: “All my life, except the years I was in school.”
I was born and raised in Michigan and Hillsdale was always a respected (but very expensive) college in the state - but as I grew older we began to see the shift to outrageous religious applications to its teachings. And of course, many of the worst evangelical policies in our government seem to originate there. I was sad and mad as I read this post and worry so much about how my grandkids' generation will be taught and what we "adults in the room" can do to stop it. Help! Any ideas?
I was raised in MI when Hillsdale was well respected without controversy. Aside from PA, it is the FL’s view that the current Hillsdale is a model for New College (a small public college). It is allowing PragerU as supplemental material in K-12. PragerU which has 0 educational credentials is proud of its mission of “changing minds” and promoting conservatism.
Curriculum minimizing the disparity of rights in the original Constitution; the justification of women having fewer rights is deliberate and in line with white christian nationalism. Although benignly worded with terms like “a focus on western civilization”, it is a way to narrow learning to a fantasy of white European culture & contributions. They wish to destroy all remnants of the belief there is or ever was institutional racism & injustice. Go back to the “old days” when everyone stayed in their places.
… Reasons that legislators, school boards or unconcerned parents should care:
- Students who take college entrance exams or go on to schools not catering to this bastardized version will be expected to meet different standards than the ones being taught. Are their allies in the community? Have Board members explored those consequences?
It’s already been a problem in FL for high school AP psychology students & the ‘new’ curriculum. The College Board refused to accept it. FL and other states are introducing new college entrance tests for public colleges … will the exams be good at other schools?
- During Covid parents formed groups to help children ‘homeschool’. Spitballing on that one but there is a “learning” center near me run by a “sovereign”. Of course she uses it to network her anti-government ideas and build a contact list to leverage concerns about so-called education & children’s issues. It is natural and builds power to join with others.
- We should all be concerned because the larger states buy more textbooks & materials. States like FL & TX can drive content changes. Plus state legislatures are mandating certain content & how subjects may be taught. Districts can’t always order the “good” stuff. They are stuck with the cleansed versions & need to teach the rest of the content separately if they dare … EX: Texts that describe segregation the laws without mentioning Black people — Laws that made it illegal for “some groups of men” to be unemployed or “some groups of people” unable to serve on juries.
This just BEGS for a class-action lawsuit by the parents. And, it emphasizes the need to pay attention to who you're voting for, particularly on the local and State level. Shows that who sits on your local school board is just as important as who sits in the West Wing.
All politics is local.
agree and check candidates carefully. i had a couple of school board candidates on the democrat candidate ballot who were not in fact so democrat in some of their views
Here in northern VA the Republicans have adopted just that tactic to force incumbent Democrats into primary fights.
And, activism after researching to find out WHAT is afoot.
An editorial in today's Philadelphia Inquirer offered a bold solution - put the two curricula side by side and let the students decide. The writer argues that the students will be able to see both the ugly side of America's past and the whitewashed and sanitized version offered by Hillsdale. What a brilliant exercise in critical thinking, and most HS students will see right thru the tripe being forced on them by the right wing school board. Imagine the conversations in the classroom...and around the dinner table...and in future school board meetings. Of course it will never happen, the right wing cannot allow that Defcon 6 level threat to unfold.
Thanks for finding out about the Philadelphia Inquirer editorial and sharing. BUT please don't say "it will never happen."
Would people in PA please contact your Senators and wonderful Governor to act on this idea?
The good people of PA, especially the good people of the Pennridge district need to contact their school board (the right wing screamers should not have a monopoly on expressing their opinion), the state legislature and the state board of education. Fetterman, Casey and Shapiro are all good men and would have a megaphone, but likely not much actual influence.
And the beat goes on. I get Hillsdale Collage (sic) mailings and boy oh boy, those are some sick puppies there in Hillsdale (what a dumb-ass made-up name).
Their toxic mix of pseudo-religion and pseudo-history are a heady brew to be sure and that authentic authoritarian flavored brew definitely "hooked" up to 5 members of the school board. Or, was there money involved?
Remember the formula? Conservative=Grifter every GD time!!!
I got them for a while too. Then I sent them back to the president of Hillsdale with a promise to sue for harassment if they kept it up. They stopped.
I like to read them for the insight. Sounds oxymoronic, I know.
See my remark. I left out Malarky and that's what they write
We know that this reeks of dark money and dirty politics. Thanks to Judd and his team we are keeping abreast of those who are striving to put money and power in charge of turning our hoi poloi into obedient dolts. I just looked up the origins of Moms for Liberty--I remember this issue and The brouhaha over Moms against CRT being what swept Glenn Youngkin into the governorship of Virginia. Well, here goes, back in 2021 (?, maybe earlier):
"Moms for Liberty’s press is being handled by Calvary Strategies whose CEO is a former campaign manager and chief of staff to Sen. (then-Gov.) Rick Scott." [Tampa Bay Times] Very active in this movement: Ben Carson, Fox News Megyn Kelly, of course Betsy DeVos, and Florida Republicans' "great white hope" Ron DeSantis.
Then, I find "Parents Defending Education" is Koch-connected. The Koch-funded American Legislative Exchange Council claims credit for the havoc wreaked by anti-Critical Race Theory legislation."
I'm wondering if Trump's lack of education (eg about American History, the Constitution, the Rule of Law, and much else) has inspired more clever people to come up with these tactics to dumb down the rest of the country in order to get Republican votes--"if this is what makes Trump so popular, let's use it." ??
EDUCATION is key.
Yes, I am aware of the Koch history--I read and listened to Dark Money when it came out, and encouraged others to see the hard cover copy in which the inside cover maps out their extraordinary history. And, Nancy MacLean is a gem. I'm adding the idea about Trump's popularity because it has less charismatic Republicans licking their chops, and I think, inspired by his ways. We were informed that DeSantis was copying Trump's gestures and hand movements at the beginning of his campaign!
Yes, I too have a hard-cover copy that I show to friends who ask. I don't try to "sell" the book at all. I give a brief synopsis (if asked) and leave it. Oddly, no one asks to borrow it.
Now Koch is marketing their propaganda en español via The Libre Initiative.
"The LIBRE Initiative is a conservative grassroots organization that targets Hispanic voters. It is a a 501(c)4 nonprofit and has ties to the Koch brothers."
https://www.politifact.com/personalities/libre-initiative/
Just following the strategy of the Lewis Powell Memo, and strategy of James Buchanan. Business take over of higher education, then move down the ranks. Teach half truths. Emphasize on what makes America look good. Never look beneath the surface....
Sounds just like the way China and other authoritarian countries operate. Thanks to Republicans, here we are!
Good luck keeping teachers.
I live in the Philly burbs and have a Google alert on my local school district because of things like this. They need to sneak it in because the curriculum doesn't stand up to sunlight. This district sits in a purple congressional district so it's not a given parents or students will be on board with this Board.
Wow. A board that acts on their interests in the people's name.
What the F**K is happening in America? People with no experience or qualifications in education are creating curriculum for children?!?! Of course it's far right religious and racist propaganda. Who could vote for this? Every member of the board who voted for that should be fired immediately. Conservatives have to start indoctrinating children into their racist way of thinking as early as possible because they can't win on their merits or policy.
This is why I get a kick out of this 'parents know best' crap about educating their children. I'll wager they have never looked up the academic standards for their state. Hell, they probably don't know what an academic standard is.
I'm retired but I can assure you that if I ever got an employment application from someone educated in Florida it would go directly into my circular file.
Was"white' wash ever more appropriate than to use it here?
Ironically, if every person counts once, it’s probably true that most residents of the confederacy did not hold slaves. No enslaved people had slaves. Most white people were poor farmers without slaves. Women, even white women in wealthy slave holding families, were property themselves until widowed. The deception is in the premise, the writer clearly expects only white men to be counted as ‘southerners’ who were not enslavers.
HILLSDALE "college" is no more a college than Trump U. It's spiteful, shameful and disgusting that these folks can stamp ANY curriculum with their lies and propaganda! Keeping "religious" drivel out of ANY education is more important than giving these nutjobs a say in any child's education. WAKE UP, AMERICA! You're being trolled and used by the FAR RIGHT MAGATS - THEY THINK they OWN education. Freedom FROM RELIGION is a tenet of public schools. These clowns should be nowhere near any real education. Hillsdale should be shut down - a cult bought and paid for by Prager, DeVos, other degenerates who push their "religion" on education. Then it's NOT EDUCATION!
Jordan Adams would fit right in working for the Ministry of Truth department of The Party that rules at the whim of Big Brother. His proposed curriculum aims to guide students to be infatuated with an ideological based version of the history of the U.S.A.
Right wing dumbing down of America continues.
Hillsdale College is to education what a turd is to a punch bowl.
Hillsdale is also offering an online class on...Dante! Having an interest in Italian literature, I was interested — until I saw that it was being offered by Hillsdale!!
But that coud be an interesting topic to study and compare, and then wrote about and publish.
I'd love to "learn" their way in order to see how they manipulate their followers with doctored and distorted offerings.
Actually, 1920 "women's right to vote" was ONLY for white women. Many, many states restricted and/or didn't allow women of color to vote at all. All Native/Indigenous women gained that right finally in 1962. Asian Americans gained the right in 1952. 1929 & 1935 for Latinas who were English literate only. 1975 voting expansion act removed English literacy requirement. All Black women finally got to vote in 1965!
Be careful not to generalize to the white experience perspective and actions only.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/vote-not-all-women-gained-right-to-vote-in-1920/
Thank you for the info and the link. The older I get the more I see the truth in Mark Twain’s response to the question about where he was educated: “All my life, except the years I was in school.”
I was born and raised in Michigan and Hillsdale was always a respected (but very expensive) college in the state - but as I grew older we began to see the shift to outrageous religious applications to its teachings. And of course, many of the worst evangelical policies in our government seem to originate there. I was sad and mad as I read this post and worry so much about how my grandkids' generation will be taught and what we "adults in the room" can do to stop it. Help! Any ideas?
I was raised in MI when Hillsdale was well respected without controversy. Aside from PA, it is the FL’s view that the current Hillsdale is a model for New College (a small public college). It is allowing PragerU as supplemental material in K-12. PragerU which has 0 educational credentials is proud of its mission of “changing minds” and promoting conservatism.
Curriculum minimizing the disparity of rights in the original Constitution; the justification of women having fewer rights is deliberate and in line with white christian nationalism. Although benignly worded with terms like “a focus on western civilization”, it is a way to narrow learning to a fantasy of white European culture & contributions. They wish to destroy all remnants of the belief there is or ever was institutional racism & injustice. Go back to the “old days” when everyone stayed in their places.
… Reasons that legislators, school boards or unconcerned parents should care:
- Students who take college entrance exams or go on to schools not catering to this bastardized version will be expected to meet different standards than the ones being taught. Are their allies in the community? Have Board members explored those consequences?
It’s already been a problem in FL for high school AP psychology students & the ‘new’ curriculum. The College Board refused to accept it. FL and other states are introducing new college entrance tests for public colleges … will the exams be good at other schools?
- During Covid parents formed groups to help children ‘homeschool’. Spitballing on that one but there is a “learning” center near me run by a “sovereign”. Of course she uses it to network her anti-government ideas and build a contact list to leverage concerns about so-called education & children’s issues. It is natural and builds power to join with others.
- We should all be concerned because the larger states buy more textbooks & materials. States like FL & TX can drive content changes. Plus state legislatures are mandating certain content & how subjects may be taught. Districts can’t always order the “good” stuff. They are stuck with the cleansed versions & need to teach the rest of the content separately if they dare … EX: Texts that describe segregation the laws without mentioning Black people — Laws that made it illegal for “some groups of men” to be unemployed or “some groups of people” unable to serve on juries.
Not all religious minds are onboard with this.
https://religionnews.com/2023/04/13/desantis-reinvents-a-public-university-using-christian-hillsdale-as-a-model/