9486 in the collection
No factor in education
By Jerry McGovern
School Ties
While driving to the deli to get my lunch, I listened to radio commentator Bill O'Reilly.
Bill's very knowledgeable about everything. No matter how complex our world becomes, his certitude never wavers. In fact, he's more sure of everything than most of us are of anything.
Today, Bill was explaining the difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The Democrats are in love with big government that will take care of any problems we have, while the Republicans want a smaller government and to have Americans to take care of themselves, Bill told us.
He explained that the two parties became more distinct as a result of the Great Depression. Bill told us the Depression began under the Republicans and caused Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt to expand the government's safety nets.
These ideas about Democrats and Republicans were not news to me because, like Bill, I went to school when teachers really taught and students really learned. Not like today. In fact, Bill and I went to the same high school (from which he graduated, but I didn't).
Bill's not usually pleased with our public schools. And today he said that social-studies teachers are all Democrats and that's why they don't teach the differences between the two parties. I didn't quite understand why being Democrats prevented them from teaching about the parties. I also didn't understand when it was that all these students were not taught by their Democratic social-studies teachers or why they were now listening to Bill O'Reilly.
Bill, however, knows what's not being taught in American classrooms, and that's good enough for me.
Of course, Bill's right. He's always right. All the social-studies teachers in every American public high school are Democrats and for some reason refuse to have their students learn the distinctions between the two major political parties.
You have to be impressed, and filled with gratitude, that Bill knew this sad fact about our schools. It's another example of his unending search for the truth that we need -- the truth the mainstream media doesn't want us to know.
For anyone but Bill O'Reilly, finding that truth would be a daunting task. After all, there are 25 public high schools in our area alone. Many of us locals didn't realize all the social-studies teachers are registered Democrats. But Bill knows.
But that's not all. What's even more impressive is Bill knows about every social-studies class in New York state. We might be a bit unsure of lesson plans in neighboring schools or even our own schools. Not Bill.
He knows what's not being taught in Peru, Larchmont, Tonowanda, Ossining, Port Jervis and Camden. Bill knows what's not being taught in all 700 school districts, all 4,700 schools in New York.
Fortunately, that's still not all. Bill knows what's not being taught in the 14,000 school districts and 97,000 public elementary and secondary high schools in the United States.
The rest of us are just stumbling around in the dark. We might think there's some variety among the 539 schools in North Dakota or the 9,600 in California and that in some of those schools kids are taught the tenets of the two parties. Well, we'd be wrong.
Bill knows that registered Democratic social-studies teachers are not teaching about political parties. In rural, suburban, and urban public schools, from Maine to Arizona, Oregon to Florida, students do not learn about our political parties.
— Jerry McGovern
Press Republican
2007-09-22
http://www.pressrepublican.com/0213_mcgovern/local_story_265180122.html?keyword=topstory
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
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