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ORIGINAL: cordeliasub

I gotta say....I have trouble with teaching my kids that the thousands of people who died on that day deserved it. Just sayin'. I wonder if people actually believe that or if it is just the fun of being shocking and contrary.

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ORIGINAL: Moonhead

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ORIGINAL: cordeliasub

I gotta say....I have trouble with teaching my kids that the thousands of people who died on that day deserved it. Just sayin'. I wonder if people actually believe that or if it is just the fun of being shocking and contrary.

That isn't actually what anybody was arguing, if you read the article. Still, they can't peddle that sort of nasty liberal-relativist drivel to the kids anymore now, can they?

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Fifth graders in a public school in Corpus Christi, Texas will no longer be learning that the United States deserved the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks because of its foreign policy.
Kara Sands, the mother of a student at Flour Bluff Intermediate School, announced earlier this week that the school has agreed to stop teaching that America’s “negative effects” led to the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Sands says she made the discovery when she was perusing a quiz her son had taken earlier this month.
The third question on the controversial quiz was: “Why might the United States be a target for terrorism?” according to CBS Houston. The credited answer — which Sands’s son did, in fact, select — was (B.) “Decisions we made in the United States have had negative effects on people elsewhere.”
Other possible answers were (A.) “Other people just don’t like Americans,” (C.) “Terrorists hate everyone,” and, of course, (D.) “None of the above.”
The quiz occurred after students watched a half-hour-long video in class called “Remembering September 11th.”

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ORIGINAL: Nosathro
I am having trouble with your label "Liberal-relativist drivel" The Westboro Church does claim that those killed in 911 deserved it for it was God who caused it to show his anger at homosexuals.

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ORIGINAL: Moonhead

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ORIGINAL: cordeliasub

I gotta say....I have trouble with teaching my kids that the thousands of people who died on that day deserved it. Just sayin'. I wonder if people actually believe that or if it is just the fun of being shocking and contrary.

That isn't actually what anybody was arguing, if you read the article. Still, they can't peddle that sort of nasty liberal-relativist drivel to the kids anymore now, can they?

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ORIGINAL: Moonhead

Which is evidently unacceptable in Texas.

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The third question on the controversial quiz was: “Why might the United States be a target for terrorism?” according to CBS Houston. The credited answer — which Sands’s son did, in fact, select — was (B.) “Decisions we made in the United States have had negative effects on people elsewhere.”
Other possible answers were (A.) “Other people just don’t like Americans,” (C.) “Terrorists hate everyone,” and, of course, (D.) “None of the above.”

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This kerfuffle is far from The Lone Star State’s first rodeo when it comes to problematic, politically-charged material allegedly seeping into school curriculums. The state seems to have an unrelenting problem in this regard.

The most common complaints relate to CSCOPE, a prefab curriculum that critics say is riddled with cultural relativism and downright leftist assumptions, particularly in social studies. (RELATED: Ten shocking lessons a huge Texas conglomerate has foisted on public school students)

A CSCOPE world history lesson plan that was available to teachers across Texas as recently as January of 2012 depicted the Boston Tea Party as an act of terrorism. “It is believed that the terrorist attack was a response to the policies enacted by the occupying country’s government,” the assignment read. (RELATED: Texas schools teach Boston Tea Party as act of terrorism)

Also, in a world geography class in Lumberton, Texas, a teacher allegedly encouraged high school girls to dress up in full-length Islamic burqas. The teacher also instructed the entire class that Muslim terrorists are actually freedom fighters. (RELATED: Texas public school students don burqas, learn that Muslim terrorists are freedom fighters)

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The best teachers I've seen are those who force the students to go look things up for themselves. They want students to think, not memorize a list of "correct" opinions.

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The third question on the controversial quiz was: “Why might the United States be a target for terrorism?” according to CBS Houston. The credited answer — which Sands’s son did, in fact, select — was (B.) “Decisions we made in the United States have had negative effects on people elsewhere.”
Other possible answers were (A.) “Other people just don’t like Americans,” (C.) “Terrorists hate everyone,” and, of course, (D.) “None of the above.”



This is one of the quiz questions? Is this supposed to teach the facts of history?

It seems to me that students should be graded based on their retention and understanding of the course material. A question like this should have a more open-ended response, perhaps an essay question, but not multiple choice where students are compelled to pick the "right" answer - which is really nothing more than a vague opinion, not an actual historical fact.

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ORIGINAL: muhly22222

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The third question on the controversial quiz was: “Why might the United States be a target for terrorism?” according to CBS Houston. The credited answer — which Sands’s son did, in fact, select — was (B.) “Decisions we made in the United States have had negative effects on people elsewhere.”
Other possible answers were (A.) “Other people just don’t like Americans,” (C.) “Terrorists hate everyone,” and, of course, (D.) “None of the above.”



This is one of the quiz questions? Is this supposed to teach the facts of history?

It seems to me that students should be graded based on their retention and understanding of the course material. A question like this should have a more open-ended response, perhaps an essay question, but not multiple choice where students are compelled to pick the "right" answer - which is really nothing more than a vague opinion, not an actual historical fact.

I would agree with you, especially at the 5th-grade level. The causes for 9/11 are something that people with doctorates and extensive experience in international relations and related fields are unable to agree on. Not to mention that to just pick one would be flat-out wrong. In fact, you can make an argument for A, B, and C in the choices above to all have elements of truth.

Why was this being taught in a 5th-grade classroom instead of, oh, I don't know...the different branches of government (according to people at my local bar association meeting earlier this week, one of which heard it from Sandra Day O'Connor, 50% of high-school students don't know the three branches of government)? The answer to these sorts of questions is well beyond the ability of most 11-year-olds (I think the age is right?) to comprehend.

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ORIGINAL: Level

So, basically, it was blaming America.

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If you Rightie foamers can't accept the facts, it doesn't alter reality.