No More Mr. Nice Guy!

We don't need no edjookayshun...

This is the sort of thing that makes me bang my head against a wall in despair at the terminal stupidity of those who hold a monopoly on political power in this country.

Recently I wrote about the abysmal state of the education system in the US in general and Arizona in particular. Well, some schools are trying to make a change for the better.

Arizona schools are beginning to offer children in Grades K-10 a teaching model used around the world that pushes students to become proficient in at least two languages, think critically instead of regurgitating memorized answers and learn from a global perspective by studying other cultures.

Who could possibly be against such a project? Why, a religious-right wingnut, of course.

Despite gushing praise from school administrators, the program has faced scrutiny from parents and lawmakers troubled by an organization based in Switzerland that is influencing the education of American students.

The School Board for the Upper St. Clair School District in Pennsylvania voted to remove the program from schools [...] One board member reportedly said the program went against "Judeo-Christian" values.

When lawmakers in Texas were considering a bill to mandate state universities to give credit hours to students with an IB diploma, the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, the group organized in the 1970s by activist Phyllis Schlafly, warned legislators about the program's international focus and philosophy.

And if you scroll down to the reader comments, you see this gem:

This probably started out as a great program in 1968...but now it's just one more tool in the tool bag of the secular-progressive globalists at the UN. Whether our local school officials believe it or not, this is just one more process to remove the borders from our nation and chip away at our sovereignty.

First of all, this doesn't even have anything to do with the UN... oh, forget it. Against stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain. But it's frustrating that so many Merkins are so proud of their knee-jerk ignorance, xenophobia and know-nothingism.

At least it confirms what I've always suspected. The religious right opposes critical thinking, and supports regurgitation of rote-memorized answers and ignorance of other cultures. No surprises there.