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Audacity of Truth
Helping third-graders become anti-war
I missed the story of the Madison, WI elementary school (reg. req.) where teachers gave third graders an assignment to write letters to their congressmen and media outlets urging an end to the war in Iraq the first time around, but Frontpage has a good write up about it here:
The day before Thanksgiving, third-grade students at the Frank Allis Elementary School in Madison, Wisconsin, were given a curious lesson in civic responsibility. They were told to write letters to their congressman and various media outlets calling for an end to the war in Iraq.
Parents were sent a letter justifying this political indoctrination as a social studies lesson. “The Frank Allis third grade will be writing letters to encourage an end to the war in Iraq” the letter explained. “The letter writing will teach civic responsibility, a social studies standard, while providing an authentic opportunity to improve composition skills and handwriting. If the war has not ended by the 12th day [of the letter writing campaign] we will start the whole sequence over again, writing to students in middle school, high school, and college.”
Signed by the “third grade staff” the letter in closing asked parents to fund ten postage stamps and 12 envelopes for the project. As a “courtesy” the teacher gave parents the option to opt out of the assignment – as if that excused the school’s attempt to recruit impressionable third-graders into the service of “antiwar” movement and mold their views on the War on Terror.
Opposition to this project was strong, and the school rescinded the assignment. But that disappointed some people:
Not everyone was pleased with that decision. In the aftermath, Sharon Johnson, Frank Allis Elementary PTA president, said she was disappointed to see that the envelopes and stamps she sent to school with her daughter, as requested in the assignment, were returned last Tuesday. “I got the letter, and I had no objection” Johnson told the Journal Sentinel. She had hoped that the antiwar project would prove revelatory for her daughter. “Her world is pretty much made up of the Cartoon Network. I thought it was a good idea to get kids to open up their eyes” she said. But while Johnson, a Democrat, approved of the assignment, she admitted that had the campaign been in support of the war, she would have taken umbrage.
Read the whole thing.
Now just why would a group of third grade teachers want their students to write letters urging an end to the war in Iraq? Civics assignment my foot. U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Green Bay, WI) suggested a letter writing campaign in support of the troops (and let’s remember, as we’ve been told countless times, you can show support for the troops without showing support for the war) instead if the teachers truly wanted to continue on with a civics assignment revolving around the Iraq war.
The school has not responded to Congressman Green’s suggestion.
Related: Jay at Stop the ACLU blogs about the ACLU’s non-interest in the case of the Excelsior Elementary School (in the Byron Union School District in California) being allowed (via a court ruling) to use “Islam simulation” materials and methods on 7th graders in their World History and Geography classes. Here’s more on those methods and materials:
In the three-week course, Excelsior teacher Brooke Carlin had students assume Islamic names, recite prayers in class, memorize and recite verses from the Quran, and had them simulate Ramadan fasting by going without something for a day. The final test required students to critique Muslim culture.
The Islam simulations at Excelsior are outlined in the state-adopted textbook “Across the Centuries,” published by Houghton Mifflin, which prompts students to imagine they are Islamic soldiers and Muslims on a Mecca pilgrimage. The lawsuit also alleges students were encouraged to use such phrases in their speech as “Allah Akbar,” which is Arabic for “God is great,” and were required to fast during lunch period to simulate fasting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
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18 Responses to “Helping third-graders become anti-war”
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I am not surprised that MADison teachers and school administration tried to pull this stunt. MADison is known as the MOSCOW of the Midwest.
Why do you think the northern half of Wisconsin wants to succede from the state? In the 70’s Northern Michigan wanted to join with Northern Wisconsin to form the 51st state.
I’m curious, if these little kids wrote letters demanding a war with Korea would you support that excercise? Calling for Peace seems like the Right thing to do especially at Christmas time, don’t you think. We can call for war at Easter time ok? Peace
So you are ok with teachers ordering students to have a specific opinion Steve? I guess you are as pro-communist as you say. I thought it was just a front.
steve, you should be kept away from children and voting boxes. You can’t be trusted.
This is why History/Gov’t are subjects we hired a tutor for in teaching my little sister. (not full home schooling)
Too many teachers these days are not giving students a full picture of what happened in a period and letting the individuals form opinions.
Its NOT ok to start a lesson with “This is history’s greatest mistake”, no more then i would want to hear that “this is history’s greatest triumph”.
Mistake or Triumph to who!? – a 25yo fresh out of college just looking to work off student loans?
Compared to what? – last week’s lessons?
I would not support this program because i would not support ideology being instilled into a mind that doesn’t know any better.
Considering how much the Liberal left claims that all conservatives are brainwashed, they sure do start early in the ideological training!
Peace is an ideology? If so my ideology is the same as Christ’s was and that is the Peace ideology. Peace
You are interested in bloodbath Steve.
Pulling out of Iraq before stabilized and on their own would result in a power vacuum. Your solution would result in bloodbath. Since you mistate what people are interested in I can only say it’s fitting that I say what you are intersted in… a BLOODBATH. Why are you interested in a bloodbath steve?
Good points, Enrique – especially that last one
You mean the Peace sign Sister? Peace
What would prevent Sharon Johnson from having her child write a letter on her own? Is it only valid if the teacher makes all the other children write them at the same time?
The truist example of hypocrisy here is her admission that she would have objected had the assignment been to write a “support the troops” letter.
FYI:
http://random10.blogspot.com/2005/11/madison-teachers-cross-line.html
All the links from the Wisconsin Blogosphere when this story broke.
What is it with people like steve who talk about peace, but unconditionally support mass murderers? Such people need taken out and shot for the good of humanity, because they are more dangerous than a serial killer.
Steve’s not really anti-war. He’s just rooting for the other side.
Steve roots for nobody, Kevin. He’s really a nihilist – probably an “Imagine” sort of nihilist, who believes nothing is worth fighting for.
“steve, you should be kept away from children and voting boxes. You can’t be trusted.”
people can’t be trusted to vote? someone is really scared!
Well said, Steve. I am in complete agreement. I am sure if those kids had followed Fox News, CNN and other news media they would have recieved more than their fair share of pro war propaganda. Given the Bush administrations claims about Saddam Husseins none existant weapons of mass destruction, and equally bogus claims and innuendo linked Saddam with Al quaida when both were in fact enemies, did the mainstream media do anything to expose these lies before sending it’s troops, young men and women to war. The answer as we all know is of course not. Instead the media Fox, CNN, and others were all to keen to act on behalf of the adminstration with it’s embedded journalists acting as an extension of the propaganda machine, uncritically parroting official claims, providing a suitable fanfare towards the inevitable approach of the war on Iraq, irrespective of public opinion across the world, intelligence reports demonstrating that such an attack would increase terrorism, weapons inspections and international law.
A precondition for peace in Iraq would be the immediate withdrawal of all coalition troops. It is already a blood bath and in no small part the U.S. and U.K. governments are responsible. War reparations should be paid by the U. S and British governments for the damage caused by war, to the infrastructure, and the loss of civilan lives, over 100,000 deaths(read Lancet study)in one year alone than there would have been had not the invasion occured, and also for over ten years of sanctions that weakened the iraqi people and allowed a tyrant to hold on to power who least we forget was a U.S. ally when he commited his worst atrocities, in Halabja for example in march 1988. Also there should be some justice, for the leaders responsible for the war to be put on trail for war crimes. That means Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush, Tony Blair and his entire cabinet, Mr Halliburton Dick Cheney, and others, for launching an ilegal war of aggression, war crimes against civilians including the use of depleted uranium, cluster bombs and chemical weapons, wanton destruction of towns and cities, the use of torture and incaration with out trail in Abu Graib and Guantanamo. All crimes that they would prosecuted for at Nuremburg. It should be the least that we demand for the sake of our own humanity.
The crucial question we need to ask as occupiers is “Do they want us to be there?”. According to a poll by the British Ministry of Defence carried out by Iraqi university reseachers this past august the answer would seem to be a resounding no! 82 percent are strongly opposed to the presence of coalition troops and less than 1 percent believe they are responsible for any improvement in security. So coalition forces should withdrawal as the population wants them to. Instead they remain and the situation deteriorates with yet more daily deaths in Iraq, and more Muslims recuited by Al quaida while they try and set up a client regime they can control in a region rich in oil.
So I salute the Frank Allis Elementary School in Madison Wisconsin, and their third grade pupils. Calling for an end to the war in Iraq is the humane thing to do. I think most contributors underestimate the intelligence of these young pupils. I think they know what they are doing and are less indoctrinated than most contributors to this site.
I find most of the contributions hilarious on this site and look forward to some good old bellicose,jingoistic, right wing patriotic outraged responses or you might suprise me and actually say something quite thoughtful.
Wow, what’s with the sudden spate of necroposting?
- No “Gary”. No one has the time or inclination to respond to the litany of phony, brain dead, empty BS screeds of the ass-hat left anymore. Its all been done countless times. Boring actually. That bus left when LurchKerry got his lying ass kicked at the ballot box. Catch up with current events Sparky.
- Bang