An agenda?
Suspicions about liberal bias in academia have been growing among conservatives, many of whom believe some educators and textbooks are attempting to rewrite history.
In Texas, the parent of a fifth-grader objected to a test question after her daughter's class viewed a film, "Remembering September 11th." The question was: "Why might the United States be a target for terrorism?"
The correct answer was: "Decisions we made in the United States have had negative effects on people elsewhere."
That kind of liberal apology had conservatives fuming.
In Massachusetts, a public school principal banned celebrations of Columbus Day and Thanksgiving, labeling them American atrocities parading as historical holidays.
Two recent cases in Wisconsin have also made news. In studying immigration, a social studies teacher in Neenah, Wisconsin, infuriated some parents by using a political cartoon from the Chattanooga Times Free Press that showed a clearly labeled Democrat laying bricks to convey the building of a "pathway to citizenship," while the Republican-labeled character was removing the bricks, thus depicting the dismantling of any immigration process.
Children were then asked to fill out a series of questions about immigration policy, using the cartoon as a reference. Some parents felt the teacher pushed a political agenda, basically that "Democrats love immigrants and Republicans hate them.
The communications director for the district said the assignment was not intended to "shape the children's political views."
About 95 miles southeast in the Milwaukee area, a mother claims her 16-year-old son's classroom assignment described Republicans as opposed to helping the poor because "it's a waste of money."
The woman said her son, a junior at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis, was asked to complete an assignment that listed a series of quotes and required students to identify which party affiliation best represented each statement.
The first quote read, "We should not help the poor, it's a waste of money."
The mother said her son chose "fascist" but when the assignment was returned, the answer was marked as incorrect. It was noted the correct answer was "Conservative/Republican."
After the parent complained, the district issued a press release stating that this was not a quiz in the traditional sense with right or wrong answers; instead, the quiz asked survey questions. The district, however, pulled the quiz and said it would not be used again.
The parent who originally called to inquire wasn't satisfied with the district's explanation.
By JIM ZBICK
tneditor@tnonline.com
