Thayer Verschoor, Republican majority leader of the Arizona State
Senate, intoduced a bill last week that would "discipline, fine or
fire educators for speaking about elections, legislation, judicial
action or 'a social, political or culture issue that is a matter of
partisan controversy,'" according to the Arizona Daily Star.
http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/168844
What does that mean?
Unfortunately the bill doesn't contain much in the way of details.
What is clear is that this bill is Verschoor's attempt to reverse that
terrible trend in public education: teaching critical thinking.
The bill prohibits instructors from advocating "one side of a social,
political or cultural issue that is a matter of partisan controversy,"
but it doesn't offer any definitions.
Evolution, global warming, foreign policy, voting rights, education
policy - the list of verboten topics could be endless.
So loosely is the bill written that a teacher who plays devil's
advocate to prod a student to think more critically and refine his or
her position might be accused of breaking the law.
Verschoor's bill would discourage teachers from offering opinions in
class about the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of
Education that desegregated public schools.
Verschoor also said, "You don't need to be in a science class and have
someone telling you whether Bill Clinton is or isn't a great
president."
However, if students are to learn about the real-life effects of
environmental policy, then it's perfectly appropriate to mention
Clinton or any other president.
We do wonder, however, if Verschoor's outrage would reach the same
intensity if the president being praised in the classroom had views
closer to his own.
Incidentally, the bill would also make it illegal to "hamper or impede
the lawful access of military recruiters to campus."
Combine that with Verschoor's assault on critical thinking and it's
pretty clear that he does not view schools as places from which young
people can gain an education, but as factories for teenage
cannon-fodder.
Incidentally, Arizona ranked dead last in Morgan Quitno's 2006
"Smartest State Award." http://www.morganquitno.com/edrank.htm
I guess Verschoor thinks that's a compliment.
By EarlG
Democratic Underground
http://www.democraticunderground.com/
Harry
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