In other words: A discussion of The Bush Administration
Teacher sues over limits on history curriculum
The only reason why extremist fundamentalist Christians haven't turned America into a country like Afganistan under the Taliban is because of the constitution, its not because they don't want to.
You want to learn about the history of western civilization? Greece? Something as simple as why we have an Olympic games every four years? Well some Christians in Maine have decided that even the knowledge of other cultures will somehow taint our children.
A seventh-grade social studies teacher in Presque Isle who said he was barred from teaching about non-Christian civilizations has sued his school district, claiming it violated his First Amendment right of free expression.
Gary Cole of Washburn, a teacher at Skyway Middle School, sued School Administrative District 1 in U.S. District Court in Bangor.
Cole alleged that complaints by "a small group of fundamentalist Christian individuals" led to the creation of a curriculum "which never mentions religions other than Christianity and never teaches the history of civilizations other than Christian civilizations."
"He can't even teach the history of anti-Semitism (or the) history of ancient Greece," said Cole's lawyer, A.J. Greif of Bangor.
"How can you explain the evolution of democracy in the Western world without talking about ancient Greece? He can't talk about all the influences of the Indian, Japanese or Chinese cultures."
Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said on Tuesday that he had not seen the lawsuit, but he noted that the curriculum has been "developed by teachers across the district and adopted by the SAD 1 School Committee."
"Teachers are expected to follow the curriculum," he added.
umm... but if they can't teach about non-Christian civilizations how do they teach about the United States?
thanks to Atrios for the link.
- rob 3:30 PM - [PermaLink] -
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