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Today’s DC school homework assignment: who’s worse, Bush or Hitler?

000 bush hate.jpg

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/10/dc-public-schools-homework-assignment-compare-bush/

Yes – this is an actual DC public school homework assignment – compare Bush to Hitler. A parent complained of course. A democrat, evidently. He noted he was no fan of President Bush, but that this assignment was ridiculous. The DC school board promptly assured him that this comparison was part of the official curriculum, and assigned to all schools and students. So there.

My own memory of public school homework assignments is imperfect, but I don’t seem to recall any essays where I was asked to compare Reagan to Stalin, or Eisenhower to Mao Tse Dong. We were, however, told that Nixon was the worst figure in all of US history, for authorizing the Watergate break in. No wonder SAT scores continue to decline . . .

On the face of it, there is of course nothing wrong with deconstructing the many mistakes of the Bush administration. Tariffs on imported steel. Authorizing waterboarding and extraordinary rendition. Expansion of the national debt. But seeking congressional approval after 9/11 to wage war on terrorists wasn’t one of them. If Bush had been guilty of rounding up arabs all across america, and sending them to the gas chambers, then invading every neighboring country with the goal of ending democratically elected governments and curtailing basic human rights, I’d be more inclined to overlook the DC public schools’ misguided homework assignment. But the points of comparison are virtually non existent, of course. And so is DC parental involvement in homework, if only 1 parent complained after encountering this assignment.

Could boneheaded homework assignments like this be one of the reasons DC schools have a graduation rate less than 50%? Don’t ask – you’ll probably find yourself being compared to Attilla the Hun . . .
 

Craig

Senator
Supporting Member
View attachment 26002

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/10/dc-public-schools-homework-assignment-compare-bush/

Yes – this is an actual DC public school homework assignment – compare Bush to Hitler. A parent complained of course. A democrat, evidently. He noted he was no fan of President Bush, but that this assignment was ridiculous. The DC school board promptly assured him that this comparison was part of the official curriculum, and assigned to all schools and students. So there.

My own memory of public school homework assignments is imperfect, but I don’t seem to recall any essays where I was asked to compare Reagan to Stalin, or Eisenhower to Mao Tse Dong. We were, however, told that Nixon was the worst figure in all of US history, for authorizing the Watergate break in. No wonder SAT scores continue to decline . . .

On the face of it, there is of course nothing wrong with deconstructing the many mistakes of the Bush administration. Tariffs on imported steel. Authorizing waterboarding and extraordinary rendition. Expansion of the national debt. But seeking congressional approval after 9/11 to wage war on terrorists wasn’t one of them. If Bush had been guilty of rounding up arabs all across america, and sending them to the gas chambers, then invading every neighboring country with the goal of ending democratically elected governments and curtailing basic human rights, I’d be more inclined to overlook the DC public schools’ misguided homework assignment. But the points of comparison are virtually non existent, of course. And so is DC parental involvement in homework, if only 1 parent complained after encountering this assignment.

Could boneheaded homework assignments like this be one of the reasons DC schools have a graduation rate less than 50%? Don’t ask – you’ll probably find yourself being compared to Attilla the Hun . . .

I tire of your falsehoods.


...The District’s high school graduation rate ticked up to 64 percent in 2013, a three-point gain over the previous year, according to data that city officials quietly released last week.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-graduation-rate-ticks-up-but-wide-achievement-gaps-remain/2013/12/20/2acc752a-69c5-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html


We are far too sensitive in re: homework. The only complaint I can muster is that 6th grade seems a bit young for such a comparison. 10th grade would make more sense.

I can truly see no problem with the assignment. If the comparison is odious and a complete failure, then it would be easy to make such a point using the Venn diagram, as assigned. As with all such assignments, it is the purview of the student to do the work.

Isolate the heinous Hitler activities and they stand alone on one side of the diagram. Make light of the similarities (both are men, both paint) to show that there is no comparison.

Or...do the opposite. Either way, it's just an academic exercise.
 

Hmmmm

Mayor
Either way, it's just an academic exercise.
Maybe. Or, maybe there is a not so subtle message there. Why not compare the current president to Hitler? Why choose Bush? Why not Clinton? Or, Nixon? Or, Kennedy?

It seems odd to me. I would choose the current president or, even better, a dead one with a more complete history not as reliant upon opinion.
 

Colorforms

Senator
View attachment 26002

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/sep/10/dc-public-schools-homework-assignment-compare-bush/

Yes – this is an actual DC public school homework assignment – compare Bush to Hitler. A parent complained of course. A democrat, evidently. He noted he was no fan of President Bush, but that this assignment was ridiculous. The DC school board promptly assured him that this comparison was part of the official curriculum, and assigned to all schools and students. So there.

My own memory of public school homework assignments is imperfect, but I don’t seem to recall any essays where I was asked to compare Reagan to Stalin, or Eisenhower to Mao Tse Dong. We were, however, told that Nixon was the worst figure in all of US history, for authorizing the Watergate break in. No wonder SAT scores continue to decline . . .

On the face of it, there is of course nothing wrong with deconstructing the many mistakes of the Bush administration. Tariffs on imported steel. Authorizing waterboarding and extraordinary rendition. Expansion of the national debt. But seeking congressional approval after 9/11 to wage war on terrorists wasn’t one of them. If Bush had been guilty of rounding up arabs all across america, and sending them to the gas chambers, then invading every neighboring country with the goal of ending democratically elected governments and curtailing basic human rights, I’d be more inclined to overlook the DC public schools’ misguided homework assignment. But the points of comparison are virtually non existent, of course. And so is DC parental involvement in homework, if only 1 parent complained after encountering this assignment.

Could boneheaded homework assignments like this be one of the reasons DC schools have a graduation rate less than 50%? Don’t ask – you’ll probably find yourself being compared to Attilla the Hun . . .
I would imagine that the difficultly of the assignment would be in direct relation to the way in which the teachers portrayed the Bush presidency. I bet it really wasn't hard at all.
 

Colorforms

Senator
Maybe. Or, maybe there is a not so subtle message there. Why not compare the current president to Hitler? Why choose Bush? Why not Clinton? Or, Nixon? Or, Kennedy?

It seems odd to me. I would choose the current president or, even better, a dead one with a more complete history not as reliant upon opinion.
Actually, the president who would have had the most in common with Hitler would have been FDR, considering his persecution of Japanese Americans during the war, as well as his moves to secure vast amounts of power into the central government.
 

Craig

Senator
Supporting Member
Maybe. Or, maybe there is a not so subtle message there. Why not compare the current president to Hitler? Why choose Bush? Why not Clinton? Or, Nixon? Or, Kennedy?

It seems odd to me. I would choose the current president or, even better, a dead one with a more complete history not as reliant upon opinion.
Sure...compare anyone.

I'd say the dead Presidents to compare would be LBJ and Nixon.
 

Craig

Senator
Supporting Member
Actually, the president who would have had the most in common with Hitler would have been FDR, considering his persecution of Japanese Americans during the war, as well as his moves to secure vast amounts of power into the central government.
And the persecution was different...as Japanese Americans were interred and not killed, as a policy. So...the comparison shows how they differ as well as how they are the same. The Venn diagram is useful for that purpose.

Politics has always been a very nasty business. Two major tomes are The Art of War...and The Prince...
 

Colorforms

Senator
And the persecution was different...as Japanese Americans were interred and not killed, as a policy. So...the comparison shows how they differ as well as how they are the same. The Venn diagram is useful for that purpose.

Politics has always been a very nasty business. Two major tomes are The Art of War...and The Prince...
Read both, neither apply in the case of comparing Hitler to an American president.
 

Hmmmm

Mayor
Sure...compare anyone.

I'd say the dead Presidents to compare would be LBJ and Nixon.
The more I think about it, the more I think it is an objectionable assignment. Most of the time, when someone is compared to Hitler, there is an assumption that the person has some bad/evil qualities. Bush is much hated by many liberals and therefore, it is easy to see that some would see an implicit message in the assignment, even if there was none.

The assignment should be someone in sharp contrast where it would be a stretch to assume anything about the intent. FDR would be a good case because the time period was the same and, therefore, the international stage that both operated in was the same.
 

Craig

Senator
Supporting Member
The more I think about it, the more I think it is an objectionable assignment. Most of the time, when someone is compared to Hitler, there is an assumption that the person has some bad/evil qualities. Bush is much hated by many liberals and therefore, it is easy to see that some would see an implicit message in the assignment, even if there was none.

The assignment should be someone in sharp contrast where it would be a stretch to assume anything about the intent. FDR would be a good case because the time period was the same and, therefore, the international stage that both operated in was the same.
As to Bush, his unpopularity, i.e. "hate", exceeded the scope of "liberals".

The assumption is the problem. And of course, we all have bad/evil qualities. To me, it's an exercise and the names are less important than they seem to you. A flexible mind can compare the positives or the banal as well as the controversial. THAT is the exercise.

As I said...sure...put FDR, put LBJ or Nixon...and compare internments, secret bombings...false flag operations...without any such emotion as attacking "American Presidents".
 

Colorforms

Senator
And neither do you.

You've done so in this thread, so I really have no idea what you're carping about.
You and I define carping very differently.

If I was going to carp, however, it would be about the blatant ideological indoctrination of our youth on an institutional level at a very early age. That is, if I were going to carp.
 

Craig

Senator
Supporting Member
You and I define carping very differently.

If I was going to carp, however, it would be about the blatant ideological indoctrination of our youth on an institutional level at a very early age. That is, if I were going to carp.

Oh...you're carping. You were upset an "American President" was being compared to Hitler...as you compared FDR to Hitler.
 

Colorforms

Senator
Oh...you're carping. You were upset an "American President" was being compared to Hitler...as you compared FDR to Hitler.
If you say so. My pappy used to say that "you can't logic someone out of something that they didn't logic themselves into in the first place".

You believe whatever you need to in order to get to sleep at night.
 

Craig

Senator
Supporting Member
If you say so. My pappy used to say that "you can't logic someone out of something that they didn't logic themselves into in the first place".

You believe whatever you need to in order to get to sleep at night.
It's all right there for everyone to read.

Actually, the president who would have had the most in common with Hitler would have been FDR, considering his persecution of Japanese Americans during the war, as well as his moves to secure vast amounts of power into the central government.
 

Hmmmm

Mayor
As to Bush, his unpopularity, i.e. "hate", exceeded the scope of "liberals".

The assumption is the problem. And of course, we all have bad/evil qualities. To me, it's an exercise and the names are less important than they seem to you. A flexible mind can compare the positives or the banal as well as the controversial. THAT is the exercise.
Not everybody has a flexible mind and too many people aren't as objective as they should be. As humans, we all read things that are unspoken or unseen. It is in our DNA. In an academic setting, one would hope that students (and teachers) can always be objective but that is unrealistic, particularly where strong social and cultural cues are involved.

Given the extremely negative connotation with comparisons to Hitler that are prevalent in our culture, it is, in my opinion, a very poor judgment of educators in anything less than a college level history course.
 
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