as seen on tv
Senator
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 . . .