Zoology
An example of trivial propaganda, from PrisonPlanet.
Headline : "Pupils Being Given 'Patriotism' Tests in Washington State Schools."
Lead-in paragraph : "Children in Washington State are being given 'Patriotism tests' which are completely unrelated to their studies. The paper gauges whether or not the student shows fealty to the power of the state and whether the student believes in the right to overthrow a corrupt government. A reader from Washington State writes us to highlight a questionnaire paper handed out to her daughter and the rest of her 10th grade class."
The reader's comment : "We live in Washington state. My daughter is in 10th grade and found this to be interesting. She has a GPA of 3.75 and uses her brain. This was given in her English class, and has nothing to do with the materials they were studying. We thought you might be able to use this. They are grooming our kids."
Pic of student opinionaire :
Three of the items are quotes of Lord Acton and Shakespeare. The opinionaire has been used in classrooms across the country for some time. Rosemont High in Minnesota uses a lengthier version in it's 11th grade English class with the novel The Things They Carried, written by Vietnam veteran Tim O'Brien.
Five years ago the parent wouldn't have given this opinionaire a second thought, but with the "left" beating the "dictatorship" drum, every item is a boogeyman. Any tidbit is further proof the nation is being "groomed." Half the country, more or less, claims tyranny when theirs is not the incumbent party. Like captive monkeys picking and eating nits, oblivious they're flinging feces in the same old zoo.
(And, my other nit is, the above school form spelling opinionaire with two 'n's.)
4 comments:
Since opinionaire is a made-up word, they can spell it any way they want. Better yet, they should use a real word.
Ya gotta wonder, what's the point of this survey? Do they tabulate the answers and post them? Do they discuss it?
My grandchildren now have school work, homework, that can be accessed online, worked, sent. The teachers usually purge after reviewing/grading, due to space. It's an unfair pratice in a way - giving a jump on course work to only those who have home p.c.'s. They usually later are called upon to debate/defend the opinion.
Of course I could be totally wrong and the information/surveys sent to Big Brother's machine.
I think the responses calculate a person's maturity more than anything. I.e. when in 10th grade I would have written "disagree", as the girl here did, to the statement "It is never right to kill a another person."
Today, I would agree it is "never right" to kill a person - but sometimes it sure is necessary. These ambiguous opinionaires basically force a person to think in black and white terms, no gray. (That may make sense only to myself.)
Assigning opinion surveys that look like a 'real' homework test or worksheet is the first mistake. Requiring a binary Agree/Disagree response is the second mistake. I would suggest assigning one of these questions each week for the students to write a one-page discussion, explanation, or defense of their opinions. I like classroom discussion, too, but you have to be careful about getting the parents' opinion instead to the student's - who may not even have one yet but will be now motivated to think about this stuff.
dus,
I've wondered how many parents do their child's homework online; it's quite the honor system. Sometimes on the teacher's specific webpage are his/her instructions to do an essay or brief explanation. That's in our area so it may be done similarly nationwide, to leave no child behind, etc.
Let's hope these surveys motivate students to think, although I'd probably argue it's not working in view of the youth today who graduate barely able to read and write.
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