Public Education

In the Topic Marxism Faith makes the following Statement My point taken from "the Nation" Apr, 5 2010 issue My point is yes there is indoctrination but the above article shows that the right wing is just as indoctrinative as the left. And the changing or removal of history is a fascist tactic. For what it is worth what is the consensus of the board members to this.ABE} Page not found | The NationEdited by bluescat48, : missing url

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There is no better love between 2 people than mutual respect for each other WT Young, 2002Who gave anyone the authority to call me an authority on anything. WT Young, 1969Since Evolution is only ~90% correct it should be thrown out and replaced by Creation which has even a lower % of correctness. W T Young, 2008

Just the addition of the words "under God" to the Pledge of the Allegiance was a quantum leap of indoctrination in that already venomous brain-washing ceremony.The Pledge of Allegiance is a poppycockery of foolishness perpetrated by frightened old men.

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- xongsmith, 5.7d

I think it should be as neutral is is possible. when being taught politics the teacher should declare any bias and try to remain impartial. Same with religion. One can teach the tennents of Islam with out being Muslim.Especially with history: as best as one can one should teach what happened then: not what supports the party line today.Who would have thought Texas would would favour Big Brother style historical revisions?

The problem with that statement from Faith is that it misses the point of whose values are being used for "indoctrination". If a child is sent to a private school because that school has certain values, it is nearly always the parents' choice, not the child's. So the child is still being indoctrinated in someone else's values.Children should be exposed to as wide a range of views as possible in order to allow them the freewill to make up their own minds. It will allow them to develop the ability to think clearly for themselves, to learn how to evaluate things in as objective a way as possible.Most importantly, it should allow them to mix with, understand and tolerate those who hold different values and opinions. A system of education where children are sent to schools (public or private) that simply endorse their own parents values and isolate them from those who hold different values can only be a bad thing. It will only encourage divisions and prejudices. What long-term good could possibly come from such an arrangement?

Fuck that - if my two sons don't accept Jesus as their saviour, they are GOING TO HELL. Do you think for a second I am going to risk their eternal lives for the sake of "balance", "neutrality", and "making up their own minds".You seem to think that being a Christian is some sort of lifestyle choice...

It is a lifestyle choice, because there's no such thing as an afterlifestyle choice.

Could you give examples of leftist indoctrination?

so it was "lifestyle" that ended in the collapse of the WTC towers?You will never understand the rationale behind fundementalist religion if you simply consider it a "lifestyle".

I do not know about how others in the forum were raised, but...
I do remember being indoctrinated into the beliefs of the Catholic church. Even in public schools there seemed to be fair amount of Christian morality in the classes.I remember thinking in fact that if God were indeed watching me along with my guardian angel, I was in deep doo-doo. There was a large amount of threats to counter bad behavior, everything from Santa's watching to the tooth fairy not delivering the money if we don't behave. We even had adults scaring us kids with the boogey man is comming if we do not get to bed. I sometimes wonder how me and my sister survived our disfunctional childhood.

Indoctrination is a part of life if you think about it. One group is tryinf to persuade another, such as it is with this very debate forum! We cannot eradicate as easily as communicable diseases.I agree with Larni that it is in the best interest of all that certain institutions like the government, schools, media, etc, make every attempt to remain neutral while in that setting and capacity for the sake of posterity. If one strays from neutrality, not only are they suspect of indoctrination themselves, but it invalidates their claim that they are pointing out other individuals attempt of indoctrinating.

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"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." -- Charlton Heston

Is it a bit like sexual orientation? You are born the way you are or is it learnt?

Indoctrination is not a bad thing, in and of itself. Schools do not stay neutral when it comes to racism, sexism, bullying, etc. Schools teach that people should be treated with respect which is a non-neutral position. This is good. Indoctrinating students to be respectful of each other is not a bad thing. As soon as you tell students that "A" is bad and "B" is good you are indoctrinating.This thread seems to be delving into the same territory as the "Mindless Middle" thread. There are some issues where there is a right and a wrong. We shouldn't stay neutral when it comes to these things in the name of avoiding indoctrination.

It is a combination of active and passive indoctrination in a safe, welcoming inclusive environment. For a Christian, this is called the process of discipleship, growing as a Christian, etc. For a Moonie, or other cult, we would call this "programming".

True, but indoctrination can be good or bad in accordance with how a person is indoctrinated. When the indoctrination allows for questions to be asked allowing a different view then the indoctrination is positive, but if at the onset a phrase such as, "This is the absolute truth, you cannot question it," indoctrination becomes negative. The same with what is in the article I sited in the op, the total elimination of anything that goes against the narrow-minded views of those implementing the curriculum.

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There is no better love between 2 people than mutual respect for each other WT Young, 2002Who gave anyone the authority to call me an authority on anything. WT Young, 1969Since Evolution is only ~90% correct it should be thrown out and replaced by Creation which has even a lower % of correctness. W T Young, 2008

I agree that indoctrination in and of itself is not necessarily a bad thing, only that the social stigma attached to it is generally cynical and generally has a negative connotation.In my estimation there are certain things that should be left neutral. That is my only real point. It is routine that when a policy is passed in the military, the commanding generals or admirals don't comment one way or another on their personal beliefs. They just comply with laws and policies.

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"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." -- Charlton Heston