Conclusion: It is just becoming visible
Lead Summary
By
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By Jim Thompson
HCP columnist
“It” is the full manifestation of the left wing, progressive agenda. Just becoming visible likely applies largely to the Baby Boomers (my generation). Those of you younger already had an inkling of what has been going on for a long time in our schools. Shame on me for not digging into this earlier. (Like when I had kids in school.)
Here is a sampling of the issues I have heard in the last month. Note, these were not prompted conversations, just matters that others brought up in the course of general conversation.
We were at dinner with friends here in Georgia. They casually mentioned that a friend of theirs was recently tenured as a professor of critical race theory at a major university known for educating primary and secondary teachers in Ohio.
Recently visiting elderly friends in Washington state, they were telling about the struggles their four grown daughters have and the strained relationships they all have. They volunteered that this started in the public school system, along about the seventh grade, when their teachers told the daughters they did not have to listen to their parents nor tell their parents everything they were doing. This occurred in the time frame of 1984-90.
In another case, just last week, a friend told me about his experience working with the chancellor of a large northeastern university. Seems that the problem was with the faculty union. They had succeeded in getting in their contract that all entering teachers on a professorship tenure track started at the same base salary. At the time (a number of years ago) a newly minted instructor in English with a Ph.D. could be hired for about $25,000. The problem was that a newly minted instructor in engineering with a Ph.D. fetched around $75,000.
The faculty union would not budge, dooming the engineering department to failure. In today’s complex world, it is fairly obvious that we need more technically trained educators, not fewer.
Longtime newspaper columnist Thomas Sowell reports in many of his writings how the progressive liberal agenda started infiltrating the public school systems around 1970. His chronicle of what has happened to Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. is particularly interesting. Heck, all of his writings are interesting.
I have mentioned Dr. Sowell before and encourage you to read his books. You can actually listen to them for free on YouTube. How is Dr. Sowell received in the Black community? President George W. Bush sent an invitation to a number of prominent African American leaders to meet with him at the White House. One of their preconditions? That Dr. Sowell not be invited to be in the same meeting.
George Lucas, in an interview discussing the development of “American Graffiti,” said he wanted to do this movie as a reflection of times gone by (it is set in 1962). He said that he could see in the early 1970s that teenagers were more likely moving to drugs and other activities than the cruising he wanted to portray in the movie.
Even President Biden has hinted the gas prices of today are part of the plan to “transition” the United States to a green economy.
Personally, as I reflect back on the events of the last 50 years, I see my own naïveté and that of people older than me who thought things were going on in what I considered a normal manner. There has been nothing “normal” about these times. The rebels of the 1960s went underground, taught our kids, and we only saw them emerge in the light of day in the Clinton administration.
However, I don’t think we should give up hope. There are some points of optimism to embrace. Donald Trump is one of them and so, it seems to appear, is Elon Musk (the jury may still be out on him a little, we’ll see).
Climate change, forced mask wearing and gun control are some of the subjects being used today to persuade the "common folks" that the liberal elites know best. Just wait until electricity blackouts start this summer. There is even talk of further food shortages, especially wheat and other vital grains, as the summer wears on.
The progressive liberals have almost pulled off stealing the United States. While we still have elections, we must be certain that we elect people who love this country and are not out to extract its good for their personal benefit or the benefit of their malevolent ideas.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.
HCP columnist
“It” is the full manifestation of the left wing, progressive agenda. Just becoming visible likely applies largely to the Baby Boomers (my generation). Those of you younger already had an inkling of what has been going on for a long time in our schools. Shame on me for not digging into this earlier. (Like when I had kids in school.)
Here is a sampling of the issues I have heard in the last month. Note, these were not prompted conversations, just matters that others brought up in the course of general conversation.
We were at dinner with friends here in Georgia. They casually mentioned that a friend of theirs was recently tenured as a professor of critical race theory at a major university known for educating primary and secondary teachers in Ohio.
Recently visiting elderly friends in Washington state, they were telling about the struggles their four grown daughters have and the strained relationships they all have. They volunteered that this started in the public school system, along about the seventh grade, when their teachers told the daughters they did not have to listen to their parents nor tell their parents everything they were doing. This occurred in the time frame of 1984-90.
In another case, just last week, a friend told me about his experience working with the chancellor of a large northeastern university. Seems that the problem was with the faculty union. They had succeeded in getting in their contract that all entering teachers on a professorship tenure track started at the same base salary. At the time (a number of years ago) a newly minted instructor in English with a Ph.D. could be hired for about $25,000. The problem was that a newly minted instructor in engineering with a Ph.D. fetched around $75,000.
The faculty union would not budge, dooming the engineering department to failure. In today’s complex world, it is fairly obvious that we need more technically trained educators, not fewer.
Longtime newspaper columnist Thomas Sowell reports in many of his writings how the progressive liberal agenda started infiltrating the public school systems around 1970. His chronicle of what has happened to Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. is particularly interesting. Heck, all of his writings are interesting.
I have mentioned Dr. Sowell before and encourage you to read his books. You can actually listen to them for free on YouTube. How is Dr. Sowell received in the Black community? President George W. Bush sent an invitation to a number of prominent African American leaders to meet with him at the White House. One of their preconditions? That Dr. Sowell not be invited to be in the same meeting.
George Lucas, in an interview discussing the development of “American Graffiti,” said he wanted to do this movie as a reflection of times gone by (it is set in 1962). He said that he could see in the early 1970s that teenagers were more likely moving to drugs and other activities than the cruising he wanted to portray in the movie.
Even President Biden has hinted the gas prices of today are part of the plan to “transition” the United States to a green economy.
Personally, as I reflect back on the events of the last 50 years, I see my own naïveté and that of people older than me who thought things were going on in what I considered a normal manner. There has been nothing “normal” about these times. The rebels of the 1960s went underground, taught our kids, and we only saw them emerge in the light of day in the Clinton administration.
However, I don’t think we should give up hope. There are some points of optimism to embrace. Donald Trump is one of them and so, it seems to appear, is Elon Musk (the jury may still be out on him a little, we’ll see).
Climate change, forced mask wearing and gun control are some of the subjects being used today to persuade the "common folks" that the liberal elites know best. Just wait until electricity blackouts start this summer. There is even talk of further food shortages, especially wheat and other vital grains, as the summer wears on.
The progressive liberals have almost pulled off stealing the United States. While we still have elections, we must be certain that we elect people who love this country and are not out to extract its good for their personal benefit or the benefit of their malevolent ideas.
Jim Thompson, formerly of Marshall, is a graduate of Hillsboro High School and the University of Cincinnati. He resides in Duluth, Ga. and is a columnist for The Highland County Press. He may be reached at jthompson@taii.com.