Alabama high school class pulls conservative reading list after backlash - Sensationalist Headlines

[quote] An Alabama high school class has pulled its summer reading list after local residents expressed concern about the list having a number of texts from conservative-leaning authors, [URL="http://www.gulfcoastnewstoday.com/stories/spanish-fort-high-ap-reading-list-pulled-after-concerns-from-residents,50812"]Gulf Coast News Today[/URL] reported Wednesday. The summer reading list for an advanced placement government and economics class at Spanish Fort High School included texts by right-leaning authors like Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, Ron Paul, Ronald Reagan, Michael Savage and others, according to the report.[/quote] [URL]http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/339012-ala-high-school-teacher-pulls-conservative-summer-reading-list[/URL] On one hand, it's not a bad idea to get students to read from the prevalent ideologies present in our society, especially if it's set up for good debate and discussion. But goddamn that list is horrendous, Michael fucking Savage? Ron Paul? Mark Levin? Probably a better way to do this would be something like putting some Krugman, Daron Acemoğlu (why nations fail,) Thomas Friedman, etc. for the liberal side, and some Sowell, Milton Friedman, etc. to represent the more conservative libertarian side or something.

I think it's better to have them read from some of the originators of those philosophies rather than some modern political drivel, if anything. The trio of Brave New World, Anthem, and 1984 come to mind as great reads for high schoolers trying to working out thinking on their own about the world.

There are so many great authors to pick from if you want to push conservativism on students and you pick garbage like Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, and Michael Savage :goodjob:

[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;52394340]I think it's better to have them read from some of the originators of those philosophies rather than some modern political drivel, if anything. The trio of Brave New World, Anthem, and 1984 come to mind as great reads for high schoolers trying to working out thinking on their own about the world.[/QUOTE] That's more for a lit class than an economics and government class, and knowing US schools at least one of those has probably already been read to them. Those won't really do much for giving you answers to most modern problems and phenomena.

[QUOTE=Raidyr;52394355]There are so many great authors to pick from if you want to push conservativism on students and you pick garbage like Ann Coulter, Mark Levin, and Michael Savage :goodjob:[/QUOTE]More like neo-conservatism. The older conservatives would fucking scoff at these modern hacks.

[QUOTE=thelurker1234;52394356]That's more for a lit class than an economics and government class, and knowing US schools at least one of those has probably already been read to them. Those won't really do much for giving you answers to most modern problems and phenomena.[/QUOTE] Modern phenomena constantly breaks down into group think, confirmation bias, lack of double checking sources and lack of critical thinking. If anything BNW, Anthem & 1984 are always topical. If you want to know the nuances of an economy you take an economics class that deals with the non-human mechanics of a capitalist economy, and then you teach how the US govt functions in regards to the branches, political party process, etc.

Ann "The Skeleton" Coulter fuckin' hell. Making a future generation of nutjobs.

[QUOTE]Ann Coulter[/QUOTE] Ah, yes, I remember Ann Coulter. [video=youtube;tgxhTCSfuo8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgxhTCSfuo8[/video] Truly a perfect choice for young adults.

[QUOTE=LoneWolf_Recon;52394377]Modern phenomena constantly breaks down into group think, confirmation bias, lack of double checking sources and lack of critical thinking. If anything BNW, Anthem & 1984 are always topical. If you want to know the nuances of an economy you take an economics class that deals with the non-human mechanics of a capitalist economy, and then you teach how the US govt functions in regards to the branches, political party process, etc.[/QUOTE] Is that really what you think all of these issues really boil down to? The point is to study/have responses to them while being above that. And of course I do think at least reading books like 1984, BNW, Anthem, Animal Farm are very important, but that's more for literature classes (and they usually are in the curriculum in the US to my knowledge.) But I do think that stopping with them is a horrible idea and that engaging with modern thought is an important thing to do. You cannot get into economics without talking politics and normative applications, and likewise the decisions in how the US Govt is designed affect us every single day.

I don't know how you could put a book called Liberalism is a Mental Disorder on a school reading list and pretend you're doing anything but trying to push your political viewpoint on kids.

[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;52394432]I don't know how you could put a book called Liberalism is a Mental Disorder on a school reading list and pretend you're doing anything but trying to push your political viewpoint on kids.[/QUOTE] [video=youtube;XqKoh9IBF3o]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqKoh9IBF3o[/video] written by this chap

Make them read ayn rand by age 10.

[QUOTE=01271;52394521]Make them read ayn rand by age 10.[/QUOTE] Your final exam is that you have to stand up in front of the class and read out [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_1jwAAhbeI"]John Galt's speech[/URL] from memory

"The Enemy Within: Saving America from the Liberal Assault on Our Schools, Faith, and Military" I thought the list would just be some bog-standard somewhat right of centre stuff, with respectable political commentators, philosophers, economists and whatnot whom someone allergic to political opposition complained about, but good god that is actually one godawful list. [editline]24th June 2017[/editline] [QUOTE]Baldwin County Board of Education President Shannon Cauley said the class's teacher, Gene Ponder, would be emailing his students and their parents to let them know there will be "no summer reading assignment" for his class. Ponder previously ran as a Republican candidate for Alabama lieutenant governor in 2010.[/QUOTE] :mysterysolved:

there are no good modern conservative books, they're almost exclusively conspiratorial screeds about how liberalism is an actual mental illness that's going to destroy the U.S.

[QUOTE=1239the;52394721]there are no good modern conservative books, they're almost exclusively conspiratorial screeds about how liberalism is an actual mental illness that's going to destroy the U.S.[/QUOTE] it's largely because much of modern day conservatism in the USA (the writers, ideologues, newscasters, politicians and other "professionals") are largely cowards and self-serving people without any principles to speak of, bending and swaying like a human palm tree. i can't really think of any who aren't just people who sold out to the left and basically gave in to them. when they do write, they don't actually attack their ideological rivals on any serious level nor identify the core problems that afflict the country or the fact they themselves are likely contributing to it

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;52394539] [quote]Baldwin County Board of Education President Shannon Cauley said the class's teacher, Gene Ponder, would be emailing his students and their parents to let them know there will be "no summer reading assignment" for his class. Ponder previously ran as a Republican candidate for Alabama lieutenant governor in 2010.[/quote] :mysterysolved:[/QUOTE] Man if I was a student there i'd make a fuss about it too if it could get me out of a summer reading assignment.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;52394764]it's largely because much of modern day conservatism in the USA (the writers, ideologues, newscasters, politicians and other "professionals") are largely cowards and self-serving people without any principles to speak of, bending and swaying like a human palm tree. [B]i can't really think of any who aren't just people who sold out to the left and basically gave in to them.[/B] when they do write, they don't actually attack their ideological rivals on any serious level nor identify the core problems that afflict the country or the fact they themselves are likely contributing to it[/QUOTE] Uh, what?

[QUOTE=Tetsmega;52394804]Man if I was a student there i'd make a fuss about it too if it could get me out of a summer reading assignment.[/QUOTE] Makes me glad that my high-school reading consisted of "To Kill A Mockingbird", "Bless Me, Ultima" and "The Hobbit" instead of "Atlas Shrugged". Not necessarily because "Atlas Shrugged" doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in reading, but we read those books aloud in class, and it would have been excruciating having to sit there while my fellow class-mates read it out-loud at a mind-numbing 4-5 words per-ten second period. :disgust:

[QUOTE=Mingebox;52395191]Uh, what?[/QUOTE] they don't really challenge the economic and political system to which they are opposed, but very often may actually end up strengthening and expanding it while claiming to be fixing the ills afflicting society. Any Republican who says that they are fighting for capitalism (in the old sense) is a liar, and any of them claiming to be for social conservatism is somebody whose opinion matches that of the left 30 years prior.

When I was in school we read things like Animal Farm and 1984 as well as the standard school stuff like Scarlet Letter, The Crucible, To Kill a Mockingbird and Great Gatsby. We also WATCHED both Crucible and Gatsby as well. Hell, in my senior year Gov/Econ class we watched Twelve Angry Men, the original black and white one with Henry Fonda. A lot of the class thought it was going to be yet another boring "school movie" but it was AWESOME and by the end of it everyone was invested and debating on what was going to happen, even out of the classroom. I've always believed that we should teach the difference between Objectivity and Subjectivity in high school, it's just not a topic that is broached usually and that doesn't prepare kids for the real world very well, it's a shitty situation when they are thrown into a bunch of nuance and differing views that they feel attacked by when they should instead feel interested in living alongside. This reading list is like the exact opposite of that.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;52395241]they don't really challenge the economic and political system to which they are opposed, but very often may actually end up strengthening and expanding it while claiming to be fixing the ills afflicting society. Any Republican who says that they are fighting for capitalism (in the old sense) is a liar, and any of them claiming to be for social conservatism is somebody whose opinion matches that of the left 30 years prior.[/QUOTE] Precisely how dispicable do their views need to be to be true conservative?

[QUOTE=Mingebox;52395552]Precisely how dispicable do their views need to be to be true conservative?[/QUOTE] The point is that they don't even really have views of their own to speak of, or those that they do are weakshit. They don't criticise the fundamentals of the society in which they live nor offer any solution to the problems cropping up with time. Their demographic base consequently feels betrayed and it's one of the things driving the support for Donald Trump and dividing America.

[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;52394340]I think it's better to have them read from some of the originators of those philosophies rather than some modern political drivel, if anything. The trio of Brave New World, Anthem, and 1984 come to mind as great reads for high schoolers trying to working out thinking on their own about the world.[/QUOTE] I loved One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next, To Kill A Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, 1984 and Flowers for Algernon. Great books. (I shed a few tears reading through some of 'em.)

[QUOTE=1239the;52394721]there are no good modern conservative books, they're almost exclusively conspiratorial screeds about how liberalism is an actual mental illness that's going to destroy the U.S.[/QUOTE] There are a few good ones, The great equalizer comes to my mind first as a well reasoned conservative book. Granted its about economics but it does touch on politics quite a bit.

Christ, at least give them some Friedman or something. If you're going to teach government and economics without any liberals or Marxists, you can do a lot better than Ann fucking Coulter.