The dictionaries won

By GottaLaff

Yesterday I posted about a school that was going to ban Merriam Webster's Dollegiate Dictionaries because they included definitions of various sex acts.

Today, they're going with freedom of choice:

After being pulled from the shelves for what some saw as racy content, Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary may have the last word in Menifee. [...]

"The dictionary will go back to the classroom but the parents will be given the option to determine if they want their kids to have access to that dictionary," said Betti Cadmus, a spokeswoman for the Menifee Union School District in southwest Riverside County. Students will take permission slips home and parents who don't want them to use Webster's 10th Collegiate Edition can opt for alternative dictionaries.

I bet throngs of furious parents mobbed the school to voice their concerns:

Cadmus said that despite complaints about the dictionary, no parents showed up at Tuesday's meeting to express any concerns.

I guess more dictionaries showed up than moms and dads.

Look up "censorship" in dictionaries at CA school and... oh wait, you can't

By GottaLaff

Banning books is alive and well at a California. By the way, what's the definition of "tight ass"?

[O]ne parent in Menifee last week [...] called the principal of Oak Meadows Elementary School to say that entries describing oral sex in the dictionary were too explicit. The books were immediately pulled off the shelves and "temporarily housed off location" until a committee could determine their suitability for children.

Imagine what would have happened if they looked up "tea bag".

A panel of parents, teachers and administrators will meet later this week to comb the dictionary for potentially graphic words or definitions and issue a report within a month.

Yo! Folks! It's a dictionary.

The dictionaries were in the reference section of the fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms.

School board President Rita Peters, a voice of reason:

"I think it's absurd that we will remove dictionaries from our library especially because these dictionaries are the same ones we use in our spelling bees," she said. "I think we are approaching censorship with this. If they ban this book, they better clean house and go through all of them. What's good for one is good for all. I think we will open a big can of worms if these books are banned. It's the dictionary after all, c'mon."

Ooo! Maybe they should take the word "boob" (snicker!) out of all dictionaries. And "butt". Heheheh. And "weiner". Chortle. And "screw". Heheheheh.

And "Republican." Heheheh.

Damn librul XXX rated indoctrinators!

Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, which fights for the public's right to information and free speech:

"At the end of the day, if my kid is digging through the Merriam Webster dictionary to find words he and his friends are going to giggle over but along the way find other words they will use, I think that is a day well spent in school."

See? Stumbling across the definition of "oral sex" is educational. It's all those others that are gateway words.

Boy Sent Home For Drawing Of Crucifixion

By GottaLaff

Yes, everything must have the worst possible connotation, especially when it comes to religion and/or race. This poor kid:

A Taunton father is furious his eight-year-old son was sent home from school and required to undergo a psychological evaluation after he drew a stick-figure picture of a crucifixion.

It started on December 2, when the boy's second-grade teacher at the Maxham Elementary School asked the class to sketch something that reminded them of Christmas.

The boy, who has special educational needs, had recently gone with his family to see the Christmas display at the LaSalette shrine, a Christian retreat in Attleboro.

He drew what appeared to be a crucified Jesus Christ with X's covering his eyes to signify that he had died on the cross.

He then told the teacher that the person he drew on the cross was himself.

The teacher was concerned it might be a sign of violence and she contacted school officials.

And yes, race was brought up as a factor:

"As soon as he said that that was him on this cross (sleeping) – red flag! She ran with it! Touchdown! I got 'em. I'm gonna have him evaluated, there's something wrong with this minority kid. We gotta get in his mind."

"I'm sick of using the race card, but being a black man, I feel that I'm racially discriminated, me and my child."

Read the rest here. Then go hit a pillow.

H/t: Terry Travers

Private business: Yay!! Obama: Booo! at elementary school

By GottaLaff

Remember when President Obama's education speech caused that Big Indoctrination Kerfuffle? I don't know how all those innocent little indoctrinees survived it. I somehow missed all the Stepford kids with glazed-over eyes and blank expressions chanting, "Obama mmm, mmm, MMM!" aimlessly marching in lockstep across America.

Yes, a wholesome speech by our wholesome president about wholesome goals became a negative talking point. However, I betcha you haven't heard Word One about Time Inc.'s fundraising company QSP visiting one of the same schools that fretted over the Indoctrinator in Chief.

Yes, boys and girls, it's time for the annual school fundraiser assembly, "kicking off a couple of weeks of good, capitalist behavior by our country's youngest army of salespeople":

Private employee to captive students: "Who's ready for more prizes?!"

President of the United States to students, many of whom are not allowed to listen:

"I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you...."

Private employee: "How many of you would like to get out of school for a show?" (The motivator describes a BMX show that will come to the school for certain sales numbers.) "The top 25 sellers of the school will sit in a special VIP section and get autographs."

President: "But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities."

Private employee: "Who wants to get out of school ... and ride in a limo?! YAY!" The kids scream madly. (Top-selling kids get a lunchtime limo ride to a pizza place.)

President: "[S]how up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents, and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed."

Go read the rest here. Then come on back to Comments and discuss the so-called Values Party.

(The author of the article is Betty Buehler, who has taught sixth-grade writing in Las Vegas since 2001.)

VIDEO: Parents Approved Of Obama Song Lyrics...That Fox Calls "Indoctrination?"

By GottaLaff

Here's the thing: The parents approved, mmkay?

While the performance is seven months old, the outrage is new and came about because of the discovery of a YouTube video.

It's been fodder for conservative opinion leaders such as columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin and Fox News Channel host Glenn Beck. [...]

News about the song brought a quick response from New Jersey's Department of Education. Spokeswoman Beth Auerswald said the department wants "to ensure students can celebrate the achievements of African Americans during Black History Month without inappropriate partisan politics in the classroom."

Auerswald said the state would also look into whether posting the video online violated the privacy of students.

Superintendent Christopher Manno defended the performance in Friday's editions of the Burlington County Times.

"There was no intention to indoctrinate children," he said. "The teacher's intention was to engage the children in an activity to recognize famous and accomplished African Americans."

Whoa, stop right there, Superintendent. Don'tcha see? There's the whole problem, right in front of you: "...to recognize famous and accomplished African Americans." Don'tcha see?

Of course you do.

The song medley was presented to Carney-Nunes, who had been invited to the school, as a demonstration of a project the children had put together, her public relations firm said in a statement.

"Charisse feels it is unfortunate that an event put together with sincere intentions to encourage literacy while celebrating the contributions of African Americans to our great nation has become political fodder and hopes cooler heads will prevail," the hoverFly media statement said.

Cooler heads prevail? Where was Charisse last August? Or September 12th? Under an ::dun dun dun-n-n!:: acorn?

There wasn't much protest, though. One man, Chris Concannon, from nearby Magnolia, was outside hoping to speak with school officials about what happened.

"It's just like the Hitler Youth all over again," said Concannon, an unemployed 26-year-old former National Guardsman. "They should be learning history, but instead they're being taught to worship the president."

...said the attitude-laden, small-minded male with nothing better to do than to hang around elementary school grounds.

Minnesota Elementary School To Be Named After President and Mrs Obama

I just thought this was cool that for a change Michelle gets her name on it. Plus, the kids picked the name.

The St. Paul school board voted 5-1 Tuesday night to rename one of the district's elementary schools "Barack and Michelle Obama Service Learning Elementary."

The vote came after board members received intense feedback about the proposed change -- most of it negative -- from community members.

Students, staff and community members at Webster Magnet Elementary voted earlier this month to change the school's name. Webster is in its first year of a service learning program, and the school wanted a new name to reflect the shift in focus.

"We talk about, so often, that what we do is for the children, for kids," said board member Tom Goldstein. "Our job is to inspire kids, and these kids got inspired. They went to the trouble to process and pick this name. They could have picked ... George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King, they could have picked Sojourner Truth, they didn't. They were inspired by Barack Obama."

PhotObama-- The Education President (elect): Q and A with elementary schoolers

By GottaLaff

How cute is this?

Via.

After the press conference at Dodge Academy, President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden went upstairs for a 15 minute meeting with a group of 1st-4th graders--about a dozen.

After a few minutes of chit chat in which he asked the kids what they were studying--(when one child said "decimals," Mr. Obama replied "Decimals! Wow, Joe doesn't even know his decimals!")

He then took questions:

He may even have made news. One child ask him about Iraq and he said he plans to have troops home in a year and a half.

Other questions:

What are you gonna do as president?

A: Make sure all kids get a good education

In 2009 are you going to the White House?

A: After replying yes, Mr. Obama volunteered that he's getting a dog for Malia and Sasha, and added: "I want to make sure my daughters take care of this dog, and if they do their business, and you've got some poop, you don't just leave it there."

Will you go to other countries?

A: Mr. Obama said yes, adding that he even expects to meet some kings and queens.

He also told the kids he's thinking about longer school days, which did not seem to go over well.

He took some photos with the kids...

See, media? If you ask questions that he's allowed to answer, you'll get what you need.