Why Can't Johnny Read?

UPDATE: below


Academics and parents have long complained that public schools fail to teach fundamentals like maths and reading comprehension. Part of the problem is teacher unions. But another problem is politics: teachers overwhelmingly vote liberal Democrat -- and are rewarded for it -- so tend toward socialist group think. All of the foregoing were exhibited in 2005 when public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland -- the ultra-liberal domicile of choice in the Washington, DC, suburbs -- tried but ultimately failed to mandate a lesson plan condemning religion and praising homosexuality.

According to FOX News, Maryland's at it again:

Maryland is the first state in the country to impose a new requirement to graduate from high school -- something called environmental literacy.

But what is that? That is the question State Senator J. B. Jennings is asking.

"What kind of education is it going to be?" he asks. "Is it going to be fact-based? Or is it going to be theory-based, which is usually politically, theory driven. And you can think, it's going to be about global warming or climate change." . . .

The new rule is a regulation from the State Board of Education, not a law passed by the legislature, so it lays out no specifics. Governor Martin O'Malley offers no real details but praises it, saying it will "infuse core subjects with lessons about conservation and smart growth and the health of our natural world."

O’Malley also said it'll serve as a "foundation for green jobs," though one analyst says training for those is just like it is for any other job. . .

"That is not really education," says [Myron] Ebell [of the Competitive Enterprise Institute]. "It's propaganda and its designed to raise up a new generation of easily led and poorly educated and misinformed students."

And state lawmakers like J.B. Jennings note there are only so many hours in a school day, and only 180 days in a school year. So, he wonders, what in the current curriculum gets squeezed out?

"They can't just keep adding on and on, so they will have to make room for this by pushing other things out of the curriculum, which is going to be a concern," Jennings says.

The draft suggested curricula includes, for high school students:

Investigate and explain that environmental problems arise when human activities and technology disrupt the equilibrium in the food web or interfere with the natural biogeochemical cycles:

• Habitat destruction


• Biogeochemical cycles [including the] use of fossil fuels impact on the carbon cycle. . .


• climate change


• Release of genetically altered organisms into the environment

The Washington Post says this means teens in Maryland must "be literate on environmental matters to graduate from now on." I'm afraid the Weekly Standard's Mark Hemingway has the more accurate prediction:

In theory, there's nothing wrong with teaching kids to be respectful of the natural environment. But the moment Democratic leaders start throwing around loaded phrases such as "green jobs" in this context, you just know it's going to be an opportunity for political indoctrination.

And for neglect of more fundamental competencies, such as math, history and reading.

MORE:

Some charts of the top political donors by industry between 1989 and 2009. Page one shows which group gave the most. Page two shows which party got the bucks. No real surprise.

(via reader Warren)