This appeared here and I would like to thank Mary for allowing me to publish her work. RK
Diana West, in her fascinating new book, American
Betrayal, quotes George Orwell on the writing of history.
Orwell observed that "History ended in 1936"--an assessment based on
reporting from the war in Spain. Since that time, George Orwell has been a
staple in classrooms, with Animal Farm being the only exposure many
students have to the tenets of Marxism. Many honest historians, however,--no
matter their own ideology--still hewed to the factual. Indeed, that was the
case with the late Eugene Genovese, under whom Hamilton College History
Professor Robert Paquette studied. Genovese, of course, wrote the classic, Roll,
Jordan, Roll: The World the Slaves Made, while
still in his pre-conversion (conservatism and Catholicism) days.
At one time historians had standards, and even
Marxists could be honest, said Genovese in his droll way.
An expert on American slavery, Professor Paquette has
written an excellent essay clearing up the historical distortions regarding
slavery being advanced in the media in relation to President Obama's recent
tour of Africa, specifically his stop in Senegal. Kudos to the blog site SeeThruEdu for
publishing this. Paquette begins,
President Obama began his recent state-sponsored tour
of Africa with a stop at Senegal. Like several of his predecessors, from Bill
Clinton to George W. Bush, he boated a few miles from the capital city of Dakar
to the tiny island of Gorėe to visit the so-called Maison des Esclaves (House
of Slaves) and gaze upon the Atlantic Ocean in the back of the house by passing
through “la porte du voyage sans retour” (“Door of No Return”). At such moments
of public contrition, media outlets, drawing on local sources, have made any
number of extravagant claims about Gorėe’s centrality to the Atlantic slave
trade as a point of transit for “millions” of African slaves to the Americas,
including to the North American mainland. Undoubtedly, with these widely
circulated claims in mind, President Obama called his brief visit to the House
of Slaves “powerful.” “Obviously, for an African American — and an African
American president — to be able to visit this site,” he added, “gives me even
greater motivation in terms of the defense of human rights around the world.”
Trouble is much of what journalists have said during these presidential visits
about Gorėe, the House of Slaves, and their history of involvement in the
Atlantic slave trade is either wrong or misleading.
In a fascinating account, Paquette gives the history
of this port, and explains how certain individuals have distorted its history
for their own monetary or political benefit. His essay, "Ideology
Trumps Scholarship in Slave-Trade Reporting," is worth
printing out and reading.
Professor Paquette's essay should also be included in
any anthology that continues the practice of reprinting President Obama's
speeches as examples of the highest eloquence and historical inerrancy. I have
in mind his speech at the University of Cairo titled "A New
Beginning," which was published in The Norton Reader as an instant
classic. History and recent events have proven that Obama's words displayed
more wishful thinking than fact. The Dissident Prof Guide Book, 'A
New Beginning,' or a Revised Past?, is intended to help
students navigate their way through the biased footnotes and topic questions in
The Norton Reader that hastily published this speech.
Dissident Prof is also happy to report that another
title, Bill Ayers: Teaching Revolution, is featured as Book
of the Month in the June Education Reporter published by
the Eagle Forum. Read the review here and
"Why
Parents Object to Common Core Standards" (tests
developed by Linda Darling-Hammond, pal of Bill Ayers. Other reasons, like
costs, are now catching the attention of Georgia Governor
Nathan Deal).
Other news about Bill Ayers: Did you ever wonder what
it was like to be in one of the hippie community schools run by Ayers and other
Weather People? Watch this powerful short video
by Reverend Matthew Cummings. He tells how "Honor thy parents"
was not taught to the innocents by these Marxist radicals.
From the NEA teachers union conference: Maureen Downey
has a post on "bad ass" teachers (as they call themselves) and EAG
News offers great
footage of public school teachers rivalling IRS employees on their dance moves
to a rap song.
Here's the perspective from the Badass
Teachers Association, or BAT. Downey quotes from their goals:
BATs aim to reduce or eliminate the use of high stakes
testing, increase teacher autonomy in the classroom and work to include teacher
and family voices in legislative decision-making processes that affect
students.
There is a bit of discussion about name choice: maybe
the name is appropriate and, sadly, ammunition for removing "teacher
autonomy"--especially when teachers are dancing to the lyrics of V.I.C.
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