|
 merican
education has generally made a
mess of the teaching opportunity presented by the September
11 attacks and the nation's ensuing struggle with terrorism. Most
of the curricular guidance being pumped out of state and local school
systems, education groups, and universities has focused on tolerance
and multiculturalism, not civics, and patriotism. Some of the old
unilateral disarmament folks have resurfaced, organizations not
heard from since the mid-eighties when they admonished America to
lay down its weapons lest the Soviets feel threatened. Now they're
suggesting — in reams of material surging across the Internet
to teachers — that if young Americans were less chauvinistic
and more mindful of other peoples and cultures, we would not face
today's threats.
This is worse
than nonsense. It actually blames the victim — us, this time
— for the brutal hatreds of the victimizer. The message seems
to be that "If we understood them better, they wouldn't hate
us so."
Meanwhile,
we know from a thousand studies that young Americans know precious
little about the values, principles, and traditions that the terrorists
abhor and are striving to eradicate, the liberal values of Western
civilization and the core values of U.S. democracy. They know precious
little history. They know less about the Constitution and the system
of government and way of life that it has made possible. They know
next to nothing about the many times that American freedom and democracy
have been threatened and how important it is to defend them —
with arms when necessary.
Those are the
things that our schools should be teaching our children. But, we
can hear the teachers asking, "What materials should we use?
The multiculturalists give us curriculum help. You just hector us."
Finally, a
wonderful resource is at hand. The education firm known as K12,
chaired by former Education Secretary Bill Bennett, has just come
out with a fine set of lessons for educators and parents to use
in teaching patriotism — and for kids themselves to learn directly
from. These lessons are free for one and all at www.K12.com,
and they're fine indeed. Well suited to most ages and grade levels,
they range across civics, history, and geography with a steady emphasis
on the events, people and principles that shaped America and kept
it strong. There are online storybooks and singalongs, maps and
documents, ideas for parents and teachers, and many activities for
the children to engage in directly.
Not only is
this a terrific resource for teaching patriotism at a time when
such a thing is sorely needed. It's also a swell example of how
"virtual" education can do what the established groups
and institutions seem incapable of — in this case perhaps the
most important education mission of all, helping teach our daughters
and sons what it means to be an American. Thanks to the Internet,
they're available to every family that wants them, whether the school
system cooperates or not.
|
