Posted October 24, 2012: Political debates are Dissident Prof's favorite spectator sport, but she was dismayed by the ungentlemanly behavior displayed by the interruptions and "icy stare" at the last presidential debate on Monday. The instant polling that declared a winner, she believes, was conducted on Jerry Springer's audience.
She believes in using reason and sticking to facts. The claim that the Muslim world has a better view of the U.S. now than in 2008 is not true, pointed out the Daily Caller, and before that as well the Dissident Prof Guide Book on the Cairo Speech. That's according to a Pew poll that showed the already low favorability rating slipping.
At See Thru Ed, she commented on "The Folly of Using Current Speeches to Teach English," as is the case with President Obama's 2009 Cairo Speech. Sometimes the results do not fulfill the promise of the speech's title, as has been the case with "A New Beginning." We seem to be getting more of the same hatred in the Middle East that we have had with other administrations. Apologies do not seem to work any better than the "cowboy diplomacy" that the previous administration was accused of practicing.
Dissident Prof was dismayed by the sarcasm and ridicule used in the debate and wrote about that and errors of the "fact checkers" in a Townhall column, "Yes, It Was an Apology Tour." Read it here.
Dissident History Prof Timothy Furnish has a good post at History News Network on "What Would a Mitt Romney Foreign Policy Look Like?"
The debate seemed to drag on and towards the end, President Obama, once again, in citing economic security, called for building roads and bridges...and--hiring more teachers. Specifically, math and science teachers. Mitt Romney, in his gentlemanly manner, conceded that he too liked teachers, but the federal government hiring more teachers would not revive the economy. In fact, unions need to be dismantled and Romney again cited the Massachusetts education success story (having to interrupt the interrupter to make the point). Dissident Prof, too, fails to see the connection between a strong economy and an army of math and science teachers, especially when education schools are teaching such nonsense as "ethnomathematics," as Georgia State University is doing.
Teaching Kids about Foreign Policy, the New York Times version: "Is Islam an Obstacle to Democracy?" Of course not. That is the consensus of the 6 guest panelists at the New York Times, even though the consensus is featured on a page called "Room for Debate." This is linked through the "Learning Network" that is marketed to teachers as a way to use the newspaper's materials in the classroom. For the week of October 12, the Learning Network offered teachers 3 Common Core-aligned lessons on "Young Voters, College Rankings and Food Journeys." Talk about raising standards!
On voting the New York Times weighed in on the this heavy topic:
"Ever wonder what kind of music President Obama listens to, or how Ann Romney makes pumpkin bread? You can find the answers to these questions on social media Web sites like Spotify and Pinterest.
"Presidential campaigns are implementing extensive efforts to capture the youth vote by posting huge amounts of information on the Internet. As the digital director for Mitt Romney’s campaign explains, 'The more people you talk to, the more likely you are to win.'
”Your Task: Think of the ways that you and your friends use social media. Do you tweet? Post on Facebook? Share on Tumblr or Pinterest?
"Determine the best method for the presidential campaigns to reach young voters and write a letter to the president or Governor Romney’s campaign explaining your viewpoint.
And those Tea Partiers...all they can talk about is the Constitution! Here's some real heavy intellectual lifting, right?
But to continue. . .
On the topic of College Rankings, five out of the six debaters present a skeptical view of rankings.
The "Dining Infographic" of the third example, "It Came from the Banana Room," presents a creative challenge for the ninth-grader doing a narrative writing assignment. Here is what he came up with and what the editors present as a good example:
Dear Diary,
I was once a little seed, now I am on my way to a factory where I await packaging.Dear Diary,
I am beginning to be seasick and my neighbor in the package keeps rolling over. He never stops.Dear Diary,
A tomato above my head broke, so his juices are constantly flowing onto me. This is very unpleasant. However, we are going to dock soon.
Dear Diary,
Yes, in the factory! This room is the perfect temperature for me. Life is good.
Dear Diary,
This will be my last entry, there is a place called the “salad station” where I will be transferred later today. My whole days are done. I will be little slivers soon enough….
These "career-ready" graduates of Common-Core-aligned schools will sure be ready for careers in Supermarket Shelf Restocking!
BTW: No one at the New York Times asked Dissident Prof if she thought Islam was compatible with democracy. But she had just taught parts of Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, so had it fresh on her mind, as she did President Obama's speech before the UN last month. Read what she says at in "How Will History Remember Obama's Cairo Speech?" at Front Page Magazine here.
The Obama Core Education Bill Coming Due: As I explain in my PJ Media article today, "'Obama Core: Radical Education Bill Set to Take Effect after Election." The stimulus funds attached to the Common Core standards are already running out, and states that have committed to Common Core will now be left with the bill for tests, computer equipment on which to take the test, new curricula, teacher training, etc. And all to "transform" education into what Bill Ayers and education prof pals, like Linda Darling-Hammond, have been dreaming of ever since the 1960s. Read my article here.
A Great New Site: The Selous Foundation for Public Policy Research: Read my review of Paul Kengor's latest book, The Communist, Frank Marshall Davis: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mentor there as well as other articles.