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WITH VIDEO: Huntington Woods residents celebrate Independence Day with parade

Jul 04, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By KAREN WORKMAN
Of The Oakland Press
Huntington Woods residents lined the streets of their neighborhoods for an excellent view of a longstanding community tradition — the annual Huntington Woods’ Independence Day Parade.
“The community involvement for the Fourth of July Parade is just par excellence,” said Sharon Charlip, a Huntington Woods resident.
The parade began at 10 a.m. on Sunday and traveled through neighborhood streets, ending at Scotia Park. An all-day festival, hot dog roast, and Fourth of July bake-off continued the festivities at the park, ending with a fireworks display.
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READING BETWEEN THE LINES: What are textbooks teaching students?

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

By CAROL HOPKINS
Of The Oakland Press
On this day when Americans reflect back to the nation’s beginnings, many may discuss history from information they gleaned from their years in public school — from famous battles, legislation and progress to outlaws and leaders.

Readers who attended a recent Oakland Press town hall meeting wanted us to find out who writes history and in response, we asked readers if they believed school textbooks contain biased information. We tossed out the question online: “Have history books been changed to reflect a more politically correct view?”

There were as many different answers as there are citizens.

“Usually history books will be from one point of view, usually the victor,” wrote Aaron, and he then quoted Winston Churchill saying, “History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it.”

John said, “There is no doubt that textbooks are inaccurate and written to reflect what people want children — and us as once being children — to believe. To say there is a conspiracy to do this would be an understatement. The most obvious example I saw in one of my son’s history textbooks was the chapter on unions. (One) chapter was way over the top, even declaring that unions had saved all Americans from becoming slaves and that unions were responsible for ‘almost every great achievement in America.’”

Where’s the Original commented, “My experience is that the bias is in omission. All sides of a subject are rarely provided, or explained well. There is little reference to original sources. All I am seeing is someone’s opinion of important subjects.”

In the Bloomfield Hills School District, for example, teachers and principals do an extensive evaluation and comparison of possible texts, reviewing three or more publishers if possible, according to the district.

They request their preference and submit the evaluation forms to the assistant superintendents for instruction. The forms and recommendations are taken to the Board Instruction Committee. The preferred text is made available for board member perusal. If approved by the Board Instruction Committee, a recommendation is made to the board for final approval and purchase.

In Birmingham schools, the district’s education council purchases textbooks on the recommendation of department heads and its instruction department.
Jerry D stated: “Just ask any child why the Civil War was fought. The vast majority will say slavery. But if you study true history, slavery had nothing to do with the start of the Civil War. I can go on with so many rewritten history topics. Take the challenge.”

JAS wrote, “In every era, from time immemorial, education of youth has, is and always will be perversely slanted to the left or the right (dependent upon who’s in authority) and the pendulum never stays in the middle! ”

jimmy4pat said, “As a retired teacher (43 years), I can honestly say most books of history, civics and politics were ‘scrubbed’ in the (Jimmy) Carter (and after) years. It is sinful and killing America. Bring back the books of pre-WW II and save America! God Bless!”

One recent textbook controversy occurred in May when the Texas School Board of Education approved changes to the state’s curriculum. The board’s decisions will set the standards for the history curriculum for about 4.8 million public school students in Texas in the next 10 years. Given the significant size of the Texas textbook market, observers wonder if the changes might influence the curriculum of other schools across the nation.

Local readers have strong opinions about even a Texas-style change.

David Pomeroy of Waterford Township wrote, “I heard a state school official in Texas opening his mouth (on radio a few months ago) and proving how few of his brain cells were fully empowered. He was talking about the rationale for state-level administrators to oversee the rewriting of textbooks as he claimed ‘the experts who wrote the current textbooks tend to tilt to the left.’

“If indeed there does exist some leftist tilt in textbooks in general because only experts write them, doesn’t it follow that what some would consider to be ‘left’ might really be educated, objective, erudite interpretation of scholastic material?

“Any decent textbook aspires to reveal the big picture and assist students in nurturing nimble and curious minds that will sooner or later deliver them to become their own arbiters of what is true, what is partially true, what is true but not fully true and so on.”

Mike Gould of Holly believes partisan politics and political correctness have “insidiously injected themselves into the textbooks, altering our children’s education. This was exacerbated by our president during his inaugural world tour, when he downplayed America’s exceptionalism, and instead, apologized for its being arrogant and dismissive.

“This poses one of the greatest threats to our liberty, and to America in that by subtly changing history, future generations won’t have the same understanding and appreciation of the inalienable rights enumerated by the Constitution. These aren’t footnotes in history written by old white men, but living documents that craft the very foundation of who we are as a nation.”

A Rochester teacher who called himself Another John has spotted an item in the textbook he uses.

“In talking about the way the Americans reacted to the rebellions in the Philippines in 1899, it states, ‘The United States forced Filipinos to live in designated zones, where poor sanitation, starvation and disease killed thousands.’ The book also states that approximately 200,000 people died due to this,” he said. “Lots of historians actually refer to this as the Filipino Genocide, and estimate that as many as 1.4 million people may have died as a result of the U.S. practices. I also think it’s interesting that the book uses ‘designated zones’ instead of concentration camps, which is essentially what they were.”

Patrick Turner from Commerce Township wrote, “Having just graduated from MSU with a degree in social studies secondary education, this is an issue I have dealt with at length personally and in my recent undergraduate studies.

“Yes, I do believe history textbooks have been written to reflect a certain political point of view. In my own teaching, I am constantly searching for sources outside of school-mandated textbooks in order to provide balanced and (relatively) accurate sources for historical events.

In referring to Texas’ new curriculum, Turner quoted a New York Times article that said “conservative policymakers have created new curriculum standards that stress the superiority of American capitalism, questions the founding fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and represents Republican political policies in a more positive light.”

“I won’t comment on whether or not their views are justified, but I ask whether or not it is fair to believe that slanting textbooks more right or left is something that will benefit our children’s education.

“Throughout history, there have been no ‘black and white’ issues, only shades of gray that must be critically analyzed. The rote spoon-feeding of ideals into students’ heads should have no place in the American education system.”

Proud to be an American

Jul 02, 2010

By: Oakland Press staff

Editor’s note: Third- and fourth-graders at Lakeville Elementary School in Oxford shared their thoughts on what it means to be an American.

To me, being an American means being free. In some countries you have to do certain things. We call this command economy, which means you don’t have any freedom.
I am lucky to be an American because we have rights to do what we want to like, eat what we want, wear what we want and be a free citizen. —
Rebekah

To be an American means to be free. We can’t have slavery! And we can go to a public school or a private school. Girls can vote! — Hudson

America has freedom. America has love. America has happiness. America has independence. America means being strong. America means working hard. America means red, white and blue. — Salina

What it means to be American to me is that I can be free (believe in what I want to believe in). Go to school all the way up to college. Wear what I want to wear. It doesn’t matter what color I am. I can do any job I want to do. I can play sports. I can do most things that boys can do. I love being an American so much. Go America! — Raquel

Being an American means a lot to me. I am glad to be one because in other countries girls have to wear scarfs on their head and if they don’t they get in big trouble and some girls can only do school for 11 years so one reason I love being an American is because of our freedom. I will enjoy being an American for my entire life. — Sydney

(Being an American) means freedom. It means independence. It means we can say what we feel. It means being strong. It means hard work. It means love. — Ava

Sophia Frye (left, age 2) and Hope Frye (age 5) show off their patriotic colors. Photo taken on Tuesday, June 22, 2010, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (The Oakland Press/Jose Juarez)

To me, to be an American is to be free, other places have to wear certain things. We don’t. Other places are under leadership. In America, we’re a democracy. In other places you can only do certain jobs. In American you can do any job you want, that’s what America means to me. — Zachary

It’s an honor to be an American. We are lucky, some people in other countries don’t have an opportunity to do the stuff we can. It’s an honor to be an American. — Robert

It’s an honor to be a part of the U.S.A. Our country is free and not all states are free and they should be. And America has the best president to help us to be safe. Follow the law and he does all his duties and gets them done as fast as possible. — Skylar

We are free. We don’t have to wear certain clothes. We can be how we want to be. — Gracie

What it means to be an American. It means to have freedom, have rights. Live life like we please. Have fun, relax, have kids, get a good education and go to college. Vote, live life, have fun, relax. — Luke

What it means to be an American is we are free to not have slavery, free to wear what you want to wear, and free to eat what you want to eat. — Reagan

To be American is to believe in freedom. I can wear what I want, unlike in the East. I get to go to school, unlike other places where girls can’t go to school. I have my rights to speak. In America they keep kids safe. I have a home. My dad lost his job and he got right back on track within a couple of months. He got the job he wanted. I meet the nicest kids in America. I love the teachers, the families, even the nature and the animals. I love America. — Maddie

What does it mean to be an American? To me it means we have freedom to do what we want. — Andrew

To me, being an American means having freedom by not having a dictator who tells you what to do and how to do it, but to have a president who lets you make choices on what your religion is or what you want to do with your life. Also being American also means to have the same rights as everyone else no matter what your skin tone or religion is or what gender you are. Being American also means to have an easier life, to get access to technology.
Another great thing about being American is having the ability to go to the hospital whenever you had a stroke or a seizure or even a heart attack and get help. It also means to have nice clean water, unlike some countries who have unsafe water. — Abbey

To me being an American means that I have freedom to say what I want, I can vote, and choose my religion. We have soldiers that fight for our freedom. This is what it means to be an American. — Connor

What it means to be an American is to have freedom and the ability to choose your own path in your life. — Logan

I like being an American because we have freedom, freedom of speech. You can believe whatever you want. No slavery, you can look like you want and wear what you want and talk like you want. — Felix

What it means to be an American is a part of a big family, following laws and leading, helping and supporting each other, freedom and justice, and never being lonely. — Elsa

I think it takes a lot to be an American. I think one of them should be appreciation.You should look at a picture of a gone soldier and say “He was one of those people who gave his life to our country and freedom, and I thank him a lot.”
Another thing I think it takes to be an American is freedom. You should be treated equally.
My last thing it takes to be American is independence. We are ourselves and only ourselves. We make our own laws. — Evan

I’m proud to be an American because we grow good food and great American friends and family. You should be proud to be an American. America rocks. — Leah

I am proud to be an American because we are all independent workers and we grow a lot of different foods. — Dade

I’m proud to be an American because we’re free as Americans and we all help the world. — Adam

I am proud to be an American because we’re all independent workers and because we all have great schools to learn in. — Sam

I am proud to be an American because America has liberty and justice, also because we help stop bad things that happen. — Shane

I’m proud to be an American because there are many people and places to see and meet and people protect mother earth and her creations. — Gabriella

I’m proud to be an American because I have free freedom of speech and so I can say my opinion without getting in trouble and everyone gets treated fairly and I think that’s important because if you were not treated fairly you wouldn’t be happy. — Andrew

I’m proud to be an American because people help other people and because a lot of people in America care about the earth. — Emilie

I’m proud to be an American because we can be helpful to other Americans and I can reduce, reuse, and recycle. — Paige

I’m proud to be an American because we have freedom and because we have the Constitution.— Ian

I’m glad to be an American because when there becomes oil spills people try to stop it so it doesn’t kill animals and make them endangered. — Sabrina

I’m proud to be an American because I love English and I like being an American. — Emma

I’m proud to be an American to live in a free country and I’m also proud our country cares for the environment. — Jon

I’m proud to be an American because it’s what I am and we fight and fight and never give up. — Rickyia

I’m proud to be an American because we help animals in need and because I care about  Michigan and I will not litter and I do not pollute. — Gabbi

I’m proud to be an American because of all the good food and because all the interesting facts we have in every state. — Vanessa

I’m happy that I’m an American because we grow food, vegetables, and fruits. — Kayden

It means very much to be an American because you get to live your best life. Also we are a great democracy (and) it has lots of states that I would really love to go to. That’s why it’s an honor to be in a great country like America. — Vanessa

What it means to be an American, to me it means I can be free, my family and friends can be free and my pets can be free. It means I can get a good degree or wear what I want to wear, eat what I want or to have freedom to be free. — Claire

What it means to be an American is to be yourself. You can be a silly American, or a caring American or a joyous American. That’s the best part about being an American, being you. And it’s OK to be you. Inspire yourself. Be an American and like living in America. — Sydni