Are Catholic schools' curriculum as lefty as the Arlington Public Schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County is not as bad as Arlington PS, but they still misrepresent the War of Northern Aggression. At least they let you have Christmas, and there is great music in their Choral and Orchestral programs including plenty of liturgical. It's balanced by other faiths of course, but it is there. I'm pretty conservative, but I wasn't overly appalled by Fairfax.

Anyone who calls the civil war the "War of Northern Aggression" accuses others of bias only with either an awesome sense of humor or a total lack of self awareness.

You have to have a sense of humor to deal with Yankees, so I'm guessing it would be the former for me. I'd be quite happy if they all went back to Boston or Chicago or where ever. Didn't want you here 150 years go, don't want you here now. We almost won largely thanks to McClellan I grant you, but I'd be happy for a much different outcome, and frankly, if it was possible to secede now, I would support it. I'm not a fan at all of the New York Liberal Paul Krugman style of expansionist government that has been implemented the past decade or so.

Essentially, this country has been split into a Liberally biased suburban focused, and a rural focus, where the liberals are looting our future and inculcating a welfare state with a larger and larger Government and Military that aren't needed and that we can't afford. I would welcome a retreat to a smaller government, smaller standing army future. If that takes sequestration, I welcome it. And yes, I voted for Ron Paul and you can pry my gun from my cold dead hands in spite of <insert tragedy here>.

I'm a Yankee conservative and find you strangely awesome. I don't agree with everything you say but, for some reason, like the way you say it!

[Anonymous]

Yes, the book is Battle Cry of Freedom, by James McPherson. He is one of the most well-regarded historians on the Civil War in the US. Eric Foner is also great and his book on Reconstruction is highly recommended as welll.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fairfax County is not as bad as Arlington PS, but they still misrepresent the War of Northern Aggression. At least they let you have Christmas, and there is great music in their Choral and Orchestral programs including plenty of liturgical. It's balanced by other faiths of course, but it is there. I'm pretty conservative, but I wasn't overly appalled by Fairfax.

In Fairfax and Arlington there are schools named after Confederate generals, and the Arlington House, the national memorial to Robert E. Lee, in Arlington Cemetery has been a field trip for most Arlington middle school students for years. They may call it the "Civil War," but textbooks all over the US call it that. There is no APS policy against Christmas. It's all up to the school and some schools celebrate Christmas more than others.

Sure, but when you go to Arlington they might mention it was Robert E Lee's house. They may even mention that it was occupied by Union forces right after Lincoln illegally over threw the Constitution and invaded Virginia, starting with Alexandria. The Union forces took Arlington because it was high ground, which from an artillery position, was key. What they don't tell you is that Arlington was chosen by Yankees to bury their dead on just to make sure he would never live there again, or that the federal government illegally took the land (Mrs Lee tried to pay the $92 in back taxes through an agent, but was turned away). Finally, years later it, after taking the case to the Supreme court, it was awarded back to Lee's heirs, who being thoroughly and understandably sick of a lovely estate that had been turned into a cemetery full of Yankee dead as a giant "FU" to the South, sold it at fire sale prices.

Schools certainly don't tell you that Virginia was pro-union up until the Union attack on Fort Sumter, or that from 1651 to 1660 there were more Irish slaves in America than the entire non-slave population of the colonies! Certainly no one seeks to understand why it was ok for West Virginia to secede from Virginia (when VA was basically occupied and could hardly have a fair vote), but VA wasn't allowed to secede from the Union?

There is certainly Yankee bias to education nowdays.... the names that are on buildings are just there because we can't change them, not because we Honor them. Just look at the statue of Appomattox, the Lone Confederate Soldier, and you can feel the pain of the South, and it hasn't gone away.

An excellent one-volume history of the war, recognized as a fair treatment by both Northern and Southern historicans, is "Battle Cry of the Republic" by Robert MacPherson.

Dang. You whupped me fair n square. Fine, I'll go read MacPherson, but you have to go read The South Was Right! by James Ronald Kennedy. Err, Amazon doesn't have the MacPherson, so I won't be kindling that tonight.

Sorry, I was rolling there, but inexplicably got both the title and the author wrong. The book is "Battle Cry of Freedom" by James M. McPherson. I would actually be interested in reading "The South Was Right!" -- I find the different way the war is remembered really interesting. Cheers, here's to reading books and arguing about them!

[Anonymous]

OP. You are the reason I'm so glad I don't live in Virginia. You sound like a moron.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not a troll and I understand that my children will be interacting with people in society. What I don't want, however, is for my children to be indoctrinated with liberal BS rather than taught facts especially in the elementary and middle school grades. I would appreciate an answer to my question rather than a critique on it. If you don't have something to contribute, then please find another post to attack or, better yet, find something more worthwhile to do with your time.

Wow. This is all quite shocking. OP, are you not aware that the majority of each local school division's curriculum is prescribed by the state SPI/DOE in Richmond? If you think that's liberal, you ARE the 1%. Well, maybe not THAT 1% ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. You are the reason I'm so glad I don't live in Virginia. You sound like a moron.

And you should be proud of Maryland, which basically killed killed 14,000 ( A rate of roughly three dozen day) Confederate prisoners at the Point Lookout prison camp through the simple technique of starving them?

You do know it was a southern slave owning state, and the words to the state song end in this stanza?

I hear the distant thunder-hum,
Maryland!
The Old Line's bugle, fife, and drum,
Maryland!
She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb-
Huzza! she spurns the Northern scum!
She breathes! she burns! she'll come! she'll come!
Maryland! My Maryland!

In fact Maryland didn't actually really slavery was the issue:
"This war is prosecuted by the Nation with but one object, that, namely, of a restoration of the Union just as it was when the rebellion broke out. The rebellious States are to be brought back to their places in the Union, without change or diminution of their constitutional rights"

Anyhow, I'd be cautious about throwing rocks at VA....

[Anonymous]

OP here:

To the person asking about whether or not I know of the DOE SOLs - of course I know of them. That is why my original question (which has been fairly hijacked here) was about the CATHOLIC school CURRICULUM - of which I am also aware of the guidelines issued by the Archdiocese. Perhaps, before posting, you should read the original question.

I will reiterate it here on the off chance that someone will actually answer it: Are the NoVa Catholic school curricula as left-leaning in their implementation as the Arlington Public Schools? And if not, which schools are teaching about pride in America, the Founding Fathers, God and Jesus before teaching about 'famous' Hispanic and African Americans and multiculturalism? My question is not about homeschooling - we are looking for a school. It is astounding to me that such a place no longer exists (at least not in NoVa).

To the other snarky posters: Yes, I know that MLK was an American as were all of the other black Americans that Arlington public school children have spent the last 5 weeks (and counting) learning about. My preference for my children would be to learn about the people who started this country FIRST because WITHOUT them there would be no famous African-Americans since there would be no America. I don't think that is so unreasonable or offensive and it is a shame that liberals find that so wrong.

I also do not want my children learning about junk 'science' such as global warming. If people in this generation could see beyond themselves, as the Catholic church USED to teach, they would see that wild weather patterns are cyclical - how about 40 days of flooding?? Not to mention a growing body of evidence stating that climate change is either caused by solar activity or just doesn't, in fact, exist. How about going back to the basics first and then exploring junk Al Gore hypotheses.

And thanks to most of you posters out there, it is clear that this site isn't worth its weight in garbage since so many of you have nothing better to do than attack the question rather than answer it. Maybe you should ask yourselves why you are wasting so much time online here when you don't have anything to contribute to the discussion. Lesson learned for me that this is not the place to actually get an answer to a question.

[Anonymous]

Question for original poster: Are you Catholic? I only ask because at a Catholic school your children will be taught from a Catholic theological perspective. You will get Christmas and Easter celebrations, not to worry. But your children will be expected and required to participate in Catholic worship - though if not Catholic they cannot take communion.

I grew up Catholic and went to Catholic schools and university. I often joke that if I were a standup comedian I would get most of my material from my Catholic upbringing.

The Catholic Church, true to its name and as an earlier poster noted, is multi-cultural as it has more than 1 billion adherents wordwide and the modes of worship while basically the same do change a bit from culture to culture. I think you would find a big difference in the Mass between a Church like St. James in Falls Church or a parish like St. Augustine in DC, which is the Mother Church of African American Catholics, or even churches like St. Charles Boromeo. Outside of certain social issues, i.e. gay marriage, homosexuality, abortion, birth control, etc. the Church and its leadership are pretty liberal. Catholic social teaching has a "preferential option for the poor," and you need only read the statements of the USCCB to understand that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here:Not to mention a growing body of evidence stating that climate change is either caused by solar activity or just doesn't, in fact, exist.

Would love to see you unpack that one a bit with actual "evidence". Really, please share. I'm sure it will be enlightening.

[Anonymous]

I have been reluctant to comment until now because this thread has gone so haywire.

Let me first say that I consider myself a social and political conservative. I was also a history minor in undergrad. That being said, I am NOT one who believes that “traditional” White/Anglo culture is under attack nor do I believe that history should be “white washed.” (no pun intended). I believe that our children should be taught that history is made by real people whether they be White, Black, Hispanic or whatever. All of these people had a hand in the evolution of this nation. Why hide it? And I believe they should be taught the truth. The history that we all had in grade school was glorified and sanitized, and, unfortunately Anglo-centric.

Some examples, George Washington was a great man and his value to our nation cannot be diminished. But I also believe that he was a man of his times and it should be taught that he was one of the largest slaveholders in Virginia. The iconic “traditional” story of the Declaration of Independence is also historically inaccurate. We all were taught that there was some ceremonial signing with all the great men gathered in a room - when in fact, we were at war and people signed the document piecemeal over a period of time. It needs to be taught that before Europeans “colonized” America, there were already great nation/states here and that a plague in the 1500’s wiped out 90% of the Native American population East of the Mississippi. And that it was Native Americans who taught the initial colonists how to survive here. So using OP’s logic, without them you have no Founding Fathers. All that needs to be taught and, thankfully, that is what is happening now! There are many more, but I will spare you the history lecture. All I am saying to OP is that if you want your kids to be taught based on the curriculum that you were taught, then your kids will not be learning the truth in all cases. A couple funny articles that illustrate my point:

http://www.cracked.com/article_16101_the-5-most-ridiculous-lies-you-were-taught-in-history-class.html
http://www.cracked.com/article_19864_6-ridiculous-lies-you-believe-about-founding-america.html


As far as OP looking for a Catholic school without a liberal bent or without a heavy multicultural focus, good luck with that. Of course it depends on the school and, generally speaking, the Church is very conservative on certain social issues. For the most part, however, the Church is very diverse internationally and only 16% of practicing Catholics live in North America. So my kids got a heavy dose of comparative culture in their Catholic education….and I was 100% on board with that.

[Anonymous]

To the scholar that authored *this* rant:


"You are, in fact, being racist. You are also being clueless. The curriculum is set by the state. For example, the entire fourth grade curriculum statewide studies Virginia, including many a trip to Jamestown where, gasp, they learn about the original settlers and things like the starving times (although this may not be to your taste since they also talk about Pocohontas as well as John Smith). Next week my daughter is taking a trip to Mount Vernon as part of a unit on the Revolutionary War that includes, gasp, study of the Founders (not the "Founding Fathers" -- no one uses that term anymore since it is a misnomer, historically speaking.). Science unit currently is about metric system (I know, that's what the socialists use, right?). They also studied weather and, oddly, moon phases. They study a lot about moon phases. Personally, I think the state of Virginia wants to prepare our chilren to be werewolves. But, again, that's a State of Virginia thing, not an Arlington thing. I haven't heard a word about Caesar Chavez (or Hugo Chavez for that matter.). It might upset you to know my second grader is currently studying the Chinese New Year. I know, fucking commies, right?"

1) Where do you get off declaring that a person is "being racist?" First of all, you have no idea what it is in the mind or the heart of anyone other than your self, but it's clear that you THINK you do (i.e. assuming that the OP would object to his/her child learning about Pocahontas [note correct spelling]/Chinese New Year]. In addition, define "being racist" please...Are you suggesting that sometimes the OP is not racist, but his/her viewpoint on this one issue is "racist?" Again, where do you get off judging and labeling people that you don't know? If one chose to put YOU under the microscope, he/she might say that you're a very angry and bitter individual whose issues run much deeper than this school curriculum forum....
but one shouldn't judge...maybe you've had a very hard time lately with other things going on in your life and you chose to take your anger out anonymously online.

2) You've injected into your tantrum-like response, all sorts of emotion--crusading about issues that clearly bother YOU (e.g. the founding fathers is a "misnomer, historically speaking" [why you chose to add "historically speaking" is a head scratcher..and quite amusing, by the way]). You can't seem to stay on topic. Here's a question for you, though--if the trip to Mount Vernon is so offensive to you, why don't you keep your kid home and teach her what YOU believe? Last time I checked, field trips were optional.

3) You topped yourself when you chose to use profanity. I'm guessing you thought that you'd really drive your argument home by trying to convey to other readers that the OP was without question in the wrong, and therefore deserved no respect. To that, I offer you this advice-If you expect to be taken seriously at all, perhaps you should open your mind and try to respond to others with thoughtfulness and logic instead of emotional knee-jerk reactions.

[Anonymous]

OP look for a private school that takes donations from the Koch brothers since you seem to be quoting a lot of their ideas. One of the Koch brothers opened a High School in FL a few years. They also gave a lot of money to FSU with strings to control curriculum but the students and faculty kicked up a big fuss and that didn't fly. Otherwise learn more about VA curriculum especially about some of the history books that had to have pages reprinted after the conservative adopted books that were inaccurate but more your cup of tea it seems. At our Catholic school they teach Spanish and even help feed the homeless so I am sure you would not like it.

[Anonymous]

Here's a perfect example of liberal hypocrisy in writing: "OP. You are the reason I'm so glad I don't live in Virginia. You sound like a moron."


I bet the person that penned that gem thinks he/she is so enlightened and open-minded. I bet he/she fancies him/herself as superior to anyone who doesn't think exactly like him/herself...Furthermore, since this site is for people in the DC/Metro area...I'm gonna go WAY out on a limb here and guess that the enlightened one resides either in DC proper or ..mmmm somewhere like Takoma Park, MD (?)

I'm also gonna guess that this person makes remarks ALL the time about how one "shouldn't generalize" (probably referring to a person of a certain race or religion, etc.). I happen to agree with this practice- I mean it's downright ignorant to think that every member of one race or one religion thinks and/or behaves exactly the same way. I actually cannot imagine what it must be like to be one of those people that targets, say...a huge geographic population, and makes a sweeping conclusion about its every single member. Apparently the person that made the statement above, however, thinks that it's just fine to do so...as long as it's politically correct.

Advice: If you want to be seen as intelligent, try posing an argument against that which you find so offensive. Seriously, we'd probably think you were smarter if you'd simply responded, "Oh yeah? well, you're ugly"

[Anonymous]

I think it is hi-larious and somehow quaint that folks in NoVa are still railing against "multiculturalism." Look around you, asshole ...

[Anonymous]

And AGAIN....

I thought liberals were supposed to be open minded??. What is it with you uptight people? The OP made an inquiry and every left-leaning, angry NOVA parent pounces...Like THIS genius...who for the life of him/her, can't convey in writing what it is he/she is trying to actually say

["Otherwise learn more about VA curriculum especially about some of the history books that had to have pages reprinted after the conservative adopted books that were inaccurate "] *yeah so what did the conservatives do, sweetie? they adopted some books? or they reprinted some books? or they adopted some poor, reprinted books?


Here's a tip for you, professor: Hit a remedial English course before getting online and lecturing others, ok?