Posted on 07/31/2013 9:31:04 AM PDT by Kip Russell
I'll be the first to criticize public education for not being challenging enough and simply passing kids on to the next grade without teaching them anything...but is this too much for first graders?
Here's a partial list of what 6 year olds will allegedly be able to do after completing this lesson plan:
2. Explain the importance of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the use of canals to support farming and the development of the city of Babylon
4. Identify cuneiform as the system of writing used in Mesopotamia
6. Explain the significance of the Code of Hammurabi
9. Explain the significance of gods/goddesses, ziggurats, temples, and priests in Mesopotamia;
12. Describe how a civilization evolves and changes over time
21. Identify Hatshepsut as a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and explain her significance as pharaoh
26. Define monotheism as the belief in one God
34. Explain that, according to an important story in the Torah, Moses received the Ten Commandments from God and that the Ten Commandments are rules that tell people how to behave or live their lives
41. Identify that Christians believe Jesus to be the Messiah and the son of God
47. Identify the Qur’an as the holy book of Islam, containing laws for daily living and many stories that appear in Jewish and Christian holy books
"Timmy, what was the impact of the Code of Hammurabi in Mesopotamian society?"
(deer in the headlights look) "Um...I like ice cream!"
I think we learned about that in fourth or fifth grade. Not opposed to that so long as they aren’t dropping George Washington and the Constitution to make time for it (which, I’m sure they are)
That has got to be the most stupid thing I have heard of since Shelia Jackson Lee was suggested for Secretary of Homeland Security.
Why would first graders need to know about anything in the middle east at that point of their lives. Knowledge of the judo-Christian history and influence should have already been conveyed to them in simple form in Sunday school. What the heck is wrong with teaching them about something closer to home and more important to them, like American history!? Sheesh.
Yeah I too learned about it later on in grade school. The code was the first written down series of laws. I remember the nuns teaching it in parochial school I went to grades 1-8. Then 9&10 in a catholic HS with Marist Brothers. They tought us all about history both world and US. and how to be a patriotic American. Pretty good education all the way around.
It depends on how this is being presented. First grade is the time for memorization of facts so that the student has pegs upon which to hang future knowledge. In our home school, children as young as 4 memorize the timeline of history, focusing on the major events included above.
Nothing was taken from the Koran coloring book and used in the Bible or Torah, those books were written FIRST.
Sixth grade here. Too complex and too foreign for first-graders. Most of them are very concrete thinkers at that age and anything they say about how a civilization evolves will be mere parroting.
This is ridiculous, most of the kids still can barely write their names and a lot still wet the bed.
I do not beleive these are real questions.
There’s no way this stuff should be in 1st grade. First graders need to learn something about what is expected of them here and now, that is, the virtues. And connected with this, things such as honesty in political leaders, honesty in their selection, voting mechanisms, etc., mostly expressed through stories about the persons of important and inspiring figures such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
This is obviously directed at teachers and is an attempt to prepare Americans for the imposition of Islam, since even though the code of Hammurabi pre-dated Islam by many centuries and is actually rejected by Islamic law, the preponderance of references to the Middle East (with one modest mention of Judaism, which influenced our culture much more than did the Code of Hammurabi) and total neglect of Greece and Rome is clearly meant to blank out the West entirely.
When I was in school, we discussed the Egyptians and others around 4th or 5th grade, but in the context of what we already knew (which was the US and Greco-Roman culture, with the children individually knowing about Judeo-Christian culture through their religious instruction).
Fourth grade (in NYC) was devoted almost entirely to local state history, and I remember really liking it. We went on lots of field trips...
But the “Common Core” has nothing to do with reality and everything to do with indoctrination.
First graders will learn anything you’ll read to them or show them a video on. Egypt and Mesopotamia are cool. (In Sunday School, we call these subjects “Genesis” and “Exodus.”) I’d choose ancient history over environmentalist claptrap and “Anything’s a Family!” any day, if it was an either/or.
On the other hand, maybe that’s why my kids are so weird.
47. Identify the Qur’an as the holy book of Islam, containing laws for daily living and many stories that appear in the Nazi holy book, Mein Kampf.
There, fixed it.
bump
They teach that the Bible is archaic and the Koran is holy. They teach that Christians are intolerant and that Islam is peaceful.
Teaching the Christian focuses on Crusades and witch burnings
Teaching Islam has them dress up and hear nice things about their culture
This is what they do in classes these days
Last year I taught 6th grade social students (focus on ancient civilizations) and they are questions I would expect them to answer on exams.
BTW our text book was excellent (Glencoe) There were entire chapters on the rise of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
This looks like middle school material.
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