Should 1st graders be required to know about the Code of Hammurabi? (Common Core)

Engageny.org ^ | July 31, 2013 | Me

[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

[teeman8r]

when i think about the damage our education system is doing to our future, i must admit, i still wet my bed.

[discostu]

You do realize that the code of Hammurabi was written in 1772 BC, a little over 2000 YEARS before the forming of Islam (600 AD ish) right?

[Kip Russell]

You do realize that the code of Hammurabi was written in 1772 BC, a little over 2000 YEARS before the forming of Islam (600 AD ish) right?

Forget it, he's rolling.

[Sawdring]

I Like Turtles!

[9YearLurker]

IMO it’s the sort of thing that can placate parents who worry about rigor in their children’s education. This includes parents whose kids aren’t learning the basics, however, because the pedagogy includes exposing all students to the material, including those who have fallen behind.

For many schools, most of the kids have fallen behind. But rather than requiring them to first master the basics of reading and writing. Those kids will only be the more confused as they are expected to retain detailed information on esoteric subjects they can only have recited to them because they can’t yet read.

Of course, this will assure endless job creation for teachers unions, since more reading tutors and the like will be required all they while these kids progress through elementary school.

It’s a shame.

[Yosemitest]

You boys never went to Bible School, did you?



Isaac And Ishmael
Excerpt from ‘The Family of Abraham’

No one can underestimate the importance of Abraham to the three great monotheistic faiths of the world, but unlike Jews and Christians, Muslims claim their identity with Abraham through Hagar and Ishmael rather than through Sarah and Isaac. Muhammad sought to give legitimacy to Islam by identifying with Abraham and his other son, Ishmael. And this is the root of the alienation that exists between Christians and Muslims, both of whom claim to be the heirs of Abraham.

(Hagar is not mentioned by name in the Quran. But the Hadith, that is, the Traditions, correctly name her as the mother of Ishmael. In the pilgrim rites at Mecca, all Muslims re-enact Hagar's desperate search for water as they run between the hills of Safa and Marwa. The search is climaxed as they reach the well of Zamzam where they drink in memory of God's mercy to Hagar.) Ishmael is mentioned several times in the Quran and is powerfully memorialized in the rites connected with the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Taking a few steps back into the Bible and the story of Abraham, Isaac, Sara and Ishmael we know that Ishmael was the first-born. Its too long a story to go into, but the crux of the story was when Sara got pregnant Ishmael made fun of his little half-brother. That was too much for Sarah. She made an irrevocable decision: ". . . Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac" Hagar and Ishmael were provisioned and dismissed from service. Who can gage the depth of bitterness and resentment that must have filled the hearts of Hagar and Ishmael?

The source of the Lord's prophetic utterance (“He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Gen. 16:12).) concerning the behavior of Ishmael is rooted in these events.

Is there any linkage between the characteristics of Ishmael and that of Islam, which has embraced him as one of their patriarchs? As strange as it may seem, there may be. History seems to bear this out.

Hostility can either focus either inwardly, causing psychosomatically induced illnesses or suicidal tendencies, or it will project itself outward on some designated hate object. It can be triggered to commit acts of violence, either against a person (homicide) or against a people (genocide or war).

Ishmael's hostility and propensity to violence were rooted in the sin of his own scoffing and jealous attitude towards his brother Isaac. Muslims today are those in whom this vicious cycle has not been broken. They have voluntarily chosen to identify with Ishmael and have, consciously or unconsciously, embraced the spirit of that ancient and bitter rivalry. The present-day animosity of Islam towards Jews and Christians, in this author's opinion, can be traced to the Islamic embrace of the spirit of Ishmael.

Ishmael was to be strong, wild and free; and we might add, he also would be difficult, holding his brothers in contempt, despising town life, loving his freedom to the point of not being able to get along with his own kin or anyone else. As one commentary puts it: "The Ishmaelites live in an incessant state of feud . . . with one another or with their neighbours.

Unfortunately, from Ishmael's line sprung a man, Muhammad (570-632), who initially founded Islam as a religion for the Arab people. Later he tried to universalize it and impose it on all mankind. In Islam, Jesus is reduced to a mere prophet; and by making himself equal to Jesus and ultimately superior to Him, Muhammad perpetuated the spirit of rivalry, not reconciliation. The roots of this present-day alienation go back to the tragedy of events that led to the breakup of Abraham's family. Islam became the venue for the aggrieved and alienated members of this family to redress the shame of that early expulsion from the tents of Abraham. Even more than that, Islam is committed to the attempt to dominate the world.

Muhammad was a true descendant of Ishmael. While trying desperately to tie into the genealogical tree of Biblical prophets, he fiercely maintained his independence as an "Arab prophet" with an "Arabic Qu’ran. He stoutly maintained that he was neither of the Jews nor the Christians but of the "Religion of Abraham". In taking this position, Muhammad, attempting to establish his own identity as a legitimate prophet, borrowed from the traditions of each, as well as separated himself from both. The final voice of God to the human race.

At first, Muhammad attempted to woo both Jews and Christians. When he was unsuccessful, as neither would subscribe to the idea of a pagan God, he not only turned away from them, but in the case of the Jews, after dispossessing two of the tribes, he banished them, and massacred all the men of a third tribe and made slaves of the women and children. In the case of the Christians, he also reduced them to second-class citizens (Dhimmis) and attempted to destroy the very heart of the Christian message. Having made himself odious to both Jews and Christians, Muhammad then took the step of enshrining violence forever among his followers by sanctifying vengeance (Q. 42:39) and fighting (Q. 2:216; 4:74; 9:5; 61:4). (There are more than fifty separate references in the Quran on the duties and conditions of Holy War).

In some mysterious way, it appears that the characteristics of Ishmael, as described in Genesis 16:12, have survived to this day in the lives of those who have so closely identified with him through the life of Muhammad and his teachings in the religion of Islam.

As much as we would like to see Judaism, Christianity and Islam as branches of one big happy "family of Abraham," it cannot be. The stumbling block is Jesus Christ, the "seed of Abraham." The issue between Islam and Christianity has to do with the way Muslims have departed from the Scriptures and denigrated Christ. In fact, they have gone far beyond doctrinal differences; they have set up a rival religion that seeks to supplant Christianity. Islam has taken an adamant stance against the very heart of the Gospel message, including denial of the deity of Christ, incarnation, atonement, the crucifixion and the question of God as Father, Son and Spirit.

Index To Articles On Islam

Islam's roots goes all the way back to Gen. 16:12, that's 1913 BC for you idiots who don't study the Bible.

[rusty schucklefurd]

You guys are all missing the big picture here. It’s not whether this material is 1st Grade appropriate, obviously it isn’t, or whether it’s good material - the big problem with this “Common Core” stuff is that it is a Federal Curriculum!!

This is the first federal generated curriculum. In spite of all the homeschooler advocates dissing public schools, this Common Core crap is the first federally generated national curriculum! So, it doesn’t matter if it is good stuff or not - the Federal Government should NOT be generating curriculum.

And another danger is that this “Common Core” curriculum is being adopted by many private schools, as well as many Catholic private schools.

Some state governors are rejecting this Common Core for that very reason. You need to contact your state governor and legislators, your private schools, even Catholic schools and tell them to reject this stuff no matter how “good” or bad it is. It must be rejected because this is, for the first time, a curriculum that has been directly generated by the federal government. Each state previously defined its own curriculum for the students of their particular state. It was voted on by their state’s legislature and implemented by the local school boards (who also had a say in the curriculum).

This is by-passing each state’s control and passing it directly to the federal government. This is a horrible development that must be stopped by each governor and each state’s legislature. It is a Trojan horse of the worst kind. Previously the federal Dept of Education indirectly influenced state curriculum through the disbursement of federal money, but now this is direct control. This truly is federal indoctrination on a direct, no holds barred level.

[Yosemitest]

"the big problem with this “Common Core” stuff is that it is a Federal Curriculum!!"

Pull you children out of the federal ( READ COMMUNIST) school system, and HOME SCHOOL !
If they try to stop you, apply the Second Amendment to all who try.

[discostu]

Nice long quote, which has NOTHING to do with the situation. Since ALL 3 major religions have that root, and the Code was written by somebody who was DEAD 2300 before there was actual Islam not just “roots” in Genesis and in life worshiped the Babylonian gods. Why give them the credit when they so demonstrably had NOTHING to do with it.

[BlueDragon]

On the other hand, maybe that’s why my kids are so weird.

Maybe it's those seasoned croutons. We can leave the arugula out of it. It's innocent enough, regardless of the some of the snobby, pretentious company that keeps it.

[Fire_on_High]

About 3/4 of that is quite simply past the cognitive ability of the vast majority of first graders! I see two things I think they’d be able to manage, and both relate to physical objects rather than any sort of abstraction. Children that young have very limited capability for abstraction.

Also, I’m honestly a little skeptical on the wisdom of teaching about the Revolutionary War and why it happened for another year or two. Lifelong impressions of who is considered an ally and who is an enemy are formed that young, without the capacity to understand that Britain is a valued friend now. In other words, this seems like it has the potential to imprint a dislike and distrust of Britain deeply at an age where it’s not likely to ever be questioned, the same way as Palestinians indoctrinate their children to hate Jews.

[rusty schucklefurd]

re: “Pull you children out of the federal ( READ COMMUNIST) school system, and HOME SCHOOL !”

The public school system is not equivalent with communist indoctrination, no matter what Wintertime and you say. Are there communist wackos teaching in the public school system? Yes, I’m sure there are, but FAR MORE communists are teaching in universities and colleges than in the public school system.

The issue is that Common Core is a federally generated curriculum. I don’t care if it advocated prayer in schools and mandated students to actually learn the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the Federal government has no business developing school curriculum at all. That is un-Constitutional!

Besides, I thought you said that this Common Core stuff was teaching Islam - that isn’t exactly communism is it?

Now, does Common Core lend itself to a collectivist and communist strategy? Absolutely it does. My point is whether it’s teaching communism or capitalism or Christianity or Islam is beside the point - the Federal Government should not be developing ANY curriculum because that is dangerous AND un-Constitutional.

[Tax-chick]

It probably has to do with prolonged association with dragons, too.

[dmz]

WRONG !
It’s shoving ISLAM down our throats.
Anyone who does such, shall be punished!

<><><><

I’m sorry, but what does Hammurabi have to do with Islam, given that Hammuarabi’s code was about 2300 years prior to the creation of Islam.

[Vermont Lt]

Not for nuthin, but the entire legal system is based on the “Code.”

In a context of how we developed from the Ancient Civilizations of the Middle East, this is not unreasonable. Of course, it needs to be kept in its proper context.

First Grade is probably a little early. I recall learning about the introduction of farming and what not, some time in grammar school. But the whole experience is a little foggy.

[Vermont Lt]

Actually the foundations of Islam were, at least partially, the Torah, and the bible. Abraham, Moses and Jesus are considered prophets in Islam.

I am NOT defending Islam as an equivalent religion—but Islam is a religion that came AFTER Judeo-Christian faiths.

[kabumpo]

That was third and fourth grade for me.

[dmz]

Maybe *YOU* need some history lessons.

<><><><<>

Surely you have a link to a youtube video (they seem to be your specialty) that explores the specific links between the Code of Hammurabi and the development of Islam. Because nothing you’ve posted so far on this topic shows any connection whatsoever.

[BlueDragon]

Tame them with breath mints? Coax them into only breathing fire when the steaks need grilling, or the house needs to be heated.

Who needs a guard dog when "here be dragons"? They might not be as snuggly as a terrier, but their bite is worse than any thundering herd of chihuahuas...

[MrsEmmaPeel]

Supreme Court Building

South Wall Frieze

Close up of Hammurabi and Moses on South Wall Frieze