Email: Perdomo@carson.k12.nv.us
Posted on 11/03/2005 6:15:19 AM PST by Fiji Hill
IS TEACHING TRADITIONAL “HISTORY” HISTORY IN CARSON CITY’S HIGH SCHOOL?
Meet Joe Enge.Joe is an award-winning, 15-year veteran history teacher in Carson City who has, among other things, written two history textbooks and served on the 1997 task force which drew up Nevada’s history standards. But according to school district administrators, he’s a “bad” teacher.
You see, Joe has this crazy idea that American history should include our colonial period, as well as the Revolutionary War period. You know, where the Founding Fathers fought for independence from England and wrote the greatest governing document the world has ever known - the United States Constitution. You know, that period of time which gave us patriot heroes such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Tom Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Sam Adams, Paul Revere, John Paul Jones, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Hancock.
And Joe has REALLY ticked off the local school district bureaucrats and the education establishment.
You see, unbeknownst to most parents in Carson City, the school district believes that high school American history should start with the Civil War era, not the days of America’s Founding. Indeed, the curriculum forced on history teachers at Carson High School ignores pre-Civil War history completely - other than a little optional “refresher” at the beginning of the school year or if you’re in an Advanced Placement class.
Joe Enge has fought the district’s History-Lite curriculum for the past three years by teaching ALL of his students ALL of America’s history, starting with the colonial period (remember the Pilgrims?).
In addition, Joe believes...get this...that the teacher should teach and the students should learn. He embraces and practices the “traditional” teacher-centered method of education, as opposed to the fashionable student-centered “discovery learning” method currently all the rage in San Francisco and Portland. What a trouble-maker.
So the school district wants to get rid of him.
Joe’s supervisors - including Carson High’s principal, Fred Perdomo - have given Joe unsatisfactory evaluations in retaliation for his refusal to teach a Founding-free version of American history. And although Joe’s a “tenured” teacher, three such bad evaluations would be grounds for running this maverick out of town on a rail (students would have to read Revolutionary War-era history to know just what this phrase means). So Joe challenged the administrative evaluations; however, the Carson City School District Superintendent, Mary Pierszynski, sided with the principal. Big surprise there.
Last month as part of a mediation effort, Ms. Pierszynski offered to buy Joe off by paying him one year’s salary if he’d quit. And considering the pure hell this one-man fight has put his family through, Joe actually considered it. But at the last minute, Pierszynski withdrew her offer, and now the dispute is moving to binding arbitration. Which means if Pierszynski’s ruling backing Perdomo’s evaluations stands, this Fulbright Scholar and Madison Fellowship award-winner will likely be tossed out on his kiester - and his Carson High students will finally be taught that American history began when Lincoln freed the slaves.
Of course, the teacher’s union could always ride in and defend this experienced, professional classroom educator. Yeah, right. Fat chance. You see, Joe has chosen not to join the teacher’s union, so these “principled” defenders of teaching professionals are more than happy to see the guy thrown to the wolves.
This entire episode is an outrage. Joe Enge is the kind of teacher we should WANT educating our kids. He loves history. He knows history. And he’s darned good at teaching history. Indeed, Enge’s spirit of resistance to this great injustice would make our Founding Fathers - who the Carson City School District would prefer to pretend never existed - proud. Especially Thomas Jefferson who (not that Carson City high school students would know it) once said, “The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive.”
It’s time for Superintendent Pierszynski, Principal Perdomo and the entire Carson City education establishment to call off the dogs and let professional American history teacher Joe Enge do what he’s been trained to do and has been successfully doing for 15 long years: TEACH AMERICAN HISTORY. The FULL American history, not the district’s “Reader’s Digest” version.
Please help keep American history IN ITS ENTIRETY alive at Carson High School by signing this petition urging the Carson City School District to allow Joe Enge to do what he’s been trained to do: Teach ALL of American history.
Chuck Muth
President
Citizen Outreach
Unbelievable. Public education is a joke. Teach them to put condoms on cucumbers but don't teach them the history of the U.S.. Make sure they all have high self-esteem but don't worry if they can't read or solve simple math problems or write a paragraph. Just so long as they feel good about themselves and are free to express themselves.
I signed the petition.
What the need is our book "A Patriot's History of the United States" (Sentinel, 2004): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1595230017/qid=1129831754/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-1474309-6729415?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
More brilliant legal opinions from the 9th "Circus" Court.
Teach that the Muslims were among the first Slave traders, walking the Africans East out of Africa.
The seafaring nations then took over the slave trade,( Portugal, Spain, Holland, England, France,) transporting the Africans to the new world Sugar producing areas,mainly the Caribbean, Brazil and north South America.
The united States, as such, had a very small part, if any, in the actual selling and transportation of Slave from Africa.
5 percent of all the Slaves that came to the New World arrived in the United States.
The perception, as taught in the American schools is that the United States is totally responsible for the Slave Trade. This perception is far from true History. The United States was basically Abolitionist from its inception, making slave trade illegal in 1806.
This is obviously not how history is taught in the United States when you see minorities Adopting the Muslim religion and taking the names of the most egregious Slave traders.
Actually, it's a technique that should be used sparingly in history education AT THE HIGHER LEVEL (AP or college level) AFTER already learning basic American and Western history and philosophy and religion.
A successful application might be to read the original founding documents and use them to see where the thoughts leadig to the creation of the Constitution came from - what great ideas, actions, or documents in history led to the creation of these documents, and promote research by the kids ?
Think about it - if you learn about the Magna Charta, you would see an example of people holding their government accountable to immutable laws.
At the basic level, it's a waste of time.
The very purpose of 'modern and progressive' public schooling is to destroy the student's sense of history and self.
Socialism requires sacrifice!
This is the guy who shouyld be the Sec. of Education, IMHO-
Hey, Mr. President- give this guy a job!
According to many teaching American history is "too white" and so is not done.
In the high schools in my county, US history starts with the Jazz age and the unions throwing over the bosses.
Joe Enge should see if he can join forces with Leonard Magruder. They will do well joining forces.
http://www.i-served.com/v-v-a-r.org/083002_HowTheCampusLiedAboutVietnam.html
ping
>>>>The seafaring nations then took over the slave trade,( Portugal, Spain, Holland, England, France,) transporting the Africans to the new world Sugar producing areas,mainly the Caribbean, Brazil and north South America.
Oh no no no.
My children's history books show that France had nothing to do with slave trade. They tried to put an end to slave trade.
Really. Not joking.
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