O came home all excited, saying, "You're gonna be mad, cuz we sang a religious song in chorus." It turned out to be something involving Moses and Egypt. So we had a teachable moment about my interpretation of the separation of church and state and how certain things--music, history of religion--are a part of the culture and therefore a valid part of the curriculum, and it's only when the line is crossed toward exclusion or proselytizing that I take issue. (I've made lots of friends complaining about the insane emphasis on certain holidays in schools.) But she was disappointed, because I think she'd pictured me marching into school and b*tchslapping the choral director.
Then she wondered why her social studies teacher had laughed at her. The teacher had pointed to a map "somewhere east of the Mediterranean" and asked the class why they supposed we started our study of history there, and my little darling piped up, "Because of the war." Seems that the correct answer had to do with "it's like Meso-america, but with a P" (Mesopotamia) and the Cradle of Civilization and obscure, tired stuff like that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
How you do irk the history major! My son's main history text this year (as a junior) is a cartoon history of the U.S. And I'm not talking political cartoons. At least O is getting some HISTORY.
It's called "irony."
Post a Comment