Literacy Progress: From artwork and back.

Literacy Progress: From artwork and back
by Norman E. Hooben

The Magura Cave in Bulgaria
Image Source

There are some who believe that primitive drawings found in caves in various parts of Europe are some of the greatest artworks ever... not me, I think they are what they are; primitive!  When early man (or woman) wanted to tell a story or express and idea in other than the spoken word they used drawings because that's all they knew at the time.  Somebody discovered that if you take a piece of charcoal leftover from the fire  (discovered earlier) and rubbed it against something that it left a mark and thus was the beginning of some of the greatest artworks ever...that is if you want to believe that.  My personal opinion is that once they discovered the art form it was simple graffiti or anything that would amuse the user for their own personal gratification of seeing something developed by their own hands.   Over time they may have become more artistic with their drawings and some of the art may be the source of a story they wanted to tell but by the time they got proficient someone else came along and invented an alphabet.  And with the alphabet designated for messaging and story telling the really great artworks emerged but that's another story. 
So we as a people progressed through the ages with some learning to write while others still had to depend on pictures.  A great example of this was observed during the time I was tracing my family tree.  At the church where I found my great grandparent's marriage records, I noticed that every one's entries were by they same handwriting.  The caretaker explained that not everyone knew how to write in the mid 1800's and a scribe was used to enter the names next to the 'X' signed by the people who got married.   Even in colonial America there were many people who could not read or write so pictures were used to identify a business or trade.

Quill Feather

This could have been a mortar and pestle to symbolize a pharmacist or a silver teapot to identify the local silversmith and for those that wanted to write but could not there was always the local scribe identified by the quill feather and inkwell.  Eventually most of us progressed from understanding that ancient artwork to being able to read and write such that by the year 2008 we had a 99.9% literacy rate here in the United States (so says the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook).
Outwardly all the above verbiage seems pretty impressive.  That is until you look around and see what's happening in our schools and the quality of education one gets today as compared to just a few short years ago.   With the advent of computers there's definitely a decline in the use of cursive writing.  I read sometime ago that Scotland has now re-emphasized the use of cursive writing...or re-teaching what could be considered a loss of ancient artwork (cursive writing an artwork...why not).  Also, at some fast food eateries the employees do not have to know how much an item costs, all they have to do is punch the cash register button that has the picture of the item being purchased on the keypad.
Without getting into the new Common Core standards where the state of Massachusetts had to lower it's standards in order to comply I'd like to add one more example of where we are going if this downward trend continues.  The following was sent to me in an email and with a jokingly response I was going to end it there... But then again, is this were we are headed?

 

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Video of the day...

Common Core... The White Privilege Connection

A lot has been said lately about Common Core the new national educational standard (Whatever happened to states rights guaranteed by the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution?) being forced upon American Children without the consent of the parents.  Some of the backers of Common Core are from various socialist, one-world-government organizations such as the Gates Foundation and the Muslim Brotherhood (see Common Core...the ultimate goal), but like the Affordable Care Act (AKA ObamaCare) we never seem to know the authors of these dictatorial edicts...that is until now.  Here we have a so-called professor (I wouldn't give guy the title of --- ---- [oh, I can't say that here, this is a family show] never mind the professor bit.) who openly admits why it was that he helped write these ridiculus standards.  You can call them standards as long as long as you precede them with the word 'lower' for thats really what they are.  In fact, the state of Massachusetts where the highest standards in education dominated the nations schools had to lower their standards in order to comply with Common Core, but that's another story.  Wait till you hear the reason why Professor Puke (real name, Pook) decided write the dumbing down of America ←that's what  I call it.  This is what he said, “The reason why I helped write the standards and the reason why I am here today is that as a white male in society I am given a lot of privilege that I didn’t earn.”  Can you believe that?  Crazy, huh!  See and hear it for yourself, the video is below.  ~ Norman E. Hooben
ps: Let me throw in another of my two cents. The more I read about Common Core the more I see it as a means to lower ourselves into something we are not.  But if you're on the side of the politic elite this is an ideal means to establish more control over all the little people... Are you a little person?  If not stand up and fight back, we don't need Common Core.

From The Blaze
Just Listen to the Audience’s Reaction When Teacher Reveals Why He Helped Write Common Core
by Jason Howerton
A teacher who claims he helped write the controversial Common Core State Standards informed a stunned audience at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics on Monday night that he decided to get involved because he is a “white male” who has been “given a lot of privilege that I didn’t earn.”

Dr. David Pook

Dr. David Pook, identified as a professor at Granite State College and chair of the history department at the Derryfield School in Manchester, New Hampshire, had just been introduced at the event when he delved into his ties to Common Core.
“The reason why I helped write the standards and the reason why I am here today is that as a white male in society I am given a lot of privilege that I didn’t earn,” he said.

 

In new video flagged by Campus Reform, the audience can be heard gasping and laughing, seemingly surprised by the comment.
Pook went on to say all kids deserve an “equal opportunity to learn how to read” and the same advantages he had.
AchieveTheCore.com, a pro-Common Core website, states that Pook “worked closely with Susan Pimentel and the Council of Chief State Officers in drafting the Core Standards for English Language Arts, and currently has several projects underway with Student Achievement Partners on work aligned with the CCSS.”
As Campus Reform’s Caleb Bonham notes, the Derryfield School where Pook works does not use the Common Core State Standards and has a student body that is 91 percent white.

Other Must-Read Stories

• Watch What Happens When a Democratic Rep. Decides She Doesn't Want to Answer Questions About Benghazi
• You'll Want to Read the Hilarious Response One Second-Grader Reportedly Wrote On His Common Core Math Assignment
• This Could Be One of the Best Cases Ever Made Against Common Core - No One Expected It to Come From a High School Student

We Are Americans

 

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Obama and the American main stream media continue to push the world towards World War III…they have the soul of prostitutes, so dirty that the stench has covered the world. ~ Anonymous

 

Obama Is Not An American

School ~ What's going on in your district?

We* have known for some time that Saudi Arabia has infused millions of dollars into the American educational system in an attempt to cement the idea that Islam is a religion of peace into the minds of the current generation of complacent students, teachers, and school boards.  If it were not for concerned parents most of this indoctrination would go unnoticed.  The following exposé was initiated by one such parent and is re-posted here to alert like-minded parents who may not be familiar of what's going on at their local school board meetings.  And although the commentary does not cover some of the teachings of Islam I thought it would be a good idea to present a short summary of what their Quran insist everyone follow including your children.  (Note: This summary was clipped from one of the comments on an earlier Planck's Constant post.):

There are 164 Quranic teachings of Jihad. (Quran 29.6, 29.53, 22.52); Pre-Pubescent Child Rape (65:4); Rape (4.3); Gang Rape (24:13); Sex Slavery (4:24); Torture (22.19-22); Whipping Adulators (24.2); Amputation and Crucifixion (5:33); Beheading (8:12, 47:4); Wife Beating (4:34); Inferiority of Women (2.228, 4.11, 4.176); Women are Sex Objects (2.223); Mass murder (2:191, 9:5,); Human sacrifice – Killing kafirs (47.4); Terrorizing kafirs (8.60, 3.151); Immoral Paradise guaranteeing accession to Paradise for Muslim men who kill kafirs or who die in the process of trying to kill kafirs (9.111); Massacre (8.67, 7.4); Genocide (8.17); Theft and Robbery (Entire Chapter 8 called Booty); Believe that all other religions must submit to Islam (2.103, 2.286, 3.19, 48.16); Believes in your children are your enemies (9.23, 64.15); Revenge (5.45); Hate (5.60, 2.61); Slavery (2.178); Extortion (9:29); Lying (3:28, 5:51).

Meanwhile check out this story from Florida and be advised that its going on elsewhere...a good reason to attend your local school board meetings. ~ Norman E. Hooben
* "We" obviously does not include everybody and if it did not include you it should have...  You can blame your mainstream communist controlled media for not keeping you informed...it's intentional that you do not know!

From Planck's Constant
Florida Textbooks Leave Out Nasty Parts Of Nazi History
By Bernie

Imagine how any decent person would feel if their child came home from school with a history book that devoted a number of chapters to Nazi Germany from 1930 to 1945 but left out details of the Holocaust and never mentioned the brutality and barbarity of their military conquests. Now imagine a further insult: The American and European efforts to vanquish this evil are given short shrift.

Then suppose you were told that if you objected to this travesty, that you were intolerant and a Naziphobe - how would you feel?
Well, it happened in Florida regarding Islam:

BARE NAKED ISLAM, FLORIDA: Another public school board under fire for using a history textbook that promotes Islam to the virtual exclusion of every other religion.

What to you want to bet this is one of the Saudi government supplied (free of charge) textbooks? Two Brevard School Board members are reviewing a world history textbook used in ninth grade Advance Placement classes amid concerns that it is biased in favor of Islam — at the expense of Christianity and Judaism.
Florida Today: House Representative Ritch Workman and individuals from two citizens groups spoke against the textbook, Prentice Hall World History, at the Brevard School Board meeting Tuesday, citing examples of phrases and passages they believe show bias.
“Our children deserve facts and accuracy, not history being revised for our own failure or desire to not offend one culture or another,” said Workman, a Republican from Melbourne.
The textbook, which has been used in Brevard for the past three years, devotes a chapter to Islam, with sections including the rise of Islam and the building of the Muslim empire. Conversely, Christianity and Judaism do not have their own chapters and instead are referenced in paragraphs embedded in other sections.
Workman also expressed concern about how historic events are portrayed and what phrases are used. For example, he said the textbook reads Jesus proclaims himself to be the Messiah but declares Muhammad becomes a prophet.

Fortunately for students the Florida Legislature passed a school textbook bill last week that would give parents a chance to object to textbooks used at public schools (1).
As usual, the Florida chapter of the terror-aligned Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-FL) called those who object to Islamic propaganda as bigoted and Islamophobic (2).
Let me be clear, I do not want books banned nor do I want to censor educational textbooks - what I want is balance. I don't mind hundreds of pages devoted to Islam as long as the truth, the entire truth, is told about that vile cult. As I wrote in a comment at Bare Naked Islam:

I believe we should have a 1001 pages about Islam in our history textbooks – but only if they print the truth about Islam’s butchery, savagery, subjugation of women and children, the beheading of those who merely want to change their religion, the stoning of women who report they were raped, the murder of hundreds of millions, the forced conversions of even more, the razing of an entire country, the current persecution of Christians in every Muslim land, and the pedophilia and brutality of their most esteemed prophet.
If it’s not the truth, then don’t waste money and paper printing lies.

 

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ENDNOTES

(1):

MiamiHerald.com, 1 May 2014, Fla. Legislature passes school textbook bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Parents would have a chance to object to textbooks used at public schools under a bill passed Thursday by the Florida Legislature.The bill was inspired both by ongoing criticisms about the state's transition to new school standards as well as a dispute in Volusia County over a textbook that some parents wanted pulled over complaints that it offered a pro-Islamic worldview.
But the legislation will not eliminate state review of textbooks as originally sought by sponsors of the bill. Instead, school boards will continue to decide whether to review textbooks locally, or continue to rely on the state-approved list.
Sen. Alan Hays, R-Umatilla and sponsor of the bill, said it would finally give parents a way to object to textbooks without having to complain to legislators or state education officials.
"They don't have to come to Tallahassee," Hays said. "They can appeal right there at the local level."
The Senate in April narrowly passed a bill sponsored by Hays that would have mandated that each school district review and choose textbooks.

(2):

YouTube, CAIR-FL Decries Bigoted Attacks on Teaching of Islam

 

Hillary: All It Takes Is One

Its almost impossible to educate the American voter...although brainwashing from the left seems to work out just fine.  I may have sounded like I was joking when I said, "If 100% of the voters voted for Mickey Mouse, Hillary Clinton would still win by 51% of the vote."  But its no joke...its reality!  How else do you think the current occupant of the White House got there?   Back when Hillary and her co-conspirator Ted Kennedy was aiding and abetting illegal aliens, I quoted the law that should have had her arrested...not a single reaction from anyone.   The law is what it is, we are a nation of laws and whatever else you and I have to contend with Hillary Clinton is exempt...or so it appears.  I don't know how many times she has broken the law and/or reneged on her Constitutional oath and no one has held her accountable.  Worse yet, for every scandal or impropriety her popularity increases.  Why?  Has the American voter become that far removed from reality that nothing matters anymore...even if that 'nothing' means giving up our sovereignty and become slaves to the politic elite.  What gives?  Well I'll tell you what gives and that's when just one out of 193 murderers approaches your back door, or one out of 426 sex perverts comes after you or one of your children, or one out of 303 kidnappers kidnaps one of your relatives, or just one criminal out of 1,075 assaults you or your loved ones or one out of 9,187 drug dealers sells your teenager the high of a lifetime and last but not least, when just one drunk driver out of 16,070 runs over you and kills you!  Hillary Clinton is just one out of many politic elite that wants to destroy the United States of America and all it stands for...liberty and justice for all.  Hillary and her ilk have many schemes in which she plans to implement her nationalistic control over the rest of us.  One such underhanded plot has already been met with her stamp of approval but it has been under reported by the main stream media but you can read it here (see article below).  Now you probably have not kept track of all those numbers I mentioned above and I wouldn't want to wish any ill will to come your way but all it takes is one...and when it does, don't blame me, blame Hillary. ~ Norman E. Hooben

Source for the following: PowerLine
Hillary Clinton and the release of thousands of criminal aliens

Here’s an under reported scandal brought to my attention by Bill Otis. CBS News reports:

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released 36,007 convicted criminal aliens last year who were awaiting the outcome of deportation proceedings, according to a report issued Monday by the Center for Immigration Studies.

The group of released criminals includes those convicted of homicide, sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault, according to the report, which cites a document prepared by the ICE. . . .

According to the report, the 36,007 individuals released represented nearly 88,000 convictions, including:

•193 homicide convictions
•426 sexual assault convictions
•303 kidnapping convictions
•1,075 aggravated assault convictions
•1,160 stolen vehicle convictions
•9,187 dangerous drug convictions
•16,070 drunk or drugged driving convictions

In effect, the administration has, as Bill Otis puts it, “unleashed its own crime wave.” But who within the administration was responsible for this for wanton indifference to public safety?
One responsible party is Hillary Clinton. Mark Krikorian of the Center for Immigration Studies explains why:

The Supreme Court [has] held that the federal government can detain aliens for deportation up to six months but generally must release the alien into the United States after that point if there is “no significant likelihood of removal in the reasonably foreseeable future.” One of the main reasons such a situation arises is that a criminal alien’s home country will refuse to take its nationals back.

Why would a criminal alien’s home country take the criminal back? Because federal law requires the secretary of state to stop issuing visas to the citizens of any country that refuses to take back its nationals.

Refusing to issue visas to citizens of a foreign country would provide a powerful incentive for that country to take back its nationals and thus create a significant likelihood of removal in the foreseeable future. This, in turn, would enable the U.S. to avoid releasing criminal aliens onto our streets.

But according to Krikorian, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry have ignored the law and continued issuing visas to citizens of countries that refuse to take back their citizens. Apparently, they don’t wish to risk alienating these countries. They would rather see dangerous criminals on the loose in the United States.

It’s a strange and irresponsible preference. More than that, it’s an illegal one. 8 U.S.C. Section 1253(d) commands that:

On being notified by the [DHS Secretary] that the government of a foreign country denies or unreasonably delays accepting an alien who is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of that country after the [DHS Secretary] asks whether the government will accept the alien under this section, the Secretary of State shall order consular officers in that foreign country to discontinue granting immigrant visas or nonimmigrant visas, or both, to citizens, subjects, nationals, and residents of that country until the [DHS Secretary] notifies the Secretary that the country has accepted the alien.

(emphasis added)

In sum, the lawless behavior of the State Department, beginning under Hillary Clinton, has created a threat to public safety in America. That will be worth remembering when criminal aliens released because of the State Department’s unwillingness to follow the law commit grisly crimes in the future.

Hillary Clinton might be a shoe-in for the presidency if only she had done no harm as Secretary of State. Having failed in multiple ways to meet this low standard, she is not a shoe-in.

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