From ED in ‘08:

This week marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the landmark education report, A Nation at Risk, which warned that America’s weak education system was undermining American prosperity, security and society.

Their report A Stagnant Nation: Why American Students are Still at Risk is a must-read:

A Stagnant Nation: Why American Students are Still at Risk shows the lack of progress in the school reform movement since the 1983 release of the National Commission on Excellence in Education’s letter to the American people, A Nation at Risk.

ED in 08’s report card explains that key recommendations related to time, teaching and standards have yet to be realized.

• Read the executive summary.
• Read the full report.
• Read the press release.

I’m impressed - ED in ‘08 is really starting to turn things around.

The prescriptions and clarion calls sounded in A Nation at Risk have gone largely unheeded. The report wasn’t perfect, but it identified successfully many of the ills that spent 25 more years further eroding public education.

There are several reasons why Risk didn’t take root immediately - labor interests, teacher education programs, perceptions of and measures of accountability, etc. And, some would argue, a generation has been lost as a result of this failure.

That can’t be helped at this point.

But now we can look to the past, present and future - we really do have a rare opportunity to do this sensibly - and get on with things. We can think about what teaching is and what it should be; we can look at the present economy and match humanistic education with business needs; we can utilize the data/information that our best policy minds wield, mix it up with what history has shown us and work up a plan.

Or, of course, we can do nothing and embrace even more strongly the delusion that we’re doing a wonderful job simply because we’re compassionate, caring and committed to education. That’s worked poorly for 25 years, though.

For some other worthwhile takes on the 25 years since A Nation at Risk debuted, peep the following:

Newsweek: Still at Risk

Fordham’s Chester Finn

George Will: Education Lessons We Left Behind

Ed Sector’s Kevin Carey on George Will’s Commentary

Going to the Mat: A Nation at Risk Turns 25

If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Reconquista, check it out here. It’s a term applied to many movements that, at the core, advocate for reclaiming real estate that one used to own, that one doesn’t own now, and that one wishes to own in the future.

The merit of Reconquista arguments is best judged on an individual basis, but it’s safe to say that advocating - or even alluding to - Reconquista of any sort is bound to draw ire from some group, namely those who won’t come out on top when the ink dries on the deeds.

I don’t drink Sweden’s Absolut spirits because I don’t like them. I’m a sucker for symmetry and frosted glass, so I’ll admit that their bottles look sharp. I’ve always found their Absolut ______ ad campaign to be banal and weak - and really, it would take a Hell of an ad to draw my support from Pabst and Jim Beam, so I don’t fault them too much.

But their latest offering, pictured above, shows a map of the United States with boundary lines that reflect a Mexican Reconquista “In an Absolut World.”

Calls for boycotts were swift and robust. For me, a boycott not to drink swill - no matter how charming the bottle - doesn’t change much.

Michelle Malkin has been on top of the story from the get-go. She’s got a wild set of notes from Absolut executives, commenters and the like that demonstrates well both the arrogance of Absolut and the ire their actions have drawn - it’s worth a look.

And Absolut apologized several times, from the half-hearted, mealymouthed doublespeak non-apology to something more clear:

“The ad has been withdrawn as of Friday April 4th and will not be used in the future.

In no way was the ad meant to offend or disparage, or advocate an altering of borders, lend support to any anti-American sentiment, or to reflect immigration issues.”

Uh-huh.

Anyway, Elementary History Teacher’s post on the debacle is solid:

What’s next? Will we soon be seeing ads intended for German citizens showing maps with concentration camps highlighted? Will Italians see ads showing the gradeur that was Rome by depicting Christians being torn apart by lions? What about an ad targeting Native Americans depicting North America in its natural state? In this type of context we can see how these types of things can be offensive to some.

Personally, I find the map of Germany with Third Reich borders to be the most powerful parallel example - because it embraces Absolut’s talking point of “a time which the population of [Germany] might feel was more ideal.” There are some who might get a boost from that map, but I doubt that the rest of Europe would find it as charming.

With apologies to EHT for swiping some of her content, a commenter on her site left the following:

I like your blog (it’s certainly on my blogroll as a teacher), but have to say that it seems to me that you’re ignoring what America actually *did* to Mexico during that war. Whether it was the raping of nuns, the burning of Roman Catholic churches, or the looting of villages, cities, and monasteries, America’s interests were purely selfish… in fact, it was our first illegal/immoral offensive war - of many.

I don’t agree with Absolut here, but can see what they’re getting at - many Americans wouldn’t think much of it - I personally *don’t* put much faith in my fellow countryman/woman to get a lot of meaning from this ad… sorry ;)

Perhaps it’s a statement regarding our lack of care for the rest of the world - and a darn good one at that.

Oh my.

I responded:

Of course, anonymous, you failed to point out how Mexico made it very clear that annexing Texas to the United States would result in a declaration of war against the US. Or have you not come across President Herrerra wanting to negotiate a peaceful solution and, for that, being considered a traitor to his country and deposed en route to continued hostilities?

The conduct of some individuals in the Mexican War - just like in most conflicts - was deplorable. That conduct was, by and large, committed by undisciplined, poorly managed volunteers.

If you want to discuss the conduct of all-volunteer armies vs. that of wholly professional forces, it’s a conversation worth having, though it’s one not appropriate for this thread.

Your barb at the average American’s knowledge is shameful considering your own willful ignorance.

What was that in Luke 4:23? “Historian, heal thyself?”

If you’re interested, I can recommend a few history books to go along with that one Zinn book you read.

First, I hope that Monmouth University’s Jim Horn stops posting as “anonymous.”

Second, this travesty of a comment by a teacher is a perfect demonstration of how revisionist historians and their students, most of whom can be labeled as embracing diversity and liberal ideals [this is not pejorative], buck common sense and engage in anything but intellectual diversity.

Believe it or not, it’s important to read more than one book, hear more than one perspective and come at a topic from more than one angle.

Though personal histories are compelling and, to some, more interesting than the standard fact-fare, we can’t rely just on narrow accounts. Zinn’s “A People’s History of the United States” and its offshoots is worth reading - if only to familiarize one’s self with talking points one will encounter in any academic debate.

If we don’t read history from the inception of the event to the present, we just won’t get it all - we’ll just get a piece of it. And we’ll leave uninformed, moronic comments like anonymous, who fails to express even valid points [war-time atrocities were a real thing in that conflict] in the proper context.

We need to start with dusty old stuff like John Clark Ridpath’s “History of Texas [1884],” newspaper sources from the time of the war and some primary accounts - and then put that information with The Office of the Chief of [United States] Military History’s account and niche-historians like Zinn.

So, I’ve composed a brief letter to those who in upcoming months will graduate high school and pursue studies in history at some post-secondary school:

Dear Graduates-to-be,

a) Read things. It’s obvious when you haven’t.

b) Read more than one thing. It’s responsible historical scholarship and it’ll save you from embarrassing yourself.

c) If you can’t commit to a) and b), please, for the love of God, don’t become a history teacher. Things are bad enough already.

Love,

Matthew

I’ve gotten a wave of visitors who, coming from some sort of mailing list, have an interest in what I’ve written about the Cooperstown/Hartwick/Otsego County area. Hello and welcome - and remember, you can always give a call or send an e-mail if you want to talk about anything I’ve written or just want to have a good conversation. My contact info is here.

I wanted to point out a few posts that might interest local readers - these are some of my favorites.

Hartwick High School’s Francis “Bugs” Schweitzer for Cooperstown Athletic Hall of Fame

Fran “Bugs” Schweitzer was a standout athlete for Hartwick High, which eventually became part of the Cooperstown Central School system. Bugs’ achievements in baseball, football and basketball warranted his 1975 induction in the Section IV Hall of Fame. Nominating Fran for Cooperstown’s Athletic Hall of Fame was a no-brainer.

And though Bugs isn’t in this photo, my brief entry on the 1948-49 HHS basketball team has a great picture and a little info. Three months after posting, it consistently gets views in the Chicago Sun-Times. Must be the shorts.

James Fenimore and Cooperstown People

I acquire, keep, catalogue and share as many local history bits and pieces as I possibly can. One recent pickup was Katharine Jermaine Chapman’s 1946 collection of tall tales called Through the Glimmerglass. It’s a delightful read - very entertaining. I reproduced a selection called James Fenimore and Cooperstown People and hope to put out more selections later on.

Roll Call and Photo: The Cooperstown High School Class of 1900

A wonderful photo and roll call for Cooperstown High’s Class of 1900, the most interesting part may be the thesis topics chosen by the seniors. There’s a mix of classical topics, current events and humanism that mirrors to an incredible degree the interests of current students. That, and the photo is dashing.

In Defense of Teaching State and Local History

State and local history are under assault nationwide - there’s no question about it. Changing demographics and changing priorities - just as I wrote when I profiled Mr. Schweizer - are leading us down a bleak, boring road.

Historical Memories of Otsego County: Harley Goodspeed, Edmeston

Originally published in September, 1975, Historical Memories of Otsego County [New York] is a collection of “memories and reminisces” collected from the senior citizen clubs of the County. Mr. Goodspeed’s memories on baseball and school are solid gold.

As I said before, if anyone has any questions or comments, feel free to drop me a line.

It’s Opening Day! 14 games:

Opening Day is here, first with a pair of Boston-Oakland games in Japan, then with Ryan Zimmerman’s unbelievable walk-off homer to beat Atlanta in the first regular-season game at Nationals Park in Washington, and now with 14 Major League Baseball games today, including the last opener at Yankee Stadium.

Every Opening Day, I have this tradition. I pray — hard. One prayer for each loss in the previous season. It usually takes all day. But I think it’s working.
Royals fan “Troy” in Liberty, Mo.

Sorry, Troy… it hasn’t worked out since Tartabull and Saberhagen were hot, but I applaud your unrelenting fandom.

W got booed [I guess for his leadership off the ballfield], but even the die-hard lefties have to admit that kid’s got a cannon [watch video of it here].

I invite everyone to participate in the Principal Financial Group 401-K Challenge. It’s easy - you predict which Major League Baseball team will be the first to record 401 pitching strikeouts at home in the 2008 season. If you guess correctly, you’re entered into a drawing for:

• Grand Prize: If you choose the winning team, you are eligible for a random drawing at the end of the season for five thousand dollars ($5,000).
• Local First Prize: All other entrants will be entered into a local drawing for one of 56 first prizes that include:
  • $100 Best Buy gift card
  • A free six-month membership to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY

I’ve been to Cooperstown, NY before. It’s a nice place! And, of course, the National Baseball Hall of Fame is a one-of-a-kind institution that everyone should visit at some point - baseball fan or not.

My pick is the Kansas City T-Bones. [Hat Tip: Beartwinsmom]

And if you didn’t catch statistical analysis messiah Bill James’ interview on 60 Minutes last night, by all means, watch it here.

James’ contributions to statistical analysis are enormous. Some of us even believe that re-thinking data could help out in education [others, like the UFT, don’t]. Listening to James talk about applying data to the game - and the limits of that data - is sobering, and the commentary from Bob Costas and other notables is wonderful.

Good luck on the 401-K Challenge, enjoy your opening day games and may Bill James change the way you look at box scores.

Sawx rule.

That is all.

As I work on some ‘new media’ of my own, I thought I’d highlight some of that good ol’ vinyl media for everyone to enjoy. Of course, we’re in the era of Web 2.0 [!], so I’ve got YouTube videos for all of it.

First, take a listen to Claude King’s “Wolverton Mountain,” the 1962 #1 hit that launched King’s career. The singer is smitten with a beautiful girl on Wolverton Mountain in Arkansas, but he’s been warned: that girl’s father - Clifton Clowers - is a mean one. That’s why “They say don’t go on Wolverton Mountain / If you’re looking for a wife.”

Clifton’s “mighty handy with a gun and a knife” and employs a cadre of spies [”the bears and the birds”] who inform him if strangers come onto the mountain.

Lured by true love, our hero decides to go anyway - “though Clifton Clowers / He might take my life.”

After all, ” her tender lips are sweeter than honey,” so who can blame him?

“But I don’t care about Clifton Clowers
I’m gonna climb up on his mountain
I’ma gonna take the girl I love
I don’t care about Clifton Clowers
I’ma gonna climb up on that mountain
And I’ll get the one I love
I don’t care about Clifton Clowers…

Here’s the original Claude King recording [click here if reading in RSS]:

Many a country musician has paid homage to both King and Clowers by referencing pieces of “Wolverton Mountain.” Hank Williams, Jr. comes to mind; in “If The South Woulda Won,” a candid take on Southern life and lore, he says:

I’d have all the fiddles made in Virginia
‘Cause they sure can make ‘em sound so fine
I’m goin’ up on Wolverton Mountain and see ol’ Clifton Clowers
And have a sip of his good ol’ Arkansas wine

But few know that Clifton Clowers of Woolverton Mountain, Arkansas, was a real person. [Y’all pointy-headed academics call that historicity.]

Born on October 30, 1891, Clifton T. Clowers lived nearly 103 years. He was a veteran of World War I and served as a deacon in the Mountain Baptist Church. He’s buried in Conway County’s Woolverton Mountain Cemetary.

Here’s Clifton on his 101st birthday [1992] sitting on his porch as Mike Redmond plays/sings “Wolverton Mountain” to him, Part I [click here if reading in RSS]:

And Part II, in which Mike plays Hank Williams, Sr.’s “Jambalaya” and “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” as well as Lefty Frizzell’s “Mom and Dad’s Waltz” [click here if reading in RSS].

Fascinating stuff, that local history. [Hat tip: Miss Profe for reminding me of that post and Tyler for appreciating this one]

[Note: To print this piece, I suggest viewing it on the Chicago Sun-Times site and printing from there.]

Months ago, the Cooperstown Central School Board of Education authorized the creation of an Athletic Hall of Fame to celebrate the high school careers of its most accomplished athletes. Led by Athletic Director Michael Cring, the Hall of Fame committee begins by considering nominees - players, coaches, and personnel - from before 1970. Up to five inductees will be chosen from that era.

About six years ago I attended an academic conference on the state of the social sciences. A professor there with whom I talked remarked that Cooperstown, “… likely gets more mentions [in a day] per capita than any town or city in the world.” He was probably right. But even in a place like Cooperstown - with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the New York State Historical Association, The Farmers’ Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum, etc. within a stone’s throw - our historical memory atrophies.

There are few alive who can recall the decades-old exploits of others with any sort of precision. If it didn’t have intense personal or national significance, we tend to forget it slowly.

Imagine playing a game of ‘telephone’ - a difficult enough game as it is - where those in your circle are constantly replaced by people with a different message. After a few rounds, our message would be almost wholly lost to a degree even greater than what makes the game so much fun for children. That’s the current state of much local history, partly due to rapidly-changing demographics and partly due to rapidly-changing priorities.

Cooperstown High School once was separate from Hartwick High. SUNY Oneonta professor Alexander Thomas detailed their consolidation in his book In Gotham’s Shadow, a study of the effect of economic changes on three towns in Upstate New York:

By the middle of the 1950s, the New York State Board of Regents was actively encouraging the consolidation of school districts in both urban and rural areas. As in other forms of upscaling, school consolidation ultimately would benefit larger communities over small.

In September 1956, the senior class of Hartwick High School started the year unaware that they would be the institution’s last graduates. Members of Hartwick’s school board contemplated a consolidation with Cooperstown throughout the winter and spring of 1957…

… On April 17, 1957, the Cooperstown Freeman’s Journal reported that the two school boards agreed to send Hartwick High School students to Cooperstown High School and begin discussions of consolidation. In less than four months, a decision that would dramatically alter both communities had been discussed and decided. [original text from Google Books]

Thomas cites a column from Oneonta’s Daily Star that mentions the effect this would have on area sports:

In a column … describing a Hartwick man who could “name the heroes, goats, records, pitches, and situations over the past few years with the quickness of an IBM machine,” the rhetorical question was raised as to what the man would do in the absence of Hartwick High School:

“Next year? Jim hasn’t looked that far ahead, but we’ll put a bob on the line that he’ll know the facts and figures on the Cooperstown Redskins forwards and backwards . . . Thus, educational progress has ended a sports era.”

“Jim” refers to Jim Hamilton, a tireless, unparalleled sports fan who - as that column attests - knew it all about area sports.

Hamilton, who is now deceased, took too much of that knowledge with him. I talked recently with a long-time staff member at Cooperstown who said, “I have no idea when Hartwick merged with Cooperstown.” It would be folly to think that many in the community could recall the accomplishments of Hartwick High’s outstanding athletes. Fifty-plus years is just too long.

On March 15th, the due date for nominations, I submitted to the committee a brief description of Francis “Bugs” Schweitzer’s athletic career at Hartwick High. Those who lived in the Town of Hartwick - about 6 miles from Cooperstown - remember Schweitzer as the finest, most accomplished athlete that the school ever produced.

My father grew up in Hartwick and attended the school until the forced migration to CCS in 1957. I asked him who stood out in his memory of Hartwick athletics. He didn’t hesitate for a second: “Bugs Schweitzer.”

I spent a few days researching Fran’s career for the purpose of nominating him for the Hall. That’s when I came across a neat photo [in which he doesn’t appear] and a wonderful bit that gave some context to Hartwick sports. The Chicago Sun Times picked up the post via syndication; I continued researching.

It occurred to me that I’d even come across Schweitzer’s famed athleticism in fiction. I pulled out a copy of BC Stevens’ Warriors of a Morning Calm and thumbed through the pages. Stevens’ Korean War memoir has ample chapter-space devoted to Hartland High, the fictionalized version of the real HHS from which he graduated [Class of 1952]. Stevens’ main character played 6-man football with Frank Miller:

“Frank was Hartland High’s six foot two inch quarterback, running back, outside linebacker, basketball center - you name it, Frank could do it.”

It hit me that Frank Miller is Fran Schweitzer.

I pored over 1950’s HHS yearbooks and chased up a few clippings, including a feature article about Fran that appeared in the Binghamton Sunday Press on March 6, 1953. There was plenty to make the case that this prolific athlete - who held Section IV’s career scoring record in basketball, who averaged over 25 points per game years before the 3pt shot, who pitched a no-hitter for HHS, who led the 1952 HHS football team to an unbeaten, untied 18-0 record in Tri-Valley competition, who was elected to the Section IV Hall of Fame in 1975 - deserved a place in the inaugural class of inductees to our district’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Things got busy - as they often do - and I tabled the nomination.

Fran “Bugs” Schweitzer, born on July 4, 1934, died on February 4, 2008. I never met or spoke to him; he died without knowing that he was to be nominated for the Hall - or that those in future generations would recognize and remember the outstanding athleticism that made him a legend of a school long forgotten.

“Talk ye of all his wondrous works,” Fran’s senior quote, is taken from Chronicles 16:9. It’s preceded by Chronicles 16:8 which advises that we, “call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people.”

I’ve pasted below my talk of Fran’s wondrous works - my calling upon his name, making known his deeds. One can only hope that the committee will listen.

Nominee: Francis Thomas Schweitzer [“Bugs”]

Nomination Category: Athlete

Athlete’s Graduation year: Hartwick High School, 1953

“The Hartwick School in this Otsego crossroads contains 26 boys and no gym. Of the eligible males, 23 play varsity or J.V. basketball in the low white wooden hall next to the feed mill.” - Binghamton Sunday Press, March 6, 1953 feature on Francis Schweitzer

Schweitzer attended HHS after arriving from Rahway, NJ in the 7th grade [1947]. He began his legendary athletic career immediately, leading Hartwick’s small rosters to victories that began Hartwick’s pre-consolidation dominance in football, basketball and baseball.

Schweitzer gained statewide fame for his athletic exploits; he excelled in baseball, football, basketball and volleyball. In basketball, he led to HHS to several Tri-Valley title games and playoff appearances, including averaging over 25 points per game in a season before the 3pt line. He held the Section IV scoring record for 24 years and in 1975 was elected to the Section IV Athletic Council Hall of Fame.

Francis also played for the Cooperstown Indians baseball team while in high school.

His physical ability was so recognizable – and so obvious - that he inspired the character Frank Miller in BC Stevens’ “Warriors of a Morning Calm.” From the book:

“Frank was Hartland High’s six foot two inch quarterback, running back, outside linebacker, basketball center – you name it, Frank could do it.”

After a stellar high school athletic career, Schweitzer attended nearby Hartwick College on an athletic scholarship. He entered the Navy in 1956 and, after being discharged, completed his degree at SUNY Oneonta. He extended his community service into teaching, working for the Lindenhurst School District for over 30 years.

Francis, who harbored a love for our area’s athletics for over 50 years, died on Feb 4, 2008.

His HHS resume at a glance:

• Baseball: 1, 2, 3, Captain 3; League All-Star 1, 2, 3, Section All-Star 3
• Football: 1, 2, 3, 4
• Basketball: 1, 2, 3, 4; Captain 3, 4
• Volleyball: 1, 2, 3, 4; Captain 2, 3, 4
• HHS Athletic Association 1, 2, 3, 4

It is with the utmost sincerity that I commend Francis Schweitzer’s athletic career for examination by the Cooperstown Central School Athletic Hall of Fame. Schweitzer exemplified commitment, performance and scholarship during his playing days and after his graduation. His career in the Cooperstown Central School system teems with merit worthy of recognition as a legend in the annals of Cooperstown athletics.

Eduwonk threw out some pith regarding Bill O’Reilly’s comments on the state of American History education:

“There are a lot of reasons that American kids do not know enough history and civics, but predictably Bill O’Reilly has managed to seize on an issue that is not one of them…”

And what did O’Reilly say to get tag-teamed by MM and the Wonk? According to Media Matters:

During the October 24 edition of his Fox News show, Bill O’Reilly asserted: “[I]t seems to me, and the studies indicate, that most teachers — high school and college in the United States — are left-wingers. That they bring in a anti-American viewpoint to the sense that they don’t preach about the nobility of America, they teach about the deficits. Now, I think you have to teach both.” O’Reilly made his comments during the “Culture War” segment of his show, which he introduced by saying, “[W]ith many public schools teaching diversity, tolerance, and self-esteem rather than history, civics, and geography, lots of American kids know little or nothing about their country, including what they owe their country.” O’Reilly then aired a video clip showing students answering questions such as, “What do you think it means to be an American?” After airing the clip, O’Reilly stated: “We went out random. You know, just, we didn’t do any study — just pulled the kids between 13 and 17 with target audience of my book.”

O’Reilly did not indicate which studies show that most high school teachers “are left-wingers” and “bring in a anti-American viewpoint to the sense that they don’t preach about the nobility of America.” He later said, “[Y]ou don’t have to — you can’t whitewash, OK? But when the balance goes to, it’s a bad country — and there’s no question that’s going on in the university system. I don’t know about high school, but I suspect it is as well.”

I love ya, E, but I suppose even Tiger Woods misses a 2-footer occasionally.

The funny thing here is that a staffer from Media Matters took the time today to e-mail me their condemnation of O’Reilly’s stance - I read it, yawned gently and went back to writing. It’s not that the subject isn’t interesting - it’s fascinating and hugely important. The rub? I’ve read both sides of the argument literally hundreds of times each. I didn’t need one more.

[By the way, I appreciate a great deal Media Matters sending me this - thank you. Although it happened to be something I found fallacious, the more press releases and heads-ups I receive, the better. I look forward to more.]

But when I saw the one-sentence presentation of a forgone conclusion on Eduwonk, I had to leave a comment. I wanted to reproduce the comment here so I could link some of the text.

I’ll say this in advance - what’s below is not a partisan comment in any way. It’s about scholarship.

I’m going to defend Mr. O’Reilly here.

He didn’t say it clearly and he relied on anecdotal evidence, but he could have easily supported his argument. I haven’t read a study that measured the political inclinations only of high school history teachers, but there are reams of data about the professoriate’s leanings.

And here’s an interesting Zogby release about the attitudes toward professorial bias:

http://www.zogby.com/news/ReadNews.dbm?ID=1334

We have more than a generation of public school history teachers who were weaned on Howard Zinn et alii - proponents of an individual sort of history. I was checking out an iTunes University class a few weeks ago in which the professor teaching the course [UC Berkeley, female - I’ve forgotten her name but that should be plenty of info. to find the course] explains very well this relatively recent shift in how we approach history.

The texts support his claim, the data leans in his favor and there’s no shortage of testimony from practitioners of history education to corroborate the both of them.

For better or worse, the everyman’s history is not the stuff of great heroes, strong leaders and a clearly-defined national identity. The ‘people’s historians’ who created this tidal wave and are now riding it are incredibly critical of how Americans should view our past and the particular guilt/pride we should feel in the present.

Compare an old US History text like Ridpath’s “History of the United States” [approx. 1905] to the recent “Out of Many: A History of the American People” - if you can say with a straight face that there isn’t a dramatic shift in how we present our country’s history to high school and college students, your will is far stronger than mine.

Again, this isn’t a partisan stance - this is the reality of a shift in the discipline. If you just can’t stomach hearing it from Bill O’Righty, hop on iTunes and listen to that Berkeley leftie prof say virtually the same thing. The only differences is that she’s not indignant about it - she’s quite comfortable with it.

MediaMatters dropped the ball on this one and Eduwonk appears to have picked up the fumble and jogged a few yards toward his own end zone. Anyone reading the MM piece should have questioned it when MM didn’t provide data to refute O’Reilly’s claims. They just portrayed him as a jerk.

I find it a bit funny that MediaMatters asks readers to “Take Action!” in the right sidebar when they themselves can’t be bothered to hit up Google for some data or even to call an academic source for comment.

The point of all this? O’Reilly’s generally saying the correct thing here. If you hate O’Reilly, fine - have at him. But don’t perpetuate an erroneous conclusion about an academic discipline because you’ve got a gripe with the messenger. It’s petty and irresponsible.

Erroneous? Maybe I should’ve used “fatuous…”

Oh, I hope someone laughed at that last line.