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Get thee to the greatest page 
Perfect 
at her high school here in Philly. And that perspective was all a result of FDR and Truman, coming out of the Depression and WW2.
But then Democrats controlled everything back then (and for brief periods, had super majorities during part of FDR's multiple terms). Of course during and not long after, the likes of Ayn Rand came on the scene with what amounted to Libertarian manifestos-as-novels and the John Birch Society came into existence...and so now here we are today. 
But which one, I wonder. 
And of that number, some allow US History instead. And that history has been whitewashed So as to present white people in the most positive light and as the true people who built this country, while relegating people of color to minor, unimportant roles.
As a former educator, I am dismayed by the state of our education today. The Republicans and radical Christian-right groups have so distorted standards that what children are learning is both incorrect in the case of science and history and dumbed down in many schools both by textbooks used and by lack of teacher expertise and sometimes teacher bias. So much of public education today is dependent on the area of the country youvlive in and the quality of school administrators and teachers. A recent anecdote I heard just depresses me enormously. Students in one class were sitting with their phones and ear buds on—and the teacher allowed this even though the class was being observed by an outsider!
We do still have some quality public schools, as shown by those students from Stoneman Douglas. But far too many are failing to engage students and to teach meaningful concepts. The focus on teaching to the tests to make the school look good is mistaken. Children need a well-rounded education that opens the world to them rather than just allowing them to pass a test. Charter schools are touted as giving parents a choice in better education for their children, but too often the charters have the same goal as the public schools: students who perform well on standardized tests. Or the for-profit ones have the goal of making as much money as possible and then moving on, leaving the public schools and taxpayers to clean up their problems.
One more example (and then I promise to stop 😀
. Even nonprofit charters can warp education. One conservative nonprofit chain claims to teach the classics in a rigorous educational environment. Their students do well on tests, so they are judged to be successful, though most of their students are drawn from upper middle class families. Here’s the lack from my viewpoint. Their classics curriculum focuses almost entirely on the publications of dead white guys, with one or two writings by a minority or female during the entire year. What this is not so subtly saying to students is that the ideas of white people are important enough to study while the ideas of womem and minorities are not. The classics have a place, but they should not be the primary focus for contemporary literature. Is it any wonder that we have a large population of people who think that minorities are nothing more than leaches on the work and success of white people?
One point I don't want to get lost in this and that is you, Lonestarblue. Teachers like you are what made me who I am today. I did not have an easy childhood (divorce and an cruel, twisted step-parent), so it was my teachers who taught me that there is power in knowledge, a future to be had in seizing upon the opportunities that a good education can provide if you are willing to extend yourself to meet (and exceed) them. I can still name them all.
I don't think that teachers realize how influential they can be to young people. Even years - decades - later. I can still remember one of my first professors in college. He was an internationally-respected historian, from India, whose family had known and worked with Gandhi. He would always say, "When you go to ________ (fill in country), be sure to see ________ (holiday, event, museum, gallery, ancient ruins, etc.)." He NEVER said "IF," it was always "WHEN." I found him to be one of the most inspirational men I've ever know, and I have never forgotten Dr. Singh.
No doubt, you have students who still remember you, what you taught them, and how you prepared them for the future. Please don't ever think that you never touched a student that deeply. Somewhere out there are students of yours, who still remember you and are thankful that they had you as a teacher and mentor.
Please take a bow.
