A Brief History of the Republican War on Math

Fill in the blank: (2+5) x ____ = (5×2)+(5×5). If you answered "learnin' about the distributive property is for communists," you're of one mind with Eric Bolling of Fox News, who took issue with a Scholastic worksheet he accused of "push[ing] the liberal agenda."

"Distribute the wealth with the lovely rich girl with a big ole bag of money, handing some money out," mocked Bolling, who claimed the textbook was part of  leftist "indoctrination in schools."

Bolling still has a ways to go to reach the heights of math paranoia. In Glenn Beck's hands, this worksheet would have produced a soliloquy about algebra's Arabic origins and transitioned to a rant about the commutative property, which sounds like commutation, which sounds like Obama releasing violent felons from prisons to steal Americans' money. Nevertheless, Bolling did enough to join the conservative anti math-league, whose members include:

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Tags: Bobby Jindal, Education, Fox News, Karl Rove, Louisiana, Mike Huckabee, Missouri, Polls, Rush Limbaugh, Science & Technology

Texas Law Professor Gets Honorary Foot-in-Mouth Degree

Ugh, this guy again.

Lino Graglia, a University of Texas at Austin law professor, has been called the most conservative law professor in the United States. He was once considered for a federal judgeship by Ronald Reagan but was passed over because of controversy surrounding Disaster by Decree, a book wherein he wrote against desegregation busing.

For his next trick, in 1997, he gave a speech in which he explained that black and Mexican people come from cultures where "failure is not looked upon with disgrace."

So when a recent affirmative action lawsuit threatened the University of Texas, who better to call than the guy who is basically a professional wingnut on the subject:

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Tags: Barack Obama, Education, Racism, Texas

Tweet Untweet: DeMint Abandonment Issues

Some South Carolinians feel DeMint has abandoned them, much like education feels about South Carolinians.

— Jim Grammond (@jgrammond) December 6, 2012

Tags: Education, Jim DeMint, South Carolina, Tweet Untweet, Twitter

Fox News vs. Actual News, Part XCVIII

This may not be the most accurate depiction of MEA Weekend, an annual Minnesota tradition in which public schools close for two days to allow teachers to attend the Education Minnesota Professional Conference.

But liberal critics of Fox can't argue that they're just cherry-picking parts of the conference agenda. Not only will there be a session on how to present Islam in history and social studies classes, the gathering also includes workshops on algebra instruction, the original Islamic conspiracy.

Thanks for being ever vigilant, Fox News.

Tags: Education, Fox News, Minnesota

Tweet Untweet: Educating the Undecided

If I were President, I'd see to it that undecided voters are provided with schools that teach them how to properly stack cans.

— Uncle Dynamite (@UncleDynamite) October 17, 2012

Tags: Debates, Education, Tweet Untweet, Twitter