History as the Right Would Have it Taught

I can't believe that this is a real news story, and yet, here it is. The lead paragraph:

A seventh-grade social studies teacher in Presque Isle (Maine - ed.) who said he was barred from teaching about non-Christian civilizations has sued his school district, claiming it violated his First Amendment right of free expression.

How could this outrage take place in this, the first decade of the twenty-first century? Exactly how you think; local fundamentalists have gotten themselves on the school board, which has the flexibility to modify the state curriculum. They have the support of some local ministers and threatened this teacher with the loss of his job if he kept trying to teach a more rounded history.

The school superintendent is not going to be any help - he may be part of the problem. Witness his reaction to all of this:

Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said on Tuesday that he had not seen the lawsuit, but he noted that the curriculum has been "developed by teachers across the district and adopted by the SAD 1 School Committee."

"Teachers are expected to follow the curriculum," he added.

Can you imagine how disadvantaged these kids will be when they leave this little enclave of the 16th century?

Story via Atrios.