Back to School

It is back to school time.  A first assignment for students used to be, "What did you do during your summer?" One of the things I did was fly to Seattle to deal with an IRS issue (happily resolved, I am glad to report). While there I rode the new trolley system.  As in most such systems, there is advertising in the tramcars.  One poster caught my attention.  It was a picture of a park done quite nicely by a young student.  Its caption was something to the effect of  “Thanks for not smoking in my park.” Now I must admit that I have trouble with smokers myself and avoid being around those who do.  But I certainly wouldn’t take away someone’s pleasure in their habit in a park, as it is unlikely that secondhand smoke is an issue. But there is of course a greater educational issue.  Why is a young grade school student being indoctrinated with a politically correct position via an art project?  The analogy in higher education is of course the plethora of courses that no longer teach materials in an unbiased fashion, but rather present a fixed political position. Or for that matter, in offering courses in the History of Rock and Roll, or Jazz, as if they are analogous in depth and consequence to a course in the History of Western Music.