Eowyn's Ramblings

So as it should have been expected DOGE and Trump have turned their hatred on the the the humanities.

From an email I got today from Cathy Gorn (head of NHD)

Yesterday, our Board President wrote to you to let you know that funding for NHD from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) was in jeopardy. This morning, that became a reality when we learned that our grants from NEH were terminated. This means a loss of more than $336,000 over this year and next. As we noted yesterday, part of these funds were designated for the 2025 National Contest. We are committed to proceeding as usual, providing an unparalleled experience for our young historians, so I am coming to you for your help. In the next few months, we need to raise $132,000 for this year’s contest alone to make up for the loss of NEH funding. Can I count on you to help?

DONATE TO NATIONAL HISTORY DAY -- https://nhd.org/en/get-involved/donate/

In the meantime, please continue to exercise your civic right and responsibility to make your voices heard. Thank you so much for supporting National History Day. It is because of your support that we can continue to help the next generation become engaged and thoughtful citizens.

So, the state of Florida is sometimes known to have some really crazy and/or stupid things going on in it. This particular set of things is really taking the cake from my point of view.

Florida HB233 (https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/233/BillText/er/PDF)
Which says (in part)
The State Board of Education shall require each Florida College System institution to conduct an annual assessment of the intellectual freedom and viewpoint diversity at that institution. The State Board of Education shall select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid survey to be used by each institution which considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented and members of the college community, including students, faculty, and staff, feel free to express their beliefs and viewpoints on campus and in the classroom.
Which on the surface sounds pretty good, I mean, being free to have your opinion is a good thing and part of academic freedom, right? However, do we really believe that the board of education will select or create an objective, nonpartisan, and statistically valid survey (completely ignoring that statistical validity depends on samples and analyses and not the questions).

Then they add this gem:
[A] student may record video or audio of class lectures for their own personal educational use, in connection with a complaint to the public institution of higher education where the recording was made, or as evidence in, or in preparation for, a criminal or civil proceeding. A recorded lecture may not be published without the consent of the lecturer.
And once the student uploads it, how does that work?

Oh this is how:
(a) Against a public institution of higher education based on the violation of the individual's expressive rights in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees, which may only be paid from nonstate funds, reasonable court costs, and attorney fees. (b) Against a person who has published video or audio recorded in a classroom in violation of paragraph (3)(g) in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief and may be entitled to damages plus court costs and reasonable attorney fees, with the total recovery not to exceed $200,000.
So, the students who publishes a video illegally may have to pay up to $200,000 but the professor or staff member who is convicted has an unlimited amount of damage that they can pay, in spite of the fact that the damage to a professor may be well over $200,000 (loss of grants over 10 years). Compound this by the publication of a recording being a problem is limited to a recorded lecture and does not include discussion sections, seminars, etc..


Then, at about the same time the Florida Board of Education (at the behest of the governor) passes a ruling on teaching history (https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/19958/urlt/7-2.pdf) which says in part:
[M]embers of instructional staff in public schools must teach the
required instruction topics efficiently and faithfully, using materials that meet the highest standards of
professionalism and historical accuracy. [...] Instruction on the required topics must be factual and objective, and may not suppress or distort significant historical events, such as the Holocaust, and may not define American history as something other than the creation of a new nation based largely on universal principles stated in the Declaration of Independence. (c) Efficient and faithful teaching further means that any discussion is appropriate for the age and maturity level of the students, and teachers serve as facilitators for student discussion and do not share their personal views or
attempt to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view.


In Maryland, Higher Ed (i.e. colleges and universities) fall under the rules of the State Board of Education for many things. Which would mean that a college course that taught that not all men were treated as created equal even through the Jim Crow laws of the 60s would not be permitted. Furthermore, a teacher saying that they thought that this was a bad part of US history (which is their opinion) would not be permitted. Thus they may well feel like their intellectual freedoms are not respected and report that in the mandatory survey.

Any bets on if a reasonably large percentage of people report that they don't feel comfortable stating their opinions that the Governor, Legislature, and Board of Ed will be absolutely convinced that it is the Left squashing the Right instead of the other way around?

NHD is National History Day. It is an educational contest were kids in 6-12 grade compete in 2 division (junior and senior) in one of 5 categories (documentary, paper, website, exhibit, performance) and in most categories can compete as groups or individuals. They do research for most of year on a topic related to a theme then present it at competitions culminating in the National competition usually held in June in College Park. This year it is virtual but still happening. In the midst of everything going on, the Executive Director of NHD Cathy Gorn made a statement. I am sharing this (with permission) because I think it should be repeated. It can also be found on FB


STATEMENT FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CATHY GORN

Over the last week, I have watched the events, protests, and unrest taking place in cities across the country. I understand the frustration and anger expressed in response to ongoing incidents of brutality and deadly violence against African Americans. They are wrong, they are tragic, and my sorrow and sympathies are with the families and communities of those who have lost their lives.

Our country has struggled for centuries with the very issues confronting us today. Black history is American history. Its place in providing an unfiltered view of action and inaction in the face of inequality deserves to be scrutinized to enact change for the future. The dangers of ignoring the consequences of our shared history and reluctance to grapple with the difficult parts of our past create ripples that reverberate into systemic social and economic inequality.

Historians seek the truth, and part of that means asking tough questions not only of the subjects we study, but of ourselves. We cannot pick and choose to examine only the stories of history that make us feel safe. We must also confront our own biases and prejudices, implicit or explicit, to understand their influence in our work. Good historians continue to ask questions of each other, and of history, to pursue the truth in order to shape a better future.

Students, when you see injustice, take a stand; but don’t just stand there. When you turn 18, run, don’t walk, to register to vote. Democracy works best when “We the People” are engaged and informed. The figures and movements of history which you have addressed in your projects provide crucial lessons to be heeded in this moment. How were systemic inequalities broken down in the past? How did leaders galvanize and unite their people in times of darkness and strife? What motivated individuals of privilege to speak up and take action for the oppressed? Who were the agents of change, and how did they hold their leaders to account? I hope your answers to these questions will inform your words and actions beyond the classroom as you face the world and establish the role you will play in it.

This is why we study history. This is why we do National History Day.

As the earth continues her circumnavigation of the sun, we welcome eagerly the lengthening day. The return of the light that can hopefully shine in the darkness of humanity and bring warmth unto all people. Today is the shortest day. We end the time of encroaching darkness and rejoyce in the promise of warmth and the coming spring as we begin anew the cycle of the times and the seasons.

May all who read this (and those who don't) feel the warmth that the sun brings. May all have respect for our planet and all who live upon it. May we find a true peace through true stewardship of the precious gifts we have. May all have respect for self (or find ways to change themselves so that they are worthy of self-respect). May all have respect for and compassion for others (human and not).

The greatest wishes I have for the season (and the year) is freedom, respect, trust, loyalty and peace. I hope that those who are fighting see the stupidity of their fight (or that their superiors finally plug in the clue server). I hope that they (and their superiors) are washed clean of the taint of evil that seems to grow like a cancer in the fertile ground of war and hate. I hope that my country stays true to what it was built as. Freedom and Justice for ALL people. May the leaders of the world (secular and religious) grow tolerance and follow that which they profess to believe in.

This quote is from A Word A Day which is a fabulous service with a new word every weekday and a quote. Today's is particularly thought provoking in the current political/social climate.

We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witchhunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist.
-E.B. White, writer (1899-1985)

Add in "infidel" or "atheist" (therefore Terrorist) "witch" (therefore Satan Worshipper) and you have today. *sigh* To quote the old song "When will they ever learn, oh when will they EVER learn."

I'm not going to jump on that particular soapbox (again), but to put one foot on it. Religion can be mis-used by anyone and those uses should not be blamed on the faith per se. McCarthy used "non-Christian" to equal "Communist" and I fear we are going in that direction again. This is aside from the narrow-minded fears of small-minded masses who want to ban Harry Potter (which gets kids READING for goodness sake) due to Magic. What's next, Mary Poppins? There is a school district where parents are trying to ban Witch of Blackbird Pond (who isn't a witch) under the "no teaching of religion in schools" rules (but they can teach the Scarlet Letter and the modern pledge). Feh.

Ooops, I guess I stood on the soap-box afterall.