Mary and Tommy Can't Read Or Do Math, But They Know All About Climate Change
Governor Wes Moore, in the midst of low state scores in math and reading, has added another subject to the already overcrowded public school day. On Monday, April 22, Earth Day, he issued an executive order that the state will require the program in Maryland schools. These are the same schools that are struggling with teaching kids to read and do math, with some schools in Baltimore City and other jurisdictions posting scores that show zero students proficient in math.
They can't read either which prompted the interim State Superintendent, Carey Wright, to demand that school systems use "The Science of Reading" to solve the problem.
This is also the state that won't mandate financial literacy, a proposal that has been presented in the State House for several years only to be shot down repeatedly in the name of local control.
If you read our articles, you know that we are advocates of local control, so not having the financial literacy mandate was something we could support. However, having an "environmental literacy" mandate is not acceptable either. At least financial literacy is something all citizens need. "Environmental literacy" is a fluffy way of promoting indoctrination of students into the "Climate Change" cult. The partners in this cause will work with the Project Green Classrooms Program and that will work with nonprofits like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the National Aquarium and the National Wildlife Federation.
The partnership will be co-chaired by Department of Natural Resources Secretary Josh Kurtz and State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carey M. Wright, or their designees. They will meet monthly.
“We owe it to the people of Maryland to keep our drinking water clean, keep our air safe, and preserve our national treasures — from the Western Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay,” Moore, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday evening.
What is baffling about this order is that there has been NO shortage of environmental indoctrination i.e. education in the public schools for the past thirty years. Ask anyone who has come through the schools in that time how many field trips they took to learn about the evils of human existence in nature. Think one use plastic bags and coal used as fuel. Think recycling of plastic, etc.
Ask them how many tree hugging tomes they have read and how many times they were lectured on the wastefulness of western culture.
We are not against students learning about the environment in science class, where it belongs. But if they can't read and do math, none of that knowledge will matter. Hard to advocate for conservation if you can't write a complete, coherent sentence.
But, the Governor of Maryland thinks he needs to mandate the mandate more.
It would be great if Moore could sign an executive order demanding that children spend their school days learning to read, write, and do math. In light of violence in the schools, he might even try signing an executive order that mandates that children who are violent to other students and to staff are removed from the public schools and given virtual learning in a controlled environment where they can 't hurt others or disrupt their learning. Those would be great priorities!
Maybe he could sign a mandate that allows teachers to actually teach content and not have their instructional time whittled away with every executive order that comes out of Annapolis or D.C.
But I guess that won't get him enough progressive cred.
He did plant a tree. So, there's that.
Jan Greenhawk, Author
April 23, 2024
Jan Greenhawk is a former teacher and school administrator for over thirty years. She has two grown children and lives with her husband in Maryland. She also spent over twenty-five years coaching/judging gymnastics and coaching women’s softball.
This article was originally featured on the Easton Gazette.
Please consider subscribing to the Delmarva Parent Teacher Coalition and follow us on FaceBook to stay informed of what's really happening with education in our schools.