Fox: Algebra is Liberal Indoctrination.

[SirNitram]

Link to website with video clip

Fox News host Eric Bolling on Wednesday accused some schools of "pushing the liberal agenda" for teaching an algebra lesson about the distributive property.

During a segment about "indoctrination in schools," Bolling reminded viewers of a 2009 video of children chanting, "Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. Barack Hussein Obama," which outraged conservatives at the time.

"But even worse is the way some textbooks are pushing the liberal agenda," the Fox News host explained, pointing to an algebra worksheet that Scholastic says gives students "nsight into the distributive property as it applies to multiplication."

"Distribute the wealth!" Bolling exclaimed, reading the worksheet. "Distribute the wealth with the lovely rich girl with a big ole bag of money, handing some money out."

Co-host Kimberly Guilfoyle explained that the algebra worksheet had put her on "high alert" for the liberal agenda in her 6-year-old son's curriculum.

"Barack Hussein Obama. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm," Guilfoyle added to mock the so-called indoctrination video.

Co-host Dana Perino also expressed concern over an effort to stop children from role playing "cowboys and Indians" at Thanksgiving because experts say that "the historic enemy of Indians was not cowboys, but the U.S. government."

"So it starts in third grade and guess what happens?" Bolling remarked. "Through their whole educational experience, they continually get indoctrinated, even through college."

"Everybody has anecdotal evidence of this," co-host Greg Gutfeld agreed. "I think the only way leftism can survive is through indoctrination because its number one adversary is reality. So you got to get them young and it's perfect for kids. Paul Krugman's logic is child's play: Share your stuff... A lot of this comes from the teachers. They get their news from The Huffington Post and their antiperspirant from a health food store. This is the way they live."

Bolling advised parents to read their children's history books because his son's textbook addressed the Iraq war "and they were very, very liberally biased, saying George Bush went in there because he heard there were weapons of mass destruction and they were never found. It was a very liberal bias to the history books."

"There are science teachers that if they hear that if a student is questioning, like, any kind of climate change thing, they just, like, think you're an idiot," Gutfeld observed.

"You guys just gave two examples of things that are right," left-leaning co-host Bob Beckel quipped.

Website is biased to the left, but the video is there for anyone to see. Algebra is communism, mmkey?

[Dr. Trainwreck]

Wait, wait, this actually makes sense. Look: I wasn't good at math in school. I also don't understand how communism could work. It's quite legit.

[DarkSilver]

It seems Algebra is Liberal Indoctrination due to Algebra's Distributive Principal.

Because it teaches you to distribute the wealth, or some such.

[Azazal]

I'm surprised they didn't mention that Algebra is also a Muslim invention. So it has to be evil, right?

[K. A. Pital]

For a second I really thought that's the Onion.

[TheFeniX]

"Everybody has anecdotal evidence of this," co-host Greg Gutfeld agreed. "I think the only way leftism can survive is through indoctrination because its number one adversary is reality. So you got to get them young and it's perfect for kids.

Oh man, the irony. I don't think I can really make a comment that's not some form of shitposting. This article is just too surreal. You've got it all: Teachers deal with shit pay and a grueling application process just to fuck with the rich kids.... who are probably in private school anyway. Math is bad. History is liberal. I could go on.

I really want to get a screenshot from Civ Rev of Saladin offering Mathematics to Lincoln in exchange for Democracy. (Was playing it a bit last night and Azazal's comment brought it up).

Remember kids: X(Y+Z) = COMMUNISM!

[Stark]

Does anything he says suggest he actually knows what he's talking about (distributive property etc) or is he just ignorantly knee-jerking the word 'distribute'?

Does this also mean the entire thinking of supply chain management is liberal?

[Terralthra]

My favorite part of the video is the part described at the end of the article:

Bolling advised parents to read their children's history books because his son's textbook addressed the Iraq war "and they were very, very liberally biased, saying George Bush went in there because he heard there were weapons of mass destruction and they were never found. It was a very liberal bias to the history books."

"There are science teachers that if they hear that if a student is questioning, like, any kind of climate change thing, they just, like, think you're an idiot," Gutfeld observed.

"You guys just gave two examples of things that are right," left-leaning co-host Bob Beckel quipped.

[Stark]

Apparently the story on Iraq 2.0 is that it was about Saddam now. All the flat-out lies for months are just ignored.

[Gil Hamilton]

Algebra also has an associative rule! It doesn't allow free association! It's left wing liberal tyranny!

[Themightytom]

"Their number one adversary is reality" say the people who can't do math?

[JLTucker]

It's obvious that the objection is that graphic, not the algebra itself. The idea of "distribute the wealth" is so unnerving to them, that it gets their socialism boner up and running, no matter what the mathematical context is. Of course, we can't stop Crooks and Liars from misrepresenting what's in the video.

What should be the commentary here is that these grown adults on the panel, who have children, are unable to help them with basic mathematics. Are they at all qualified to read over their child's homework and have any sort of credible objection, especially math? A failing school system should be the discussion, not some idiots offended by a graphic.

[Themightytom]

Right? Quick question anyone, if i ask you to multiply 48 time 50...

Did you or did you not just multiply forty times fifty, get 2000, then multiply 8 time 50 for 400 and end up with 2400, how do you look at a worksheet for children that should describe that, and fail?

[Lord Zentei]

Guys? He wasn't saying that algebra was liberal because it involves the distributive principle, he said that the worksheet had a political slant because that particular word problem was explicitly about wealth distribution.

[JLTucker]

Guys? He wasn't saying that algebra was liberal because it involves the distributive principle, he said that the worksheet had a political slant because that particular word problem was explicitly about wealth distribution.

Which was obvious. Anything to disparage this network must be posted at all costs!

[UnderAGreySky]

Right? Quick question anyone, if i ask you to multiply 48 time 50...

Did you or did you not just multiply forty times fifty, get 2000, then multiply 8 time 50 for 400 and end up with 2400, how do you look at a worksheet for children that should describe that, and fail?

I'm confused here. I don't know what the maths question had to do with the topic, but I know 50 is half of hundred so I halved 48 instead to get 24 and left-shifted that by two digits to get the answer.

[madd0ct0r]

Right? Quick question anyone, if i ask you to multiply 48 time 50...

Did you or did you not just multiply forty times fifty, get 2000, then multiply 8 time 50 for 400 and end up with 2400, how do you look at a worksheet for children that should describe that, and fail?

I'm confused here. I don't know what the maths question had to do with the topic, but I know 50 is half of hundred so I halved 48 instead to get 24 and left-shifted that by two digits to get the answer.

I did 50*50 and took two 50's off. Mental Maths - there's more then one way to skin a cat.

[Gil Hamilton]

Guys? He wasn't saying that algebra was liberal because it involves the distributive principle, he said that the worksheet had a political slant because that particular word problem was explicitly about wealth distribution.

Uh, no, I looked at the worksheet in question (they have a link to it on the website). There were no word problems on it, but those fill-in-the-blank math worksheets that you make elementary school students do. This guy is outraged over nothing.

[Scrib]

For a second I really thought that's the Onion.

At this point you can never tell.

[Dominus Atheos]

Guys? He wasn't saying that algebra was liberal because it involves the distributive principle, he said that the worksheet had a political slant because that particular word problem was explicitly about wealth distribution.

I don't think most people actually watched the video.

Here's the worksheet in question:



So yeah, people were just knee-jerking.

[JLTucker]

Yeah. the graphic is the offensive thing. Also, if it's supposed to be about distributing the wealth, where's the notation to denote monetary value? It's a poorly designed worksheet from our point of view.

[Block]

If you find that offensive you need to get the fuck over yourself.

[Korto]

Right? Quick question anyone, if i ask you to multiply 48 time 50...

Did you or did you not just multiply forty times fifty, get 2000, then multiply 8 time 50 for 400 and end up with 2400, how do you look at a worksheet for children that should describe that, and fail?

Personally, multiplied 48 by 100 and halved.

[Lord Zentei]

I don't think most people actually watched the video.

Here's the worksheet in question:

<snip>

So yeah, people were just knee-jerking.

Well, obviously they were knee jerking. It's still not "the distributive property" itself per se that got people riled up, but the "distribute the wealth" line, which has little to do with the distributive property. I'll grant that it wasn't a complete word problem strictly speaking though, but it's not an abstract set up either. It has a phrasing which has obvious real-world connotations.

So, knee jerking from Fox? Yes indeed (and what a shock that is **). But it's undeniably also subtle social/political commentary in a worksheet designed for kids.


** Not to mention the anti-intellectual smugness that was going on in there. "Huff duff I can't into algebra" as if it were a mark of pride or red-blooded authenticity or something. Le sigh.

[Ahriman238]

Look, the Right understands that smart, well-educated people are less likely to agree with them. Therefore, there's something about an education that makes you less informed and capable of making decisions, because right-thinking people can't disagree with the Right. Probably something in there about education or travel exposing one to sinister European Socialist influences too.

OR, in the absence of a mysterious ineffable quality about education that makes someone stupider (and thus, more likely to disagree with the Right-wing gospel) it can be even simpler. Teachers are an overwhelmingly liberal group (which is true, coming from that well-educated class) and so deliberately slant their educatin' in favor of the Left. Evil Liberals indoctrinating our children.


It all makes perfect sense if you speak American Troll Logic.

A lot of this comes from the teachers. They get their news from The Huffington Post and their antiperspirant from a health food store. This is the way they live.

Lolwhut? I personally neither use HuffPo as my primary news source, nor do I buy deodorant at a health food store. And if I did the latter, what difference would it make to anyone? How is any of that remotely, imaginably relevant?

Oh yes, and elementary school teachers try to teach kids to share and share alike. They tried that when you were kids too, it never seems to stick. But of course, it can't be a desire to have kids not beating each other for ten minutes, it has to be a sign of the Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy.