CONSPIRACY!!!!!

(Posted by Jocelyn)

(Via HuffPo)

This guy is out of control. Of all the Republicans in the world, he is simply the most proficient of making shit up, saying it, and then expecting people to believe him. This claim, however, that students have poor test scores because of a leftist conspiracy, is particularly insane. Why? Because it came from the mouth of a man who relies on the ignorance of his constituents to gain votes.

Don't believe me? Here are some choice non-facts perpetuated by Rick Santorum:

Evolution is a contested theory.

So much so, in fact, that he tried to add this amendment to No Child Left Behind:

This is an amendment that is a sense of the Senate. It is a sense of the Senate that deals with the subject of intellectual freedom with respect to the teaching of science in the classroom, in primary and secondary education. It is a sense of the Senate that does not try to dictate curriculum to anybody; quite the contrary, it says there should be freedom to discuss and air good scientific debate within the classroom. In fact, students will do better and will learn more if there is this intellectual freedom to discuss. I will read this sense of the Senate. It is simply two sentences—frankly, two rather innocuous sentences—that hopefully this Senate will embrace: "It is the sense of the Senate that—

(1) good science education should prepare students to distinguish the data or testable theories of science from philosophical or religious claims that are made in the name of science; and

(2) where biological evolution is taught, the curriculum should help students to understand why this subject generates so much continuing controversy, and should prepare the students to be informed participants in public discussions regarding the subject.

It simply says there are disagreements in scientific theories out there that are continually tested.

Cleverly disguised as an encouragement toward real scientific discourse, this amendment would have promoted the teaching of creationism intelligent design in public schools - something that would almost definitely make kids less informed. Because, you know, nobody who thinks evolution is a valid theory could ever vote for Santorum.

Single mothers don't benefit from education.

Seriously, Frothy said this in his book, It Takes a Family:

The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong.

Because if single mothers don't constantly feel ashamed of their situation and remain in poverty as a result, they'll never vote for Old Frothy.

Kids get "weird socialization" in public schools.

Also from his book:

It’s amazing that so many kids turn out to be fairly normal, considering the weird socialization they get in public schools. In a home school, by contrast, children interact in a rich and complex way with adults and children of other ages all the time.

There is a lot of research that says that home-schooled students out-perform public school students, but the bulk of it has been done by organizations that promote homeschooling. The fact is (as Rob Reich, a Stanford professor and critic of homeschooling, says) that there really is no good, reliable research on homeschooling, largely due to the fact that homeschooling is almost completely unregulated. Sure, there are kids who are homeschooled and do really well at academics and life, but there are also kids who are "homeschooled" and grow up completely uneducated and often neglected. There is no uniformity there, and to claim that a system that isn't even a system outperforms the public school system is complete lunacy.

But, then, if people grow up learning how the world works, they'll never vote for Santorum.