Parker’s Perspective: Ancestry/DNA is the Kind of Initiative the School District is Missing

Parker’s Perspective: Ancestry/DNA is the Kind of Initiative the School District is Missing

With the current state of our government, we have witnessed a corresponding rise in thuggish behavior. Our diversity, which in good times is recognized as a strength, is portrayed by opportunistic barkers as something to be afraid of. There are several ways to counter this, including two things we see now: public protest at major events and increased involvement at all levels of government. Another method is to combat the problem directly with the use of science, by introducing AncestryDNA into the classroom.

This is how it would work. It appears that middle school is where kids tend to notice differences, break off into groups, and establish more of an unhealthy tribal identity. At some point between middle and high school, the district could establish a partnership with AncestryDNA for use in various grades and classrooms. Such a partnership would cross several subject areas and delve into learning about DNA technology, genetics, ethnicity, American and World History, geography and migration, cell biology, and evolution. By the time students leave high school, they would have their AncestryDNA profile, a family tree, and a much better understanding of who they are in the world. There would probably be a few surprises that would encourage more family dialogue and a lifetime interest in science and learning.

The point is to use real science to engage students in constructive and personally-related learning, instead of exposure to content that is curriculum-based but forgotten in a couple of years. It will lead to community wide conversations as to who we are beyond anything we are told or what we might hear. It will challenge numerous preconceived notions and, frankly, some prejudices. I believe we will find that we are truly a melting pot, and the whole notion of identity can be redefined for the better.

I have my own interest in ancestry. My mother had what can only be defined as a tragic beginning. Being born into poverty she was carted off with half of the siblings at the age of seven and dropped into a foster home. Through the use of AncestryDNA, we have discovered an entire branch of relatives in Texas, and links back to old Europe. That is the beauty of science. 

I am confident that such an initiative could be undertaken in a cost effective way. It would bring marketable exposure to the district and start a very positive trend. Initiatives such as this are necessary to keep education fresh and engaging. This is the chance to see just how interconnected we are, teach science and history on a more personal and tangible level, and open up all manner of discussion in the process. It gets beyond the current status quo of education delivered to meet quantitative results and makes school more qualitative and meaningful. It allows us to get past shortcut methods of identifying people just by appearance and personal qualms. 

If you’re looking for a great gift this holiday, get someone a DNA kit. If you want to stimulate our education like nowhere else, get it into our school district.

We can do better.

 Daniel Parker is an author, educator, and public servant. He may be reached at 13scribes@gmail.com

9 Responses to "Parker’s Perspective: Ancestry/DNA is the Kind of Initiative the School District is Missing"

  1. Mr. Parker, can you honestly say that you think this is a good idea, or are you simply putting this out there to act as a provocateur?

  2. Look I’m not an apologist for Infowars or America because they have nothing to apologize for.

    You need to take a deeper dive into infowars. Nobody is giving them any marching orders. They aren’t accountable to advertisers. It’s freedom of speech and self funded Christian Americana inquiry into values with a healthy dose of skepticism. The left calls it hate speech because they hate even the thought of it.

    The idea that they are presenting false information falls under what Hemingway classified as “Isn’t it pretty to think so”. That’s deliberate misinformation promoted by the godless leftist media to justify censoring more rational conflicting opinion.

    The funny thing is you can’t censor the Holy Ghost. The more you try the bigger it gets and the more you expose folks to the enlightenment. To quote ol Tom Horn, ” Cain’t hurt a Christian.” When one door closes another opens. If you’re an agent of God it’s almost blasphemous to be troubled by doubt.

    We’re all seeking knowledge and following an information path that is enlightened by the Holy Ghost. When you are blessed by the Grace of God. find yourself in the zone, or have an epiphamy it’s the Holy Ghost. Its as simple as that.

    It’s how you communicate directly with God.

    If you question the existence of God, if you haven’t experienced the Holy Ghost, if you question how a man as flawed as Trump could possibly have Grace. You need to give up what you’re doing and get on the right path.

    The brothers get it, and that’s why they are no longer a reliable voting block for the dems.

    Instead of trying to divine who you are from your genetic code. You might ask the brothers in your class about the Holy Ghost or why even though David was a murderer and an adulterer he still had the grace of God. I guarantee you’ll have their attention. No matter how good a person you are that’s a conversation that will change your heart.

    So wander over to Infowars and get you some forbidden information and some of them supplements. They’re good stuff. Everybody loves brainforce.

    1. Infowars is a well known purveyor of made up conspiracy and outright false information. It is not a journalist endeavor by any stretch. There are conservative outlets such as the Wall Street Journal that I would recommend. Thank you for reading.

  3. It took me longer than I care to admit to get you’re playing devils advocate with these columns, but then I realized you actually are a novelist and it’s perfectly plausible you and Steve would get together and pull this kind of prank.

    So yeah, I agree it is pretty terrifying that parents give away any semblance of privacy for their kids on instagram, Facebook, and ancestry.

    Everybody is concerned about AI but it’s the genetic tampering that is going to do us in.

    Ancestory retails your DNA. It’s just another of these data gathering projects that preys on the vanity and pathological narcissism of the weak minded.

    It might make for an interesting Father’s Day but it’s.most likely a globalist plot to gather and weaponize your DNA information. Giving someone ancestry as a gift is probably the crappiest thing you can do.

    Introducing it at the school level is Hitlerian. Not realizing that is equivalent to not realizing the EU is the Nazi party under a different flag or that the democrat party are paid stooges for global communism.

    I was in a restaurant the other day that normally is pretty quick. There was a line of about a dozen people waiting in line to order behind a family of four that were holding little cups with spoons that they were passing around. They would dip the spoon in the cup and put it in their mouths and slowly smack their lips. They were obviously taste testing something, but it had been going on long enough for a line to form. I had to look away but some things can’t be unseen and as I was sitting down I realized they were taste testing the condiments. Dijon mustard must have thrown them for a loop and they were collectively trying to come to a conclusion whether they wanted Dijon or yellow mustard and it was taking them quite a while.

    The reality is that if human beings aren’t smart enough to decide on condiments, stay in their lane when driving, use turn signals, or not leave a damn pit bull unleashed in the bed and their pickup truck while they go into Taco Bell then they have no business monkeying around with creation.

    The average IQ in Florida is lower than the average body temperature. IQ is probably the result of.a combination of genetics, diet, disease, environmental conditions and mental stimulation with regard to critical thinking from the formation of the brain to its full development at I think seven years of age.

    When I’m talking to people around the state I often hear the the joke that there probably something in the water that results in Tallahassee being so slow. Behind every joke there is a grain of truth.

    Its got to be the water. You’ve got to filter your water. How are your teeth? You need that fluoride that very few developed nations put in the water. Check out the effect on IQ, but don’t worry once you’re over the age of seven it probably doesn’t matter.

    Please get off facebook. apple, twitter, google etc. The people behind those products were not smart to begin with, they don’t have the experience that the old school business folks had and they sold themselves, your ipersonal and financial information, and their dime store technology to the Chinese apparently without realizing that once they had the technology the Chinese wouldn’t need them anymore.

    Not only do the Chicoms have all your personal and financial information they also have a facial recognition database, and probably your fingerprints so when they send in the drones you won’t be had to identify.

    So congratulations if you’re on ancestry. You gave them you and your children’s DNA to tinker with. Makes a great stocking stuffer. Like being a reverse millionaire at birth.

    It’s probably better for you to have dumb kids.

    It’s makes them easier to control. They won’t know what they’re missing.

    Why not mess with their DNA?

    Or better yet, Lets just not think about it. It’s their problem.

    What we need to do is limit access to guns, knives, clubs. Internal combustion, freedom of speech, thought or, expression, banking, commerce, communication and pointy sticks.

    Yay, lets gather signatures for an amendment for mob rule.

    The only other choice seems to be up against the wall commie mothers because you raised our kids so well.

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