"Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for Socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teacher associations. Put the party line in textbooks."
1958, Dr. Cleon Skousen, The Naked Communist
Dr. Cleon Skousen served in the FBI for 16 years (1935-1951) and in 1958 he wrote the Naked Communist. It includes 45 goals of communism to destroy America from within. Of note are items 17 – 19, 28-32 and then items 40 and 41.
This is America in 2021. This is what education has become: an industry where your children are their product and you–the parents–stand in the way.
Part 2 of this series described the revolving door between teacher unions and the education bureaucracy (Education Inc.), but how does this unholy alliance manifest itself in the classroom? Item 17 of Skousen’s list spells it out clearly: "Soften the curriculum" and "Put the party line in textbooks."
Revisionist History
Howard Zinn had a profound & revolutionary impact on American education. Zinn espoused “revisionist history” which has taken root in American classrooms and textbooks since the 1960s. Education Inc. is firmly in sync with Zinn’s ideology. Howard Zinn was a self-proclaimed socialist, historian, author, professor, and playwright.
Zinn authored numerous books until his death in 2010. He developed his approach to history over the course of a near half-century. This culminated in his 2004 book “Howard Zinn on Democratic Education” wherein he advocates for the radical transformation of education as we know it. He also wrote “The Politics of History” in 1970, which introduces his philosophy of “revisionist history”. Since the creation of the U.S. Department of Education in 1980, revisionist history has become the norm in America’s public schools.
For example, Howard Zinn’s "A People’s History of the United States" presents "American history from the bottom up, throwing out the official narrative taught in schools." In other words, it’s a socialist’s interpretation of American history. Imagine my surprise when I saw this as required reading for my children’s AP U.S. History class last Fall.
I researched the AP curriculum, then had several candid conversations with the Principal and the teacher. I was assured this book was only to be used as a resource, not the overarching guide to the class. I’ve kept a close eye on the assignments and teacher at our kids’ private school and they made good on their assurances. For good measure though, I purchased “A Patriot’s History of the United States” and assigned it as required reading to my kids and their teacher.
The Maryland State Department of Education(MSDE) Social Studies home page was recently updated to declare their vision as follows:
Social studies in Maryland will produce students who have the knowledge and skills necessary to be empowered, informed, and socially responsible participants in our nation’s democracy. Every day, teachers work toward this vision in their social studies classrooms by helping students learn the historical influences on our world today, and the tools of democracy that allow them to participate in conversations influencing public policy.
How’s that for a softened curriculum in Social Studies (because we can no longer call it History)? Did you know Maryland public school's stated mission is to create social justice warriors?
Education vs. Indoctrination
I’ve been digging into the Maryland State Department of Education(MSDE) website for something, anything that prioritizes learning and educating. Instead, I find this:
Our Mission
· BE EFFECTIVE. Provide every student with highly effective teachers and educational leaders.
· BE INCLUSIVE. Engage with parents, families and community members to improve student outcomes.
· BE INNOVATIVE. Integrate evolving technologies, instructional strategies, and emerging skills that enable all students to reach their fullest potential in a globally competitive environment.
· BE ACCOUNTABLE. Enhance learning for every student through use of objective, data-driven measures of success determined by state and national standards.
· BE SAFE. Promote a safe, healthy environment for students.
I then tried to find something, anything in the Curriculum section of the MSDE website that would indicate an interest in ensuring students graduate with the ability to read, write, add & subtract, and critically think. Instead, I find this softened vision of a curriculum statement at the homepage of Division of Curriculum, Instructional Improvement and Professional Learning:
The division exemplifies leadership and support that empowers stakeholders to develop world-class students in Maryland who are life-long learners and productive, responsible citizens of a global society.
I did not give teachers permission to develop my children into social justice warriors in a “global society”. That is the parents’ job, if we so choose.
Education Inc. thinks your kids do not belong to you. If you do not believe me, watch this: We have to break through this private idea that kids belong to their parents... People like Melissa Harris Perry think your children are part of the collective. That’s Marxism. Period. Go back to Part 2 of this series for a refresher on Marx’s expectation that "...from the youngest age, children should be educated in institutions." Their institutions.
CRT1 and CRT2
Now enter CRT1-- not Critical Race Theory, which is an equally toxic CRT. According to New America, Culturally Responsive Teaching is “an approach that challenges educators to recognize that, rather than deficits, students bring strengths into the classroom that should be leveraged to make learning experiences more relevant to and effective for them”. Gobbledygook. CRT1 is simply another way of saying “everyone gets a trophy”.
MSDE does not only stand in support of Culturally Responsive Teaching, it mandates it. According to a January 2021 article in the Baltimore Sun, MSDE approved a policy on educational equity in 2019.
The State Board of Education requires all 24 school districts in Maryland to adopt and implement such policies and procedures. MSDE identifies four areas of “equity focus”: academic achievement and growth, leadership and human capital, climate and culture, and educator and staff capacity. Paula Stanton, supervisor of the Hartford County Public Schools Office of Equity and Cultural Proficiency, encouraged citizens of Hartford County to look into the work of scholars such as Gloria Ladson-Billings and Geneva Gay to learn more about "culturally responsive teaching" and noted that “culturally relevant teaching” and “culturally responsive pedagogy” have been topics of discussion among HCPS educators for some time. More gobbledygook.
Now, enter CRT2: Critical Race Theory. It has infiltrated all layers of our federal and state government, corporations, and institutions. It dates to the 1970s with Derrick Bell at the University of Washington Law School. It is based on the work of academics like Bell, who believed civil rights advances were being reversed.
The basic tenets of CRT2 rest on the belief that racism is a fundamental part of American society, not simply an aberration that can be addressed by law. Today, CRT has expanded beyond its legal studies foundations and into the fields of education, political science, American studies, and ethnic studies.
CRT2 is quite simply a theory which is critical (as in judgmental, not essential) of the races & America. Its effects are divisive and destructive. It reverses generations of effort to dignify the content of a person’s character beyond their skin color.
Yet school systems across the nation mandate CRT as doctrine. In nearby Fairfax County, Virginia, the school board replaced the race-blind admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology with race-based lotteries and quotas. According to parent Asra Nomani, “This is not just theory. This has now become worksheets in classrooms, where kids literally have to fill out their oppression, where they fit on the oppression scale. They get segregated—can you just imagine? It’s the 21st century and we are now segregating children based on race.”
Equity vs Equality
Education Inc. calls this Equity. In truth, this is how progressives get around affirmative action in education, which was struck down by the Supreme Court of the United States in the landmark Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). The case arose after a prospective student to the University of Michigan Law School alleged that she had been denied admission because the school gave certain minority groups a significantly greater chance of admission. The school admitted that its admission process favored certain minority groups. As Chief Justice John Roberts put it in a similar 2007 case in Seattle, Washington, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." (Parents Involved v. Seattle School District). In the words of Jeff Spicoli of Ridgemont High, “duh”.
Thoughtco.com’s website describes equity versus equality as follows: "Equality refers to scenarios in which all segments of society have the same levels of opportunity and support. Equity extends the concept of equality to include providing varying levels of support based on individual need or ability." This is literally Karl Marx: "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."
Where does Maryland’s division of Education Inc. stand in all of this? To learn more, here’s a link to more gobbledygook in MSDE’s Equity Guidebook. And here’s an excerpt:
As leaders in Maryland, we know that based on our history and current societal dynamics, we have a responsibility to work often outside of our comfort zones to ensure that all students have access to a quality education and feel safe and included in their school environments. Part of that work is to ensure that all students, particularly students of color, students with disabilities, and students who have been traditionally underrepresented and not afforded equal opportunities, have access to effective, diverse, and supportive teachers and leaders throughout their school experiences.
Talkin’ ‘Bout my Edumacation
I intended to write about the specifics of Maryland’s public schools’ curriculum. I could not find anything in the labyrinth of gobbledygook. Instead, I found pablum about Education Inc.’s intention to create a future generation of victimized, global social justice warriors. It is no wonder these kids can’t read or write, but they can certainly riot in the streets with the best of them!
While states like Washington are mandating CRT2 in public school education, sensible heads are prevailing in states like Utah, Idaho, Florida, South Dakota, Georgia, Rhode Island and Texas.
Utah’s Speaker of House Brad Wilson said of his state’s banning of CRT2 in Utah’s public schools:
Utahns – not federal bureaucrats – must remain in control of what is taught in our schools to ensure students understand both positive and negative events in American history, and their duty to be engaged, respectful members of society.
Speaker Wilson must have signed the Convention of States Petition!
We, as Patriot Parents, can reverse item 17 on Skousen’s list of 45 things communists have done to destroy America from within. The examples of this patriotism surface every day. This Loudoun County, Virginia patriot mom is fighting her local school board to save her kids from the ravages of critical race theory.
There are the educators like Glenn Loury of Princeton University and 1776 Unites who are resisting the "descent into this toxic indoctrination". Robert L. Woodson, Sr. founded 1776 Unites which represents a nonpartisan and intellectually diverse alliance of writers, thinkers, and activists focused on solutions to our country’s greatest challenges in education, culture, and upward mobility.
American Scholars was started several months ago by Matthew Pohl, former University of Pennsylvania admissions officer. American Scholars is an online education platform launching Fall 2021 focused on defending and preserving America’s history, constitutional rights, and her financial future.
And then there are Patriot Parents & Grandparents like you.
Citizens concerned for their children’s future and their education under federal, state & local governments that are increasingly bloated, corrupt, reckless and invasive, have a constitutional option. There are countless ways to be actively engaged as Patriot Parents. Get involved in your child’s education by becoming active participants in parent organizations or your local school boards. We must also call a Convention of States to bring accountability and power back to the states and the people, where it belongs. Be a 21st Century Patriot Parent. Join us and Sign the Petition.
