Most Americans believe free speech is under attack. It’s critical that we are able to speak truth to power without the threat of censorship or retaliation, but we are finding ourselves silenced all too often. Stories of censorship in the classroom are far too common – and chilling. If children are exposed to political ideology in the classroom and censored for having questions or differing opinions, they won’t get the chance to know what free speech is like. We could lose that fundamental American freedom within a generation.
Parents Defending Education (PDE) is an organization that speaks out against activism in the classroom and supports free thought. To some educators, that is seen as a threat. One teacher in Culver City, California, has even included his hatred of this group as part of his curriculum. He emailed PDE telling them he would be using them as an example of “white supremacy” in the “ethnic studies course” he teaches.
When PDE looked into his curriculum through a FOIA request, they found he would be teaching “social justice activism”, “the four I’s of oppression” (for which the teacher said he would grade notes taken by the students), and lessons on “patriarchy.” He also has a list of “LGBTQ terminology” for the students to use including the terms “gender identity,” “gender expression,” “genderless,” “genderqueer,” “heterosexism,” “pansexual,” and “drag queen,” ”. He also had in the curriculum for April 12, 2023, reading “Announce Drag Show,” but there were no details given.
Our survey found that 89% of Americans – including 82% of Hispanic Americans and 81% of Black Americans – want politics out of the classroom. Yet, this teacher was so threatened by that idea he seeks to discredit an organization fighting for free thought over indoctrination.
Schools need to adopt policies that embrace academic diversity to ensure political agendas do not replace essential learning. Now, classrooms around the country are dedicating time to divisive issues while students struggle with topics like civics, math, reading and science. Policies and learning materials should be made public so everyone can see what children are learning – and what they’re failing to learn.
A more united future will be hard to achieve when divisiveness is pushed on children in schools. Let’s do better for America’s kids.
