Rep. Virginia Foxx: How to fight critical race theory, other dubious ideologies and end student indoctrination

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'Army of moms' leading charge against CRT in Virginia schools: Ian Prior

Executive Director of Fightforschools.com Ian Prior on Loudoun County, Virginia being the center of a free speech fight and debate over critical race theory.

Indoctrination.

It’s an apt description of the left’s overhaul of civics and history education in American schools. Instead of fighting to reopen schools or promoting policies that allow parents to find the best education for their children, the Department of Education, with its powerful teachers union allies, is aiming to radicalize students with ideological curriculum.

Under a Department of Education proposed rule, projects that peddle critical race theory, a fundamentally racist view of America, will be prioritized for specialized grant funding from the federal government. These proposed priorities violate prohibitions against the federal government’s involvement in local schools’ curriculum, advance racist and divisive ideologies, and advocate for false history and misinformation.

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While the character of the Department of Education’s actions violates law, the content is far more corrosive to the American way of life.

According to a Gallup poll released last year, national pride in America plummeted to a 20-year low. Instead of instilling pride in America to the country’s next generation of leaders, the Biden administration is capitalizing on this freefall by framing all of America’s history as a source of shame.

Critical race theory, the ideology that American society is inherently racist, is corrosive to American’s founding principle that we are all created equal. More importantly, adherents to critical race theory converge with White supremacists by equating the content of one’s character to the color of a person’s skin. That fact alone is repulsive and un-American.

A protester holds a sign outside a building as the Noblesville school board meets inside on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. The protesters, who wouldn't provide their names, said they didn't want the schools to teach critical race theory, a concept that examines systemic racism as a part of American life. The district said it doesn't teach critical race theory.Noblesville Sign

At the epicenter of the push to indoctrinate students with critical race theory is the 1619 Project. Its central thesis, that America was not founded in 1776, has been debunked by prominent historians who have also pointed out numerous other historical inaccuracies in the project.

Contrary to the radical left’s rhetoric, America is not a racist country. We are a collection of the failures and successes of past generations to create a nation grounded in the idea that all people are created equal. 

So why is the Department of Education looking to peddle curriculum that favors alternative history over the real story of America? The simple truth is that when the federal government controls education, it controls society itself.

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The whole of the American story is not pretty. Slavery existed in America for more than 240 years and former slaves and their descendants suffered legal discrimination for another century afterward. Students should be taught this history. They should also learn about the tremendous progress we have made, will continue to make, and what it means to be part of a country that empowers all citizens regardless of skin color.

Unfortunately, the Department of Education’s rewriting of history threatens that progress.

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Instead of advancing an agenda that’s rife with divisiveness and historical inaccuracies, we must focus on how to improve the performance of American students in civics and history. 

Any effort from the federal government must respect the oversight and control of curriculum from the state and local levels, be free of ideological bias, and focus on instilling in our students an understanding of, and appreciation for, our nation’s founding principles of equality and unalienable rights.

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Contrary to the radical left’s rhetoric, America is not a racist country. We are a collection of the failures and successes of past generations to create a nation grounded in the idea that all people are created equal. That is what our schools should be instilling in our youth, that no matter your background, there will always be room for you to succeed in America. 

Let our history stand as a testament to how far we’ve come, and not a weapon for mistruths and rancorous division.

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