When Holocaust survivor Kati Preston visits schools to tell her grim childhood story, she delivers a poignant message some don’t want her to convey: “You have to know your history to understand where you are coming from. Don’t let them distort it.”
Across the U.S., lessons like Preston’s are increasingly being chilled or censored, due to bans on the teaching of “divisive concepts,’’ like systemic racism an implicit bias. What does that mean for instruction on the persecution and murder of 6 million Jews and many others at the hands of the Nazis in World War II?
This week, we take you inside the state of New Hampshire, where Linda K. Wertheimer’s deeply reported story (also in The Boston Globe Magazine) explains why the new laws are striking fear and uncertainty about what can and cannot be said in the latest culture war battles.
Hechinger’s Sarah Butrymowicz and Caroline Preston report on another way in which schools are culture war battlegrounds: Dozens of anti-abortion centers in Texas are sending employees into public schools to talk to students and, in some cases, teach sex education classes. Some of the lessons use scare tactics about sexually transmitted illnesses and pregnancy that public health experts say aren’t effective. The story also appears with our nonprofit news partners at The Texas Tribune and The 19th. In addition, we are continuing our coverage of math issues and hope you will check out our robust opinion section.
Our newsroom's mission is to provide you with in-depth, nuanced reporting on the most important issues facing teachers, students and families. We don't just find problems. We look for the people who are working hard to find solutions. And we provide all of our reporting free to the public, but it's not free to produce. We rely on readers like you to donate so we can keep doing this work.
Liz Willen, Editor
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