Kindergarten History Lessons in Virginia to Focus on Slavery
"Activism and action civics" opportunities for young students will be promoted
By Sara Dogan
Most adults who attended public school remember early history lessons about American leaders and symbols—George Washington crossing the Delaware, Betsy Ross sewing the American flag. But starting this fall, kindergarteners in Loudon County—a wealthy suburb of Washington D.C.—will be taught a new radicalized history curriculum focusing on slavery and social justice.
Loudon County has elected to partner with the disgraced far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) to develop the new curriculum which deliberately paints America in a highly negative light.
"Sugarcoating or ignoring slavery until later grades makes students more upset by or even resistant to true stories about American history. Long before we teach algebra, we teach its component parts," the curriculum reads. "We should structure history instruction the same way."
The new curriculum also highlights "activism and action civics" opportunities for young students in kindergarten through second grade.
"Students should study examples of role models from the past and present, and ask themselves, ‘how can I make a difference?'" the guidelines explain. "These conversations [about slavery] should lead into discussions about current injustices — particularly those that continue to disenfranchise and oppress the descendants of enslaved people — and possibilities for activism and reform."
In short, public school teachers must prepare their students to take up the mantle of Black Lives Matter.
While the decision to teach five-year-olds about one of the most disturbing chapters in American history may seem extreme, it is being mirrored in school districts across the nation. The New York Times’ much-vaunted but counterfactual “1619 Project” claims to prove that “nearly everything that has made America exceptional grew out of slavery.” Despite the objections of numerous historians who dispute the narrative provided by the Times, curricula based on the Project are now proliferating at public schools across America.
The political tenor of the new lessons was confirmed by a longtime Loudon County elementary teacher who spoke with the Washington Free Beacon on the condition of anonymity because she feared for her job if her real views about the new curriculum were made known.
"I teach lower grades in elementary school.… [Never before] did I have to teach about slavery," the teacher said. "Our standards were always [to] teach about famous Americans, George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., people like that. But, it was all very general and the bigger picture, we highlighted their accomplishments." She noted that the slavery is usually taught beginning in the fourth grade when students have greater maturity to understand it in its historical context.
"What they're really trying to do is divide people as early as they can, starting now with kindergarteners. They're really going to be inciting hate," the teacher added. "They're pointing out that there's ‘whiteness' and ‘blackness' and that's crazy. We never taught about that in school…. We learn about how to get along with one another and be kind and respect others. But now, with this new curriculum that they're adding, it's going to do the total opposite."
Max Eden, an education policy expert at the libertarian-minded Manhattan Institute, concurred that the curriculum was not suitable for young children. "Students aren't prepared when they're five years old to develop a nuanced sense of history and political processes, and pros and cons of different side effects, and unintended consequences," Eden said. "What the real goal of this is, by introducing [slavery] this young, is to try to get the left-wing, Nikole Hannah-Jones [creator of the 1619 Project], meta-political narrative into kids' heads as soon as possible, which is basically trying to compel them to believe that because slavery happened, therefore, America is evil and you must follow the leftist idea of … how we need to overturn power in society."
Parents in the district also expressed their anger at the politicized curriculum. "SPLC is pushing Marxist ideology more or less. They're really pushing those concepts of ‘revolution' and ‘dismantling the system' that we have," one father stated. "So rather than everyone coming together and building something great together, it's about destroying what's been built." To learn more about the Freedom Center's campaign to halt indoctrination in K-12 schools, please visit our website, www.stopk12indoctrination.org. To read the K-12 Code of Ethics CLICK HERE. To order the Freedom Center’s new pamphlet, “Leftist Indoctrination in Our K-12 Public Schools,” CLICK HERE. To donate to our campaign to stop K-12 IndoctrinationCLICK HERE.
Illustration: Teaching Tolerance, Southern Poverty Law Center
Freedom Center's New Campaign Tackles Leftist Indoctrination in Our K-12 Public Schools
The Freedom Center's new pamphlet documents how the Left is subverting our students' education
The Freedom Center has initiated a new campaign to work with legislators to adopt aCode of Ethics for K-12 Public Schools to end politicized teaching and classroom indoctrination. This campaign will educate the public about the extent of the threat to our educational system and our essential liberties and carry the fight directly into the political and legislative arena.
We have already had an early success in Virginia where State Delegate Dave La Rock has introduced HJ 117, a bill to establish a code of ethics and professional responsibility in the state’s public schools. Similar efforts are under way in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nebraska where legislators on the education committees are in the early stages of drafting legislation, and legislators in Arkansas are now studying the proposal.
The text of the K-12 Code of Ethics introduced in Virginia may be viewed here.
The Freedom Center has also released a new pamphlet about the Left's efforts to indoctrinate our youngest citizens in K-12 public schools.
At the Edina School District in Edina, Minnesota, all employees, even bus drivers, must take "Equity and Racial Justice Training" instructing them that "dismantling white privilege" is at the core of the district's mission. They must acknowledge their racial guilt, and embrace the district's "equity" ideology.
To enhance "cultural diversity," students at Maryland's La Plata High School were ordered to copy the Islamic creed "Shahada" which states in part, "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."One worksheet distributed by the school states, "Most Muslims' faith is stronger than the average Christian."
As part of transgender instruction in Rocklin Academy in Rocklin, California, a male kindergartener was reintroduced to classmates as a girl. A first grader at the school wassent to the principal's office after she called the student by his given name on the playground– apparently unaware that the five year old had changed gender.
These horror stories are not exceptions to the rule. As our important new pamphlet,Leftist Indoctrination In Our K-12 Public Schoolsshows, they are happening every day in schools all across our country. You can access this work which provides crucial documentation of the indoctrination crisis in our schoolshereor by clicking on the cover image below.
We strongly encourage concerned parents and grandparents and others to share this important work, especially with those serving on local school boards or PTA's. Multiple printed copies of this work can be ordered at a significant discount at only $1 each for orders of 25 or more or for $3 each for smaller orders. To purchase printed copies of the pamphlet, click here.
