Damon, I generally enjoy your work, and you're absolutely right that there are valid worries about schools (but *not* generally school curricula) being used to present airy progressive propaganda. But I don't see why this means we should respond to lies with concessions. 1/
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There is NOT a nationwide problem with curricula being too "woke" -- there is a nationwide problem with the opposite. The fear tactics being used right now are being aimed at teachers, whereas they should (if anywhere) be aimed at corporations & some school administrators. 2/
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But whether or not one tries to address subtle issues that understandably irritate parents who are not "woke", the idea that children are being taught to hate America is false and risible. Children are being taught a more complete understanding of history, by and large. 3/
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If a more complete understanding of history really creates a problem for certain people on the right, it's not the duty of a centrist like you to cater to their objections.
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Replying to @Daniel_Propson @HeerJeet
Thanks for this Daniel. But what your evidence that there's a "nationwide problem" of "the opposite"? My own kids are already taught about slavery (and Native Americans) in every year of school, with plenty of other stuff hardly touched on. Meanwhile, ....
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... thousands of classrooms are now using 1619 Proj materials when that package explicitly reframes American history with slavery at its "very center." Why? Who asked parents if they want this to happen? What justifies that obsessive focus on this single dimension of the Am Exp?
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Replying to @DamonLinker @HeerJeet
I would guess that it's mostly elite schools that teach the 1619 project, and most of those that do teach it as *one viewpoint*, not as propaganda. History teachers are really subtle - not always, but often. If you strip the subtle teacher of that freedom to do so, it's not good.
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An underappreciated factor here is how dominated right-wing media is (still!) by elites. They DO see 1619 project being taught. Meanwhile most kids see cursory coverage of slavery and "oh, gee, sorry, we hurt the Indians" -- but Fox News seems to portray even THAT as progressive.
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I don't think the right wing elites *mean* to paint ordinary Euro-centric teachers as radical leftists, but it's the thing that results as a natural consequence of their projecting the view of progressive educators of elite white kids onto the rest of American educators.
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I'm unhappy w my overuse of dunking on elites in the previous 3 tweets, but not enough to revise them. The fact that people are out of touch does not mean they're not in touch with some really valuable things - and anyway, it's possible to be elite w your ear to the ground.
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No need to apologize. You're right this is an inter-elite debate. Which is one reason I'm inclined to be wary of it.
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