\n<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has made another move that historians say is an attempt to sanitize American history, but one the administration argued is necessary to ensure students have respect for the country. <\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon outlined a new plan for how her department would promote \u201cpatriotic education\u201d by adding it to the list of priorities that can drive decisions for discretionary grants, including those that support programs at colleges and universities. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is imperative to promote an education system that teaches future generations honestly about America\u2019s Founding principles, political institutions, and rich history,\u201d McMahon said in a statement about the new proposal. \u201cTo truly understand American values, the tireless work it has taken to live up to them, and this country\u2019s exceptional place in world history is the best way to inspire an informed patriotism and love of country.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the proposal, which is open for public comment until Oct.\u00a017, \u201cpatriotic education\u201d refers to \u201ca presentation of the history of America grounded in an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of the American founding and foundational principles\u201d; examines \u201chow the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history\u201d; and advances the \u201cconcept that commitment to America\u2019s aspirations is beneficial and justified.\u201d<\/p>\n
McMahon\u2019s other priorities for grant funding include evidence-based literacy, expanding education choice, returning education to the states and advancing AI in education. <\/p>\n
With this latest proposal, the department wants to focus \u201cgrant funds on programs that promote a patriotic education that cultivates citizen competency and informed patriotism among and communicates the American political tradition to students at all levels.\u201d That could include projects geared toward helping students understand the \u201cfounding documents and primary sources of the American political tradition, in a manner consistent with the principles of a patriotic education,\u201d according to the proposal.<\/p>\n
However, professional historians who have read the proposal told Inside Higher Ed<\/em> that the department\u2019s patriotic education push is a politically motivated power grab. <\/p>\n \u201cI agree that American history should be presented with accuracy and honesty, based on solid historical evidence, and doing so does inspire people,\u201d said Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association. \u201cBut the department\u2019s priority statement has a narrow conception of patriotism and patriotic education.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that\u2019s especially evident given the Trump administration\u2019s numerous other policy changes aimed at presenting a version of American history that downplays or ignores the darkest parts of the country\u2019s past, such as race-based slavery, the disenfranchisement of women and African Americans, and codified racial segregation.<\/p>\n \u201cThat context tells us that the administration is interested in telling an uncomplicated celebration of American greatness,\u201d Weicksel said. \u201cDoing that flattens the past into a set of platitudes that are not rooted in the broader historical context, conflicts, contingencies and change over time that are central to historical thinking.\u201d <\/p>\n In March, Trump issued an executive order entitled \u201cRestoring Truth and Sanity to American History,\u201d prohibiting federal funding for exhibits or programs that \u201cdegrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.\u201d That prompted a review of all exhibits hosted by the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service, both of which have since removed multiple artifacts that don\u2019t support Trump\u2019s patriotic history push, including several that underscore the brutality of slavery. <\/p>\n And as the 250th anniversary of the nation\u2019s founding approaches, the government is in the process of planning commemorative civic education initiatives that advance its definition of patriotic history. To make that happen, it\u2019s largely drawing on the input and expertise of conservative scholars and groups. <\/p>\n The Education Department recently awarded $160\u00a0million in American history and civics grants for seminars for K\u201312 educators and students related to the Declaration of Independence anniversary next year. The agency didn\u2019t specify which institutions got the money but previously said it would give priority to colleges and universities with \u201cindependent academic units dedicated to civic thought, constitutional studies, American history, leadership, and economic liberty,\u201d which critics describe as conservative centers. <\/p>\n In remarks at an event hosted by the Federalist Society and the Defense of Freedom Institute on Wednesday, McMahon criticized the state of civics education for students, citing a statistic that only 41\u00a0percent of young people say they love America. <\/p>\n \u201cThat means the balance doesn\u2019t love America,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy don\u2019t they love America? Why aren\u2019t they proud to be Americans? It\u2019s because they don\u2019t know America. They don\u2019t know the foundations, they don\u2019t know the real history of our country\u00a0\u2026 It\u2019s really important that we teach respect for our flag, that we teach respect for our country.\u201d<\/p>\n While she did acknowledge that the Education Department can\u2019t directly control curriculum, she noted that the department can use funding to encourage the types of education or programs it wants to see.<\/p>\n The Education Department also announced Wednesday that it\u2019s launching a coalition of 40 groups\u2014including the conservative Heritage Foundation, Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College and the American First Policy Institute\u2014to spearhead the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, which is \u201cdedicated to renewing patriotism.\u201d (McMahon chaired the American First Policy Institute before she became secretary.)<\/p>\n \u201cWe celebrate Lincoln for his greatness in recalling the nation to the principles of its birth, the principles of the Declaration of Independence, the most beautiful political document in history,\u201d Hillsdale president Larry Arnn said in a statement about the coalition. \u201cIt is time to repeat his work and the work of Jefferson and the Founders. We will work together to learn those principles, and for the love of them we will have a grand celebration.\u201d<\/p>\n But Weicksel with AHA said the government\u2019s directives to omit parts of American history in classrooms, museums and other public spaces will undermine the public\u2019s agency. \u201cIf citizens don\u2019t have access to a historically accurate understanding of the past, how will they use that past to chart a new path for the future?\u201d<\/p>\n David Blight, a professor of history and Black studies at Yale University, said he interprets the department\u2019s emphasis on patriotic education as \u201cpure politics.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the politics of trying to use history to control people, including children, young people, the people who teach it, the people who write curriculum and the state legislatures that will design this stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cThe government is trying to be a truth ministry.\u201d <\/p>\n While there have been other movements to control how the country remembers its history\u2014including by U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s and the United Daughters of the Confederacy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries\u2014Blight said these moves by the Trump administration are more powerful.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve never had this come right from the White House, with the power of the executive branch and their control over so much money,\u201d he said, urging educators to voice their opposition. \u201cWhen federal money depends on pure ideology, we\u2019re in very deep trouble, and that\u2019s what they\u2019re saying. That\u2019s not even close to a democratic society.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Trump administration has made another move that historians say is an attempt to sanitize American history, but one the administration argued is necessary to ensure students have respect for the country. On Wednesday, Education Secretary Linda McMahon outlined a new plan for how her department would promote \u201cpatriotic education\u201d by adding it to the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[4414,496,406,4629],"class_list":{"0":"post-22572","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-education","8":"tag-advance","9":"tag-education","10":"tag-grants","11":"tag-patriotic"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2018Pure Politics\u2019<\/h2>\n