President Trump wants to de-wokify American education, but how woke are schools? An Education Next survey of high school students finds "Critical Race Theory" messaging, reports Brian Kisida and a team of social scientists. But students also report more positive messages.
While more than a third of students say they're taught that “America is a fundamentally racist nation,” and that “white people contribute the most to racism in the United States,” a majority are also taught that “the United States has made a lot of progress toward racial equality over the last 50 years.” Forty-two percent have heard that “the United States is a global leader when it comes to ensuring equal rights for all citizens.”
Most say their teachers welcome divergent viewpoints. Of those who disagree, "18 percent report their teachers have made disparaging remarks about conservatives or Republicans, and 19 percent say their teachers have made disparaging remarks about liberals or Democrats."
Asked about their own beliefs, 70 percent of students strongly or somewhat agree that “the U.S. has a long history of oppression” and 46 percent say "America is a fundamentally racist nation," the survey found. However, 66 percent say the United States “has made a lot of progress toward racial equality over the last 50 years.”
Teenagers say their views are shaped primarily by family, friends and social media, with only 17 percent saying their teachers are "very influential."
"One hopes that critical views of U.S. history equip students with the knowledge to learn from our failures and continue to build a more perfect union," write Kisida and colleagues. However, "parents and policymakers have legitimate concerns regarding educators bringing divisive ideology into classrooms."
Most parents -- Republican, Democratic and Independent -- want schools to instill patriotism, polls show. That "isn’t a frivolous sentiment," they write. "On the scale of human history, our democracy is still a fragile adolescent, and we must ever rely on future generations to defend our principles and our country if we are to remain a beacon of freedom for the world."
Trump will preside over the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. Expect a lot of discussion about how to teach patriotism.
The issue that goes unmentioned is the discussion of the racial history of the U.S. becomes the justification for race-based reparations, affirmative action, and racial set-asides.