Trump Moves to Establish 'Patriotic Education' in Schools

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In executive orders signed Wednesday, President Trump mandated changes for American schools that include replacing what he calls radical ideologies with a curriculum of "patriotic education." One of them calls for cutting federal funding for schools that teach certain topics related to race, sex, gender, or politics, ABC News reports. It's the first time the federal government has tried to exert such control over curriculum, one expert said. Another directs agencies to use funding to expand school choice through voucher programs. "Too many children do not thrive in their assigned, government-run K-12 school," the order says, per the New York Times.

・Teaching: This order gives the secretary of education 90 days to come up with a strategy to end "indoctrination" in K-12 schools, subject to Trump's approval. There is no education secretary at the moment; confirmation hearings have not been scheduled for the nominee, Linda McMahon, per NPR. The order says it "prohibits federal funding of the indoctrination of children which includes radical gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom," per the Hill. It's not clear what criteria would be used by the Department of Education to identify schools teaching critical race theory. Trump has said American history classes should be rooted in "patriotic education." The order, which does not say "critical race theory," says without citing evidence that teachers have been "demanding acquiescence" to concepts of "white privilege" or "unconscious bias." That has promoted racism, it says, per Reuters.

・Response: "Whether the federal government can influence curriculum in this way is a completely open question," said Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "If they were actually able to compel school districts to alter their curriculum, that would be the first time the federal government had done that. Ever." Such restrictions imposed at the state level around the country have led to lawsuits.

School choice: This order directs the secretaries of education and defense to decide how discretionary grant programs can promote school choice, a goal the president calls "education freedom." Education Savings Accounts let families to divert per-student public school funding to instead pay expenses involving private schools, micro-schools, or homeschooling. Agencies are to give guidance on how funds can go toward "educational alternatives, including private and faith-based options," per ABC.

・Response: Opponents argue that such efforts damage public schools while propping up schools that don't have to meet state standards for student performance. "Instead of stealing taxpayer money to fund private schools, we should focus on public schools," said Rebecca Pringle, president of the National Education Association. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called the plan "likely illegal".

Ok he says what should be taken out, but what is "patriotic education" exactly?

I thought education was about how to make your way in the world, understand how science works, and know unvarnished, truthful history. Gee, I guess I was wrong... according to the Cheeto Jesus.

that's what I thought. Learn about the world truthfully and help to contribute to society. Patriotism sounds a lot like propaganda ala Orwell's warning about newspeak.

There are still obvious areas of overlap: we define patriotism as “love for or devotion to one’s country” and nationalism in part as “loyalty and devotion to a nation.” But the definition of nationalism also includes “exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups.” This exclusionary aspect is not shared by patriotism.

A somewhat subtler difference between the two words may be found in their modifiers and the ideas to which each is connected. When we examine large bodies of recent text we see that patriotism is more often used in a general sense, often in conjunction with such words as bravery, valor, duty, and devotion. Nationalism, however, tends to find itself modified by specific movements, most frequently of a political bent.