Stories We Tell

=09 =09=09 =09=09=09 =09=09 =09

=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09 =09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09 =09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Course Selection

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09 =09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09=09 =09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

What’s driving escalating po= litical tensions over education in America? Rick Hess = ;on the culture war surrounding U.S. classrooms.

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Artem Maltsev

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Conflict over education in= America is getting more intense, and more central to the cou= ntry’s politics, as it’s become more about culture and identity= . Former U.S. President Donald Trump, now officially a candidate for the 20= 24 Republican presidential nomination, released a video last month saying t= hat America’s public schools “have been taken over by the radic= al-left maniacs” and warning against “pink-haired communists te= aching our kids.” One of Trump’s potential rivals, Florida Gove= rnor Ron DeSantis, is now among the United States’ most prominent opp= onents of “woke” progressivism in education—and one of ma= ny Republican governors to have passed significant restrictions on how scho= ols teach about U.S. history and issues of race, gender, and sexuality.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Jeffrey Sachs and other critics of these new laws associate them = with a new climate of confusion and fear among educators, while others&mdas= h;including prominent Democrats—frame them as reactionary, even &ldqu= o;authoritarian.” Yet Republican leaders argue they’re just res= ponding on behalf of voters to educational institutions that have gone out = of control. According to a recent study<= /a> by David Houston of George Mason University, meanwhile, American v= oters themselves are now developing their views on these issues increasingl= y along partisan lines. Why is this happening?
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Rick Hess is the = director of education-policy studies at the center-right American Enterpris= e Institute. To Hess, this growing division in American life represents a m= ajor departure from the last few decades of political debate about U.S. sch= ools—an era defined more by technocratic, often bipartisan, efforts t= o reform primary and secondary education through standardizing testing, acc= ountability measures, changes to funding mechanisms, and charter schools op= erating independently of the traditional public system. But the new divisio= n isn’t entirely new, either, Hess says—or entirely bad.

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Graham Vyse: How = unprecedented are the cultural battles we’re seeing today over educat= ion in America?
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Rick Hess: You mi= ghtn’t imagine it, but it’s actually been normal throughout U.S= . history for cultural tensions to drive public debate about education. In = the 19th century, there were major disputes about compulsory schooling, wha= t languages were acceptable in schools, who could attend them, or the statu= s of parochial schools—all of which were along ethnic or religious di= vides.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09Later in the 19th century and = into the 20th, there were ferocious clashes over the “Jim Crow”= laws in the South, enforcing racial segregation; later in the 20th century= , over the desegregation laws of the Civil Rights era; later still, over &l= dquo;bussing” laws that mandated transporting students to schools wit= hin or outside their local districts to diversify the schools’ racial= compositions.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

But there was also a steady stream= of very consequential, but less well-remembered, fights about curricula an= d educational access: There were conflicts over the teaching of science, wh= ich frequently turned on questions of religion and faith. There were confli= cts over schooling for students from German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Ir= ish, East European, and Mexican communities. As the century went on, Americ= an education was variously consumed by fights over communism, school prayer= , the Pledge of Allegiance, efforts to outlaw private schools, efforts to l= egalize homeschooling, the issue of teen pregnancy, the role of faith.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09In this sense, the last few de= cades have been unusual—when the focus turned away from these value-l= aden questions about what should happen within schools and toward more tech= nocratic questions about policy levers for improving the performance of sch= ools: What are the right funding mechanisms? What are the right choice mech= anisms? How best to hold schools or universities accountable? And so on. =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Right now, there’s a feeling= in America that it’s somehow weird for there to be so much cultural = conflict in public debates over education. But from a historical perspectiv= e, the last 20 or 30 years have been a vacation from this kind of conflict.= You could say that, in the substance of the fights, what the United States= is experiencing right now is more the norm than not.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Vyse: What’= s caused the shift back to that norm?

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Hess: One thing t= hat’s set the stage for it is that, before the 1980s, education wasn&= rsquo;t really ever a defining issue in U.S. national politics. In the eras= of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, that really started to change. Educati= onal policy became more technocratic, but it also become more important pol= itically—for Democrats, as a way to show they were committed to inves= tment and impact rather than handouts; for Republicans, as a way to show th= ey were sincere about equal opportunity. Now, education is a big national i= ssue in America.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09In this context, the country h= as since become much more politically polarized. And that polarization has = changed the way that both parties have thought and talked about education. = For Clinton, for Bush, for Barack Obama, education was an issue where natio= nal political candidates could play to voters in the middle. What you see n= ow is that aspiring presidents, or governors, will use education—as t= hey’ll use so many other national issues—to reassure and energi= ze their base.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09In the meantime, there have be= en other important transformations: First, in higher education, the faculty= population as a whole has continued to move further to the left—and = so, overall, further from mainstream American sensibilities. In the 1980s, = Democrats outnumbered Republicans among faculty by about two-to-one; today,= it’s about five- or six-to-one.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09Second, along the way, after t= he killing of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2= 014—and especially after the killing of George Floyd by police in Min= neapolis, Minnesota, in 2020—the idea of anti-racism started to gain = more prominence in primary, secondary, and higher education, even while its= definition often remained unclear or contentious.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09And third, there was the pande= mic—which upended a lot of American parents’ sense of schools&r= squo; and colleges’ custodial relationship with their children. There= ’s been a long-established sense that these are institutions where we= send our kids, where our kids are taken care of, and where we place a high= degree of trust. It’s a kind of covenant between parents and educati= onal institutions.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09The pandemic disrupted that co= venant—and as it did, this disruption started to exacerbate some of t= he reservations a significant ratio of parents had about the implicit and e= xplicit politics of the instruction their kids were getting. The pandemic c= reated a new environment that deeply changed American parents’ relati= onship with schools and universities—and that brought these latent is= sues to the surface.

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Eugenio Mazzone

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

More from Rick Hess at The Sig= nal:
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09“Rarely has U.S.= media coverage captured the extent to which this new Republican l= egislation was directed against the dominance of a very specific set of nos= trums—associated with the views of “anti-racist” progress= ives such as Ibram X. Kendi, or Robyn D’Angelo, or Kimberle Crenshaw&= mdash;some of which are genuinely contentious, such Kendi’s idea that= every position in public policy is either anti-racist or racist. If you&rs= quo;re for lower capital-gains rates, for example, that’s a racist po= sition. If you’re against the legalization of marijuana, that’s= racist too.”
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09“As you look aro= und the world, you can see this same gap between sentiments domina= ting higher-education systems and sentiments in the population at large&mda= sh;and sometimes between sentiments dominating higher education and sentime= nts among other elites. In France, for example, you can see President Emman= uel Macron, along with a broad swath of the French cultural vanguard, deepl= y concerned about the importation of what they see as ideological extremism= from the American University.”
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09“There’s a= kind of American exceptionalism at work in U.S. educational cultu= re—primarily in higher eduction, but in a way that also influences te= acher training and school leadership throughout the education system. The c= ulture has developed in a way that’s, by global standards, unusually = removed from a lot of the social and cultural center of gravity outside of = it. Which is why, I think, we’re seeing such a distinctive backlash a= gainst it. Educational systems can only work, ultimately, in harmony with t= he societies and cultures around them. To the extent they hold themselves t= oo far removed, they’ll incur an inevitable reigning in from the peop= le who pay for them and use them.”

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

= Continue reading ...

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

The Signal explores urgent que= stions in current events around the world—to support it and for full = access:

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

= Subscribe now

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

This email address is unmonitored;= please send questions or comments here.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

To advertise with The Signal: = ;advertise@thesgnl.com.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

Add us to your address book.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09Unsubscribe here.
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09
=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09© 2022 The Signal =09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09=09=09=09

=09=09=09