The Hamas massacre of Oct. 7 was depraved and shocking in and of itself; a pogrom livestreamed by the terrorists themselves, of the rape, murder and kidnap of innocent men, women and children. Then on Oct. 8 the aftershocks hit America, when significant numbers of people reacted not with abhorrence, but celebration.<\/p>\n
It was as if radicalized students and faculty members on college campuses were sleeper cells suddenly activated in support of Hamas. It wasn\u2019t a massive surprise to those of us who have been following and challenging these trends for years.<\/p>\n
But many others were taken aback by the extent and influence of these extremists. They cast Jews who objected to the massacre of fellow Jews as \u201ccolonizers\u201d and \u201cwhite supremacists\u201d and Arabs who objected to the Hamas death cult as \u201ccollaborators\u201d or \u201ctraitors.\u201d Posters of kidnapped and subsequently murdered children were ripped down.<\/p>\n
It was identity politics taken to its most absurd and immoral conclusions. Good becomes evil. Evil becomes good. And the sole basis for determining which is which is the group to which the victim or the perpetrator belongs. All that matters is a person\u2019s identity: members of some groups can never be innocent, even if they are a baby, and members of some groups can never be guilty, even if they murder that baby with their bare hands.<\/p>\n
The agency of individuals is sacrificed on the altar of identity. Individual rights, freedoms and agency \u2014 the bedrock of America and all liberal democracies \u2014 get kneecapped. It is illiberal, anti-democratic and un-American.<\/p>\n
But this level of moral inversion did not happen overnight. It was a process of grooming our kids \u2014 brainwashing them \u2014 for decades. Some parents know their kids need to get prepared to encounter this stuff at college. But in fact, the grooming process started way earlier. Even in K-12 education teachers and unions are pushing radical, anti-democratic agendas.<\/p>\n
As K-12 aged kids prepare to go back to school, how can parents build their resilience for when they encounter these agendas in the classroom?<\/p>\n
The first step is to understand there is a problem. Take the teacher from United Teachers Los Angeles, the second largest teachers union chapter in the U.S., who last year gave a PowerPoint presentation at a union meeting entitled: \u201cHow to be a teacher & an organizer. . . and NOT get fired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or the Massachusetts Teachers Association that distributed material to its members that included a dollar bill folded into a Star of David, a poster calling President Biden a serial killer and a poster that said, \u201cZionists F*** Off.\u201d These are not isolated examples.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re seeing a surge in classroom materials that frame America as a colonial oppressor, but disregard the democratic values it gave the world. We\u2019re seeing lesson plans that feed resentments but offer no framework for civic engagement, agency or positive change and teacher guides that don\u2019t just deal with the obvious historic faults and imperfections in American democracy but are calling to run the whole thing into the ground.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not giving young people tools and motivation to improve the society around them, but a blueprint for burning it down. It\u2019s feeding a worldview of grievance over gratitude, division over unity, cynicism over hope.<\/p>\n
Young people need to be equipped with knowledge about racism, inequality and the importance of diverse voices. And we shouldn\u2019t be afraid of teaching them their country\u2019s history with honesty and rigor even when uncomfortable. But when curricula steer students to despise the United States and Western democracies, and whitewash undemocratic alternatives, that\u2019s not education \u2014 that\u2019s indoctrination.<\/p>\n
How did we get here? Radical social justice activism in schools has its roots in critical social theories that gained prominence in the 20th century. These theories: Marxism, decolonization, and critical race theory offered critiques of Western societies and advocated for the dismantling of existing institutions.<\/p>\n
Beginning in the late 1960s, these ideas became embedded in university curricula and academic programs often under the guise of \u201cethnic studies,\u201d influencing not only students but also faculty and administration. Those who celebrate and justify Oct. 7 do so in the language of those theories.<\/p>\n
Today, social justice activism plays a central role in teacher training, most of which are based in universities. Aspiring teachers are often trained in critical pedagogy, an educational approach grounded in the principles of critical theory<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a mother, this concerns me. Studies show that students taught to view institutions as irredeemable are less civically engaged<\/a> by age 18. They\u2019re more cynical<\/a> and more disconnected \u2014 more likely to believe in nothing and therefore fall for anything. But those grounded in history, complexity, and even pride are more likely to inquire, vote, and serve.<\/p>\n Our democratic civil society offers a chance to participate that many around would die for \u2014 and often do. Just ask Americans who fled here from Russia, China or the Islamic Republic of Iran.<\/p>\n