Suspicion and distrust of public schools and the alleged indoctrination of student doctrine by teachers sparked a debate in the state assembly before the House of Representatives New Hampshire Committee on Thursday.
Two bills before the House Education Committee had different goals, but both were rooted in conservative concern—much of it presented without evidence—that public schools teach liberal ideology.
One bill would expand parents’ ability to select their children from any individual lesson with “objectionable” content. Another would enforce “teacher loyalty” by amending Cold War-era law by adding new restrictions to instructions promoting “negative arithmetic” of the nation’s founding. Both led to a sharp backlash from teachers, and in the case of the loyalty gauge, the bill’s sponsors backed off.
As has been advanced, the teacher’s loyalty proposal would prevent advocacy of “communism, socialism, or Marxism,” or instructions that overlook “the global context of now outdated and discouraging practices,” including “a teaching that the United States was founded on racism.”
But the main sponsor of the measure, Representative Alicia Likas of Hudson, opened the hearing with acceptance: She is already in the process of rewriting her bill, prompting more than 2,200 people to sign up as opposition and 26 in support.
For many teachers present or watching the episode remotely, Likas’ explanation likely shocked the “dog ate my homework” remark.
“We ran out of time to get this ready,” Likas explained. “I was dropping by to help my brother, who had heart failure. I was staying with my mum, who had no internet, and I was trying to do it on my phone. It was so hard.”
But Likas said she remains convinced of the need for legislation to ensure “teacher loyalty” in the current political climate.
She said, “This is certainly happening in our state – teachers do not teach but teach doctrines.”
Lekas couldn’t cite a specific example when she was asked to provide it, but said she would check her emails and get back to the committee.
But other Republicans have supported her claims of inappropriate teaching, even if they fail to provide much evidence for their claims.
“Elements of the critical race theory are parts of the instruction across New Hampshire,” Representative Mike Moffett of Loudoun said.
Critical race theory, an academic concept centered around the idea that racial bias is embedded in American institutions and legal systems, not part of the New Hampshire elementary and high school curricula.
Moffett, a former teacher, told the committee that he could not support the Likas bill as it was drafted. He said that everyone deserves equal treatment under the law, but noted his support for monitoring teachers who support the Black Lives Matter movement, which he described as a “racist Marxist organisation”.
“When educators display slogans or banners championing the BLM, they deserve scrutiny for their judgment, values, and, perhaps yes, loyalty.” Moffett said.
Opponents of the proposal described it as a return to the days of the communist witch hunt.
“He (Joseph) McCarthy would be very excited about this act,” said Jennifer Geffen, a teacher at Hollis Brooklyn High School of History.
“I teach my students that there are lines: that slavery was wrong, that the Nazis were wrong, that fascism was wrong,” she said. I am not dogmatically indoctrinating them, but I do tell them that when people lose their lives for expressing their thoughts, it is wrong. And that’s exactly what this law is trying to do.”