Indiana Legislator Loses Sleep Over The Teaching of History in Our Schoools

 Civics education bill sparks questions about potential chilling effect on some U.S. history

SB 257 says civics courses must “foster a national identity” by teaching principles from the Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. That includes ideals like limited government, individual liberty and separation of powers, among others.

Sen. Spencer Deery (R- West Lafayette), the bill’s author, said it is necessary because young Americans don’t have pride in their country. He cited a study linked to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

“Only 39 percent are grateful for America’s founding. Flip that around and you get six in 10, or a majority, who essentially oppose the founding of America,” he said. “More than half favor writing a new Constitution, and four in 10 consider our founding fathers more as villains than heroes.”

Deery said some civics curriculums teach students to look at the country’s history in a negative light and place more emphasis on its mistakes than its ideals. He said this bill would prevent those curricula from being taught in Indiana schools.

Oh, so many questions come to my mind! Let me list some of mine.

1. What is our "national identity"?
2. Who is defining our "national identity"?
3. How does a Midwestern identity fit within a national identity?
4. How well can a Midwestern identity fit in with a Southern identity, since it was our men in blue who put down the Secessionists?
5. Where is the mention of Indiana's Constitution, and how does that fit within the idea of limited government?
6. What civics curriculums teach students to look at the country’s history in a negative light?
7. Do Indiana schools teach the Northwest Ordinance with its prohibition of slavery? Slavery does put the country’s history in a negative light.
8. Do Indiana schools teach the Civil War was fought for state's rights without mentioning that the right the Southern states sought to protect was owning and selling slaves?
9. Do Indiana schools explain why there are no Indians in Indiana? Genocide also puts the country’s history in a negative light.
10. Do Indiana schools teach about the Ku Klux Klan's influence on the state's politics? Racism and xenophobia do put the state’s history in a negative light.
11. Should we put much pride in a country awash in racism, sexism, and religious bigotry?
12. Should we not take pride in how this country has overcome its tendency for racism, sexism, and religious bigotry?
13. Is not hiding this country's history of genocide, racism, sexism, and religious bigotry a hypocrisy that undermines our ideals?

The article raises some of these points, and the bill's author responded:

Deery said the purpose of that portion of the bill is not to prohibit discussion about certain topics but to reframe how they are discussed.

“It’s not saying you can’t teach these things. It’s simply saying, what is the framework you’re teaching them in?” he said. “Is America good, or is it not? Is American aspiring to reach these values, or is it not? I reject the idea that you can’t cover some of our shortcomings without a way that doesn’t revere the founding principles of our country.”

I wholeheartedly agree with this:

Sen. Fady Qaddoura (D-Indianapolis) said people can have pride for their country while also acknowledging past problems.

“We can celebrate America, the greatest nation on Earth that contributes to the well-being of the entire globe, without taking anything away from the people who helped build the nation, who fought in the Revolution, who fought in the Civil War, who led the Civil Rights Movement,” he said. “They are part of the nation; they are part of the culture. They are part of the heritage.”

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