Letter: Generation Citizen curriculum – Parents, beware

Posted 5/21/21

Parents and grandparents of children attending public schools, take special notice. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a cancer that is infiltrating public schools everywhere.

Traditional civics …

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Letter: Generation Citizen curriculum – Parents, beware

Posted

Parents and grandparents of children attending public schools, take special notice. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a cancer that is infiltrating public schools everywhere.

Traditional civics curriculum, which is essential for good citizenship, has been absent from our public schools for far too long. Too many generations have entered adulthood and the workplace without a firm grounding in our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution and our unique republican system of government at the federal and state levels.

We must build a strong, fact-based structure detailing the three co-equal branches of government and the rules by which legislation is introduced, debated, and voted on for passage, executed and their constitutionality decided.

But you need to be aware there are forces hard at work and determined to undermine the very essence of our democracy.

The Bristol Warren Five Year Strategic Plan is calling for the Generation Citizen (GC) project based active civics program to be expanded into grades 6, 7 and 8. It has already infiltrated teachers’ professional development training.

The founders of GC subscribe to the following bedrock belief: "America faces the reality of an unjust and unequal democracy.” It is more about indoctrinating than teaching middle school age children.

I urge every parent and grandparent to research GC. Check out its mission statement and Theory of Change. Its true goal, as stated on its website, is to become the controlling authority when it comes to teaching active civics. Its primary objective is to turn our students into political activists (grade school lobbyists) with the lofty goals of teaching “equity centered Action Civics,” "advocate for policies at the state and federal levels to ensure all young people receive equity centered civics education in school” and, lastly, “achieve a just inclusive democracy that is responsive to all young people.”

I doubt that any of those aspirations are consistent with the vision the founding fathers of our nation and framers of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, which is the envy of freedom loving people throughout the world.

What the GC promoters really seek to create are generations of partisan political activists.

And worse, this divisive, destructive and misguided GC program is soon to be funded with federal tax dollars and likely private fund sources which will help pave the way for radical left leaning CRT zealots to decide what will be taught, by whom and to whom.

Legislation is being considered now to bring back civics to our schools. That is a good thing. Both House and Senate bills (H5028 and S0350) call for project based active civics, which will further allow GC to work its nose under the public school tent. Call and ask your state rep. to proceed cautiously with this well-intended but naïve legislation.

Tell them to keep the spirit of the legislation in place but to craft more guardrails to prevent outside forces from high jacking the traditional civics curriculum we all want and need.

Peter Hewett
Bristol

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Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.