Discussion: The Education Culture Wars

Topic: The Education Culture Wars

Moderator: Alan J

Public education has become a hot-button political issue in the United States. Here are some questions for discussion:

• Should any books be banned from public K–12 school libraries and, if so, at what grade levels?

• Should public K–12 teachers be restricted from discussing any aspects of gender identity or other LGBTQ topics, and, if so, at what at grade levels?

• What is critical race theory? Should state legislatures or local school boards limit the discussion of slavery and Black history in public K–12 schools, and, if so, how?
• Should state legislatures or administrative agencies control the content of public higher education and, if so, how?

The foregoing questions are not exclusive. Attendees may think of other, related questions that they wish to discuss, for example, the role of trans students in school sports.

Some References (not required reading):

1.     Jonathan Zimmerman, “Why the Culture Wars in Schools Are Worse Than Ever Before,” Politico, September 19, 2021, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/09/19/history-culture-wars-schools-america-divided-512614.
2.     Marguerite Reardon, “School Boards Are Becoming the Fiercest Battlefront for the Culture Wars,” CNET, June 20, 2022, https://www.cnet.com/news/politics/features/school-boards-are-becoming-the-fiercest-battlefront-for-the-culture-wars/.
3.     Andrew Atterbury, “How DeSantis and Florida Republicans are reshaping higher education,” Politico, October 16, 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/10/16/how-desantis-and-florida-republicans-are-reshaping-higher-education-00061980.
4.     Hannah Natanson et al., “An explosion of culture-war laws is changing schools. Here’s how,” Washington Post, October 18, 2022, https://wapo.st/3t3WmsW. (As a result of my Washington Post subscription, the foregoing link can be accessed without charge for fourteen days, notwithstanding the usual Washington Post paywall.)

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