Jeffrey M. Peyton
Some Georgia lawmakers want to ban schools from teaching kids to be racist. Amazingly, other Georgia lawmakers actually oppose the measure. The legislation of contention is called the “Protect Students First” act.
So, what does the “Protect Students First” prohibit from being taught in Georgia schools and public colleges? If passed, the act would make it illegal for schools to teach that:
One race is inherently superior to another
The United States is fundamentally racist
An individual, by virtue of his or her race, is inherently racist or oppressive toward individuals of other races
Individuals should be discriminated against solely because of their race
An individual’s moral character is inherently determined by his or her race
By virtue of their race, individuals bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by others of the same race
An individual should feel anguish or other form of psychological distress because of his or her race
Merit-based advancement policies are racist
For all those state lawmakers opposing this legislation, I ask you: Which of these concepts SHOULD be taught in public schools? Which deserve tax-dollars funding? Why in the world would anyone argue in favor of teaching this stuff to our kids?
Put on your Momma or Daddy hat for a minute and bear with me. Little Lolly and Tiny Tommy come home from their third day of fifth grade, excited to learn all about the world (and the vanilla pudding in the cafeteria after lunch!). They share with you that today they learned how racist you really are, and how sad it makes them to find out that they are personally responsible for something other people did two hundred years ago, because they happen to share that particular racial identity.
How do you feel about that?
How should you feel about that?
Now, I’m not suggesting that anyone in Habersham County schools currently teaches that claptrap. I am pointing out that there are Georgia lawmakers in Atlanta right now arguing that they should be able to.
State Sen. Bo Hatchett, the bill’s chief sponsor, calls these “divisive concepts.” Artfully put. It bothers me that something as patently evil as racism needs polite language to discuss at all. It infuriates me that blocking schools from spending tax dollars to actively promote racism needs any debate. At all.
Read those “divisive concepts” again. Do you know anyone who is actually divided by any of them? Do you even want to?
Surely we can all agree that racism is bad. Can’t we?
And, if racism is bad, can we also agree that actively and intentionally teaching kids to be racist is particularly bad?
Can we agree that it is patently insane to pay teachers to tell our children that there is something wrong with them based on the color of their skin? (Maybe, instead, schools could use that time for bonus instruction on something actually useful, like reading or algebra?)
The legislative process is an arkane one, often requiring well-intentioned people to support or oppose things simply because members of the other party oppose or support them. My fervent hope is that actual instruction in racism doesn’t devolve into one of those “party line” votes. I’d like to believe that Georgia lawmakers – even those you can count on to disagree with me on any other topic – are better than that.
Jeff Peyton is the publisher of The Northeast Georgian. Reach him at 706-778-4215 or jpeyton@TheNortheastGeorgian.com.