Arizona teacher speaks out on Trump education order
White House executive order makes claims of indoctrination, anti-American curriculum, and students based on ‘skin color.’ One teacher talks about what really goes on in the classroom.
With the education community scrambling to catch up with a new White House executive order regarding in-classroom teaching, a myriad of agencies have spoken out.
Teachers, however, are less inclined to comment publicly about President Trump’s “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” order issued Jan. 29. Trump calls for “patriotic education” methods to be taught in schools designed to “instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible Nation and the values for which we stand.”
Districts deemed to be not complying with the White House order may be punished by the Trump Administration pulling federal money. In Arizona, a fiscal policy analysis from the legislature’s joint legislative budget committee shows $2.5 billion in federal money was appropriated to the Arizona Department of Education for fiscal year 2024.
The National Education Association the same day the executive order was issued commented on behalf of its 3 million educators and allies members.
“Instead of lifting students, Trump and his allies are shamelessly trying to restrict the freedom of educators to teach and students to learn, while also punishing educators for ensuring schools are a safe space where all students — regardless of gender identity or race — have a sense of belonging,” NEA President Becky Pringle stated.
Individually, teachers may be reluctant to speak out for fear of professional, or personal, retribution.
But one Valley public education teacher who wishes to remain anonymous offers perspective from inside the classroom, including on claims made in the Jan. 29 executive order.
The first section of the order claims “parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”
“There are maybe 1-2 parents per year that raise some questions, and as long as you meet them on their level, the problem quickly disappears,” the teacher said this week. “Yet even with the differing levels, I see no genuine calls to the hotline or reporting of local teachers. Just as I have yet to see any teacher refuse to meet parents to gain a better understanding of what goes on within a classroom.”
Nor is there much to the suggestion that teachers “indoctrinate” students, according to this Valley educator.
“My conservative and liberal coworkers alike scoff at the idea of indoctrination. Most days we can’t even get (students) to turn in their homework or put down their phones, let alone let us be ‘successful’ enough to underwrite decades of education to instill our personal views.”
Contrary to the White House’s claims of a political bias in U.S. public school curriculum against conservative ideology, this Arizona teacher has experienced the opposite.
“Certain schools in the Valley allow students to leave campus for Seminary, we have Christian athletic clubs, Young Republicans clubs, and a Turning Point USA club. I don’t see any Communist clubs, or Satanic After School programs, do you?”
The executive order places emphasis on a foundation of “race” in public school education with claims of school environments operating “as an echo chamber” in which students “are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics.”
“If anything our school showcases the flaws of the school system espoused by Trump,” the teacher remarked. “If you were to ask the students now who Emmett Till was, you might get a few answers. James Baldwin, Fred Hampton? Good luck having students identify them. Martin Luther King Jr. is a prop used for the religious teachers in our school who conveniently omit his more critical letters and speeches in his life. Can we get a list of who the president thinks these kids are being taught?”
That can also be reflected on a more local level here in the Valley, the teacher suggests.
“Ask our U.S. history students to name any Indigenous leaders during (President Andrew) Jackson’s reign and you might get one,” the teacher said. “Ask them about boarding schools and they might know how Indian School Road earned its name. They get a taste of the atrocities America has committed, and still, they want to water it down.”
The phrase “patriotic education” is referenced in the executive order and is defined, in part in the EO, as “the concept that celebration of America’s greatness and history is proper.” This Valley teacher believes one-dimensional curriculum runs contrary to the full “complexities” of U.S. history.
“The majority of the time when (students) are faced with these less than ‘great’ concepts we rely on the excuse, ‘Everyone was doing it’ or ‘They were just products of their time.’ This will only get worse with the oversimplified curriculum heralded by the EO,” the teacher said.
How the executive order’s directives figure to be applied, or enforced, remains unclear. Even Arizona State Superintendent Tom Horne is not prepared to say.
“Supt. Horne and department leadership are reviewing the Executive Orders and we will have more detailed comment later,” a Horne spokesperson emailed on Jan. 30.
In the meantime, classroom instruction will continue.
“When creating lesson plans, I will abide by the law to the best of my ability. I will teach about the highest moments of America as well as their lowest,” the teacher said. “But when the law and executive order rewrites reality, then I will choose reality over the law. I will find any loophole and vague writing possible to make sure the students are engaged with the reality of history rather than the narrative of America.”
As for a threat to pull federal funding from Arizona public education, this teacher sees a broader concern.
“I think the money has been disappearing already, with school choice, vouchers, and between bonds and overrides failing all across the state, I fear that drawing of funding has already begun. I would rather lose my job teaching about revolution than keep my job being complicit.”
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Steve Stockmar News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net
Meet Steve Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
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