I think everyone can agree that Civics education in America is suffering. Graduating students cannot answer basic questions on Civics. But there is a debate on how to improve Civics education for k-12 students.
I’ve attended public legislative hearings on Civics education in New Hampshire. Everyone agrees that we have a serious problem. It doesn’t surprise me that those testifying, admit that children are devoid of basic Civics knowledge. You would think that this would mean that everyone would want to improve Civics literacy. You’d be wrong.
Political activists see this as an opportunity to turn students into political activists. This is why they want to focus on Civics activism versus Civics literacy. There is a big difference.
NH Civics describes themselves as: The Leader in Civics Education—
We envision a New Hampshire that is first in the nation in citizen preparation and a national leader in civics education.
One would think that this organization would be fighting for Civics literacy for New Hampshire students, but when you look at what they’ve been doing, it makes you wonder.
WESTHEIMER
Back in 2020, NH Civics hosted Joel Westheimer as one of their guest speakers. Westheimer is the son of Ruth Westheimer, the sex therapist. Westheimer is the University Research Chair in Democracy and Education at the University of Ottawa. He is also the education columnist for CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning and Ontario Today shows.
Westheimer is an author and has written a few books including Pledging Allegiance, the Politics of Patriotism in America’s Schools. If you scroll through the quotes he includes on his website, you can see that many of the people are considered far leftists. What does that mean for Civics education? Howard Zinn is featured in his book, as the person who wrote the Forward. Howard Zinn’s book “A People’s History of the US” has been used in classrooms across the country.
Mary Grabar exposes Howard Zinn in her book Debunking Howard Zinn: Exposing the Fake History That Turned a Generation against America.
Scholar Mary Grabar exposes just how wrong in her stunning new book Debunking Howard Zinn, which demolishes Zinn’s Marxist talking points that now dominate American education.
Then there’s the interview with Westheimer and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers:
COMMUNITY ORGANIZING
One begins to wonder, what is it that NH Civics has in store for New Hampshire students?
Here is what NH CIVICS considers a good resource for teachers: Guardian of Democracy: The Civic Mission of Schools. The report was produced by the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, the Leonore Annenberg Institute of Civics of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.
What does Annenberg Institute for School Reform prioritize for students in public schools? Literacy? Academic excellence? NO. Community Organizing.
The Strengths and Challenges of Community Organizing as an Education. If you scroll down to the Introduction and go to the last paragraph you will see where they reference Saul Alinksy as a source for community organizing:
6 Community organizing has a long history in the United States. Warren (2001), Shirley (1997), and Oakes and Rogers (2006) provide excellent reviews of the historical roots of modern education organizing, including the evolution of the theories of Saul Alinsky and others.
Annenberg can be traced back to domestic terrorist and radical Bill Ayers.
LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS
We know NH Listens through the Carsey School of Public Policy, is a Community Organizing group out of UNH.
See:
1) NH Listens? No They Don’t. They Tell!
2) We’re being followed…..again.. Welcome, NH Listens & the Carsey Institute!
3) SAU16/Exeter: Now Hiding Critical Race Theory Meetings From the Public
4) Community Organizers Coming to Henniker/SAU24 to Divide the Community?
5) NH Civics? A Front for Radical Leftism in the New Hampshire Classrooms?
So it was interesting to see that NH Civics’ announced that they had hired Executive Director Allyson Ryder. Prior to joining NH Civics, Ryder worked in higher education at UNH in the Office of Community, Equity and Diversity, and as a Fellow for NH Listens through the Carsey School of Public Policy.
That’s code for, she worked as a community organizer for leftists.
Her Linked-In profile refers to her as a Systems Change Leader:
Change Agents seek to change the political landscape and identify the resisters in their community wherever they serve.
See: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Agents-Schools-Barbara-Morris/dp/0931650003
More from Ryder’s Linked-In Profile:
Think about the marketing employee who thought she could change the political landscape for Bud Lite.
One has to wonder what this equity and diversity expert wants to do with New Hampshire children and their whiteness.
COMMISSION ON New Hampshire CIVICS
It’s also important to know that NH Civics is part of the Commission on New Hampshire Civics. This commission was established to develop educational materials to teach the state constitution in New Hampshire schools. The statute law requires this commission to :
The commission shall create a textbook and related curriculum specifically designed for New Hampshire students and teachers to help them explore the history, heritage and principles of the New Hampshire Constitution and the government it established.
One can only imagine what kind of textbook NH Civics has in mind for the students in New Hampshire. Perhaps an anti-American textbook by Howard Zinn?
Even CNN is sounding the alarm on how these political agendas have failed American Universities.
The Commission has two meetings coming up that you should attend:
COMMISSION on New Hampshire Civics
01/23/2024 1:00 PM @
Department of Education, 25 Hall Street, Granite State College Building, Events Center, Concord Regular Meeting
01/08/2024 2:00 PM @
Department of Education 25 Hall Street, Granite State College Building, Events Center, Concord Regular Meeting
It might be worth watching what comes from the Civics Commission since NH Civics is part of this Commission.
