LET’S TALK ABOUT IT…
Social Studies as Social Indoctrination?

Should Kindergarteners learn about the concept of gender expression?

Should first graders be taught that there are lots of ways to be a girl, boy, both, or neither?

Should young elementary students be taught that families are simply groups of people bonded together by love? And that these groups may simply be “chosen family”?

Should high school students learn to identify as global citizens?

Should teachers be instructed how to circumvent state laws which require guardian consent for sexually themed topics?

These lessons and hundreds of similar ones are officially recommended by the Colorado State Board of Education in support of fulfilling the new state social studies standards. 

HCSCCGE Commission Say It Three Times Fast

During the 2019 legislative session, Colorado state legislators approved House Bill 19-1192, which requires state schools to teach all grade levels about the history and social contributions of a wide variety of minorities, including racial and sexual minorities and specifically calls out the “intersectionality of significant social and cultural features within these communities.” The law established the History, Culture, Social Contributions, and Civil Government in Education Commission and tasked the group with developing programs for elementary students to engage them with “the process of discovery and interpretation” of cultural and social issues.

Where Did  HCSCCGE Come From? 

The bill requiring the new state standards focused on sexual and racial characteristics was sponsored by Northern Colorado representatives Democrat and former Poudre School District Director Cathy Kipp and Democrat and current Fort Collins Mayor Jeni Arndt and was lobbied into existence by teachers and school administrators. The publicly funded Colorado Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers Colorado and the Colorado Association of School Executives all spent money and effort lobbying for approval of the “inclusive” standards. Local school district employees and administrators have close ties with those organizations and Kipp’s campaign was endorsed by the CEA.

The lesson plans in Colorado’s schools teaching children to identify as global citizens and encouraging them understand that there are lots of ways to be a boy or a girl or neither come directly from teachers, school executives, and members of Northern Colorado’s civil servants.

Sponsored Locally, Taught Locally

While our local officials may have been instrumental in passing those bills, surely those lessons are not actually in our NoCo schools. Maybe they are in Denver’s schools. Denver is a mess. Northern Colorado is lovely and nice and our teachers would never teach those things. So.

We wondered how or if these lessons manifest locally and it did not take long to find an example from Poudre School District’s high school history curriculum.

During the summer of 2020, the PSD Board of Education approved new curricula for U.S. History and Economics classes while specifically citing the new Kipp/Arndt-sponsored law as the reason for doing so. The adoption came with a steep initial price tag of nearly $400,000, and some board members expressed concern about spending such a large amount during a “budget crisis.” The adoption committee was comprised of a few district officials and many social studies teachers from across the district’s high schools and included since retired Rocky Mountain High School teacher and active Poudre Education Association member Kurt Knierim, who, based on his social media posts is a fan of critical theories in education. 

The committee assured the Board of Education that the recommended sources were analyzed “through a diversity lens” and that teachers would need to be prepared “to have in-depth and difficult discussions” with their students about controversial topics. PSD elected officials approved Cengage/National Geographic’s America Through the Lens textbook for its U.S. History courses in June of 2020. The title “Through the Lens” accompanied by beautiful National Geographic photos initially makes one think the publisher means “camera lens,” but given PSD’s analysis, perhaps there is a more esoteric meaning which implies looking at America Through the “Diversity Lens.”

National Geographic is clear about their goals with their educational materials. They seek to have children identify as global citizens and weave diversity into their lessons.

What About the Littles?

Could we find evidence of specific lesson plans being used in elementary schools? The short answer is—no.

The truth is, other than sitting in classrooms while lessons are taught, parents have virtually no way of knowing exactly what is taught to their elementary school children each day. We do know that elementary school teachers must teach lessons aimed at achieving the Colorado Department of Education’s Academic Standards. And we also know that the CDE has curated an extensive resource bank of recommended lessons across grade levels. It is reasonable to believe that local teachers are using a selection of these recommended lessons in their classrooms.

What Might Kinders Be Taught?

A Kindergarten lesson plan approved by the state encourages teachers to guide children to "explore their identities" and "explore the concept of gender expression.” While children should be encouraged to freely express themselves, we wonder how developmentally appropriate it is to teach young children who are just learning to categorize the world that definitions like boy and girl and family are limitless. (click on the image for a link to the entire lesson)

What Might 1st Graders Be Taught?

The state recommends the following lesson on Inclusive Leadership developed by Sam Westerdale (she/her) and Jenny Pettit (she/her) for first graders learning about civics (click on the image for a link to the entire lesson):

The CDE recommended lesson highlights two Democrat elected leaders, focusing specifically on their sexual identities. We wonder how beneficial it is for six-year-olds to recognize and evaluate political leaders on the basis of their sexual preferences. Additionally, the results achieved by these specific politicians are glorified through a myopic lens and read more like political campaign ads instead of objective analysis. We are concerned that first graders could be taught the over-simplified belief that sexual minority civic leaders are somehow extraordinarily successful and heroic.

What Might 6th Graders Be Taught?

A CDE recommended history lesson for 6th graders titled “Historical LGBTQ+ Cultures in the Western Hemisphere” comes from Adams 12 Five Star Schools teacher Sarah Fritsche (she/her) (click on the image for a link to the entire lesson):

The state’s Annotated Resource Set #10 6^th Grade History lesson included in Ms. Fritsche’s lesson on indigenous people’s values around the LGBTQ+ community explains the concept of Two Spirit with a recommended video. Click on the image below to watch the video which may be shown in your local middle school classroom.

Do Not Take Our Word For It

As always, we encourage our readers to do your own research, ask questions and seek to understand these stories yourselves. Consider what you think of these lessons, keeping in mind the people and processes which made them possible. When you are ready, head down the proverbial rabbit trail by clicking on the image below, where you can get lost reviewing the recommended lessons for Colorado children. Lessons which were developed, funded, and approved by public sector education unions and their political friends.

Up Next, Critical Consciousness

In reviewing these state-sponsored social studies lessons, we realized an important thing which must be explained, as it relates to what is at the heart of these lessons. Next week we will analyze the idea of Critical Consciousness and how it connects to these lessons and our local districts.

TRENDING CONVERSATIONS
How Much Money Does It Take?

Teachers unions perpetually state that public education needs more money. We wonder exactly how much money would be sufficient—$25,000 per student? Thirty? One hundred thousand dollars per student? Is there an upper limit to how much money is sufficient to spend per student?

IS THIS A GOOD IDEA?
Jude’s Law—Male, Female, or X?

Colorado’s Governor Jared Polis celebrated the beginning of Pride Month in 2019 by signing into law , signed the bill into law Colorado House Bill 19-1039. The bill, nicknamed “Jude’s Law,” allows the sex listed on any Colorado birth certificate to be changed. A male could change his birth certificate to list his sex as female and vice versa. Additionally, a man or a woman could change his or her birth certificate to list “X” for a sex.

Minors may amend their sex listed on their birth certificates when accompanied with a request letter from the child’s parent, guardian OR legal representative. Additionally, a child must provide a letter from a medical OR mental health care provider that states the minor has undergone any type of treatment for the purpose of gender transition.

The bill was sponsored at the time by Northern Colorado’s Representatives Cathy Kipp and Jeni Arndt, as well as Senator Joann Ginal.

To view a complete “How To” on how to change your gender in the state of Colorado, visit One Colorado’s resource HERE.

WHY WAS I NEVER TOLD?
Women Honoring Men

This letter from American History comes to you from our capitol and sheds light upon a monument few know exists, lost amongst all the more famous monuments. This monument, however, is one of the most unique in the United States and we hope you enjoy hearing about the Titanic Women's Memorial.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

☑️ WATCH the recorded PSD Board of Education’s Business Meeting from 8/27 where the Board approved a ballot measure for a $49,000,000 tax increase. WATCH the meeting HERE.

☑️ LEARN about Social Emotional Learning in the Educational system HERE.

☑️ CONSIDER the implications of a ballot measure which would enshrine school choice in Colorado’s constitution HERE.

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