U.S. Ed Dept will fund 'unifying, uplifting' civics, history lessons

"Patriotic education"will be a priority for federal grants, said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week, reports Sarah Schwartz in Education Week. The department wants civics and history lessons that provide "a unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation’s founding ideals.”

The America 250 Civics Coalition, led by the very conservative America First Policy Institute, will produce educational programming in advance of America’s 250th birthday next year, Schwartz writes.

During his first term, Trump convened the 1776 Commission to promote patriotic education. Its report, condemning identity politics and anti-American attitudes, was ignored by educators.

"Civics is largely a bipartisan priority, but debates about how the subject should be taught often break down along partisan lines," writes Schwartz. Republican state legislators have focused on building civic knowledge and pride, and opposed attempts to engage students in lobbying local officials or working on solutions to local problems. They think "action civics," as it's known, means turning students into activists for their teacher's favored causes.

National education groups have designed guidelines that try "to chart a middle path, emphasizing the importance of building both civic knowledge and civic dispositions," she writes.

Trump's America 250 group is certain to run into the same credibility problems as the 1776 Commission. "The membership of this coalition seems to represent one side of the aisle,” Louise Dubé, the CEO of iCivics, a civic education nonprofit, told Education Week. “We understand that this is an open coalition, and we believe it would be useful to our country to integrate more balance of perspectives so that we can as a nation exercise reflective patriotism at this critical time.”

I like patriotism, and I prefer it without foam at the mouth or self-flagellation. I hope the great normie center can decide to celebrate this anniversary in a unifying, uplifting and reflective way. There are a lot of us sane people.

In 1975, the Bicentennial year, I'd just starting working for a chain of local newspapers. I remember people painting fire hydrants in patriotic colors and . . . Well, it was a long time ago. But I remember it was fun.