War on History Education

War on History Education

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Gov. Hochul orders CUNY to remove Palestine scholar job post
Gov. Hochul orders CUNY to remove Palestine scholar job post
The Governor of New York ordered a state university to remove a job posting, and the university complied. None of the details of this story allow for any other interpretation but a direct attack on academic freedom
Gov. Hochul orders CUNY to remove Palestine scholar job post
Department of Education Form (The tip line to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.
Department of Education Form (The tip line to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.

"This submission form is an outlet for students, parents, teachers, and the broader community to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning. The Department of Education will utilize community submissions to identify potential areas for investigation."

Department of Education Form (The tip line to report illegal discriminatory practices at institutions of learning.
US Dept of Education Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funds
US Dept of Education Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funds
This letter to universities and K-12 schools claims that federal law prohibits schools from teaching or promoting certain ideas about race that the department deems unacceptable, giving schools to February 28 to comply with this interpretation of the law or risk losing their federal funding.
US Dept of Education Feb 14th "Dear Colleague" letter to all educational institutions receiving federal funds
Open letter on academic freedom, in solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah - Overland literary journal
Open letter on academic freedom, in solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah - Overland literary journal
American educators fearing repression of academic freedom and inquiry should know the global nature of the struggle. This letter and petition of academic and scholars is in support of Randa Abdel-Fattah of Macquarie University who has been targets by the Australian Education Minister for her advocacy for the Palestinian people
Open letter on academic freedom, in solidarity with Randa Abdel-Fattah - Overland literary journal
National Archives and Records Administration Meet NARA's Leadership - Marco Rubio
National Archives and Records Administration Meet NARA's Leadership - Marco Rubio
The National Archives and Records Administration maintains and manages the preservation and documentation of historical records. It also transmits Electoral Votes to Congress and Constitutional Amendment documentation. After the Trump administration fired the Archivist of the United States, Colleen Shogan, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State of the United States, has been appointed acting Archivist of the United States. James Byron, the President & CEO of the Richard Nixon Foundation in Yorba Linda, California was appointed "Senior Advisor" to the Acting Archivist.
National Archives and Records Administration Meet NARA's Leadership - Marco Rubio
AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling”
AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling”

Joint Statement of the American Historical Association and the Organization of American Historians rejecting "the premise that it is “anti-American” or “subversive” to learn the full history of the United States with its rich and dramatic contradictions, challenges, and conflicts alongside its achievements, innovations, and opportunities."

This statement has been publicly endorsed by 36 history education associations

AHA–OAH Statement on Executive Order “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling”
PEN America Condemns Education Department's Threat to Defund Schools Over DEI Programs - PEN America
PEN America Condemns Education Department's Threat to Defund Schools Over DEI Programs - PEN America
PEN America's response to the Feb 14 “Dear Colleague” letter from the Department of Education’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights threatening schools and universities with the loss of federal funding for "teaching or promoting certain ideas about race that the department deems unacceptable."
PEN America Condemns Education Department's Threat to Defund Schools Over DEI Programs - PEN America
The War on History Is a War on Democracy - Timothy Snyder
The War on History Is a War on Democracy - Timothy Snyder
Timothy Snyder is the preeminent historian of the history of Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust. Here he argues persuasively that new laws restricting the discussion of race in American schools have dire precedents in Europe. This was written in June of 2021
The War on History Is a War on Democracy - Timothy Snyder
CATO Institute - Indoctrination, Choice, and the Constitution: Trump’s Education EOs
CATO Institute - Indoctrination, Choice, and the Constitution: Trump’s Education EOs
The CATO Institute is generally regarded as a libertarian think tank advocating for limited government - this is their take on the Executive Orders regarding education. In it, they state "the federal government is not justified in prohibiting discussion of ideas just because the president thinks they are wrong."
CATO Institute - Indoctrination, Choice, and the Constitution: Trump’s Education EOs
National Indian Education Association Letter to Administration regarding the Ending Radical Indoctrination Executive Order
National Indian Education Association Letter to Administration regarding the Ending Radical Indoctrination Executive Order
This letter to the Acting Secretary of Education and Acting Attorney General emphasizes consultation with the NIEA to ensure tribal histories and culture are included in K-12 curriculum and announces its commitment to " utilizing Tribal sovereignty to educate and protect our children in a manner that is clear and responsive to each of our community’s needs".
National Indian Education Association Letter to Administration regarding the Ending Radical Indoctrination Executive Order
Parker Poe Law Firm - What President Trump's Order on 'Ending Radical Indoctrination' Means for K-12 Schools
Parker Poe Law Firm - What President Trump's Order on 'Ending Radical Indoctrination' Means for K-12 Schools
This law firm's summary of the Executive "Ending Radical Indoctrination" order does not especially provide any additional information for public education administrators and teachers, but it does summarize the order well and makes it easier to understand its implications for teaching and learning history. Many law firms are publishing such guidance that can be easily found for comparison.
Parker Poe Law Firm - What President Trump's Order on 'Ending Radical Indoctrination' Means for K-12 Schools
Navigating New Federal Government Actions and Requirements | Rutgers University
Navigating New Federal Government Actions and Requirements | Rutgers University
This source provides Rutgers students and faculty with guidance for navigating federal attacks on education. Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway asserted that Rutgers "considers diversity to be necessary to foster the cultural competencies, resilience, and openness to dialogue that promote the intellectual growth and intergroup understanding that are essential for success in the classroom, the university community, and society at large."
Navigating New Federal Government Actions and Requirements | Rutgers University
Illinois Governor Pritzker Warns Against Threats to American Democracy in State of the State Address
Illinois Governor Pritzker Warns Against Threats to American Democracy in State of the State Address
In his annual State of the State address Democratic Governor JB Pritzker warns Americans against the threats to their democracy and says if they don't want to repeat history, they should be strong enough to learn from it. Pritzker says the seed of "distrust, hate and blame" is being sown to divide Americans and that he is "watching with a foreboding dread what is happening to our country." Pritzker appeals to Americans to take a stand, warning, "the authoritarian playbook is laid bare here....We don't have kings in America, and I don't intend to bend a knee to one."
Illinois Governor Pritzker Warns Against Threats to American Democracy in State of the State Address
Against Anticipatory Obedience - American Association of University Professors
Against Anticipatory Obedience - American Association of University Professors

The statement of the American Association of University Professors explains how the Trump Administration will "attack the curricular authority of the faculty on a number of fronts, including professors’ ability to undertake “teaching, research, and service that respond to the needs of a diverse global public", calling on the AAUP chapters to "vigorously and loudly oppose them"
The statement closes with a call to action - "Now is not the time to be complacent. Now is the time to act.

Against Anticipatory Obedience - American Association of University Professors
Brian Gibbs - I am absolutely heartbroken and completely... | Facebook
Brian Gibbs - I am absolutely heartbroken and completely... | Facebook
This post by a recently fired park ranger shows his personal loss but also shows how Important learning at National Parks is being indiscriminately destroyed. Irreplaceable institutional knowledge will soon be gone from historic sites across the country
Brian Gibbs - I am absolutely heartbroken and completely... | Facebook
AP style guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley | The Associated Press
AP style guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley | The Associated Press
Although not explicitly related to education, this is the Associated Press's explanation regarding its decision to continue to refer to the Gulf of Mexico in the way it has been named for 400 years, and it's decision to use the name Mount McKinley for the area within federal jurisdiction . For this, AP reporters have been banned from White House briefings
AP style guidance on Gulf of Mexico, Mount McKinley | The Associated Press
Linda McMahon Senate Confirmation Hearing
Linda McMahon Senate Confirmation Hearing
Transcript of Linda McMahon's Senate confirmation hearing for Education Secretary. In it, she does not clearly say that African American history can still be taught at high schools
Linda McMahon Senate Confirmation Hearing
What Is the Role of the Historian?
What Is the Role of the Historian?
A former AHA president's take on the American Historical Association's Council to veto the 428-88 vote of the AHA membership condemning Israel's "Scholasticide" in Gaza
What Is the Role of the Historian?
National Endowment for the Arts - Legal Requirements and Assurance of Compliance
National Endowment for the Arts - Legal Requirements and Assurance of Compliance
The new N.E.A. rules require applicants to agree not to operate diversity programs “that violate any applicable federal anti-discrimination laws” and call on grant applicants to pledge not to use federal funds to “promote gender ideology.” They refer to an executive order Mr. Trump signed that declares that the United States recognizes only “two sexes, male and female.”
National Endowment for the Arts - Legal Requirements and Assurance of Compliance
Title ix enforcement directive dcl 109477
Title ix enforcement directive dcl 109477
This Feb 4 letter from the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Dept Of Education's Office for Civil Rights declaring that no portion of the 2024 extension of Title IX protection is in effect.
Title ix enforcement directive dcl 109477
Resignation Letter from the Modern Language Association (David Palumbo-Liu)
Resignation Letter from the Modern Language Association (David Palumbo-Liu)
This letter from a Professor of Comparative Literature at Stanford relinquishing his lifetime membership in the MLA prompted by the board's denial of a member vote on a resolution on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) related to Gaza reflects authoritarian influence on academic, educational institutions
Resignation Letter from the Modern Language Association (David Palumbo-Liu)
What Can The MLA Do?
What Can The MLA Do?
In further commentary on the MLA's decision to prevent membership from voting. on the BDS resolution, Matt Seybold advocated the MLA meet its mission of "promoting the study, teaching, and understanding of languages, literature, and culture". He is Associate Professor of American Literature & Mark Twain Studies at Elmira College, as well as Resident Scholar at the Center For Mark Twain Studies.
What Can The MLA Do?
Trump May Wish to Abolish the Past. We Historians Will Not.
Trump May Wish to Abolish the Past. We Historians Will Not.
David Blight (Yale), Beth English (Exec Dir Organization of American Historians), James Grossman (Exe. Dir. American Historical Association Commentary on recent executive order on “radical indoctrination” saying that historians and all that teach "should loudly protest this incursion into our schools, our writing, and our minds" "Our society has never needed us quite as much as they do now"
Trump May Wish to Abolish the Past. We Historians Will Not.
To Defeat Fascism, We Must Reject Nostalgia
To Defeat Fascism, We Must Reject Nostalgia
This essay written by a reviewer of books and films raises important questions for the reflective history teacher - how much of what you teach is nostalgia?
To Defeat Fascism, We Must Reject Nostalgia