Show Notes

Welcome back to The State of Education podcast, presented by One-Room Education.

In Part 3 of this amazingly informative mini-series, The Government’s War on Real Education, we’ll be discussing how the removal of Civics and History from the core curriculum has been wreaking havoc on our society. I also bring this series full circle and provide you with several steps that you can take to help correct the course of our nation’s education system on an individual basis; whether you are a parent or simply a concerned community member. Some of the topics being covered in this episode are:

• Basic misconceptions about the governmental structure of the United States and why it matters.
• Why History and civics are so important to the understanding of our modern world.
• Who would want the misconceptions and understandings to persist and why?
• Steps you can take to help reintroduce Real civics and history into your schools’ curriculums right now.

Basic misconceptions about the governmental structure of the United States

The United States government is NOT A DEMOCRACY! A Democracy is when each citizen has a direct vote in the everyday workings of the government.

The idea of being part of a direct democracy is appealing to people because it makes them feel like their one vote will make a bigger difference than it actually does.

The United States is a Republic with some democratic systems. According to Britannica:

---

Republic is a “…form of government in which the state is ruled by representatives of the citizen body.”

britannica.com

---

If words like “democracy” and “republic” are used interchangeably, it leads to a fundamental change in the understanding of those words by the citizenry, as well as their rights and roles within that governing system.

The republican system of government that we have in the United States, unlike some forms of democracy, allows the citizens to elect people to represent them so they can go off and live their lives without worrying about the day to day workings of the government.

Once the representatives are elected, it is your duty and obligation to inform then how you want them to represent you. Let them know how you want them to vote. If they don’t follow the instruction of the majority of constituents who contact them, then it is your right to campaign and get them voted out of office.

My definition of “tyranny” is:

---

Tyranny happens when the objective of the ruling class, in this case, the elected citizen representatives, is no longer the common good, but the private benefits of an individual or group.

---

Why would they want the general public to be misinformed about this?

The terms “democracy” and “republic” started to be used interchangeably sometime in the early 20th century after the last of the people who were alive during the revolutionary times had died off. People, being sent through the relatively newly established industrial schools (for more info on the industrial schools, click *here*), no longer knew how to learn on their own, and when they were told that the systems were so similar, they simply started using the terms interchangeably.

History and Civics classes started to be cut in the 1990s and early 2000s with the rise in funding for the STEM (now STEAM) and English Language Arts programs from the federal government. Along with the de-emphasis of History and Civics within the central curriculum, there has been a lack of emphasis on the importance of word choice and clearly defined language.

---

You see, if you are able to take away the history and civic education of a society, AND THEN change the meaning of language, then you can control the population of that society wholly and without resistance.

J., Katie. The State of Education podcast, presented by One-Room Education: Episode 7: The Government’s War on Real Education Part 3: The Removal of Civics and History from the Central Curriculum. Published 3/22/2022.

---

Who stands to benefit from this misunderstanding of the US government and our history?

The people who benefit from these misconceptions about the general basis for the American government are the tyrants. We only need to look at the national teacher’s unions and their incestuous relationship with their political backers.

They say that their ultimate goal is to “teach” your children right from wrong and the basics they need to get by in the modern economy, but, in reality, they do the opposite. They, the political wing of the teacher’s unions and the politicians that back them, work to ensure that your children think of you as the enemy of their education and that they know what’s best for your child and family, not you.

They work to keep our children as part of their indentured servitude economy where only the very few and lucky are able to break through, while the majority are left to live paycheck to paycheck trying to make sure that their children are fed.

If we don’t start teaching our children that they hold the real power when it comes to the government and how they hold that power right now, this, the millennial generation, WILL be the last generation to say that they used to be free.

How is the misunderstanding of civic rights, duty, and history causing problems in society today?

Example: The national guard coming in to teach and drive buses when there aren’t enough…let’s say compliant teachers and bus drivers for the school in regards to mandates.

This means that they are trying to say that you not complying with tyrannical, according to the definition I gave earlier, edicts, not laws, constitutes a state of emergency now.

Things like this are being tolerated because of the way that civic and history are being taught, or not taught today.

Students believe that they are entitled to an outcome if they follow the script their teachers give them. I’m sorry to inform you, but college and other forms of higher education do not guarantee success and are not the only path in the United States.

You are guaranteed equal access to opportunity, but if you sit around and don’t take advantage of those opportunities the American system has given you, then you don’t have a right to complain about not reaping the rewards.

We live in a merit-based society, meaning that you get out of it what you put into it. If you have a skill that people find useful, you can be rewarded for it.

This is the main issue that the lack of civic and historical education is causing. It’s making it so that young people, and sometimes not so young people, think that they are entitled to something from society for one reason or another.

The misunderstanding of the basic makeup of our government and society is making it so that everyone feels they MUST be accepted by the entirety of society, or they are being oppressed in some way. You are guaranteed equality under the law without discriminatory application of those laws, not acceptance by your fellow citizens.

These are the things that our students need to be taught.

I know it seems bleak, but let the darkness help you see the light that will guide you to where you’re supposed to be.

What can we do about it the misinformation and the spread of it inside and outside of the schools?

• Helping your kid if they attend school.
  • The first thing we can all do is teach our children at home.
    • I don’t mean homeschooling. I mean when stuff is going on in the news, at your work, or in their schools, make sure to take the time to talk to them. (Tuttle Twins books linked below)
  • You can ask for a full list of civics and history courses offered and the graduation requirements for them.
  • Go to the school board meetings.
    • Advocate for MEDAL OF HONOR CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM (Medal of Honor Curriculum).
  • Ask your child’s civics and history teachers for detailed lesson plans and all materials they intend to use in their classes.
    • Make sure that those lesson plans give you all of the information you need to ensure that your child is being taught in an unbiased manner.
    • Tell them that you want a list of ALL supporting materials they will be using.
  • Go and look at the classrooms your students are spending their time in.
• If a person is out of school or if you don’t have kids but want to help be part of the solution instead of the problem.
  • Be “That” person.
    • Every time someone says anything about the American Democracy
  • You still need to go to school board meetings.
    • You have a say in the future of your community, even if you don’t have children in the system.
    • You are part of the village the raises the next generation, so stand up and speak out!