VALUES-BASED EDUCATION
THE CODE FOR WHITE CHRISTIAN NATIONALIST EDUCATION
In recent years, the term "values-based education" has been thrown around a lot. It sounds like a good thing, right? Who doesn't want to teach kids about values? But as it turns out, "values-based education" is just a fancy code for white Christian nationalist education. And who's behind this nefarious plot? None other than Betsy DeVos, Moms for Liberty, and the one and only Charles Koch.
So what exactly is "values-based education"? Well, it's not exactly a new concept. In fact, it's been around for centuries. The idea is that schools should teach students not just academic subjects, but also moral values. Sounds harmless enough, right? But when you dig a little deeper, you start to see the real agenda behind this movement.
The first clue is in the name itself. "Values-based education" implies that there is one set of values that should be taught to all students. And what are those values? You guessed it: conservative Christian values. Things like abstinence-only sex education, creationism instead of evolution, and a strict adherence to traditional gender roles. In other words, the kind of values that Betsy DeVos and her ilk believe in.
But it's not just about what's being taught in the classroom. It's also about who's doing the teaching. The proponents of "values-based education" believe that only teachers who share their conservative Christian values should be allowed to teach in public schools. This means that teachers who are LGBTQ+, non-Christian, or just don't agree with their particular brand of conservatism would be excluded from the profession. Talk about diversity and inclusion, right?
And if you think this is all just a conspiracy theory, think again. Groups like Moms for Liberty are actively pushing for "values-based education" in schools across the country. They claim to be fighting against "indoctrination" in schools, but what they really mean is that they want to indoctrinate kids with their own conservative Christian beliefs.
And then there's Charles Koch. You might know him as the billionaire behind Koch Industries, one of the largest privately held companies in the world. But did you know that he's also a major funder of conservative causes and organizations? That's right, he's been pouring millions of dollars into groups that promote "values-based education" and other conservative Christian agendas.
So what can we do about this? Well, for starters, we can call out the hypocrisy of these groups. They claim to be all about freedom and choice, but what they really want is to impose their own narrow worldview on everyone else. We can also support organizations that are fighting against this kind of indoctrination in our schools.
But perhaps the most important thing we can do is to educate ourselves and our children about what's really going on. We need to teach them to think critically, to question authority, and to stand up for what's right. Because at the end of the day, that's what values-based education should really be about: teaching kids to be good citizens, not just good Christians.