What Will Texas Schools Teach When 'The War of the Woke' Ends?

DALLAS —The "War of the Woke" is on between Texas legislators and educators, and the territory they're fighting for is between the ears of every pre-college student in the state.

Principal among the legislation advancing through the house and senate is one bill proposed by Conroe Republican State Senator Brandon Creighton mandating that Social Studies curriculum be limited to "traditional history," and avoid thorny and often murky topics, especially those concerning race.

A companion bill could soon be up for a vote in the House.

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What's at stake could be nothing less than our kids' need to grasp the underpinnings of America yesterday and today.

At present, there are two vastly different perspectives: one, dubbed Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become synonymous with the politics of "wokeness." CRT attempts to create a more diversity-friendly description of the founding and development of the nation, and students are exposed to less-than-flattering aspects of the country's progress toward equality for all.

Countering that is an agenda promoted by now ex-President Trump called the 1776 Commission, which advocates promoting "patriotic education" and banning CRT.

Teachers postulate that Creighton's proposed bill could have long-term harmful effects and usher in a populace that is less informed, less inquisitive and less likely to be effective as participants in the democratic process.

Texans are not alone in the changes they're considering; Tennessee and Idaho are also flirting with similar legislative initiatives.

Defending his bill, Creighton explained on Facebook that he didn't want to "make students apologize for our country and our history." He's also stated that students shouldn't be encouraged to protest, strike or lobby.

Some scholars argue that those were the very principles that made Bostonians dump tea into their harbor in 1773.

Beyond that, Creighton's proposed bill would also effectively gag teachers from discussing the current roiling political climate or attempt to let youngsters grade for themselves the current success of "The American Experiment" in liberty and justice for all.

Of course, legislators are getting pushback from the Texas Council for the Social Studies, particularly about encouraging student participation in experiential learning through social activism.

There is dissent on both sides, with State Senator Royce West questioning whether the next generation might be less able to step up to government leadership roles if their desire to learn is stunted in public schools.

If this is indeed a battle for the allegiance of generations to come, the result could well predict what kind of Americans — and therefore, what kind of democracy— our children's children will inherit.

None of this is new.

At the dawn of the '60s counterculture, a group called "Up With People" was founded to counter the hippie ideals of pacifism and the sexual revolution. In their concerts, they promoted wholesome values through songs like "What Color Is God's Skin?" and "Freedom Isn't Free."

America's cultural schism seems just as wide now, and in one of their better songs, the fresh-faced youth of yesteryear asked precisely the same question being posed today: "Which way, America; Which way, America? Which way to go? This is my country and I want to know . . . Which way America is going to go."

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