A bill in Iowa’s legislature to imbue a restrictive version of social studies education upon our young people is not only poorly written but replaces the goal of teaching WHAT happened in history with the lawmakers’ handpicked narratives. It is an obvious attempt to limit information related to world and American history by excluding certain events, people, and cultures that the party supporting this bill find threatening to their strict morals.

It would take pages to point out all the numerous, serious problems with this legislation. It is misguided historically, developmentally, structurally, and even grammatically -- it is poorly written. It deletes cultural histories of various significant groups including but not limited to, Native Americans, African American and women.

This proposal earns an “F,” and as a teacher I am demanding that lawmakers leave curriculum design to the professionals who have the proper education for creating lessons that actually teach kids. Stop infusing your political objectives into education, and just in case you have banned the dictionary too, here is a definition you need to learn: Indoctrination: teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically.

Jeanine Redlinger

Lone Tree