If someone asked me a year ago where I thought education in New Hampshire was headed, I would have expressed mild concern. Now as 2022 begins, I am distressed.
Public education is being systematically dismantled in the Granite State. This is happening because some Republicans in the state house, who think of themselves as “education experts” are trying to remake public education in their own image. In the past year, bills have been introduced and passed that limit conversations about race, require graduating high schoolers to pass a national citizenship test, and divert taxpayer money from public schools and into “education freedom accounts.”
All of this has been done in spite of the facts: not a single educator in New Hampshire teaches critical race theory, the vast majority of graduating seniors are already American citizens, and New Hampshire currently ranks dead last nationally in state funding for education.
I’ve been trying to identify the reasoning in all this madness. Are Republican legislators trying to build a robust public education system? Given the lack of support for adequate funding, I doubt it. Are they trying to support all students? They say they are, but their efforts to discriminate against trans students (see HB 1180) suggest they are selective at best.
Are they supporting teachers in their efforts to improve student learning? Not if Commissioner Edelblut encourages bounties on teachers who speak about race, consequently stifling substantive classroom discussions (social studies standards have not been updated since 2006 so it’s not clear why it’s suddenly a problem).
It’s ironic that in the “local control” state so much local control is being restricted. It is worth noting that the Department of Education website states, “We fiercely believe in local control of education; each community shapes unique student educational experiences.”
Based on the actions of Commissioner Edelblut and the laws passed by our legislature (with Gov. Chris Sununu’s blessing), this is blatantly hypocritical. Given these efforts, a more appropriate statement would be, “We fiercely believe in local control of education so long as districts only adhere to the following: do what we say when we say it, divert tax payer dollars to private institutions, discourage discussions about race (unless those discussions meet our predetermined “discussions about race guidance”), teach climate change as a theory rather than fact, discriminate against trans students, and sidestep logical health and safety recommendations.”
So what can be done to reverse the dismantling of public education in New Hampshire? Without support from the state, it is incumbent upon districts and educators to push back. I encourage all educators to write letters to their local papers. Invite reporters to your classrooms. Invite politicians into your classrooms and share with them your expertise, passion and dedication.
Tell your story.
(Ian West lives in Concord and teaches in Pembroke.)