Aaron Bean leads congressional probe into critical race theory, ‘transgender ideology’

A House subcommittee helmed by a Fernandina Beach Republican is posing hard questions about educational materials largely resolved in Florida, but not elsewhere.

On Wednesday, Chair Aaron Bean’s Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee probed “the importance of curriculum that presents accurate instruction and promotes civic virtue in a self-governing society.”

“In schools across the nation, our children are being indoctrinated with inappropriate material like Critical Race theory and transgender ideology,” Bean said in a statement ahead of the meeting. “We must refocus our education system so that our children have the knowledge and skills to be successful.”

Bean, who represents Florida’s 4th Congressional District, noted the “limited time” teachers have to instruct children, a problem exacerbated by the pandemic.

“Out of 38 major countries, the U.S. ranks 26th in math, sixth in reading, and 10th in science globally,” Bean said. “Our kids are in trouble.”

Bean said “race-inspired ideology” was being taught in place of basic skills, privileging “neo-Marxist” critical race theory over “critical thought.”

“This ideology creates division where none need exist,” Bean said, singling out California’s curriculum as stoking racial divides, and Chicago for bringing gender and “puberty blockers” into the classroom by fifth grade.

“It’s educational malpractice to teach a generation of children to feel ashamed of who they are or see themselves as victims without hope or change. We must fight for our kids in education. The future of our nation depends on it,” Bean said.

Witnesses helped to round out the discussion.

Ian Rowe, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, spoke to the “cardinal virtues” ideally in education as a way to “cultivate personal agency” in students to counter “divisive ideologies” and the “oppressed versus oppressor” dynamic seen in the 1619 Project.

“In order to achieve civic pride, we must have the confidence to tell all of American history in K-12 schools, warts and all,” Rowe said.

Dr. Jed Atkins, Director and Dean at the School of Civic Life and Leadership at the University of North Carolina, spotlighted “grave challenges” to civic life driven by a lack of knowledge of government and concomitant polarization.

Michael Weiser, Chair of the Jack Miller Center, spoke to America’s “democratic heritage” and argued that a “volatile political climate” created a crisis of confidence where many civics teachers don’t feel like they can teach.

“Anyone who has lived this decade can tell you our nation has had some hard days during another bitter election season, civil dialogue was all but absent,” Weiser said. “Especially troubling was a Nov. 4 Wall Street Journal report that civics teachers were steering clear of the election or really any current political issue in their classrooms. Political campaigns and national issues are crucial opportunities for teachers to engage students in the democratic process and teach them to become thoughtful citizens.”

After the meeting, Bean offered his take.

“The alarm is there. We’re mediocre in the world and the world is a dangerous place and we need bright minds to compete. So it’s a wake-up call as we go forward.”