‘America’s Public Schools Are the Nurseries of Democracy’
MINOT, N.D. — There’s is much contention, of late, about expression in the classroom.
Not just nationally, but right here in our region.
In Fargo, there is an effort by right-leaning activists to recall members of the local school board over, among issues, the perceived promotion of critical race theory.
In Wahpeton, there was public outrage from left-leaning parents after a teacher allowed a discussion about George Floyd to progress to a point where students were re-enacting the scene from the infamous video showing his death. This prompted Superintendent Rick Jacobson to insist that his district doesn’t “support or tolerate any activity that would make students uncomfortable in the learning environment.”
I disagree with Jacobson’s sentiment, as I noted in a previous column, but I believe, in attempting to placate popular outrage in his district, he stumbled onto what’s driving consternation in our schools.
Many, from parents to administrators, teachers to students, are not tolerant of things that make them feel uncomfortable.
It is in this environment that the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a new opinion on the state of student free speech rights.
