The school Ministry of Defense for the American Service Children is a source of pride for many military parents. But a small and growing choir of protest, such as withdrawal and last seasons, stresses the increase in the use of these schools as a political floor – and that education for American military families will suffer.
The Trump administration is rooting books from the Pentagon schools, which include the topics of diversity, racism and women’s studies-the topics that it describes as exciting to the dispute. In the wake of similar directives to remove hundreds of books from the shelves of American service academies, Defense Minister Beit Higseth ordered earlier this month these military universities, such as those referred to as West Point and the Maritime Academy, to end positive action measures.
But some American forces-who are also parents in schools-say that the ban on literature, curricula and some clubs in primary and secondary schools run by the Pentagon violates the rights of the first amendment under the constitution. They say these are the same rights that they swore on.
Why did we write this
Schools of the Ministry of Defense for children of the service remove the books that the Trump administration does not like. Some military parents object, saying that this will harm education.
Last month, a group of parents filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon and Minister Higseth, claiming that the army is the books of “Al -Hajar Al -Sahihah” in a way that reaches control in teaching children who, because of the work of their military parents abroad, have limited school options.
“I think the most stupid phrase in military history is” our diversity is our strength. “I think our strength is our unity; Our strength is our common goal – regardless of our background. “
In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive orders and the initiatives of the Secretary Higseth, some students in the schools of the Ministry of Defense “are increasingly afraid of discussing race and sex in their classroom, because they are afraid to silence teachers who are afraid of violating” new rules, as the case claims.
One of the parents, Jessica Henninger, says that she and her husband, a US military soldier, decided to become prosecutors despite concerns about the possible repercussions.
For their family, the matter came to the issue of principle, reasons. “If I am not able to defend the constitutional rights of our children, what should I do as a soldier?” Mrs. Henninger says.
Schools with high performance and “undeniable views”
There are approximately 160 schools in the education of the Ministry of Defense, because the system, in the Pentagon language, is officially known.
This school system serves about 67,000 service personnel who live on American military bases in the regions, including Europe, Japan, South Korea, the Middle East and the United States. Schools were formed after the Second World War by the country’s war department at the time, which was initially hesitant to take over the job of the soldiers of soldiers. But the pressure from the American forces stationed in countries like Germany, where the young soldiers were married or joined abroad by the United States’ wives in the past, finally won.
Today, these primary and secondary schools reflect the diversity of the armed forces. White students make up about 40 % of the Student Authority; Black and Latin children make up 45 %. About 28 % receive free and upset school lunch.
The reputation of the American army’s school system has always been good, and in recent years it has grown more. In educational progress assessments for school systems across America, the grades of worm students ranged from 10 to 18 degrees Celsius higher than national averages, according to the Pentagon.
In fact, in one of the areas that prevailed in most American public schools, military schools emerged. Test grades for black and Latin students in the Dodea system are higher than those in any state or jurisdiction in the United States, and these schools have some of the smallest statistical gaps between dozens of white and black students or of Spanish origin.
Mrs. Henninger says that she and her husband appreciate the schools of the Ministry of Defense, from which two of their five children graduated, for their diversity and excellent teachers.
But, like the other fathers who filed the lawsuit, are concerned that the limited access to “uninterrupted views” will erode the skills of critical thinking. This “places all Dodea students to be behind their peers significantly,” says the lawsuit, which was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.
“My husband is fighting for our rights and constitutional freedoms for this country,” says Ms. Henninger, a nurse. “To see those rights that are taken away from our children, just because their father is a soldier, it was just something that we could not adhere to.”
Books, clubs and targeted lessons
Soon after the Secretary Higseth issued a guidance against “instructions on critical or dei or gender theory as part of the curriculum”, Dodea officials began its position into implementation.
Schools began to withdraw books from library shelves.
This includes “The Kite Runner”, a novel that describes Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban, “Fahrenheit 451”, which is an exploration of censorship amid burning of the book, “to kill the emulator”, which escalates with prejudice and higher injustice, as he was accused of wrong crimes, manufacturing, lawsuit.
On a slightly less familiar front, the lawsuit also indicates the disappearance of “FreshleFace Strawberry”, a photographer book on “Learning the Love of Skin in which You are.”
Clubs have also been closed, including gay students and “black girls in STEM”, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, says one of the American military officers with children at a European base that requested not to name fear of revenge.
Some schools have canceled lessons describing the United States as a nation of immigrants. “We only want good public schools,” the officer adds. “We do not want them to be the battle markets for party policy.”
Social conservatives say that the political left has done a lot to create this battlefield as a promotion of diversity, fairness and inclusion (Dei) spread from universities to companies and beyond. Many Americans felt that he was very far – and he was concerned about Mr. Trump’s exploitation during his campaign last year.
However, public opinions are accurate. While the majority of adults (including black Americans) are supported Ending positive work In a poll last year, most of them are now Opposition efforts to end Dai In the federal government. The experience of military schools may reflect this general trend. It was the Ministry of Defense criticize To include what some see as Dei materials; Now, some parents and students retreat against the purification of Higseth.
The 2021 Inspector General report discovered anxiety about discrimination: More than 1 of every 10 worm students They said they mocked their skin, their origin, or their religion in school.
In the past months, hundreds of students in Dodea schools have organized withdrawal. Some of them received unusual absence notifications, while others were detention.
Parents have expressed concern about the impact of protests on the academic professions of their children and their career as well.
“We have to worry a lot about revenge and revenge,” says Ms. Henninger.
“Those of us who decided to advance are a kind of boot for anyone else who feels that, for one reason or another, it is better for their families to remain somewhat on the margin.”
“We respect that,” she added. “But there is a large group of us, we want to struggle for this.”
