‘Patriotic education' and its reality in New Hampshire schools

Yahoo

08-04-2025

"What I teach is the truth — both sides of the coin in order to present to students the bright and dark moments of our nation's past." (Getty Images)
On Jan. 29, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order that 'Ends Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling' that specifically emphasizes a 'Patriotic education' that presents the history of America grounded in: 'an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America's founding and foundational principles' and 'a clear examination of how the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history.'
Trump's view of a patriotic education portrays constant American excellence, but in truth, that is only one half of the story. Teaching the darkness of our past is not unpatriotic and highlights the change of where we as a country came from. Understanding both helps students develop their own sense of why this country is worth living in, why America is the home of liberty, and how we can uphold the values that are central to us.
In addition to these principles is the reestablishment of the 1776 Commission that started in 2020 to combat the conversation surrounding Nikole Hannah-Jones' 1619 Project. Trump, along with many other conservatives, believe that the United States and its history education has built a curriculum on guilt rather than critical thinking. The order states that no one 'should feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress because of … actions committed in the past.' Trump and his supporters are convinced that history is being rewritten in the classroom, and that we are living in a time where students are taught to hate their country.
As a history teacher, I know this to be false and a direct attack on educators and historians alike. What I teach is the truth — both sides of the coin in order to present to students the bright and dark moments of our nation's past. This includes slavery, racism, sexism, war, and violence. But it also includes political unity, memory, and movements.
With the 250th anniversary of the United States' birth happening next year, conversations among historians, teachers, politicians, citizens, and anyone interested creates an in-depth analysis of every part of the Revolution. From the military battles, political animosity, and various perspectives of individual lives, the Revolution is viewed from so many angles. The Revolution in our American memory is in the fabric of every movement.
In New Hampshire, Revolutionary War veteran John Stark coined the term 'Live Free or Die,' which is on every license plate in the state next to the Old Man of the Mountain. What is too often forgotten is the rest of his statement: 'death is not the greatest of evils' — which means that in order to protect our Republic, we must be willing to discuss its past.
Liberty is the fundamental right in America, but only if we can keep it. Part of an education is understanding how to be a civic leader, and New Hampshire knows this value. In February of this year, a state representative introduced House Bill 283, which would eliminate the requirements of what makes up an 'adequate education' in the state. Civics, history, art, and other humanities and science courses were part of the list to be discarded. Thousands upon thousands (including myself) gave feedback against the bill. So many people showed up to the hearing that they needed to move to a bigger room.
The point is that New Hampshire parents, teachers, and students showed up because they know the value that history education (and other subjects) holds. With humanities programs being cut all over the country, the necessity for them has never been more apparent. With the kind of harmful rhetoric that a 'Patriotic education' promotes, it emphasizes a dissolution of our past and transforms a false reality of what happened. Teachers describe the history of the nation as it was in order to explain why it is.
History teachers do not make students feel guilty; we explain the perspectives of African Americans being enslaved; Native Americans in boarding schools; women during World War II, etc., while also connecting it all together to the larger picture of the famous people who helped craft our Republic.
History is all about perspective, and sharing those with students naturally gives them a sense of where our country came from to encourage how they celebrate patriotism. It is not just July 4, but a lifelong understanding of where we came from.