[RobertRoberts]

Which do you prefer?

1) We should have school districts teaching _Republican_ ideals because the local schools support it.

2) We should have school districts teaching _Democrat_ ideals because the local schools support it.

3) No to both 1 and 2.

You simply can't have it both ways, therefore the reasonable option is to say no to both.

[veilrap]

The problem with this is that Republicans in power today equate things like evolution with Democrat ideals.

When facts get labeled as bias it's impossible to remove both from the classroom and still have a functional classroom.

[_-david-_]

Can you name two Republicans who "equate things like evolution with Democrat ideals"?

[germinalphrase]

Anti-Evolution Legislation

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-evolution_legislation

[_-david-_]

The OP said "Republicans in power today". You provided a link of legislations from 10 plus years ago most of which didn't even go anywhere.

[freemint]

Well i could wish for correct ideals to be taught which happen to be overwhelmingly not the republican ones.

[RobertRoberts]

Why not just teach math, reading and science and other non-political skills?

[freemint]

Because then you end up with a society with extreme STEM brain. You will not raise citizens but a politically uneducated servant class in a society vulnerable to extreme fracturing as common frameworks to think about politics were not established.

Poltical education has been part of the education for the rulers since forever and since the enlightenment it has been more and more become part of education of everybody. By not teaching politics to a class of people you make them unable to work as lawyers, judges or (suprise) politicians taking away their control and feedback into how society develops. Those positions will be taken up instead by a different class of people by the accident of whom they have been birth been found deserving to get such an education. I hope do not elaborate why that is bad.

You could argue that people could get the same education from the internet. However as long as the internet is not censored people will spread versions of political education that are not aligned along country borders and not constrained by being a reproductive, self sustaining system of thought. This leaves the political order highly vulnerable.

We teach politics so that nations do not fall apart into local fiefdoms ruled by an elite class tied to who the parents are. By proposing to axe political education you are proposing to get onto a path to pre-enlightment political structures. This is not hyperbole. Political education goes beyond "how do i vote and how does my government work", it includes all of history, large parts of art, literature and so on. Political education like that is an pre-requisite to be able to find your own individual political opinion and it is a prerequisite for contributing to shape society. If you take away that power (in particular along a public/private education line) you kneecap one side of the politics of power and possibly irreversibly trigger a run-away feedback leading to a categorical change/tipping point how society works.

I hope i could persuade you that this is an extremely bad idea.

[RobertRoberts]

What is wrong with just teaching facts about politics instead of beliefs about political positions?

(my education list what not exhaustive)

[freemint]

1. Facts are in contention and can also be politicised. When it comes to humanities there are often no facts just interpretations backed by arguments which you guessed it are political. Interpretations impose higher order structures. Recognizing such structures is important to draw parallels and apply learnings from history to the current time. If you just teach (= have people memorize) facts they will not be able to learn from history.

2. You can not act upon facts. To rationally decide what action to take you need a value system. Value Innsystems are political.

3. If you do not teach a value system people tend to construct irrational, selfish, short sighted value systems or just without reflection assume value system of their environment. Some viral value systems teach helplessness, people wouldn't dare to use their own mind but instead consult book or preacher.

4. Without encouragement for unified values nations fracture. So without politics having a thumb on what goes on in schools nations can not reproduce over successive generations.

What's wrong? Your suggestion would cripple western society (actually any society) and might get people killed.

[RobertRoberts]

How do you solve the issue when your ideals are rejected by parents (adults) of children being taught? Is it just "too bad for them?" (whether democrat or republican?)

No, my suggestion is to view schools as politically agnostic. This is possible, and the best option for everyone everywhere.

Political beliefs can, and should be, left to adults to decide on their own.

[vineyardmike]

If 3, what are schools teaching? Hopefully students learn something beyond the reality that their education is a political pawn.

[RobertRoberts]

Reading and math seem like they would be useful skills taught in school.

[mbg721]

There are plenty of school districts in localities where there's no meaningful Republican presence; how are they doing?

[joe5150]

good luck teaching much beyond colors and shapes without overlapping with some "Republican ideals" or "Democrat ideals". especially given the ever-widening scope of what so many Republicans claim constitutes Democratic political indoctrination in schools.

[8note]

2) is actually "We should have school districts _not_ teaching _Republican_ ideals because the local schools support it.

3) is then a contradiction, in that there is nothing that could be taught, since everything is either republican ideals or not-republican ideals