New Bill Tasks Foundation with Creating High School Curriculum on Communism's Dangers and History

The 'Crucial Communism Teaching Act' sets out to ensure high school students learn about the history and impact of communism. It directs the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOCMF), a specific non-profit organization, to develop a civic education curriculum. According to Section 2, the explicit goals are to teach students that communism has led to over 100 million deaths worldwide, help them understand the dangers of communism and 'similar ideologies,' and recognize that 1.5 billion people still live under such regimes today.

What's Going Into the Lesson Plan?

Section 3 details the core task: the VOCMF is responsible for creating curriculum materials that compare political ideologies like communism and totalitarianism with the principles of freedom and democracy found in the U.S. The bill requires this curriculum to be accurate, relevant, and accessible. Alongside the curriculum, the foundation will develop oral history resources called 'Portraits in Patriotism,' featuring personal stories from individuals affected by these ideologies. The foundation is also tasked with helping state and local education leaders get these materials into high schools.

Balancing Education with Perspective

The bill mandates a specific focus: the negative consequences and dangers of communism. While comparing different political systems could foster critical thinking, tasking a single foundation with a clear perspective (as suggested by its name) to develop the entire curriculum raises questions about balance. Will the materials present a nuanced historical view, or will they primarily emphasize the negative aspects cited in the bill's purposes? The phrase 'similar ideologies' in Section 2 also lacks a precise definition within the bill, leaving room for interpretation about what else might be included under this umbrella.

Classroom Realities and Implementation

For this curriculum to reach students, it needs to be adopted by schools and districts, potentially fitting into existing civics, history, or social studies classes. Educators might face challenges integrating this specific, mandated content, especially if it requires displacing other topics or if they prefer different pedagogical approaches. The effectiveness hinges on how the VOCMF develops the materials and how schools choose to implement them – whether as a primary resource, a supplement, or not at all, depending on local decisions, even with the foundation's mandated outreach efforts.