I’ve recently read and heard several unsettling stories regarding some states’ worries about critical race theory being taught in classrooms. States like Florida are pushing bills to essentially outlaw teaching uncomfortable history in order to avoid, in Gov. Rick DeSantis’ words, making kids “hate our country and each other.”

I teach history to students 12 to 15 years old. We have many tough and interesting conversations about America’s past, including our country’s shameful role in the genocide of Indigenous peoples, slavery, Jim Crow, anti-LGBTQ, antisemitism and more.

They are a diverse mix of students, but the majority of them are white. Not once have they expressed that the history makes them love their country less or that they feel to blame for past injustices. Instead, these astute, fair-minded and empathetic young people feel a responsibility to ensure that atrocities aren’t repeated.

I hope that Mainers never flirt with this kind of legislation. These efforts underestimate young people’s ability to think critically. I check in with my students daily to make sure they are OK with class topics; they are consistently eager to learn our history, good or bad. They want full disclosure and the chance to make our country, with its many triumphs and mistakes, a more perfect Union.

Nicole KP Wiesendanger
South Portland

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