On Tuesday evening, Nov. 30, dozens of Idaho candidates, elected representatives, and citizens, led by Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin, gathered in Boise to sign “The 1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools.” Two Pledges, a Candidate’s Pledge and a Citizen’s Pledge, emerged as a result of the 1776 Commission, which was established by President Trump in 2020 to support patriotic education in America. Each Pledge underscores the need to restore Pro-American education in our nation’s schools.
Speaking to the crowd, McGeachin said, “Our Constitution was drafted to protect basic, God-given, natural rights. That is the purpose of Government.” She went on to say that “The primary duty of schools is to teach the basic skills to function in society, such as reading, writing, and mathematics.”
Parents in Idaho and across the nation have been pushing back against the ideas and practices that have emerged from Critical Race Theory (CRT), such as “equity” and the teaching that says anyone who is classified “white” is automatically racist.
McGeachin said that our schools should “teach our children how to think, not what to think.” And, with regard to our universities, McGeachin said “[W]e need to be able to have cordial and free discussion and debate.”
Pushing Back Against CRT
Instruction on CRT topics such as equity and racism often fall under the classification of “social emotional learning.” Social emotional learning, often called SEL, is a term that serves to deflect parents’ attention away from the fact that the concepts emerging from Critical Race Theory are being taught.
For example, a problem with the word “equity” is it sounds much like “equality,” but it’s not the same thing. Think of a foot race. Equality means everyone lines up to start together; equity means everyone must finish together.
As observed in Communist countries, the practice of equity in society de-incentivizes human initiative, and it lies in direct contrast to values and practices that led Amercia to become the most prosperous nation on earth.
The 1776 Commission
The 1776 Action website states, “For years, patriotic Americans have watched in distress as entire generations of young people have been taught a false and one-sided narrative of American history.”
“Now, the slander of our history and heroes in the classroom is being paired with toxic, anti-American theories that pit our children against one another on the basis of race and gender.”
The website also states that President Trump recognized the “long-term danger of teaching young Americans to reject their own country and values,” and so he created the 1776 Commission by executive order to restore honest, patriotic education.
Sadly, the 1776 Commission was abolished by the current White House occupant, Joseph Biden, only hours after he took office.
The Pledges
Two pledges emerged from the work of the 1776 Commission; a candidate’s pledge and a citizen’s pledge.
CANDIDATE’S PLEDGE
I believe that:
- The United States of America is an exceptional nation whose people have always strived to form a more perfect union based upon our founding principles.
- Our Founding Fathers – including George Washington and Thomas Jefferson – as well as leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. were among the greatest Americans to ever live, and they deserve to be honored as heroes.
- Our children and grandchildren should be taught to take pride in their country, to respect our founding principles of liberty and equality, and to have a sense of American history that is both truthful and inspiring.
- Civics education should focus on the serious study of our founding documents and principles – not coerce students into engaging in extracurricular political action on behalf of contemporary policy positions.
- Our young people should be taught to view one another not according to race or gender, but as individuals made in the image of God.
- Teaching children to hate their country and each other is immoral and deeply harmful to our society and must be stopped.
THEREFORE, I PLEDGE to the voters of (enter District/location name) that I will take concrete steps to do the following in our K-12 public schools:
- Restore honest, patriotic education that cultivates in our children a profound love for our country.
- Promote a curriculum that teaches that all children are created equal, have equal moral value under God, our Constitution, and the law, and are members of a national community united by our founding principles.
- Prohibit any curriculum that pits students against one another on the basis of race or sex.
- Prevent schools from politicizing education by prohibiting any curriculum that requires students to protest and lobby during or after school.
CITIZEN’S PLEDGE
The Citizen’s Pledge starts the same as the Candidate’s Pledge, but has a shorter section after the “Therefore” –
THEREFORE, I PLEDGE to help replace elected officials, school board members, education commissioners, principals, deans, and university presidents who promote a false, divisive, and radical view of America and our fellow citizens with new leaders who respect our history, our values, our rights, and the God-given dignity of every person.
Message from President Trump
After McGeachin and other officeholders, candidates, and citizens publicly signed the pledge, a video featuring Donald Trump was played. Trump thanked the people for being dedicated to solid American principles and recognized Idaho for being a great state with great people. McGeachin told the crowd that all the signed pledges would be forwarded to Trump.
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