A standing ovation followed when political activist and author, Trevor Loudon, spoke at the third meeting of the Education Task Force. This third installment for the task force covered Critical Race Theory and alleged indoctrination in higher education.
Loudon, originally from New Zealand, has had 40 years of experience dedicating his research to Marxism.
“It’s in that capacity that I want to speak to you about CRT and similar doctrines, and why they should be very much opposed in your education system,” Loudon said.
Loudon emphasized that in education, objectivity should be a priority while ideology should be left behind. He said while diversity of opinion is fine in higher education, children are being indoctrinated at a young age to have a limited range of opinion.
“The people who are paying the taxes to support this system, their values should be the values taught,” Loudon said. “Not the values of somebody from somewhere else who may be affected with Marxism or some other doctrine.”
Loudon said that an education’s purpose is to learn subjects objectively. When teachings lack objectivity, it becomes dangerous.
“Somebody with an ideology is going to come there and use that captive audience to transform those kids into something else,” Loudon said.
Loudon referred to CRT as “Marxist race theory,” stating that Marxism didn’t have ground in the U.S. He said that CRT has been rebranded into diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that when one name becomes toxic, it’s called something else.
“CRT is Marxism applied to race,” Loudon said. “You can’t do it with class here, you have to use race because you can change your class in America, but you can never change your race.”
Loudon also claimed during his presentation that the Black Lives Matter movement was part of a Chinese communist group, influencing America with alleged Marxist roots.
After Loudon concluded his speech, the committee members and audience members broke rules of decorum to give him a standing ovation.
Nafees Alam, a social work professor at Boise State University, covered the use of, “Point-Counter Point,” teaching methods and its potential use in higher education classrooms. He said his demonstration would be a dissenting opinion compared to past speakers at task force meetings.
“Creating an environment where it is a safe space to have discussions and disagreements, I think it actually makes for a more fun environment,” Alam said.
Alam continued saying that there is nothing wrong with the discussion of CRT with the conjunction of other theories. He presented that uniformity of thought when discussing a topic is a rigid way of learning and that utilizing point-counter point methods allows for the diverse exchange of facts. Alam’s presentation stated that when discussing controversial topics, understanding should be prioritized over agreement.
During questions, committee member and Idaho Freedom Foundation policy director, Anna Miller, pressed Alam about a comparison made during one of Alam’s previously recorded BSU lectures. Miller alleged that Alam entertained a comment during his class saying white people should be slaves and questioned if it was part of his point-counter point philosophy.
Alam denied this, saying he was unsure what Miller was talking about. Miller claimed the IFF has possession of a video of him making the statement.
In the video, Alam does discuss the concept of “two rights make a wrong” if white people were to become enslaved, but simply as a theory. He clarifies within the clip that he does not necessarily agree with the idea and believes few people do.
Elaine King, a committee member, spoke to the task force on K-12 education. She covered how history and social studies isn’t taught until middle school in Idaho education. King drew concern with English teachers in elementary schools supplementing history through books that demonstrate “negative” effects of American history.
King’s presentation emphasized a need for balanced exposure in the elementary grades that should be required.
Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin previously reached out the Idaho School Board of Education and the presidents of all Idaho universities, inviting them to attend this meeting, but none were present.
Prior to the July meeting, the Idaho Press Club filed a suit against McGeachin’s office for denying access to feedback forms that were distributed to garner Idaho residents’ opinions on indoctrination in public schools. The suit is still pending.
The next task force meeting is set for August with the committee working on ideas to solve the alleged indoctrination.
Sierra Pesnell can be reach at [email protected]