The College Fix

Good teachers will cover both sides of an issue and get their students to examine things from a different perspective.

After all, is this not one of the goals of so-called “anti-racism” programs which have proliferated in the last couple of decades in schools and colleges? It even was mentioned by Joe Biden in the recent presidential debate — the importance of getting someone else’s viewpoint.

But as longtime readers of The Fix know, such examples of good teaching seem to stop short when it comes to politics. As further evidence, the left-leaning Education Week wasted little time in echoing the mainstream media’s condemnation of President Trump’s behavior in Tuesday’s presidential debate, zeroing in on his alleged refusal to condemn white supremacists.

“Teachers watched, horrified,” writes Madeline Will. *GASP!!*

Will (rightly) says white supremacy and racism are two topics which really aren’t up for debate; so, then, why do she and other educators purposely ignore what the president actually said? The very first word out of the president’s mouth in response to Chris Wallace’s question about denouncing white supremacists was “sure.” And he repeated it shortly thereafter.

How could these so-called concerned educators miss this? Because Trump didn’t keep responding to Wallace’s and Biden’s repeated requests?

That debate was garbage but this is the actual transcript of the white supremacy exchange. Trump didn't "refuse" to denounce white supremacy, as much of the media is now saying. Look at his first reply.

Sure, take issue with how he handled the q, but don't misinform people. pic.twitter.com/TIg2WSxKVj

— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) September 30, 2020

Wallace (and others in the media) know that President Trump has denounced white supremacists and other far-right groups numerous times. (Wallace himself asked candidate Trump about in 2016.) Wallace even framed a question to Biden — about why he started his campaign — based on the oft-debunked statement that Trump said white supremacists and neo-Nazis are “fine people.” Head-scratchingly, Wallace did not note this claim is bogus.

Will and her selected teachers unsurprisingly don’t mention what led to the president’s (arguably weak) attempt to counter Wallace and Biden on the question — that white supremacists aren’t the ones responsible for the havoc going on in various cities across the nation. That is the fault of radical left groups such as Antifa, which Mr. Biden emphatically called just “an idea” on Tuesday.

Do not teachers, especially in cities affected by Antifa violence, care about this? Aren’t they worried about Biden’s refusal to accept the reality of the violence its members have inflicted … let alone Wallace’s refusal to follow up on the former veep’s claim? The narratives of groups like Teaching Tolerance, of which many school districts make use, certainly don’t help.

With this article, Education Week doesn’t help with the perception that teachers aren’t all that bright. Educated adults can easily picked apart such a biased piece, but our young children in a captive classroom don’t stand a chance.

Nevertheless, there is one worthy topic raised by Will, especially when it comes to classroom management: decorum. No teacher would want a classroom debate to devolve into what we saw on Tuesday evening. The president’s constant interruptions were incredibly annoying and rude (and violations of the agreed-upon rules), while Biden’s quips and name-calling were disrespectful. But, again, good teachers would point out why the debaters made use of such tactics, such as the former not getting a fair shake from the press, and the latter giving the president a little taste of his own rhetorical medicine.

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