The Republican leadership of the House Education Committee held hearings on the threat posed by Communist China to American public and private schools. Read the summary and ask yourself the following questions: Would red states grant the Confucius Classrooms a charter to run their own schools? Would they let a school organized by the Confucius Classrooms accept voucher students? Are they equally concerned about the scores of Gulen schools that receive public funds and operate as charter schools? Gulen is a Turkish imam who lives in seclusion in Pennsylvania; the board of trustees of his schools are led by Turkish men; the Gulen schools have a large number of Turkish teachers on staff. When will the House Committee on Education investigate the Gulen schools?
The release from the committee begins:
Hearing Recap: Confucius Classrooms Edition
Today’s Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education (ECESE) Subcommittee hearing, led by Chairman Aaron Bean (R-FL), investigated the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) efforts to infiltrate America’s K-12 schools.
In postsecondary education, the CCP exerts soft power on the American education system through cultural exchange outposts known as Confucius Institutes. The K-12 arms of this propaganda machine, called Confucius Classrooms, were under the microscope today for their potential malignant influence.
Chairman Bean opened the hearing by pointing out, “The risk posed by the proliferation of Confucius Classrooms is threefold, threatening America’s national, geopolitical, and academic interests.”
Expert witnesses testifying today included Mike Gonzalez, Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation; Nicole Neily, President of Parents Defending Education (PDE); and Ryan Walters, State Superintendent of Public Instruction at the Oklahoma State Department of Education.
The seminal report on Confucius Classrooms, and therefore the spark for congressional investigation, was led by Nicole Neily and PDE. In her opening testimony, Ms. Neily laid out the key findings of her organization’s report: “Our research found that over the past decade, over $17 million has been given to 143 school districts and private K-12 schools across 34 states (plus DC) – impacting over 170,000 students in 182 schools.” Furthermore, these classrooms were identified near 20 U.S. military bases, posing a potential national security threat.
As a state education officer, Mr. Walters offered a perspective on the impact of these donations in Oklahoma schools. After one of his school districts was named in the PDE report, Mr. Walters ordered a further investigation, which uncovered that, “Through a series of non-profits, that school district maintains an active connection with the CCP through a program called Confucius Classrooms, even after the federal government cracked down on similar programs in 2020.”
I wonder whether Republicans would welcome a Falun Gong school, critical as they are of the Chinese government, to their educational dystopia.
No doubt. This organization funds the extremist newspaper The Epoch Times. And it’s anti-China, as all good Trumpanzees are these days.
The CCP likes selected topics that Confucius taught, like being loyal and obedient to your leader who was a king or emperor back then.
I read the summary. Where are the democrats? Love the list of witnesses! (snark alert) Can’t tell from this report whether there is reason for concern or not. No description of the programs. I may end up agreeing that CCP needs to at least be more closely monitored, but not on the basis of the information presented.
I was recruited to Huntsville in 2012 to develop an IB elementary school. We determined Mandarin would be an ideal second language because there was a substantial Chinese community in the area due to Chinese and US collaboration on technology (Huntsville is a military and space town with a significant tech presence). We first won a competitive grant from the US State Department for two years of Chinese exchange teachers, and then bolstered our Mandarin program in cooperation with the Confucius Institute. This allowed us to teach mandarin to all 900 elementary students pre-k through 5. This started to become political when fear mongers like Marco Rubio started spouting off about the dangers of the Confucius Institute as a tool for Chinese surveillance. I would frequently joke that the Chinese were probably very disappointed in my proficiency as a spy. Our certified Mandarin teacher was Taiwanese, not mainland Chinese. We used language curriculum from the CI because it was high quality. What students learned about Chinese culture was significant and apolitical. I was asked to present what we had done at the US State Department in 2019 but warned not to bring up the Confucius Institute. The go to political strategy of the Republican Party since Joseph McCarthy has been fear. It justified the Cold War, the Iraq war, and now the ongoing attempt to paint China the enemy. Too often Democrats have been complicit in this. Yes, the Confucius Institute is an arm of the Chinese government that is a rival to the US. However, it is laughable to think educators who believe in global citizenry are tools for eventual Chinese hegemony.
The go to political strategy of the Republican Party since Joseph McCarthy has been fear.
yup
The Pugs are taking their cue from His Orangeness, Glorious Leader.
Russia good.
China bad.
Yes, we need vigilance. But we also need cultural exchange and attempts at mutual understanding. I think it AWESOME that China is partially underwriting the teaching of Chinese here.
中國人來了,中國人來了。 。 。 圍著馬車轉一圈!
Haaa!!!
Off topic, but the book rating law in Texas has been enjoined.
https://t.co/UDFYA8zV6l
Wonderful, FLERP!
Great news, FLERP! Sanity!
Horrors! Camel’s nose under tent! Tip-of-the-spear Committee Republicans to the rescue!
And now to the hearing…
Parents for Defending Education Representative: “Fully ZERO POINT ONE FOUR PERCENT [0.14%] of US K12 schools—yes, that’s 0.14% of US K12 students– our children— have been impacted, total, over the last decade!”
Reporter on sidelines mutters to colleague: “Uh, I guess that means annual rate of infiltration is 0.14% divided by ten, right?
Colleague, quickly calculating: “Yep… 0.014% per year– Jesus.
My how times have changed…not! Why do we study history? As to not repeat it. Why do we study history? As to not repeat it. Why do we study history? You get it. https://www.history.com/news/pledge-allegiance-under-god-schools
Thanks for the link!
@Duane — You betcha! Ready for hockey season?
Yep, especially since the Cards are out of it having the first losing season in a long time. Let’s go Blues!
Worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmEDpww-BCw
I’m more worried about reactionary xtian theofascist influences in our schools.
Duane,
I agree with you. The white supremacist fascists are a bigger threat to our schools than the CCP.
Same
As Donald Trump’s fraudulence is constant, Ryan Walters’ lies are neverending
https://www.oklahomacolumnist.com/p/as-donald-trumps-fraudulence-is-constant
20 Most Affordable Colleges in America with Confucius Institutes (Centers of Chinese Language and Culture) for 2021
https://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/affordable/american-colleges-confucius-institutes/
What qualifies as domestic terrorism?
What do we know about domestic terrorism incidents? Domestic terrorism is generally defined by law as involving criminal acts dangerous to human life on U.S. soil that appear intended to coerce a civilian population or influence or affect the conduct of government.
In other news:
Thank you, Mark Milley, for your heedful service. We are all very much in your debt.
Everything and everyone except the what is true.