But DeSantis and those around the country who are accusing teachers and schools of indoctrination are missing the obvious: All education is indoctrination to some degree, and whether you label school curricula education or indoctrination mostly depends on your point of view. The state’s Stop WOKE Act forbids instructors from teaching students that they should feel guilty about past injustices. In fact, the belief that education should impart certain values along with raw knowledge and skills motivated early advocates who saw universal public education as essential to democracy. Founders of traditional American public education like Horace Mann were committed to education as indoctrination in civic values. If Florida schools converted to such a system, perhaps DeSantis and anxious parents could learn to trust their children and put their minds at rest.

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