One Voice for Public Policy - An Alien Worldview Sets its Sights on our Kids

As the current societal struggle between those who hold a traditional, Judeo-Christian based view of America and those who hold one running counter to those beliefs intensifies, it becomes increasingly obvious that, here in Minnesota, the primary focus of this showdown is our schools, and, by extension, our kids. Indeed, the number of recent “official actions” (legislative acts, bureaucratic rulings, judicial decisions, and school district policies) affecting our schools have been so many, it’s easy to lose track of their collective impact on the content and character of our schools.

One thing that can be said with certainty, however, is the vast majority of these official actions have been pushing our schools, particularly our public schools, in one direction. This course would be towards a view of the world that 1) seeks to divide our people into two mutually exclusive groups, often labeled the “oppressors” and the “oppressed"; 2) seeks to assign personal guilt based solely on a person’s assigned membership in one of the two above groups; 3) levels accusations of racism and bigotry based only on the personal feelings of the “oppressed” rather than objective evidence and reason; and 4) is committed to destroying our current culture, including its foundational institutions of the nuclear family and the Christian Church as well as undermining the stability of the male/female binary. Collectively, these are the essential, self-proclaimed elements of what is now commonly called, “wokeism.”

Because the stakes of this struggle are so high, it seems it might be helpful to take note of the “official entities” that appear to be orchestrating what can only be described as a radical change in the educational content and philosophy of our schools; a change ultimately intended to produce citizens with profoundly altered views of themselves and their world. And so, I’d like to offer a brief survey of those official entities, lifting up at least one concrete example of how each contributes to what seems to be a highly coordinated effort to indoctrinate our kids with, what most would consider, an alien worldview.

A. The Federal Government

During the Obama Administration, the Department of Education sent out a “dear colleague” letter to every public school district in the nation on the subject of transgenderism. It conveyed the government’s expectation that all schools would put into practice what has come to be known as a program of “gender-affirming care” if they wish to continue receiving federal educational funds. This “guidance” was rescinded under President Trump but was reinstated under President Biden.

B. The Minnesota State Legislature

In its 2023 legislative session, it was mandated that an “ethnic studies” content be incorporated into every grade level and every subject area in all Minnesota public schools. The content of this “ethnic studies material” essentially reflects the elements of the woke worldview outlined above.

C. The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)

The MDE is now in the final stages of issuing new Social Studies Curriculum Standards which will control what is taught in all social studies classes throughout the state. Expert analysis has shown these standards to be infused with various aspects of the woke agenda.

D. The Minnesota Governor’ Office, especially via the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board (PELSB) (the members of which are appointed by the governor) 

Earlier this year, PELSB finalized a new set of criteria required of all new teachers wanting to receive a Minnesota State Teaching License. On examination, these criteria require all candidates to be familiar with, and to subscribe to, many of the elements of woke theory. In addition, these new guidelines also require all participating college and university teacher education programs not only to teach these concepts, but to actively advocate for them. Notably, there is no exception for the programs of church-affiliated schools (i.e. Concordia, St. Paul; Bethany Lutheran College, Mankato; Martin Luther College, New Ulm), even though some of these woke elements directly conflict with Christian doctrine.

E. Some Independent School Districts

In recent years, some Minnesota school districts, such as Roseville and Anoka-Hennepin, have developed guidance formally committing the district to follow a “gender-affirming care” model and instructing employees to intentionally prevent parents from becoming aware of this policy and its implementation, especially with their own children.

Sadly, it seems these federal, state, and local actors, operating in a highly coordinated fashion, have adopted this new and fundamentally different worldview as the “official worldview” of the state and are now acting in concert to embed that view – a religion of sorts – into our culture and the hearts and minds of our children. Indeed, it is a worldview that on many counts stands opposed to the teachings of Scripture and the founding ideals of our nation, all of which will surely lead to much instability and suffering, both in the lives of individual citizens and in society as a whole.

How Should Christians Respond

As Christians, committed to loving God and serving the needs of our neighbor, these developments should be very concerning and elicit a response. First and foremost, they should lead us to pray earnestly for God’s intervention in restraining these malevolent actions. But beyond that, our faith also calls us to an active resistance against these emergent threats through active civic engagement. Specifically, in as much as our schools seem to be the primary target of these alien ideas, we should be actively advocating for the empowerment of parents, especially with respect to their ability to direct the education of their children.

In my view, here in Minnesota, this can be done most effectively by pushing for the adoption of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs), as has already happened in ten other states around the country. They are a proven means of empowering parents by giving them direct control over the dollars the state has collected and allocated for the education of each child in our state, thus, allowing them to choose the best educational option for their child, be that a secular or a religious option. With ESAs parents are, once again, acknowledged as the primary authority in the lives of their children as God designed it. Indeed, the adoption of ESAs are a win for all parents, both those desiring a religiously grounded education and those preferring an education in a secular government school. In either case, schools will be strongly encouraged to be more responsive to parental concerns than to those pushing radical “woke” agendas.

A Parting Thought

Surely there is a good deal of variation between school districts as to the degree of saturation of these woke concepts. Depending on the personal views of your superintendent, members of the Board of Education, or the individual teacher in the classroom, your child or grandchild may be more or less exposed to this destructive philosophy. But, given the many different entities applying pressure to bring radical changes to the content of education and the character of our children, I think it is safe to say that parents need to stay alert to these kinds of influences and be prepared to act should they surface in your child's school environment. God’s blessings as you try your best to understand what’s happening in these extraordinary times and to respond in effective and God-pleasing ways as He gives you opportunity.
 
Highly Recommended Resource:
Want to dig deeper into this important topic?  I’d recommend a new book: “Critical Dilemma” by Neil Shenvi and Pat Sawyer.

If you have questions, please ffel free to contact me.

In Christ,
Rev. Fredric Hinz
fred.hinz@mnsdistrict.org
507-317-9634
Public Policy Advocate
Minnesota South & North Districts
The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod