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Should We Teach Patriotism? America Has Long Relied on Its Public Schools to Teach Young Citizens About the Workings of a Self-Governing Democracy

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Should We Teach Patriotism? America Has Long Relied on Its Public Schools to Teach Young Citizens About the Workings of a Self-Governing Democracy Patriotism and Education Should We Teach Patriotism? America has long relied on its public schools to teach young citizens about the workings of a self-governing democracy. But does this entail teaching “patriotism”? Ms. Ravitch believes that it should — as long as students learn to appreciate their country without ignoring its faults. By Diane Ravitch OT LONG AGO, I was among a own. Or to teach a student whose family fled to this group of visitors to a public elemen- country from a tyrannical regime or from dire poverty tary school in New York City. The to identify with that nation rather than with the one school had achieved a certain renown that gave the family refuge. for its programs in the arts, and we The extent to which we abhor or admire patriotism came to learn more about what the in the schools depends on how it is taught. If we teach staff was doing. The principal met us it narrowly as jingoistic, uncritical self-praise of our na- at the door and soon began to speak tion, then such instruction is wrong. It would be in- glowingly about the school’s accomplishments. He doctrination rather than education. If, however, we Nmentioned that the school was attended by children teach civic education and define patriotism as a respect- from nearly 40 different nations and cultures and that ful understanding and appreciation of the principles it went to great lengths to encourage the students to and practices of democratic self-government, then pa- have pride in their cultural heritage. There were chil- triotism should be woven through the daily life and dren in the school from Asia, Latin America, Africa, teachings of the public schools. Europe, and India. All of them were learning to ap- Until the last generation, American public schools preciate the foods, dances, customs, and literature of took the teaching of patriotism very seriously. The their native countries. Quietly, I asked him whether the school day began with the Pledge of Allegiance, every school did anything to encourage students to appre- classroom displayed an American flag, the flag was ciate American culture, and he admitted with embar- raised each day over the school, and students learned rassment that it did not. the songs of the American civil religion — the na- This seems to me a great paradox in American pub- tional anthem, “God Bless America,” “Columbia, the lic education today. Educators believe that children’s Gem of the Ocean,” “America the Beautiful,” “My self-esteem is firmly linked to a positive relationship Country, ’Tis of Thee,” etc. Since the earliest days of to their ancestral culture but not to the culture of the public education, the schools were expected to teach country in which they live and are citizens of and in students about the history, culture, and symbols of which they will one day raise a family, earn a living, America and to encourage them to feel part of the na- and participate in elections. How strange to teach a stu- tion. If anything, the public schools in the United dent born in this country to be proud of his parents’ States were generally viewed by the public as an insti- or grandparents’ land of birth but not of his or her tutional expression of national pride, because they were considered the quintessential governmental instrument DIANE RAVITCH is a research professor at New York University; a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford, Calif.; a non- for building a strong and vibrant national community. resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington, It was understood that students and families came from D.C.; and a graduate of the Houston public schools. She is the a wide variety of national and ethnic origins, and the author of The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn (Knopf, 2003) and co-editor, with Michael public schools were expected to teach everyone about Ravitch, of The English Reader (Oxford University Press, 2006). the duties and privileges of citizenship in the United APRIL 2006 579 States. The public schools were to instruct students ic ideology embedded in the Declaration of Independ- about voting and jury duty, about how the government ence and the Constitution. The public schools were works, and about national ideals and aspirations. expected to help forge the American people anew in In many ways, American schools were very much each generation by teaching children about the nature like the state schools of every other nation, which in- and workings of democratic self-government. Second, variably teach students to respect the larger commu- the public school is itself an expression of the nation’s nity that supplies and funds their education. No state democratic ideology, a vehicle created to realize the system teaches its children to despise their own gov- nation’s belief in individualism, self-improvement, and ernment. But American schools probably went further progress. It was in the public schools that students not in their patriotic spirit than the schools of other na- only would learn what it meant to be an American but tions, for two reasons. First, other nations are based would gain the education necessary to make their way on ties of blood or religion, but the United States is a in an open society, one in which rank and privilege social creation, evolving not from common inherited were less important than talent and merit. If the pub- features but from a shared adherence to the democrat- lic schools were ever to abandon their role as an in- Teaching Patriotism — with Conviction Americans will debate for many years to come the causes and implications of the September 11 attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., as well as the foiled attack that led to the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in a Pennsylvania field. Between the first and second “anniversaries” of 9/11, another development deepened our awareness of the dangerous world we inhabit and of America’s role there- in — the successful war to liberate Iraq from its dictator and his murderous regime. Of course, the consequences — and contentiousness — of that conflict continue to resonate daily in newspaper headlines and on the evening news. In these challenging times, educators rightly wonder about their proper role. What should they teach young Americans? How should they prepare tomorrow’s citizenry? What is most important for students to learn? These are weighty questions, and there is every reason to expect them to linger. But it is now clearer than ever that, if we wish to prepare our children for unforeseen future threats and conflicts, we must arm them with lessons from history and civics that help them learn from the victories and setbacks of their predecessors, lessons that, in Jeffer- son’s words, “enable every man to judge for himself what will secure or endanger his freedom.” Jefferson was right when he laid upon education the grave assignment of equipping tomorrow’s adults with the knowl- edge, values, judgment, and critical faculties to determine for themselves what “will secure or endanger” their free- dom and their country’s well-being. The U.S. Supreme Court was right, half a century ago, when, in the epoch-shaping Brown decision, it declared education to be “the very foundation of good citizenship.” Teachers know this better than anyone, and many need no help or advice in fulfilling their responsibility. They’re knowledgeable, savvy, creative, caring, and — may I say it? — patriotic, as many fine teachers have always been. They love our country and the ideals for which it stands. Teachers must communicate to their students the crucial lessons from history and civics that our children most need to learn. The events of 9/11 and the war on terrorism that has followed create a powerful opportunity to teach our daughters and sons about heroes and villains, freedom and re- pression, hatred and compassion, democracy and theocracy, civic virtue and vice. On 10 April 2003, David McCullough told a Senate committee, “We are raising a generation of people who are historically illiterate. We can’t function in a society,” he continued, “if we don’t know who we are and where we came from.” The solemn duty of all educators is to make certain that all our children know who they are. Part of that can be accomplished by teaching them about America’s Founders, about their ideals, and about the character, courage, vision, and tenacity with which they acted. From that inspiring history, true patriotism cannot help but grow. K CHESTER E. FINN, JR., is president of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Washington, D.C. By Chester E. Finn, Jr. 580 PHI DELTA KAPPAN strument of democratic ideology, they would risk losing of country may mean love of place, love of the land- their place in the American imagination as well as their scape and the people, love of what is familiar. Surely claim on the public purse. people who have been persecuted may be excused for Obviously, if teaching patriotism degenerates into not having an attachment to their homeland. But for vulgar national boasting and a mandate for conformi- most of us, whatever place we call home and what- ty, then it has failed in teaching the Constitution. For ever our nationality, Sir Walter Scott’s words ring an essential part of the promise of the democratic ide- true: ology involves teaching children about the rights of a free people, including the rights of free speech, free ex- Breathes there the man with soul so dead pression, and dissent. It is impossible to teach Amer- Who never to himself hath said, ican history without recognizing the important roles “This is my own, my native land!” played by outsiders, dissenters, and critics, who often Whose heart hath ne’er within him burned, turned out to be visionary and prescient in their rejec- As home his footsteps he hath turned tion of the status quo.
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