It never occurred to David French that teachers should be censored from expressing their own opinions on matters

We’ve got a real match-up for you today, folks: David French vs. Christopher Rufo. As Twitchy reported Friday, NBC News did a piece on public school teachers who were thinking about quitting in the face of state laws that would restrict what they can and cannot teach, which left a lot of people wondering what the problem was. Yes, states are passing laws against incorporating critical race theory into the curriculum, and Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis, with his “Don’t Say Gay” bill, is trying to keep discussions about gender identity and sexual orientation out of primary schools.

David French says that growing up as a conservative Christian public school kid, it never occurred to him that teachers should be censored from expressing their own opinions in the classroom. Follow the account Libs of Tik Tok for one day and see just how teachers are expressing their own opinions online and see if you don’t rethink that.

This wasn’t just me, right? We all remember classes where you read texts arguing various perspectives, even in middle and high school? The point was never that you’re supposed to make an affirmation of faith in one of them.

— @[email protected] (@normative) February 18, 2022

“Even in middle and high school?” Especially in middle and high school, when students are old enough to challenge the classroom’s authority figure.

Growing up a conservative Christian public school kid, it never crossed my mind that I shouldn’t be exposed to contrary ideas (even very challenging contrary ideas) and it never crossed my mind that my teachers should be censored from expressing their own opinions on matters.

— David French (@DavidAFrench) February 18, 2022

So you'd be okay with a teacher telling your kids the Holocaust didn't happen?

— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) February 18, 2022

The idea that academic freedom is a thing in K-12 is demented.

— Stacey (@ScotsFyre) February 18, 2022

Yes, teaching 1st graders they're victims/oppressors because of their skin color is just teaching a different point of view. It's totally fine.

Funny how the person whose compass is broken never thinks he's going the wrong direction.

— J (@ARaised_Eyebrow) February 18, 2022

If they held views you strongly disagree with or find shocking would you be equally supportive of teachers imposing personal views? Yes, imposing. The teacher/pupil relationship is one of disproportionate power and influence over young impressionable minds.

— Gillian Radcliffe (@gillradcliffe) February 18, 2022

You may be missing the point; it is not the ideas, it is the indoctrination. It is the demand that the public at large – parents/kids, acquiesce their values, beliefs and thoughts and adopt ones they do not subscribe to. It is the invasion of the government into our ❤️ & minds

— monika chancey (@ChanceyMonika) February 18, 2022

You should try addressing the actual argument sometime.

— Bowie_Theus (@BowieTheus) February 18, 2022

So? Just because it didn’t occur to you doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t have happened (or that it shouldn’t have occurred to you). I’m trying to fathom why anyone would think that a kindergarten teacher *shouldn’t* be self censoring.

— Matt Crawford (@crawf) February 18, 2022

It’s not about being exposed to contrary ideas, it’s about being forced to accept false ideas as gospel truth. CRT is false and it’s being passed off as true.

— Jack in the East (@talkradio200) February 19, 2022

The conservative case for race based Marxism, by David French.

— Hudson (@MidBestPopulism) February 18, 2022

David, you know damn well they are creating and dumping resentment into these young souls. Shame on you for not seeing that.

— An aspiring gentleman (@johnnybegood_90) February 18, 2022

Try being a conservative today in government schools. I’m sure you’d find the whole experience riveting.

— JRC (@jrcrawley) February 19, 2022

Teachers are granted authority over children, and therefore their opinions, however stupid or even harmful, carry authoritative weight.

This isn't difficult.

— DaveCoffee ☕ (@DaveCothran) February 18, 2022

Teachers have always been censored. It’s just that the censors have always been on your side so you find censorship natural and moral. If you don’t believe me, try teaching the material that runs contrary to liberal dogma and see what happens to you

— Ferdinand Griffon (@FerdinandGriff4) February 18, 2022

French ignores the reality that teachers are in a position of authority; hence, the classroom is not an open-ended debate amongst equals.

Legislatures should get involved as education is a state & local issue. French just wants to submit to the Left under the guise of morality

— Rufus: Founding Father of Electabros (@ReturnNormalcy) February 18, 2022

David running defense for the government separating children by race, telling them they are "oppressors" or "oppressed" based on their skin color, and inculcating ancestral blood guilt as the basis for "social justice."

Just another "blessing of liberty." https://t.co/YrDEvu2DX8

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) February 18, 2022

This is a lie, as Chris knows. I am against broad, vague speech codes that suppress the robust discussion of ideas. I’m against laws that violate the First Amendment. I am for school choice, better curriculum, robust enforcement of civil rights laws, and reasonable transparency. https://t.co/GcZJD9zGef

— David French (@DavidAFrench) February 18, 2022

If the bills are so sound, why do their defenders so consistently resort to personal attacks and misrepresentation?

— David French (@DavidAFrench) February 18, 2022

Can you point us to legislation you support that best reflects these ideals?

It seems like you are always against legislation that tries to increase transparency or define curriculum, no matter how moderate it's aims.

Can you show us what you *do* support?

— PoliMath (@politicalmath) February 19, 2022

David believes the best course of action is for parents to spend years in court trying to prove damages for alleged discrimination, rather than simply allowing states to explicitly forbid government employees from committing it.

— InTheRightColumn (@TheRightColumn) February 19, 2022

No, you’ve never addressed the reason why the CRT bills have been introduced, which is the infusion of leftwing, racialist ideology into school curricula. Some bills are overbroad, but they address a real problem (that I’ve seen in my own kids’s school).

— Beelzebub (@Beelzeb64119785) February 19, 2022

Those are just different ways to say the same thing he did.

— Duffyevsky ☦ 🇷🇺 (@TheIllegit) February 18, 2022

Critical Race Theory is antithetical to the very concept of a "robust discussion of ideas". The presumption that White children are oppressors and should feel bad because of their race is the core assumed tenet of CRT.

— The Hat of Spring (@ThePoliticalHat) February 18, 2022

It's hard to believe you because you never address the issue honestly yourself. CRT bills aren't about "banning ideas," they're about prohibiting state-sponsored racism. Some are badly drafted, but you just consistently mischaracterize their *objective.*

— Logan Spena (@LoganSpena) February 19, 2022

He just caught you and is willing to call you out, Reverend French.

— MethodOfKeynes (@MethodOfKeynes) February 19, 2022

He didn't lie about anything. He was spot on.

— Bob Sarr (@Bob_Sarr) February 19, 2022

I am for these things it's just that I oppose any efforts to bring them about and don't have any workable ideas about how to actually achieve them–how *dare* you accuse me of being functionally on the other side?
Keep up the good work, David–those Atlantic checks must be nice.

— HoodlumDoodlum (@HoodlumDoodlum) February 19, 2022

https://twitter.com/Banglophile/status/1494787194514460673

@DefiantLs this should be an easy one for ya

— Dan The Man (@DanaldTrump) February 18, 2022

It’s hard to disagree with French when he’s so vague: he’s against broad speech codes and for a better curriculum and reasonable transparency. But when legislators draw up laws trying to define reasonable transparency, such as posting lesson plans online, the ACLU gets involved and makes “curriculum transparency” “a thinly veiled attempt to chill teachers from talking about race and gender.” Look at what you’re up against and try again.

Related:

ACLU: ‘Curriculum transparency’ a thinly veiled attempt to chill teachers from talking about race and gender https://t.co/5IyWF7lHQ1

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) January 22, 2022