Outcry over Donald Trump compared to Nazis and Communists in Maryland high school lesson
On February 21, Kathy Szeliga, a Republican State Delegate from Maryland representing Baltimore and Harford Counties, accused Loch Raven High School in Towson, Maryland, of “educational malfeasance of the highest degree,” when she learned that a PowerPoint presentation used in one of their classes contained a slide that apparently compared President Donald Trump to Nazis and Communists.
According to a statement released by Baltimore County Public Schools:
“The slide was used as part of a lesson in an AP History course. The topics being discussed included World Wars and the attempts by some leaders to limit, or prevent migration, into certain countries. In isolation and out of context with the lesson, the image could be misunderstood. In our Advanced Placement (AP) classes, which are college level courses, we expect and encourage analysis and discussion around historical and current events even if they are considered controversial.
This lesson was not intended to make a political statement. If a student has concerns when discussing a controversial issue, schools have the tools to address the concern and support the student.” ~ Baltimore County Public Schools
Szeliga posted to her Facebook page that the BCPS statement was “wholly unacceptable.” Baltimore County Councilman Wade Kach called the slide “a piece of propaganda,” that didn’t belong in a classroom.
The PowerPoint slide features a picture of Trump lumped in with images of a swastika and hammer-and-sickle. Superimposed over the picture of the U.S. president are the words, “Wants to round up a group of people and build a giant wall.”
The words “been there” and “done that” appear under the pictures of the swastika and hammer and sickle. A banner on the side reads “Oh that’s why it sounds so familiar!” ~ Fox 45 News in Baltimore
Fox went on to share comments from Dr. Richard Vatz, a professor at Towson University, who explained that: “High schools are not supposed to take advocacy positions against presidents. They’re supposed to explain how political advocacy works, if that’s what they’re doing. They’re certainly not to take a position that the president is comparable to these awful leaders of the past.”
ABC News shared comments from Charles Herndon, a spokesman for Baltimore County schools, who said students in advanced high school classes are “discerning, intelligent students who are going to be able to draw their own inferences and draw their own conclusions.”
“The topics being discussed in the class included World Wars and the attempts by some leaders throughout history to limit or prevent migration into certain countries. In isolation and out of context with the lesson, the image could be misunderstood,” the school district said in a statement.
This isn’t the first instance of Donald Trump having been compared to Nazis. In a recent interview, former presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke compared Trump’s current administration to the administration that once ruled Nazi Germany. According to The Hill:
“Outside of the Third Reich, give me another example of a Western leader who has called people of one faith inherently defective or dangerous or disqualified from being successful in that country,” O’Rourke continued.
“How did a modern country, well-educated, a source of innovation and ingenuity, and a source of moral leadership in the world, descend into that level of barbarity, producing a shame that lives with every single German to this day?”
The Baltimore County School System spokesperson said that this issue had become a personnel matter “which will be appropriately addressed by the school administration and is not subject to further clarification.”
Written by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
