A Richmond Palladium-Item editorial makes a valid criticism of a measure in the General Assembly mandating teaching of the Holocaust in Indiana public schools:
But someone needs to speak up for academic freedom and the potential ills of a politically chosen legislature micromanaging what gets taught in the classroom.
The pitfalls are apparent. Already, an effort has been made to make teaching more inclusive to added atrocities: Namibia in 1904, the Ukraine in 1932, Cambodia in 1975, Guatemala in 1982, Kosovo in 1999, and on and on. Well, readers get the idea. It's the peril of politicizing what gets taught in the classroom, however well intentioned.
I'm not sure about the academic-freedom argument. The General Assembly pays the bills and sets the rules. But nothing much good usually comes from legislative micromanagement.
