How to Anger the President

When Ronald Reagan charged the N.E.A. with trying to "brainwash" American students, he was referring to two of its curriculum guides for teachers. One, dealing with the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, states: "It is important to remember that the Klan is only the tip of the iceberg, the most visible and obvious manifestation of the entrenched racism in our society." The Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, as well as the Administration and the A.F.T., have publicly challenged this blanket indictment of U.S. society.

The second publication criticized by Reagan is titled Choices: A Unit on Conflict and Nuclear War. Its stated aim: "To help students understand the power of nuclear weapons, the consequences of their use, and, most importantly, the options available to resolve conflicts among nations by means other than nuclear war." Deputy Under Secretary of Education Gary Bauer calls the material "leftist indoctrination aimed at turning today's elementary students into tomorrow's campus radicals." The curriculum does convey the idea that nuclear war is immoral, but does not urge students to take any particular political action.

The N.E.A. has distributed 17,000 copies of the Klan curriculum guide and 5,000 copies of the publication on nuclear arms. The N.E.A., however, does not know how many school districts actually use the material. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.