February 27th 2020

By Marissa Higgins

Daily Kos

Students in an Advanced Placement (AP) history class at Loch Raven High School, a public high school located in Towson, Maryland, had a unique lesson in the classroom, much to the outrage of local Republicans, reported The Baltimore Sun. As state Delegate Kathy Szeliga shared on Facebook, one slide in a presentation seemingly includes a picture of Donald Trump with a caption reading “wants to round up a group of people to build a giant wall.” Other pictures on the slide include a Nazi swastika, as well as a communist hammer, with the captions “been there” and “done that,” respectively.

“This propaganda was used in an AP history class at Loch Raven High. Educational malfeasance of the highest degree. What is going on in our the Balt Co Public Schools???? I will be demanding answers and actions from BCPS TODAY!,” Szeliga wrote on Facebook along with the image.

“It is horrific. It is educational malfeasance,” she said on Friday during a county delegation meeting in Annapolis, according to the paper. 

How did lawmakers first become aware of the slide? That’s still unclear, as no students or parents have been quoted as having issues with the lesson so far. What is clear, however, is that Szeliga isn’t the only Republican upset about the presentation. “I think it is inappropriate in a high school to have something like that that is so controversial,” Baltimore County Councilperson Wade Kach told the Sun.

So, what’s the context of the lesson? According to the district’s statement, “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.”

As of now, it’s not clear what, if any, steps will be taken. As the Sun reports, the issue is a “personnel matter” and, according to spokesperson Charles Herndon, “will be appropriately addressed by the school administration.” 

“We expect and encourage analysis and discussion around historical and current events, even if they are considered controversial,” the district added in a statement. Given that high schoolers across the country are using Nazi jokes for dance invitations and seemingly doing the Nazi salute for a prom photo, the more history and current events that get covered, the better.

Posted with permission