An upscale suburban Washington, DC, school district appeared to be focused on creating “safe spaces” for Muslim students and not linking 9/11 to Islam as the U.S. marks the 25th anniversary of the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
The effort came in the form of a six-page guide for teachers in northern Virginia’s Fairfax County Public Schools titled “25th Anniversary and Commemoration of 9/11,” complete with “do” and “don’t” bullet points.
The document urges teachers to familiarize themselves with “the complexity of 9/11 and leverage a critical lens with students.”
Fox News’s reporting of the directive caused an explosion of criticism on social media Friday, with the cable network also reporting that critics were accusing the district’s “liberal leaders of coddling post-9/11 sensitivities rather than teaching history.”
“It’s sort of a vanilla way to do things,” retired Navy Vice Admiral Lou Crenshaw told Fox News. Crenshaw, who was inside the Pentagon when al-Qaeda terrorists crashed a hijacked passenger jet into the building, told the outlet, “Everybody can go through the deal and feel good about it. And at the end of the day, nobody complains.”
He continued, “To me, that’s not exactly what we need to do. We need to make sure that the kids have learned a lesson here. And that’s not going to happen if we try to shave the facts to the point where it’s hard to figure out what we’re talking about.”
WATCH — President Trump Participates in 9/11 Observance at the Pentagon:
The vice admiral, who served in the Navy from 1974 to 2007, was on the fourth floor of the Pentagon on the same side of the structure impacted by the hijacked passenger jet. His area did not immediately collapse but was eventually consumed by fire.
Other critics piled on in social media posts.
Jason Miyares, Virginia’s former attorney general, said, “If they want to provide the proper ‘critical lens’ on 9/11, explain to students the horror of watching 3,000 fellow Americans being executed on live television for the sole crime of being an American – including the loved ones of many of your students.”
“We wouldn’t want to hurt any Muslim’s feelings now, would we?” wrote the commentary website Twitchy Team.
According to Fox:
A digital content analysis reveals that about half of the 1,740-word document is devoted to tips for creating “safe spaces for Muslim and Middle Eastern students,” about 15% spells out specific 9/11 instruction and the rest of the document tip-toes around managing “emotional responses” to the lesson.
The Fairfax school district is only a few miles from the Pentagon as well as several military bases. However, the guide mentions military families only three times and first responders only once, the Fox News review of the document reported.
The Fox News report continued:
Meanwhile, it has 30 references to Islam, “Muslim families,” “Muslim students,” “anti-Muslim racism,” “anti-Middle Eastern” rhetoric, “Islamophobic rhetoric” and “Middle Eastern students” and families. It includes a bulleted list of “critical considerations” to challenge anti-Muslim bias.
Fox News confronted Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) over the guide.
The district seemed to have a change in tone in their response, saying the school community has a “deeply personal connection to September 11 because of our proximity to the Pentagon and the many military-connected families we serve.”
“On the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks, we remember the nearly 3,000 people who were killed, including 184 at the Pentagon. We remember the victims, their families, the survivors, and everyone whose lives were forever changed. We honor the first responders whose courage and sacrifice continue to inspire us,” the school district told the outlet.
It added, “FCPS remains committed to creating an inclusive environment in our schools where all students feel welcome and respected as we strive to provide a world-class education and workplace.”
Breitbart News contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
