Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha said Fairfax County Public Schools are more worried about people being “offended” than teaching what’s “factual and true” about 9/11.
“If you take the whole ‘we can’t say Islam’ thing out of this, well, that’s central to this entire history lesson,” Concha said on Fox News’s Hannity on Friday.
A six-page instructional guide given to teachers, “25th Anniversary and Commemoration of 9/11,” emphasizes creating “safe spaces” when teaching the topic, and not associating the attacks with Islam or Muslims, according to Fox News.
The guide makes more than 30 references to Islam, Muslims, and the Middle East. It mentions military families only three times and first responders only once.
Concha said both Fairfax and Loudoun counties are the “epicenters of all things woke and all things politically correct.”
Concha emphasized that 9/11 was carried out in the name of jihad, which he said means “holy struggle in the eyes of Islam.” He said there isn’t a way to teach a generation that wasn’t alive for 9/11 without mentioning radical Islamic terrorism.
“This is where we are at this point, where everybody just wants to make sure no one’s offended,” Concha said.
Concha related the school system’s guidance to other events in American history, arguing that by their reasoning, “safe spaces” would need to be created for other history lessons.
“So when American students are taught about slavery, for example, and our history about that pre-Civil War, are we affording them that same safe space? Or sometimes you just got to learn what is factual and true,” Concha said.
READ IN FULL: TRUMP’S SPEECH ON THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
“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,” the school system said in a statement to Fox News.
“The only way you’re not going to repeat history again is by doing the same thing over and over again and not learning from it,” Concha said.