Quick. I need your help.

Vow that you will not be silent when politicians propose to cut funding for our children and our public schools.

If I told you that not only is ICE storming the streets of Minneapolis but public education is also on the hit list, would you listen?

In Germany in 1933, very few would listen. Little by little, good people looked the other way. Allegiance to the values of good vs evil eroded. And it was only the righteous, the brave, who stood up and said no.

The goal of the Trump administration is to expand private education, cut funding for public schools, and change what is taught.

Here are some examples of what is already happening. Funding cuts for:

• English learners

• School lunches

• Health services in school

• Teacher preparation

• The needs of minority communities

In comparison, there is increased funding for private and religious schools .

Are you seeing a pattern here?

The chart below shows Trump’s proposed deep cuts to education.

Luckily, Congress has traditionally rejected the deep cuts the Trump administration has proposed.

Do you take the oath?

Here is a powerful lesson from Facing History that I urge every school to teach. And I urge those reading this to discuss this with your family.

Students consider the choices and reasoning of individual Germans who stayed quiet or spoke up during the first few years of Nazi rule.

History can repeat itself. In the 1930s, the Nazis in Germany and the Fascists in Italy took over the schools. That was one smart move. Determining what children are taught determines the future of our nation.

The best defense against tyranny is education.

Trading in critical thinking skills for “group think” is how you seize and retain power.

We are facing choices that will affect the future of our children and the future of democracy.

Democracy does not live in our DNA. It is the responsibility of each generation to teach our children to be responsible citizens in a democracy.

Decisions on how our schools are funded and what is taught are being made right now… by your local school board, in your state legislature, and at the federal level.

Regardless of your political affiliation, remember that who you elect and how they vote counts. This is serious stuff.

• It will determine whether we continue to support funding for high quality public schools.

• It will determine what is taught in history class.

• It will determine whether kids get healthy meals at school.

• It will determine what books are in the school library or if there is a library at all.

• It will determine whether there is a school bus or will kids have to walk miles through two feet of snow? (Ok, that’s what grandpa always claimed.)

What can you do?

Vow that you will not be silent when politicians propose to cut funding for our children and our public schools.

Pay attention to proposals across the wide political spectrum.

Stay informed. In California, subscribe to EdSource and Ed100 to keep informed and learn how the education system works.

Join the parent group at your school. If that is a PTA school you get an added benefit. It advocates at the state and national level for high quality public schools.

Contact your elected officials Find my elected officials.

Pass this on.

Optional reading.

“In the garden of the righteous.”’

“For those many who claimed to sympathize with the victims, who secretly opposed the Nazis, but powerless to act, the evidence of the righteous was an inconvenient fact.

By their actions and their courage, the rescuers showed what others might have done to help prevent the Holocaust.”