Beware Media Literacy/Digital Citizenship
It doesn't mean what you think it does
by Sue Greenwald M.D.
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American Education, as presented by the teacher’s unions and the Federal Department of Education, is no longer hiding the fact it intends to instill Neo-Marxist socialist ideals into the youth population. The use of vague and flowery language is meant to obscure these intentions at the state and local levels, lulling parents and school boards into accepting the indoctrination.
The theme for most of our posts within this newsletter has been to unmask the language and explain the vocabulary for non-educators.
We all need to be more diligent in watching for the language.
Our Unicameral in Nebraska has a huge disadvantage. We have 49 Senators that, each year, are overwhelmed with hundreds of bills. They can’t pay attention to every detail, no matter how they try. When they pass a bad bill, there is no second house to put the brakes on it. The “second house” is supposed to be the people.
The problem with that concept is “the people” have kids, jobs and responsibilties, and a huge number of them live a half day’s drive from the Capitol. The live hearings are dominated by the attendance of paid lobbyists who reside in Lincoln. Therefore, people who are paid to have an agenda, and protect taxpayer funding of their pet causes, have the greatest input into the Senators’ decision making.
The online public comment for bills is convenient but ineffective. The comments from the public are counted, but not read into the record. Therefore, unless an overworked individual Senator decides to read all the comments, they won’t see the perspective of citizens and taxpayers.
That’s how, in 2024, the Nebraska Legislature passed a law limiting what farmers can sell to their neighbors, in a state where agriculture is by far the dominant industry.
The other problem we have at the Nebraska legislature is that all of the Democrat Senators and a good number of the Republicans are supported by the deep pockets of the predominant state teacher’s union, the NSEA (Nebraska State Education Association).
When the NSEA says we need more of what the Feds are shoveling, the Senators pick up their shovels.
That’s how, in 2022, far-left Democrats Terrell McKinney and Tony Vargas, along with Republican Julie Slama, introduced the concept of Digital Citizenship as a requirement for all Nebraska schools, it passed 33-11, and was signed into law by the Governor. https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/107/PDF/Slip/LB1112.pdf
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska, Section 1. Sections 1 to 5 of this act shall be known and may be cited as the Computer Science and Technology Education Act.
Sec. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that it is the policy of this state to promote computer science and technology education in each school district in order to (1) provide students the skills and competencies to compete in a twenty-first-century workforce, (2) develop skills that translate to high-skill, high-wage jobs, and (3) encourage the creation and retention of new, high-paying jobs in Nebraska.
Sec. 3. For purposes of the Computer Science and Technology Education Act, computer science and technology education includes, but is not limited to, knowledge and skills regarding computer literacy, educational technology, digital citizenship, information technology, and computer science.
Sec. 4. Beginning with school year 2024-25, each school district, in consultation with the State Department of Education, shall include computer science and technology education in the instructional program of its elementary and middle schools, as appropriate, and beginning in school year 2026-27, require each student attending a public school to complete at least one five credit high school course or the equivalent of a one-semester high school course in computer science and technology prior to graduation. Such computer science and technology education course offered by a school district may be made available in a traditional classroom setting, a blended-learning environment, or an online-based or other technology-based format that is tailored to meet the need of each participating student.
Sec. 5. On or before December 1, 2025, and on or before December 1 of each year thereafter, in order to promote and support computer science and technology education, each school district shall provide an annual computer science and technology education status report to its school board and the State Department of Education, including, but not limited to, student progress in computer science and technology courses and other district-determined measures of computer science and technology education progress from the previous school year.
For a generation of kids who are born with an iPad in their hands, one wonders who will be teaching whom about the technology. How do the high school administrators feel about adding a 5-hour credit requirement for graduation? Doesn’t that entail hiring teachers, buying curriculum, training staff, and adjusting already crowded schedules?
For elementary and middle school administrators, where exactly are they going to stick this “instruction,” when so much of the day is already devoted to social emotional learning, and so much of the curriculum is already online?
How about those yearly status reports to the local school board? Those school administrators need something to keep them busy, don’t they? The school boards need more reports to toss into the circular file.
And, what the heck is Digital Citizenship?
Well, it should not surprise anyone that Digital Citizenship is brought to you by the World Economic Forum. Here is their graphic:
Nor should it surprise anyone that a partner of the WEF, the United Nations, has a Sustainability Goal of “Global Citizenship” which is being championed by the National Education Association Foundation. (The NEA is the parent organization of Nebraska’s NSEA). Watch the James Lindsay video HERE. See the document he is referencing HERE.
“Media Literacy” is a subset of the “Digital Citizenship” curriculum; however, the terms are used somewhat interchangeably in news reports and educational industry publications.
“Media Literacy” is the term for teaching students which sources to trust and which to consider “fake news.” Trusted sources would be corporate media, such as CNN, and government agencies, such as the CDC. The trusted search engine is, of course, Google. This platform, Substack, would be something students are taught to disregard.
In “media literacy,” anything that challenges the government-controlled narrative is “mis-information.”
Climate change is settled science.
Covid vaccines are “safe and effective.”
Election integrity cannot be questioned.
A 2021 Survey of 39,000 college students revealed that 66% believe it is acceptable to shout down a speaker with which they disagree.
Students are not being taught to discern information, they are being taught to avoid and discredit information they aren’t sure they can trust. This is not a recipe for continued self-governance in the U.S.; but it is, of course, a step in furthering the United Nations’ goal of “Global Citizenship.”
The Nebraska Department of Education has a section of resources for Digital Citizenship on its website. It seems to focus on responsible use of technology, rather than the intentional censoring of un-approved sources of content. Digital Citizenship Resources | OER Commons
Nebraska’s 2022 law requiring “Digital Citizenship” classes did not specify they must contain “Media Literacy.” Senator Vargas tried to fix that in 2024. Thankfully, that bill did not advance from the Education Committee.
The Biden administration has been putting their thumb on the scale for censorship education. (The Daily Wire would not be a trusted source for “Media Literacy” graduates.)
State Department Paid Germans To Bring Censorship And Propaganda To U.S. Schools (dailywire.com)
Here is an excellent overview document about this issue from the organization CourageIsAHabit.org. We recommend you download and read the entire pdf listed below.
ciah_media_literacy_scam_part1.pdf - Google Drive
The News Literacy Project is to the “Media Literacy” movement as SIECUS is to the “Comprehensive Sexuality Education” movement. It is a non-governmental organizaton supported by globalists to promote state laws requiring standards for censorship. Nebraska fell for it. So did Texas and Florida.
News Literacy Project (NLP) promotes left-of-center news interpretation through educational programming. NLP claims to be nonpartisan and to educate students in how to distinguish fact from fiction, 1 but the organization is supported almost entirely by left-of-center news media and promotes critical race theory-influenced notions of racial equity 2 while characterizing right-of-center positions as “misinformation.” 3
News Literacy Project is supported by more than 30 media organizations that publicly endorse its mission, host “news literacy” sessions for educators, or donate services or resources. Nearly all of the news media outlets supporting News Literacy Project are left-of-center, including “60 Minutes,” ABC News, the Associated Press, Buzzfeed, CBS News, Chicago Tribune, CNN, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, the New York Times, NPR, Politico, San Francisco Chronicle, Slate, Vice News, Vox Media, and the Washington Post. 14
News Literacy Project has also received donations from the MacArthur Foundation, 15 Apple, Max and Victoria Foundation, News Corp, Tegna Foundation, Argosy Foundation, Dow Jones Foundation, and the Grable Foundation. 16 It has also received support from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and owner of the Washington Post, 17 and California billionaire couple Melanie and Richard Lundquist. 18
An entire revenue stream is being created to launder tax dollars to online curriculum which will meet the standards and graduation requirements that are being passed in states like Nebraska.
Why does it matter that kids are being taught to censor their input?
Let’s look at Canada in 2017: This article boasts about how Canada is far ahead of the U.S. on “media literacy.”
And Canada in 2021:
And Canada in 2024:
If you have made it this far- you deserve to hear from the definitive source about the encroachment of totalitarianism in America, Mike Benz. Play Video
This is a warning to our school administrators, our school boards and our Nebraska Department of Education. Be very careful about the resources you choose to meet this new requirement. We are paying attention. And to our Nebraska legislators: repeal that dog of a bill now!
The author is a co-founder of Protect Nebraska Children Coalition
And beware your County Commisars, City Councils and the uniparty system in Ne. Kicked out of 3 "Open Meetings" They don't want "Citizen comments" and have altered the OM Statue as of july! Not publicly announced!
Also beware of what they will sneak in ala the special session! Check out Robert Borer and Dan Osborn!