Historian: Save Ohio's kids from new Boss Tweed. Ed under Governor would be Tammany Hall

 Edward Janak is a professor of social foundations of education and chair of the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Toledo.  He has more than 50 publications to his credit. His most recent book is "A Brief History of Schooling in the US" with Palgrave-Macmillan.

There is a cliché that those who don’t know the past are doomed to repeat it.

There’s a cartoon featuring a punchline that adds those who do know the past are doomed to stand by helplessly as those who don’t repeat it.

This is my attempt at not standing by helplessly. As an educational historian I need to remind the politicians and citizens of Ohio that those who know educational history know how problematic bills such as Ohio Senate Bill 178 are.

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In 1871, the great American political cartoonist Thomas Nast created a work titled “The New Board of Education" about political interference in schooling.

“Sowing the Seed With an Eye to the Harvest” was the subtitle.

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The cartoon depicted the corrupt New York City politician William “Boss” Tweed and his cronies standing in a schoolroom, confiscating textbooks and throwing them out the window.

The books were being replaced with texts “published by the Tammany Saints," a reference to Tweed’s group collectively being known as Tammany Hall.

The message was obvious: when a politician takes over running the public schools, the politician will use the schools to their own end.

Nast was not wrong as educational history shows; indeed, the progressive movement in education launched soon after this in large part to eliminate the influence of politics over the public schools of the nation. Children deserve the best education they can get, not political propaganda.

As the Ohio House considers passage of Senate Bill 178 and the governor considers folding this into his budget request moving forward, they collectively need to realize Ohio is standing on the edge of a cliff.

Do we want to become the 21st Century Tammany Hall, doing what is in the best interest of politicians, or do we want to do what is in the best interest of the children of Ohio?

If the voters of Ohio wonder what single party control over the curriculum of Ohio’s schools would look like under this model they need look no further than states such as Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma.

While this may appeal from a political point of view, when considering that all three of these states significantly under-perform academically compared to Ohio this should raise questions.

Indeed, do the students of Ohio need to be educated in schools that teach the Holocaust had two sides and that slavery did not exist?

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From a conservative point of view, the solution to too much bureaucracy and too large government is making it smaller, not doubling in size.

Put a referendum forward that the secretary of education become a position appointed by the governor, which is the case in at least 11 states at this time. If the school board is too large at 18 members, reduce it. The state budget towards education is tight enough; it doesn’t need more funds being siphoned off to pay for employees of a second state department.

While the state of Ohio has been making some progress educationally and economically, this bill has the potential to bring these to a halt.

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Members of the Ohio House of Representatives, please vote against this bill.

Governor DeWine, please do not bypass the House by putting this into your budget.

Voters of Ohio, please write your elected representatives with your opposition to this bill and hold the politicians accountable should they make Ohio the new Tammany Hall.

We deserve better than a new governor Tweed.

 Edward Janak is a professor of social foundations of education and chair of the Department of Educational Studies at the University of Toledo.  He has more than 50 publications to his credit. His most recent book is "A Brief History of Schooling in the US" with Palgrave-Macmillan.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Professor: Putting Ohio Ed Bord under governor would repeat dangerous history