If ignorance were a virtue, Montana’s Republican leadership would already be saints. Senate President Matt Regier and Superintendent of Public Instruction Susie Hedalen have decided that the biggest threat to our children’s education isn’t underfunded schools, teacher shortages, or rising student suicide rates – it’s “woke” teachers spending two days at a professional conference learning how to better educate our kids.
Let’s be clear: our teachers are professionals. They’re highly educated, deeply committed, and grossly underpaid. They teach math, science, music, literature, and—apparently—basic common sense, something that seems to be in short supply among certain politicians. Instead of thanking them, Regier and Hedalen are treating teachers like dangerous radicals plotting in the break room to overthrow the algebra curriculum.
Their latest crusade? A bill to stop teachers from getting professional development credits if they attend conferences where someone dares to mention diversity, art censorship, or—brace yourself—students who are gay. Forget that there were over 300 sessions on subjects like dyslexia, rockets, STEM, and teaching the stock market. Republicans heard about four sessions that didn’t fit their political narrative, and suddenly the whole conference turned into a Marxist indoctrination camp.
It’s political theater at its worst. Regier and Hedalen aren’t protecting kids—they’re auditioning for Fox News. Regier clearly wants a future run for governor, and apparently, nothing says “leadership” like punching teachers in the face while schools crumble.
Meanwhile, Montana’s education system is gasping for air. We have one of the highest student suicide rates in the country, a high dropout rate, and over half of our students won’t pursue education beyond high school. But instead of addressing any of that, our Republican leaders are waging war against “wokeness.” Maybe they think you can fix low math scores by banning pronouns.
Let’s call this what it is: red meat for the base. It’s the political equivalent of tossing raw hamburger into the culture-war blender and pressing “liquefy.” Never mind that teachers are the backbone of every successful community. Never mind that investing in education is the single smartest thing we can do if we want our kids and grandkids to compete globally. The country that educates the best will lead. The one that legislates fear and ignorance will be left asking China for job applications.
You’d think Regier and Hedalen might want to help recruit and retain teachers, not scare them away. But no—why fix a real problem when you can invent a fake one? They’re like firefighters who see a house burning and decide to lecture the smoke alarm.
If Republicans truly cared about “parental rights,” they’d start by giving every parent the right to a qualified teacher in every classroom. If they cared about “local control,” they’d let local school boards decide how to train their educators. And if they cared about “the children,” they’d stop using them as props in their endless campaign against imaginary enemies.
Our teachers don’t need more insults. They need support, respect, and yes—better pay. We need to treat them like the professionals they are, not political piñatas for the next election cycle.
Here’s a thought: maybe the real “indoctrination” we should worry about is the one coming from politicians who keep teaching us that ignorance is strength, cruelty is courage, and pandering is patriotism.
If Montana Republicans keep this up, we won’t have to worry about our kids becoming “woke.” They’ll be too busy trying to learn Mandarin so they can get a job in the global economy that we failed to prepare them for.
Doug James lives in Billings.