Educate — Don't Indoctrinate

Where the line sits

Chris Brandlin sets out how he distinguishes teaching from indoctrinating, and where he believes Nevada classrooms should land.

His formulation is about method rather than subject matter: teaching presents a contested question as contested, gives students the strongest version of more than one position, and leaves them able to argue either side. Indoctrination, on his account, is when a conclusion arrives pre-decided and the disagreement is not represented at all.

Applied honestly, that standard cuts in every direction — it is a test about how something is taught, not a list of approved topics. This is a genuinely contested area of education policy where Nevadans hold sincerely different views, and it is presented here as the candidate's position rather than as settled fact.

Curriculum standards are set through the Nevada Legislature and the state and district boards.

Related: parents and education, Nevada's education crisis, and the nine commitments. More at education reform and parental rights.