- A state senator in Indiana said teachers should be neutral on Nazism, Marxism, and fascism.
- He later walked back his comments, saying neutrality should apply to legitimate political groups.
- His comments were made during a hearing on a bill that would limit how race is discussed in schools.
An Indiana state senator walked back comments he made saying teachers should be "impartial" when teaching about Nazism.
State Sen. Scott Baldwin was criticized for the comments he made during a committee hearing on Wednesday about a proposed bill that would limit how schools can discuss concepts like race. The bill is part of a wave of legislation proposed by conservative lawmakers largely in response to concerns over critical race theory.
During the hearing, Matt Bockenfeld, a history and ethnic studies teacher, testified in opposition to the bill. He said regardless of the bill's intent it would have a "chilling effect" on classrooms and would require teachers to be neutral on every topic.
"Of course, we're neutral on political issues of the day," Bockenfeld said. "We don't stand up and say who we voted for or anything like that. But we're not neutral on Nazism. We take a stand in the classroom against it, and it matters that we do."
Baldwin, a Republican, said he did not agree that teachers should be anything but neutral.
"I'm not discrediting, as a person, Marxism, Nazism, fascism," he said. "I have no problem with the education system providing instruction on the existence of those isms. I believe that we've gone too far when we take a position on those isms."
"We need to be impartial," he continued. "We need to be the purveyors of reason. We just provide the facts. The kids formulate their own viewpoints."
—Matt Bockenfeld (@MrBTheTeach) January 6, 2022
In a statement to The Indianapolis Star, Baldwin walked back his comment but defended the intent of the bill.
"Nazism, Marxism, and fascism are a stain on our world history and should be regarded as such, and I failed to adequately articulate that in my comments during the meeting," Baldwin said. "I believe that kids should learn about these horrible events in history so that we don't experience them again in humanity."
Baldwin said the intent of the bill is "impartiality of legitimate political groups" in the US.
"In my comments during committee, I was thinking more about the big picture and trying to say that we should not tell kids what to think about politics," he said.
Teachers in states where bills targeting critical race theory had been enacted or proposed told Insider's Ashley Collman they also worried such bills could have a "chilling" effect on education.