Tamaqua Area School Board President Larry Wittig wants to ensure the district’s students understand concepts such as socialism and communism in the proper historical context.

Wittig pointed out that recent studies show 60% of young adults, ages 19 to 29, favor socialism, “which means they have no clue of the historical significance of these types of operations,” he said Tuesday.

He didn’t know if schools are glossing over those political and economic ideologies or not showing historical significance of the concepts in practice to get these survey results.

“Do these kids from 19 to 29 get distorted or destroyed in college? Is that where they come up with these nitwit ideas?” Wittig asked. “Or is it a lack of emphasis in high school where we just brush over these things?”

He felt it was the board’s responsibility to look at how the district presents the concepts to its students and how they affected the quality of life for citizens in countries that practiced them historically.

Wittig suggested the district enhance its curriculum to accurately show what has happened in the past with “a dictatorial central government,” pointing to the Holocaust and mass killings under Stalin in the Soviet Union.

“It’s almost nauseating to suggest that there’s 60% of our young population that think this is fine because it’s being spoon fed by nitwits like the mayor, future mayor of New York,” Wittig said.

“Maybe I shouldn’t say nitwits, because they’re very, very intelligent, and that’s how they grasp power,” he said, adding that people believe they’re insulated from these regimes in the United States, and they’ll always have their freedoms.

Wittig said that he wasn’t making a political statement, but cautioned against certain political movements across the country, wondering if today’s young people are the “frog in the boiling water.”

“All I’m saying is we should look at this as a board,” Wittig said. “I think it’s our responsibility if we don’t have a curriculum that certainly does stress the importance of human nature with regard to these different ways of governing, that we should.”

Superintendent Ray Kinder said that they could audit the curriculum, and report back to the board next month. He also pointed out that these were national and not a polling of young people in downtown Tamaqua.

Board member Trina Schelhammer asked if the board could survey their seniors to see where their mindsets are and what they know, if they know what socialism is compared to capitalism.

“It doesn’t matter, even if 100% of our students answer that accurately, and say all great things,” Wittig said. “I think it’s still our responsibility to enhance the curriculum in that direction.

“Steer them in the direction of what makes America great,” Wittig said. “Why in 250 years did we go from zero to a world power, not because of any of those other elements.

“I think we should do it unapologetically.”

Assistant Superintendent Stephen Toth said that the district does begin teaching government fundamentals early on, pointing to lessons on voting rights and democracy in put in practice in the elementary.

Board Vice President Nicholas Boyle said that not necessarily the district’s students, but that kids and even some adults don’t understand how primary and general elections work — a general lack of knowledge.

Kinder said that they could look at how they are addressing these concepts within the curriculum and report back, and then, possibly survey their students.