Reader’s opinion|Textbook censorship is a completely absurd idea and proposal in Finnish municipal decision-making, which the council does not even have the authority to implement.
Recently the published news told about the initiative filed in the Heinola city council, where they want to censor the high school social studies textbook (HS 9.10.). The initiative was submitted by the vice-chairman of the committee I chaired, the representative of basic Finns Harri Salonen.
The title of the initiative was, strictly speaking, “removing pages 88-89 of the 1st grade social studies book from the learning material in Heinola”. I consider leaving such a council initiative irresponsible and unsuitable for Finnish political culture.
Salonen argued that the textbook in question gives a wrong picture of basic Finns, when the book says that basic Finns are a populist party. This is, for example, a category often used in the social sciences for fundamental Finns and its sister parties.
Censoring a book is a completely absurd idea and proposal in Finnish municipal decision-making, which the council does not even have the authority to implement. As chairman of the board, I have no reason to doubt the national curriculum or the independent evaluations of teaching and education experts on the content of the teaching or the acceptability of the learning materials.
Fundamental Finns have now brought into decision-making a rhetoric strongly familiar from the United States, which tends to politicize educational materials. This kind of politicking is imported and this kind of Trumpism should not be given a foothold in Heinola or anywhere else in Finland.
Censorship of textbooks takes place mainly in countries where independent information transmission, impartial Civilization and free democracy are on a shaky foundation.
As chairman of the board, I will present the rejection of Salonen’s initiative when it comes to our board’s consideration. I hope that all Heinola’s decision-makers oppose the political censorship of educational materials.
Sami Salminen
chairman of the welfare board, city councilor (sd), Heinola
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