Left-Wing Bias In York High Class: Lawmaker

ELMHURST, IL – State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi last year pointed out examples of what she viewed as a left-wing bias in York High School's American Studies class.

Through a public records request, Patch obtained an August 2021 email that Mazzochi, an Elmhurst Republican, sent to the school's principal.

The records request was prompted by American Studies teacher Lindsey DiTomasso's recent letter to the editor of the Daily Herald. In it, DiTomasso accused Mazzochi of attacking teachers with lies and disinformation in private emails to school board members and administrators.

In November, Mazzochi lost in her bid for re-election.

Because of DiTomasso's allegation, Patch requested Mazzochi's correspondence to Elmhurst School District 205 since summer 2021 and the district's responses to it.

The district provided a lengthy email in 2021 from Mazzochi to Principal Shahe Bagdasarian.

The other pieces of correspondence were a short email exchange about school legislation and Mazzochi's letter of support for state money for the district's early childhood center.

In the email to the principal, Mazzochi represented herself as a parent, not a legislator. It was emailed from her law firm account.

Mazzochi said students were sensitive to the power that teachers hold over them, particularly when it comes to seeking college opportunities.

"Students who have previously taken this class also have discussed with me their experience, where if they displayed their genuine political beliefs, or tried to argue facts in response to their preferred narrative, they were belittled, mocked, singled out, or retaliated against by their teacher," Mazzochi said.

By contrast, she said, those who "regurgitated the teacher's obvious preferred left-wing viewpoints ... were rewarded with better grades and/or classroom praise."

One assignment, Mazzochi said, only allowed students to use the New York Times, BBC, NPR and other sources that she said were aligned with the political left.

Mazzochi objected to the inclusion of Eric Alterman's article, "The Decline of Historical Thinking," in the curriculum.

She took exception to the book's statements that "questions of economic inequality" have been ignored for decades and "some people have too much money."

She pointed out other quotes that she said showed a left-wing bias – the accusation that former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker led "an assault on state's teachers' unions" and that "Donald Trump is the king not only of lies but also of ahistorical assertions."

A book in the curriculum to which Mazzochi objected was Ta-Nehisi Coates' "Between the World and Me."

She said Coates' book is a "screed" reflecting his hatred of what he calls "the Dream" or "whiteness."

The lawmaker took particular exception to Coates' statement that "'White America' is a syndicate arrayed to protect its exclusive power to dominate and control our bodies," such as "lynching" and "redlining."

She also noted his reaction to the attacks on Sept. 11. On that day, the author wrote, "looking out upon the ruins of America, my heart was cold... I would never consider any American citizen pure... In the days after, I watched the ridiculous pageantry of flags, the machismo of firemen, the overwrought slogans. Damn it all."

District 205 has repeatedly said it does not allow teachers to have a political bias in class.

DiTomasso has not returned Patch's messages over time. The district's administration and the teachers union have not publicly responded to Mazzochi's criticism.