Olson on Newsmax: What’s Going on in Our Schools?
Feb 13, 2026
Byline: American Pulse Staff
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Dustin Olson, lead pollster at American Pulse Research & Polling, joined Todd Starnes on NEWSMAX to discuss public high schools and universities. Unfortunately, it’s no secret that so many have been infected by the woke mind virus. The question Americans need to ask themselves is this… should these schools even be considered a place where most parents would want to send their kids to get an education? Or are they just propaganda factories where kids end up with regular cognitive dissonance and organized for the next walkout?
Why Our Public Schools Have Become Tools to Advance the Far Left’s Agenda
First, Olson was asked about the recent protests, with host Todd Starnes saying: ‘If there was any doubt that our public schools are being used to advance far-left propaganda, these protests have to be Exhibit A.’
Olson agreed, saying that as a father himself, parents really ought to consider if these schools are the best places for their children to get an education.
“I think for any parent right now, looking at their children going to public schools, you have to be thinking about other ways to educate your children. I know as a parent, that's what I'm thinking about. I live in the Fairfax area in Virginia, I would never send my kids to the public school here.”
New Poll Says 69% of Transgender/Nonbinary Undergrad Students Victims of Sexual Harrassment…
Next, the conversation shifted to a new poll out of the University of Michigan, claiming that 69% of transgender or non-binary students say they’ve been victims of sexual harassment becuase someone used the wrong pronoun. Olson notes that statistics like these often link to the non-reality that many of these people exist in.
“It's unfortunate, and this is what we call the woke mind virus—and for a reason—because people have given a been given a non-reality, and I imagine it's very difficult for people like that, who find themselves in a world where they're constantly experiencing cognitive dissonance, where reality doesn't match their experience, and that is, I'm sure, very troubling for them. But that's how you get what I consider to be pretty bad statistics.”
Should Our Schools Go Back to Pencil-and-Paper Education Models?
Lastly, host Todd Starnes recalled the time when he was in school, and noted that they just had No. 2 pencils and electric typewriters at most. On this point, Dustin refers to science that shows just how much more effective that “old-school” model actually was. [In fact, we give an even further breakdown on this here.]
“It's actually been proven scientifically that when you hand write with a pen or pencil that you actually tend to remember things better. When you have to read physically, you remember things better than when you use technology. As pollsters, you know, we spend a lot of time thinking about how messages stick with people, and when you're not present and you're not paying attention, it's not going to stick.”
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