Youngkin: Washington still ‘father of country’ in Virginia schools

Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia is pushing back against the state’s proposed changes to their Standards of Learning, or SOL, which included, among other things, no longer referring to George Washington as the “Father of our Country” and James Madison as the “Father of the Constitution.”

“I disagree with the removing of the nomenclature of George Washington as the father of our country, because of course he was and, of course, James Madison as the father of our Constitution. So all these standards still need significant work,” Youngkin told 7News. “And we’re going to reinforce, as part of our curriculum, the role of our Founding Fathers in our country. We’re not going to erode it.”

“I believe that we should tell our history accurately, the good and the bad. And part of the history we’re going to tell is that our Founding Fathers, including George Washington and James Madison — let’s not forget about Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry and the others — played an extraordinary role in the founding of our nation,” Youngkin added.