Matthew Janiczek, a former history teacher in Illinois public schools, joined Chicago’s Morning Answer with Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson to discuss growing ideological intolerance in public education, particularly in suburban districts long considered academic powerhouses. Janiczek, who taught for two decades in the Glenbard school district, now runs MrJ-USA.com, an online platform offering alternative history instruction grounded in classical education and critical inquiry.
The interview began with a discussion about the recent controversy at Glenbrook South High School, where a Turning Point USA student club was disbanded after posting a flyer that critics claimed incited anti-Asian sentiment. The flyer, referencing the video game Among Us, depicted a hammer and sickle icon with the phrase “China kinda sus”—a slang reference to suspicion.
The flyer sparked outrage from State Rep. Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz and State Sen. Laura Fine, who condemned it as xenophobic. School administrators claimed the club’s dissolution was due to policy violations and the resignation of its faculty sponsor. Proft and Jacobson criticized the reaction as overblown and ideologically motivated. Janiczek agreed, calling the incident an example of how free expression is being suppressed under the guise of sensitivity.
“It’s worse than people realize,” said Janiczek. “Many educators are unwilling participants in a system that’s fundamentally about divide and conquer. It’s not about education anymore—it’s about control.”
Janiczek explained that the indoctrination he witnessed in Illinois public schools drove him to leave the system entirely. He described a dramatic shift in school culture following Donald Trump’s election in 2016, saying the political climate in his school turned hostile for anyone not aligned with progressive orthodoxy.
“I had colleagues crying in the hallway the day Trump was elected,” he recalled. “Everything changed overnight.”
After resigning, Janiczek launched an online history education platform. He now teaches students across the country—and even internationally, including Chinese students living abroad. His curriculum, he says, focuses on real history, the Socratic method, and fundamental disciplines like philosophy, faith, and finance, which he says are all but absent from today’s public schools.
“We talk about who holds power, how they got there, and what resistance has looked like throughout history,” he said. “Students are hungry for that kind of critical thinking.”
Janiczek also critiqued the standard U.S. history curriculum in schools, which he described as largely based on Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States and overly focused on America’s faults.
“The system pushes a very narrow view of American history—slavery, oppression, and systemic racism. That’s all they talk about,” he said. “And now even in places like Palo Alto, they’re eliminating advanced classes because they care more about feelings than achievement.”
While Illinois continues to pour more money into its K–12 system—with little to show for it in terms of literacy or math proficiency—Janiczek said families are quietly seeking alternatives.
“I have parents pulling their kids out of these indoctrination camps. Some are supplementing what they get in school, others are leaving entirely,” he said. “But the common theme is that they know something’s wrong. They know their kids aren’t being taught how to think.”
Now living in Lampasas, Texas, Janiczek described a stark contrast between his new community and the one he left in Illinois.
“People can disagree here without ostracizing each other,” he said. “There’s a spiritual core that binds people together, even if they don’t all agree politically. That’s something I never felt back in Illinois.”
From his online teaching platform to his involvement with a Christian homeschool network, Janiczek said he’s never felt more fulfilled as an educator. He’s teaching students in the U.S., China, and Europe—some as young as second grade—and using a classical model rooted in inquiry and connection.
“I have kids in China learning about philosophy, faith, and finance. We go deep, and they love it. And the parents thank me,” he said. “In Illinois, I was condemned for this. Here, I’m valued.”
Janiczek encouraged more families to question what their children are learning and look for meaningful educational alternatives.
“We repeat the same mistakes in history because we don’t learn it properly,” he said. “But there are still places where learning is happening—and more people are waking up to that every day.”
For more on Janiczek’s teaching program, visit MrJ-USA.com.