They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.
Comments from Fort Worth teachers included, "Students deserve a representative history and public educators should honor that" and "It is IMPOSSIBLE to teach a song like "Follow the Drinking Gourd" without explaining why it's a code song or why it needed to be in code.The smart students will NOT accept 'have your parents ask your legislators' as an educated answer".
Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.
Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.
Other states, such as Montana and South Dakota, have denounced the teachings without passing specific legislation.
In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon, Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”
Teachers | Thoughts on Critical Race Theory |
---|---|
Anne Wunneburger | Students deserve a representative history and public educators should honor that. |
Carol July | It is IMPOSSIBLE to teach a song like "Follow the Drinking Gourd" without explaining why it's a code song or why it needed to be in code.The smart students will NOT accept 'have your parents ask your legislators' as an educated answer. |
Claudia Adame | No comment |