I felt like I’d written enough about CRT and believed you probably felt the same way. But it reared its ugly head again this morning when I heard Dr. Carol Swain say that it is still being taught in schools. Not only is it being taught, she says, but they claim that it is real. They say it is true history.
C, Scott Miller, whose comments generated her remarks, is a fifth-grade teacher as well as a trainer for the National Education Association and a self-described social justice warrior. Dr. Swain said that calling something fact, when it is a concept or a theory, is an indicator of his own educational limitations. What we know as CRT stands for Critical Race Theory.
Then I ran into a curriculum called Wit and Wisdom. As I read an overview, I thought it sounded great. Then I watched one of their videos. It was to teach reading comprehension, but the entire lesson was based on racial inequality. The one I watched was for third-grade students. I believe deeply that some are creating exactly the racial divisions we fought so hard to overcome seventy years ago. An example of this, but strangely, in reverse, is the demand for segregation in all aspects of their lives by minority college students—not the white students.
Many school districts claim they are not teaching CRT. Thirty-seven states
have passed laws forbidding teaching it, yet it persists. Tennessee banned it, and Governor Bill Lee called CT divisive and un-American. The Tennessee Department of Education issued eleven pages of guidelines to clarify what can and cannot be taught. It reads in part:
0520-xx-xx-.03 PROHIBITED CONCEPTS.
(1) The following concepts are prohibited concepts that shall not be included or promoted in a course of instruction, curriculum, instructional program, or in supplemental instructional materials: (Emphasis mine)
- One (1) race or sex is inherently superior to another race or sex;
- An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, is inherently privileged, racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously;
- An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment because of the individual’s race or sex;
- An individual’s moral character is determined by the individual’s race or sex;
- An individual, by virtue of the individual’s race or sex, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race or sex;
- An individual should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or another form of psychological distress solely because of the individual’s race or sex;
- A meritocracy is inherently racist or sexist, or designed by a particular race or sex to oppress members of another race or sex;
- This state or the United States is fundamentally or irredeemably racist or sexist;
- Promoting or advocating the violent overthrow of the United States government;
- Promoting division between, or resentment of, a race, sex, religion, creed, nonviolent political affiliation, social class, or class of people;
- Ascribing character traits, values, moral or ethical codes, privileges, or beliefs to a race or sex, or to an individual because of the individual’s race or sex;
- The rule of law does not exist, but instead is series of power relationships and struggles among racial or other groups;
- All Americans are not created equal and are not endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; or
- Governments should deny to any person within the government’s jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.
That sounds pretty definitive. Nevertheless, the Tennessee Star carried an article titled “Twenty-One Tennessee Teachers Vow to Defy State Law and Teach Critical Race Theory.” It wasn’t just twenty-one teachers in Tennessee who were rebelling. The article went on to say:
A petition circulated by the Zinn Education Project has collected more than 5,000 signatures from teachers who claim they will teach Critical Race Theory in their classrooms, regardless of whether it is outlawed in their respective states.
The Tennessee Star article then quotes from the Zinn petition:
“Lawmakers in at least 21 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism,
heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history,” the petition says.
“From police violence, to the prison system, to the wealth gap, to maternal mortality rates, to housing, to education and beyond, the major institutions and systems of our country are deeply infected with anti-Blackness and its intersection with other forms of oppression,” it continues. “To not acknowledge this and help students understand the roots of U.S. racism is to deceive them — not educate them. This history helps students understand the roots of inequality today and gives them the tools to shape a just future. It is not just a history of oppression, but also a history of how people have organized and created coalitions across race, class, and gender.”
One of the signatories of the petition was Lydia Dodd of Chattanooga. She said,
It is my responsibility to lead my students in meaningful conversations about the way the world works and how we should interact in it. This law restricts me of that responsibility and even threatens me to shy away from topics related to race, which my students deal with on a daily basis. If I can’t teach my students how to think critically and examine their rights as citizens of this country, there is no use for public education.
Ms. Dodd teaches at the United Christian Academy. This entire article falls into the category of “must” reading.
Does your school use A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn as a textbook? I recommend you visit the Zinn website. Clicking on that website’s link to Campaigns, you will find the following:
- Teach the black freedom struggle
- Teach Climate Justice
- Teach reconstruction
- 15th Amendment
- Abolish Columbus Day.
And while you’re at it, re-read my blog of November 5, 2021, “DON’T LOSE YOUR FOCUS! KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL!”