The pledge was signed by no teachers on Feb. 20, the day before. It now has four pledges from Wheat Ridge teachers.
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 Wheat Ridge teachers included, "Exploitation by wealth-owning white people of the labor of working class people of color and the construction of white identity around that project is engrained in the U.S.'s social structure and economy. Having one of the major political party so dedicated to to suppressing this basic truth in our classrooms is testament to that fact" and "Indoctrinating students with sanitized and white washed history and analysis of today's realities needs to be a thing of the past. Although it is understandable that some with relative power are threatened by teaching critical thinking and the truth about U.S. History and contemporary society, the decision is whether to indoctrinate or not and teaching the truth requires critical analysis. This should not be a controversial issue. Race and racism largely an American invention and to actively suppress that fact is to lie to our students about our collective past and about today's society".
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 |
|---|---|
| Andres Martinez | Exploitation by wealth-owning white people of the labor of working class people of color and the construction of white identity around that project is engrained in the U.S.'s social structure and economy. Having one of the major political party so dedicated to to suppressing this basic truth in our classrooms is testament to that fact. |
| Andres Martinez | Indoctrinating students with sanitized and white washed history and analysis of today's realities needs to be a thing of the past. Although it is understandable that some with relative power are threatened by teaching critical thinking and the truth about U.S. History and contemporary society, the decision is whether to indoctrinate or not and teaching the truth requires critical analysis. This should not be a controversial issue. Race and racism largely an American invention and to actively suppress that fact is to lie to our students about our collective past and about today's society. |
| Andres Martinez | Our kids deserve the truth. Ignoring the U.S.'s foundations in the forced take over, colonization, and attempted genocide of Indigenous peoples as well as in the institution of slavery and the key role in establishing the very notion of race and, therefore, racism is far from honest. |
| Kate Grigsby | No comment |
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