No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has three pledges from Northampton teachers by the end of the week ending Dec. 18.
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.
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 |
|---|---|
| Bryant Sculos | “no comment” |
| Rich Cairn | The teaching of civics and history must focus on the skills of inquiry and critical thinking. One of many terrible results of these censorship laws will be that all students in states that pass them will lack the skills they need to succeed as workers, family members, and citizens. |
| Sue Sullivan | Students and community members are falling more and more into social media and faker news lies and distortions of realityu and history. It has not only caused great death vis a vis Covid but has put teachers in a precariousand difficult position within divided classrooms across the country. We need a strong push nation wide to reintroduce Civics eduation as well. |
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