The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 9, the day before. It now has three pledges from Rio Rancho 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 Rio Rancho teachers included, "We must counter hegemonic thought that is exclusionary and historically inaccurate. If not, we will continue to see the erosion of our democratic norms and continuation of racist policy, history, and laws. We must counter the rise of fascism and hate, as educational institutions are the last bastions of what true democracy can look like. "We must teach the truth about the past, in order to defend justice in the future." -I forgot the historian but he just passed" and "Truth always matters in all learning. Institutional racism perpetuates poor health practices".
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 |
|---|---|
| Joanne Johnston | Truth always matters in all learning. Institutional racism perpetuates poor health practices. |
| Mitchell Freedman | No comment |
| Timothy Green IV | We must counter hegemonic thought that is exclusionary and historically inaccurate. If not, we will continue to see the erosion of our democratic norms and continuation of racist policy, history, and laws. We must counter the rise of fascism and hate, as educational institutions are the last bastions of what true democracy can look like. "We must teach the truth about the past, in order to defend justice in the future." -I forgot the historian but he just passed. |
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