The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 23, the day before. It now has three pledges from Beloit 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 Beloit teachers included, "It is unethical to hide the truth of our history in the United States, especially when that history shows we have not lived up to our ideals that all people are created equal. Pretending racism has not been a central issue in our history, past an present, will not help us bring healing, restitution, or equity. Only honestly teaching the truth will help,us bring the change that we need" and "the students I teach deserve to know the truth about their country’s history. I will not teach a whitewashed version of US history to promote an agenda that supports ignorance".
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 |
|---|---|
| Charles Smith | the students I teach deserve to know the truth about their country’s history. I will not teach a whitewashed version of US history to promote an agenda that supports ignorance. |
| Kurt Handrich | It is unethical to hide the truth of our history in the United States, especially when that history shows we have not lived up to our ideals that all people are created equal. Pretending racism has not been a central issue in our history, past an present, will not help us bring healing, restitution, or equity. Only honestly teaching the truth will help,us bring the change that we need. |
| Tony Capozziello | History, economics, and personal finance are all intertwined and students must know all about the development of the systems that prey on many of them each and every day. We cannot teach them how to look out for themselves if we leave the foxes in charge of the henhouse which is exactly what legislation like this is about. |
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