The pledge was signed by no teachers on Sept. 24, the day before. It now has two pledges from Metamora 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 Metamora teachers included, "We must teach the truth about our nation's history if we hope to understand the present and change the future. Lack of knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of our past perpetuates misunderstanding and denial and defense of our present conditions and precludes taking the actions necessary to correct for the situation we have created. The job of every teacher of every subject at every grade is to teach the truth. History should be no different" and "All citizens must know the true story of history of our nation as well as long before our nation's founding. To teach falsehoods by lying or omission, our citizenry will not understand the past which informs the present. Students need to know the truth, know what of the past we are unsure of, know of controversies and differing evidence and opinions. We need to acknowledge our sordid history of mistreatment and killing of indigenous persons, Blacks, and others. Our current racial inequities and prejudices are based on a foundation of Eurocentric white superiority. We must understand that basis to recognize and accept the events that followed and the inequities of our current caste system. Investigating, pondering, discussing, and understanding what came before is critical to having a well-educated populace that can help our country move forward. How can anyone argue that hiding the truth and promoting lies is in the best interest of anyone? Please allow truth to prevail so we might better understand America and its people and the global community. -Becky Rhodes".
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 |
|---|---|
| Rebecca Rhodes | All citizens must know the true story of history of our nation as well as long before our nation's founding. To teach falsehoods by lying or omission, our citizenry will not understand the past which informs the present. Students need to know the truth, know what of the past we are unsure of, know of controversies and differing evidence and opinions. We need to acknowledge our sordid history of mistreatment and killing of indigenous persons, Blacks, and others. Our current racial inequities and prejudices are based on a foundation of Eurocentric white superiority. We must understand that basis to recognize and accept the events that followed and the inequities of our current caste system. Investigating, pondering, discussing, and understanding what came before is critical to having a well-educated populace that can help our country move forward. How can anyone argue that hiding the truth and promoting lies is in the best interest of anyone? Please allow truth to prevail so we might better understand America and its people and the global community. -Becky Rhodes |
| Rebecca Rhodes | We must teach the truth about our nation's history if we hope to understand the present and change the future. Lack of knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of our past perpetuates misunderstanding and denial and defense of our present conditions and precludes taking the actions necessary to correct for the situation we have created. The job of every teacher of every subject at every grade is to teach the truth. History should be no different. |
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