The pledge was signed by one teacher on Oct. 27, the day before. It now has 29 pledges from Providence 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 Providence teachers included, "I believe my students deserve the full truth of our history to truly understand the world we live in and how to best navigate it. Taking away teachers ability to talk to students about topics relating to social inequality is a huge disservice to our students--they deserve to know the FULL truth of events that have lead us to our current society so that they can help dismantle systems of oppression in their communities and address inequity as it shows up in their lives" and "This type of legislation and line of thinking is absolutely contrary to the democratic purpose of schooling. Schools are microcosms of society, and as such, should be spaces where students can ask questions, process complex topics, and work together to understand their worlds. Pretending that racism and sexism do not exist in order to reduce the shame of students from the dominant group is a white supremacist and sexist approach. Just a few weeks ago the third grade teachers at our school decided to conduct a teach-in to support students to understand the ways in which the Coronavirus pandemic is increasing racism against people who are of Chinese or Asian descent. Over the past year since the outbreak of COVID-19, teachers have heard numerous incidents of anti-Asian rhetoric and racist comments from even our youngest students. While we have addressed these issues in the moment and as they have surfaced, and have had many conversations with students on this topic, we feel it is time for a more formal teach-in around this issue, especially since the recent spikes in anti-Asian violence across the U.S.Another critical part of my job is supporting students to develop the critical thinking skills necessary to comprehend and analyze the problems we face as a society and to dream up solutions and actions grounded in community organizing and uplifting marginalized voices to help shape the changes our world needs. If we are not able to do this work, our democracy and society as we know it, will be in peril. We cannot keep protecting white supremacist interests. We must keep moving toward justice".
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 |
|---|---|
| Adeola Oredola | No comment |
| Alyssa Mason | I believe my students deserve the full truth of our history to truly understand the world we live in and how to best navigate it. Taking away teachers ability to talk to students about topics relating to social inequality is a huge disservice to our students--they deserve to know the FULL truth of events that have lead us to our current society so that they can help dismantle systems of oppression in their communities and address inequity as it shows up in their lives. |
| Beatrice McGeoch | We can not have effective civic public education without teaching the truth. |
| Beatrice McGeoch | Zinn texts are a core part of the Bridge Curriculum at CCRI. I chose them because they enable us to teach history with an inclusive approach which is essential to the success of the adult students who have already faced so many barriers in traditional school. Teaching the truth is vital to effective education, and banning books that teach the truth is a threat to the same. |
| Caroline Greene | No comment |
| Carrie Sorensen | No comment |
| Davis Alianiello | No comment |
| Emily Abedon | Crt serves and benefits everyone. Teaching truth is good for our future . |
| Gwendolyn Rogers | We should not be teachers if we are looking to halt progress for ourselves the world around us. |
| Hannah Resseger | I have been fighting for this since junior high. We need systemic change. Students deserve to know the truth. We need to heal as a nation and as long as history continues to be whitewashed we will never move forward. |
| Heidi Lamb | I will not lie to my students. They need to understand the past to know the present and plan for the future. Facing our history is the first step to moving ahead in a new direction as a nation. |
| Hilary Rasch | I believe that political education about U.S. imperialism and racism is foundational to building a more just world. We need to trust our young people with this knowledge. |
| Jess Huetteman | No comment |
| Jessie Kingston | Attempts to suppress long overdue teaching about the history of systemic racism are an overt racist act that must be countered by any means possible. Learning more about a topic is always helpful in counteracting prejudice and fear born of ignorance of the facts. |
| Juanita Montes De Oca | No comment |
| Leslie Grinner | I am committed to anti-racist education, including the illumination of Bigotry in US culture |
| Lindsay Paiva | No comment |
| Lindsay Paiva | This type of legislation and line of thinking is absolutely contrary to the democratic purpose of schooling. Schools are microcosms of society, and as such, should be spaces where students can ask questions, process complex topics, and work together to understand their worlds. Pretending that racism and sexism do not exist in order to reduce the shame of students from the dominant group is a white supremacist and sexist approach. Just a few weeks ago the third grade teachers at our school decided to conduct a teach-in to support students to understand the ways in which the Coronavirus pandemic is increasing racism against people who are of Chinese or Asian descent. Over the past year since the outbreak of COVID-19, teachers have heard numerous incidents of anti-Asian rhetoric and racist comments from even our youngest students. While we have addressed these issues in the moment and as they have surfaced, and have had many conversations with students on this topic, we feel it is time for a more formal teach-in around this issue, especially since the recent spikes in anti-Asian violence across the U.S.Another critical part of my job is supporting students to develop the critical thinking skills necessary to comprehend and analyze the problems we face as a society and to dream up solutions and actions grounded in community organizing and uplifting marginalized voices to help shape the changes our world needs. If we are not able to do this work, our democracy and society as we know it, will be in peril. We cannot keep protecting white supremacist interests. We must keep moving toward justice. |
| Megan Brandley | I want my students to know the REAL history. To learn from it and shape the future in a more accepting and tolerant way. |
| Michaelle Larracuente | I believe in our young people. They deserve the truth to be equipped to truly understand and dismantle our systems of oppression. And to begin to heal. We continue to pass down legacies of trauma and it stops with us. |
| Nomi Hurwitz | I am so grateful for the teachers who have opened intellectual doors for my classmates and me. We owe no less to our students today. |
| Philip Hall | at a time when we (I'm speaking as a white person) are finally starting to come to terms with our past and present, the attempts to keep students locked in ignorance and ill-equipped to work for change must not stand. |
| Ruth Marris-Macaulay | History is a discipline that uses multiple lenses to reconstruct the past from both its documentary ( written and oral) and material remains. To deny any of these lenses corrupts the discipline. The past must also be understood in the context of the value systems its different eras and not be judged by contemporary criteria. It is a collection of as much information as possible not a collection of selective facts. |
| Sara Bilman | No comment |
| Stacy Cardin | This is what I teach. This is my heart. Our youth need to understand the underlying issues that have created their situations- slavery, implicit bias, racism. We need to understand the past to create a better future. |
| Susan Hodgin | It is our moral duty to be truth-tellers, to shine light on past policies and actions, to encourage critical thinking and problem-solving, and to offer space for justice and hope. |
| Tamar Paull | Students deserve the truth. |
| Taylor Stoermer | I stand with others for truth and honesty in teaching about our past absent nationalist mythology. That’s how we strengthen and celebrate diverse communities, by tackling how we all got here. |
| Yamil Baez | Solo la verdad puede dar la esperanza de conseguir la libertad para todosOnly truth can provide hope for achieving freedom for everyone |
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