The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 9, the day before. It now has eight pledges from St. Paul 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 St. Paul teachers included, "Our students must learn facts about our history. As a gay parent of an adopted child of color, husband, and Elementary Dean, I'm committed to supporting curriculum that reflects all of my students and their families, including mine. A ban on teaching facts is never OK" and "I believe our children deserve the truth. I believe in them".
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 |
|---|---|
| Amanda Madsen | The purpose of education, finally, is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity." - James BaldwinI stand in solidarity with my fellow educators who are being silenced in teaching children to think critically for themselves. |
| Ann Griffin | I believe our children deserve the truth. I believe in them. |
| Beau Pin | It is a moral responsibility to help young people to understand that racism existed throughout history and that generational poverty is a product of systemic racism. |
| Heather Gustafson | We teach events and policies that shaped history. We're sharing information, not ideology. Let's learn what really happened and who it happened to, our students can handle it. |
| Michael White | Our students must learn facts about our history. As a gay parent of an adopted child of color, husband, and Elementary Dean, I'm committed to supporting curriculum that reflects all of my students and their families, including mine. A ban on teaching facts is never OK. |
| Nancy Yang | Our children and people should know the truth and learned from it to make the world a better place to live for all. |
| Qorsho Hassan | No comment |
| Shannon Schuver | No comment |
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