The pledge was signed by no teachers on April 20, the day before. It now has three pledges from Champaign 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 Champaign teachers included, "It is of the utmost importance to the future of dotmocracy and a democratic society, that we as teachers support and push forward with teaching what has thus far been left out of history and history books, for the sake of not making the majority feel uncomfortable" and "Students deserve to know the truth and understand their own history. In my experience as a teacher, students want to understand the reality of history, and they are deeply grateful for the opportunity to discover what really took place that they have not been taught. They want and deserve the whole truth and nothing but the truth about American history, and none of us should stand for giving them a whitewashed version of that history, by leaving out most experiences of most people".
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 |
|---|---|
| Barbara Miller | It is of the utmost importance to the future of dotmocracy and a democratic society, that we as teachers support and push forward with teaching what has thus far been left out of history and history books, for the sake of not making the majority feel uncomfortable. |
| Barbara Miller | Students deserve to know the truth and understand their own history. In my experience as a teacher, students want to understand the reality of history, and they are deeply grateful for the opportunity to discover what really took place that they have not been taught. They want and deserve the whole truth and nothing but the truth about American history, and none of us should stand for giving them a whitewashed version of that history, by leaving out most experiences of most people. |
| Ken Salo | No comment |
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