The pledge was signed by no teachers on March 12, the day before. It now has one pledge from Hewlett teacher.
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.
The Hewlett teacher wrote "Our country has a long and sordid history of concealing or out-and-out lying about the truth, whether we are talking about the history of slavery and racism, evolution or pseudoscientific genetic explanations for inequality, to the benefit of privileged groups and the detriment of the disenfranchised and the overwhelming majority of ordinary people. The detrimental impact of this "deficit of veracity" has been glaringly revealed by the current pandemic." when pledging to teach Critical Race Theory.
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 |
|---|---|
| Michael Friedman | Our country has a long and sordid history of concealing or out-and-out lying about the truth, whether we are talking about the history of slavery and racism, evolution or pseudoscientific genetic explanations for inequality, to the benefit of privileged groups and the detriment of the disenfranchised and the overwhelming majority of ordinary people. The detrimental impact of this "deficit of veracity" has been glaringly revealed by the current pandemic. |
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