The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 17, the day before. It now has two pledges from Minot 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 Minot teachers included, "Educators should be allowed to educate all of their students on all of their histories without infringement from the oppressive systems that ignore stories because they’re messy or don’t fit a mold of “patriotism”" and "my students deserve the truth, no matter how ugly it may be at times".
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 |
---|---|
Jacob Thomas | my students deserve the truth, no matter how ugly it may be at times. |
Shannon Krueger | Educators should be allowed to educate all of their students on all of their histories without infringement from the oppressive systems that ignore stories because they’re messy or don’t fit a mold of “patriotism” |