The pledge was signed by four teachers the month before. It now has four pledges from Decorah teachers by June.
They are 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.
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. Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.
Other states, such as Montana and Georgia, have denounced the teachings and are discussing a ban on critical race theory teachings.
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 |
|---|---|
| Jill Leet-Otley | The truth matters! |
| Dana Bockman | it is unethical to withhold truths from our students and for an entity of government to expect educators to change our history. It is our duty as educators to provide facts and allow students to develop their own opinions and beliefs. |
| Steve Peterson | Children deserve to learn the truth. It is my (our) responsibility to teach the truth. |
| Z.P. | people don’t even know what critical race theory is and if they did, would know that it has been taught for decades in various ways and the only problems with it is that it has not been taught enough or in context with how it affects making a world we all want to live in. |
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