If you are interested in just how unnecessary legislation prohibiting the teaching of critical race theory is, take 20 minutes and listen to this interview by Marc Lamont Hill of Steve Christiansen, the Utah legislator who sponsored the legislation.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzYNRFQ2R7s Although pressed repeatedly over 20 minutes for examples, Christiansen offered one that does not even hold any water. He talked about an exercise at a high school in his legislative district where a teacher had the students line up laterally and for each question answered right, the students took a step forward, for each answered wrong, the students took a step back. Christiansen did not say what the questions were, but said there was a black student that got answers wrong and was thus after the steps were taken, standing behind the other students. That black student reportedly felt inferior because standing behind the others. That was the only specific, concrete example that in 20 minutes of questioning Christiansen offered up in the interview as justification for needing critical race theory-blocking legislation. Quite the straw man set up, so that the valiant legislature could vanquish it. Very Quixotic.
Bump for drumdude. What need is there for legislation where the sponsoring Utah representative could only cite the one step forward, one step back based on answers to questions (not identified) as the basis for such? Do you not see that this is just a legislator preening to those worked up by biased media that set up a strawman?
I think it's both. critical race theory is a bad idea for K-12, and it's also being used to pander to Republican voters. It makes it an incredibly frustrating topic to discuss.
I can completely understand the criticism of the ridiculous AtlanticMike/Fox News mischaracterization of critical race theory.
Last edited by drumdude on Wed Dec 29, 2021 5:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Good. I've never seen anyone give a legitimate example of where critical race theory is being taught in K-12 public schools.
I'm sorry but this is clearly gaslighting. There are many clear examples of critical race theory directly influencing "anti-racism" K-12 curriculum. Are K-12 getting the full critical race theory college course? Of course not and no one is arguing that.
This would be like saying K-12 isn't teaching astronomy because it's bundled into a broader natural sciences 9th grade class. The name critical race theory is not there but the IDEAS are.
Please begin listing these many clear examples.
"The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie." – Mark Twain
Good. I've never seen anyone give a legitimate example of where critical race theory is being taught in K-12 public schools.
I'm sorry but this is clearly gaslighting. There are many clear examples of critical race theory directly influencing "anti-racism" K-12 curriculum. Are K-12 getting the full critical race theory college course? Of course not and no one is arguing that.
This would be like saying K-12 isn't teaching astronomy because it's bundled into a broader natural sciences 9th grade class. The name critical race theory is not there but the IDEAS are.
So what's your beef, exactly? What specific ideas are being taught that you dislike?
do you think that in K-12 that educators should ask students questions to trigger the various thoughts in students and the ensuing discussions from different points of view on history, or just be spoonfed names, dates and cherry-picked events that support the mom, baseball and apple pie version of America?
"The truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie." – Mark Twain
I posted a screenshot back on page 4. The specific part I have a problem with is "decenter white tears."
There are websites (I admit right now that they are very likely run by Republicans with a huuuuuuuge agenda) which compile controversial critical race theory teachings like these:
do you think that in K-12 that educators should ask students questions to trigger the various thoughts in students and the ensuing discussions from different points of view on history, or just be spoonfed names, dates and cherry-picked events that support the mom, baseball and apple pie version of America?
I don't think it's black and white. There are limits on what is appropriate for K-12.
Is it appropriate to talk about the Trail of Tears, Slavery, the Holocaust? Yes! Absolutely! At the appropriate grade levels. Is it appropriate to talk about "white fragility?" I think not, until college.
Is it appropriate to tell kids that America is perfect and has never made a mistake? Of course not. Not at any grade level.
I'm most curious about this assertion from drumdude: "critical race theory claims that anyone who criticizes critical race theory must be racist."
Er, what? That exists nowhere in the definition he provided, so what's he talking about?
It seems DD is using a very superficial definition of critical race theory in order to prove its being taught k-12. But this is a common mistake from the Right Wing crowd who typically assumes any kind of historical teaching about racism is pushing critical race theory.
"I am not an American ... In my view premarital sex should be illegal" - Ajax18
I for one hope my children learn from the past, that they understand that they do have advantages in life over others, and how they can help even the playing field. It is crazy to me for people, especially white males to get so defensive about the world that surrounds us. I can drive my car through my neighborhood, my friends neighborhood, my sisters expensive neighborhood and not be bothered, get weird looks, be nervous I will be pulled over. My brother in law and my niece and nephew do not have that privilege. My bro in law has been pulled over multiple times, on the street he lives on. My sister has to teach her biracial kids things that she doesn't have to teach her white kids. The issues in this country run deeper than personal prejudices. The election fall out is a perfect sign of that.
I do not live in fear of the legal system, even though it is possible that an incorrect verdict is possible. But I do not fault my neighbors and friends who don't trust the systems in place. This country, this world has a dark past. Understanding that history is critical in getting past it. The Church continues some of those harmful teachings, so much so that I have to reteach my children about the history of native Americans and colonists, and that black people are just as smart as the rest of the people on this planet.
