The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 13, the day before. It now has seven pledges from Knoxville 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 Knoxville teachers included, "It is impossible to adequately teach music without teaching the culture it came from. How do you expect children to understand "Strange Fruit" if they can't be taught about the racism that caused the lynchings? How can I explain why Morgan Wallen had the action taken against him by the CMA? If I'm teaching children about responsibility and kindness and accountability in kindergarten, why am I not going to teach them about how adults in the real world sometimes don't live up to that? How do I explain away hundreds of thousands of hours of music centered around that theme?" and "I think it is not only wrong, but ridiculous for states to tell teachers they cannot teach the truth of the history of our nation".
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 |
|---|---|
| Amberly Kelley-Dotson | No comment |
| Berman F. | No comment |
| Clarence Burress | No comment |
| Gretchen Neisler | We must be better than our history and maintain equality in our lives. Education is a gift of personal growth that will contribute to our role as global citizens. If it becomes narrow minded in its approach we will weaken our national constitutionality. |
| Shelly Higgins | No comment |
| Steven Rodgers | It is impossible to adequately teach music without teaching the culture it came from. How do you expect children to understand "Strange Fruit" if they can't be taught about the racism that caused the lynchings? How can I explain why Morgan Wallen had the action taken against him by the CMA? If I'm teaching children about responsibility and kindness and accountability in kindergarten, why am I not going to teach them about how adults in the real world sometimes don't live up to that? How do I explain away hundreds of thousands of hours of music centered around that theme? |
| Theresa Hopkins | I think it is not only wrong, but ridiculous for states to tell teachers they cannot teach the truth of the history of our nation. |
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