An Open Letter to American History Teachers: Stop Teaching “Critical Race Theory.” - Current
An Open Letter to American History Teachers: Stop Teaching “Critical Race Theory.”
(Original Caption: Segregated drinking fountain in use in the American South/Flickr)
The truth about race is out there. And it doesn’t take an academic theorist to see it.
In the wake of the greatest year of racial unrest in the United States since 1968, governors in Idaho, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have signed bills banning the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. State legislatures in Oregon, Arkansas, Utah, Missouri, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Iowa, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Kansas and West Virginia have either passed, or are in the process of debating, similar bills.
The argument over what public school students should learn about race is the latest front in the culture wars. Much of the battle centers on the teaching of American history.
So how should you, as a history teacher, respond to these new mandates forbidding the teaching of critical race theory in the classroom? For starters, here are a few things to remember:
First, most politicians who oppose critical race theory have no idea what it is.
Second, most politicians who oppose critical race theory aren’t intellectually curious enough to learn more about it. Why should they read critical race theory when they can simply use it as a bogeyman to maintain power and advance their political careers?
Third, most politicians who oppose critical race theory are clueless about what actually happens in an American history classroom—and they have no real interest in hearing what you might tell them about what happens in an American history classroom.
So let the politicians have their way. Take “critical race theory” out of your lesson plans and just keep teaching American history.
John Fea is Executive Editor of Current.