Because this conversation is based so much in fearmongering, a key fact that gets lost is
CRITICAL RACE THEORY IS NOT ACTUALLY BEING TAUGHT IN K-12 SCHOOLS!!!
This is much like the Republican campaign against transgender athletes-- It is a culture war boogeyman fighting a non-existent enemy. (There are like two in the whole country but suddenly this is a priority in every state.) They want people to believe the left / Democrats want to teach white kids to hate themselves, they have boys dominating girls sports, they are taking away your guns, etc. None of this is actually happening but that's the strawman caricature they want to present on FOX News and OAN.
A national debate over critical race theory has surfaced in Kansas, after a state legislator requested information on whether it was being taught in classes at the state's public universities.
The attention on the controversial teaching framework comes as conservatives nationally have taken aim at the practice. Legislators in more than a dozen states have taken steps to ban CRT in K-12 education, arguing it is un-American and fans the flames of racial tension.
Scholars, meanwhile, say the practice has been used for decades and merely probes the ways in which racism has become embedded in societal and cultural structures.
Kansas became the latest flashpoint for this debate Thursday, when
social media posts showed leaked emails where a Pittsburg State administrator requested information on whether critical race theory was being used in the university's classes. ...
Is critical race theory taught in Kansas?
There is no evidence critical race theory is being taught in K-12 classrooms in the state.
At a higher education level, the emails sent to Pittsburg State ask professors a simple "yes" or "no" question as to whether courses involve the practice and the message doesn't define what critical race theory is. It is unclear how many courses meet that criteria, although
the University of Kansas said there was at least one class that involved CRT.
Kansas House Education Committee Chair Steve Huebert, R-Valley Center, said he reached out to school districts earlier this year asking if any had used curriculum in their teaching based on the 1619 Project, a New York Times report "placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center" of U.S. history.
Huebert said the response indicated any teaching of the 1619 Project, or critical race theory more broadly, was at the initiative of individual teachers, rather than being part of a broader curriculum.
"As far as school districts at the local level, embracing and making it a part of the curriculum being used in any school in Kansas, there was no evidence of that happening," Huebert said.
A state legislator inquired whether critical race theory is being taught at the state's public universities, bringing the a national debate to Kansas.
www.cjonline.com
State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman is speaking out against the concept.
In a recent Facebook post, she said CRT has no place in South Carolina schools and classrooms. In the same post, she wrote public schools will focus on the state and country’s history; teaching the truth about the good and bad.
Hundreds of South Carolinians commented on Spearman's post. Supporters of CRT say it's critical to teach young children the truth of racism in America. Those opposed to the concept wrote they think it's inappropriate to teach young children.
The Department of Educations told News19 Spearman’s statement is in response to a nationwide effort to determine how historical racism should be taught in schools.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster said Monday he agrees with Spearman. "That is certainly not necessary for the education of young people 4-years-old all the way through high school," said McMaster.
High school government teacher Patrick Kelly said to News19 that despite all the debate, it’s important to know, CRT is not taught in schools in the Palmetto State.
"I think that this is another illustration of why policymakers need to talk to educators in the classroom before they start legislating on issues of curriculum, on issues that directly impact the classroom," Kelly said.
He added that many lawmakers make assumptions of what's happening in schools without ever actually asking. "A lot of those [assumptions] are misguided and misinformed because they haven't talked to the people that are in the classroom doing the work every day," Kelly said.
The concept on racism comes from higher education, but some fear it may make its way into grade-level schools.
www.wltx.com
PolitiFact: Is it used in the classroom, and how do you know when it is?
Opponents of critical race theory suggest that the theory is pervasive, but that’s proven hard to pin down.
In Tennessee,
press reports said that supporters of a bill to ban critical race theory didn’t cite examples from particular schools.
As Arkansas lawmakers debated a similar bill, the focus on local schools fell away, and the bill that passed only restricted state agencies. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson allowed it to become law without his signature,
saying it “does not address any problem that exists.”
Elements of a race-conscious approach can appear in education policies, but not as part of a full package of critical race theory.
The Illinois’ State Board of Education has
guidelines for teachers that say they should “understand that systems in our society create and reinforce inequities,” and “be aware of the effects of power and privilege.” Those ideas fit under the broad umbrella of critical race theory, but they would fit just as well under any approach to social studies that applied a realistic lens to current problems in America.
University of Missouri education professor LaGarrett King said the problem is blown out of proportion.
“The majority of teachers are not even familiar with what critical race theory is, nor do they teach it in their classrooms,” King said.
King and his colleagues have worked on
study plans to help high school teachers get at tough issues, including slavery and economic inequality. None mention critical race theory itself, but some draw on the idea of systemic racism.
“It’s a lens, but it’s just one of the things taught in that class,” King said. “It doesn’t define the whole curriculum.”
PolitiFact | Gov. DeSantis banned teaching it in K-12 in March, but is it taught in schools?
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www.tmz.com
