No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has 14 pledges from Eugene teachers by the end of the week ending March 26.
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.
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 |
|---|---|
| Wade Clark | I will not contribute to the decay of integrity with the United States of America's education system. I will not omit facts because of any political party's agenda. I will strive to give my students an honest and equitable education. This is because I love our country, and I value my students' future. |
| Lori Shininger | We need to teach the truth of our history if we want our present and future to be different. |
| Mikell Harshbarger | I became a teacher out of a desire to help make my community, this country, and our world a better place. Learning about the things we have done well as well as the things we have done that were horrible are both important. |
| Elizabeth Monterrosa | Our history is complex and layered. Students want and deserve the whole truth. |
| Sydney Arndorfer | I believe that students should be educated on the true history of our country and the way that our systems have been created to uphold oppression, racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, etc. I believe that it would be incredibly detrimental to our entire society for schools and teachers to be banned from having these difficult but honest conversations with our students. |
| Kelly Prince | “no comment” |
| Shoshanna Holman | It is my responsibility as an educator to provide multiple perspectives and voices in my classroom. My students deserve to learn the truth. |
| Lisa Albrich | “no comment” |
| Thuynga Barr | “no comment” |
| Linda Smart | So much of what are in out textbooks has been whitewashed. True events are left out in order to highlight the perspective that is Eurocentric. We leave out or minimize the genocide of the Indigenous population of this country. We do not give credit to the black and brown hands who built our country, much of that with forced and minimally or unpaid (enslaved) labor.We leave out voices of those who have been oppressed by the European settlers. We leave out the atrocities that have been at the hands of those with European background. Let's consider the massacre in Oklahoma. The first time there was an aerial attack on our homeland. This was done to wipe out Blacks who were successfully living and prospering there. We minimize the racism toward Asian Americans and Latinx people. Some of the arguments given in the states who are trying to wipe out the telling of authentic history is that we do not wish to make any students feel bad. They leave out the word White. They do not want White people to feel bad. What about our students of color who only see themselves being oppressed, minimized or not even shown at all?Although there is supposed to be separation of church and state, material is presented from a "Christian" point of view. Students or staff who identify as non-binary are also viewed in the negative or simply erased. All of our students need to see themselves in the history that we teach and teachers should not be threatened for telling the whole truth. We consider ourselves to be a democracy. How is that represented in what we are teaching? |
| Laura Farrelly | “no comment” |
| Regan Anderson | “no comment” |
| Kerry Tedesco | The only way to prevent further injustice is to know how racial and gender injustice has played a role in our history as a country. Ignorance only breeds repetition of past mistakes. |
| Rachel Rich | These topics are an important part of the curriculum. |
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