The pledge was signed by no teachers on Feb. 21, the day before. It now has 18 pledges from Decatur 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 Decatur teachers included, "Education is a matter of life and death, and children deserve the truth and teachers have to teach it" and "History may have been written by the ‘victors’ but as educators, we are called to be harbingers of truth and must ensure that all voices are heard: from the past they today in our class".
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 |
|---|---|
| Alexandra Zinnes | No comment |
| Allison Hogan | No comment |
| Amy Manlapas | I became a teacher to tell the truth to students because no one told the truth to me. I am breaking the cycle. |
| Anna Discenzo | History may have been written by the ‘victors’ but as educators, we are called to be harbingers of truth and must ensure that all voices are heard: from the past they today in our class. |
| Cassandra Black | The lies support white supremacy and I refuse to be another cog in the machine that perpetuates gross inequalities. |
| Grace Mather | Students deserve the truth. In order to live and teach with love, you must disrupt unloving systems. |
| Hunter D. | I believe that if we do not teach our children the truth; we are failing them about the facts of history and how to become leaders for the future. |
| Janet Turner | my job as an educator is to shine a light that helps students see the world in which we live, not to hide uncomfortable truths with silence. |
| Janet Turner | We must lead and teach with courage and light, not fear and suppression. |
| Kristina Graves | As a history teacher, I am committed to helping young people understand the past and how it connects to the present. It is my job to help educate and prepare students to be active and engaged citizens in the world with a full understanding of the ways that America has succeeded and failed to live up to its ideals. |
| Kristina Graves | The Georgia legislature is trying to silence history teachers and destroy history education. I refuse to be silenced and will continue to teach real history not propaganda created by lawmakers. Our students deserve the truth! |
| Lisa Jameson | History needs to be accurate and culturally responsible and not the whitewashed and harmful version that gets taught in schools. |
| Liz Williams | I am deeply concerned about a resolution our state DOE is considering that will dictate what I can teach in the classroom, at a time when I feel we have only just begun to teach the whole story. |
| Mari Ann Banks | I believe in the right and duty of teachers to tell the truth.I believe in the transformative nature of education.I have seen each consecutive generation in the US move toward the light and I REFUSE to accept a move back toward the ignorance, cruelty, and misinformation of our past.Black Lives Matter |
| Michelle Zoss | Education is a matter of life and death, and children deserve the truth and teachers have to teach it. |
| Nellie Ruby | theory is what education is about. We learn history, we learn to thnk, we learn to respond. Education is power. Suppressing information is vioent oppression. |
| Patrick Enderle | Ideas from all parts of the spectrum matter (but do not necessarily hold the same validity), and so isolating any one particular one or set of ideas diminishes the goal of education to create citizens capable of critical thought. |
| Waman French | No comment |
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