It’s been an intense few weeks (Months? Years!) in the field of diversity education! How are you doing? I think I’ve lost count of how many times we’ve described the events of the past few months (again, years!) as “unprecedented.” Still, it’s the most accurate word to describe the messaging coming from the White House about the way we should be discussing "America" in US classrooms.
Recently, the president stated he would soon be signing an Executive Order that will “finally restore patriotic education to the schools” through the creation of a “pro-American curriculum.” This order would come on the heels of the September 22nd Executive Order that essentially prohibits Federal agencies from offering their employees training about racism and sexism. It is unclear if the pending Executive Order will ban courses such as Ethnic Studies, but it is clear that “the critical race theory movement” is the target of this order.
In the wake of nation-wide protests this summer against police brutality and racism, I know that you and many other educators spent time brainstorming how to effectively address these issues with your students. Now it seems that addressing them may somehow become illegal. It’s a confusing, frustrating time for those who simply want to serve their students and communities.
You may feel confident in discussing these issues. Maybe you learned about Critical Race Theory in your training program, or perhaps you’ve attended some PDs on the topic. Or you might be personally committed to and passionate about social justice. But there are many educators who did not receive such an education or don’t have as much experience in this area.
If you need help discussing these topics with students, parents, or colleagues I’ve created a Critical Race Theory Primer to help you with those conversations. The primer answers the following questions:
— What is Critical Race Theory? — Is Critical Race Theory anti-American? — What makes something pro-American or anti-American? — What is the 1619 Project and why are people upset about it?
I’ve included links throughout as well as questions for your students at the end of each section if you’d like to go deeper into one topic or another. Please feel free to reproduce, edit to your needs, and distribute! Clicking on the image below will take you to a google drive page where you can download the pdf file.
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