The pledge was signed by no teachers on Jan. 22, the day before. It now has five pledges from Gresham 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 Gresham teachers included, "All students deserve to know the truth" and "I’m scared of people who are scared of being honest about our past".
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 |
|---|---|
| Adrienne Friend | My students deserve to learn the truth and be empowered to be change makers. |
| Christine Johnson | The current history curriculum is not accurate, racist, sexist, stupid and WRONG!! |
| Ed Sage | I’m scared of people who are scared of being honest about our past. |
| Jennifer Morris | Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. When change is absolute there remains no being to improve and no direction is set for possible improvement: and when experience is not retained, ... infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana |
| Monica Stanley | All students deserve to know the truth. |
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