Welcome to my civic issues blog! Over the course of my three civic issues blogs, I want to talk about an issue that has interested me for quite a bit: education, specifically elementary and secondary education. Even more specifically, I think it’s interesting to talk about the curriculums associated with public schools and what they may consist of in order to best educate students and help them become smarter and better people. Conveniently, a controversial curriculum issue is in the limelight currently, and it is the first sub-issue that I’ll address in my larger issue: Critical Race Theory.
First, a definition: According to Purdue OWL, “Critical Race Theory is a theoretical and interpretive mode that examines the appearance of race and racism across dominant cultural modes of expression.” Furthermore, Critical Race Theory has 5 major tenets: racism is ordinary and not aberrational, interest convergence, the social construction of race, the idea of story-telling and counter story-telling, and the notion that whites have been beneficiaries of civil rights legislation. While the theory was introduced in the 1970’s, it received much more attention in the summer of 2020, following the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Implementing Critical Race Theory into curricula across America stems in part from activists’ desire to reevaluate the way that race is taught in schools and perhaps fix what they see as a problem.
Supporters of its implementation argue that “it’s an important framework for understanding the way systemic racism can perpetuate discrimination and disadvantage” (Anthony Zurcher, BBC News). In a public education system that’s often been labeled as flawed, people may hope that using Critical Race Theory will help educate students so that they understand the history of the country and how its history has shaped the lives of people of different races today. Furthermore, looking at American history through the lens of race could allow students to apply the concepts they’ve learned to help address systemic problems in the US that have affected people because of their race.
Opponents argue that it’s divisive. Because it’s using race as a lens, opponents worry that it will reverse the common day principle, everyone is created equal, instead favoring the prioritization of certain races over others because of the history of the country. Furthermore, they argue that equity undermines equality, because while equality seeks to guarantee equal opportunities, equity seeks to guarantee equal outcomes (source). They believe that with equal opportunities, people will be rewarded if they work hard and prove that they deserve something. They argue against equity because they worry people will be rewarded on the basis of race, not merit, in order to achieve an outcome that someone just as (or more) deserving also hopes to achieve but is of the predominant race (white).
While normally, education issues hardly take the forefront of national politics, critical race theory has sparked yet another national divide. According to Time, by the end of June last year, 29 state legislatures debated enacting anti-Critical Race Theory legislation, and nine had enacted laws either banning its teaching or penalizing schools who do teach it. Additionally, each legislature who considered the ban and enacted the ban was Republican. All this goes to show is that the debate surrounding critical race theory has fallen along party lines (yet again), as the values related to CRT align mostly with the Democratic platform, and contradict the values of the Republican platform.
The rise of critical race theory has also raised another question: what is the role and responsibility of schools, teachers, and curriculums? Children are required to go to school. They go to school during a fundamental developmental period in their life. And, because kids go to school, they spend time away from their parents, so their parents lose an opportunity to shape some of the kids’ fundamental experiences. And sure, there are some subjects like math which students need to learn which are also not subjected to any bias. But there are certainly other subjects, such as language arts and history (and perhaps even science) that can be framed in the way that a teacher wants to frame them, which could certainly reflect that teacher’s political views. This has only lead to parents wondering how to navigate this difficulty, and how to ensure that their kids are raised the way that they want them to be raised.
Of course, it could also be argued that it’s the school’s job to correct parents who are doing a ‘bad’ job at raising their kids and exposing them to the world. This only raises the question: “who is it that can decide if the parents are doing a bad job?” And can’t Democratic teachers disagree with conservative parents ways of raising their children, and vice versa? Who gets priority? Perhaps a better question would be: how do we ensure that kids are raised to be the best possible citizens in our society?
As you can see, Critical Race Theory raises a lot of questions, not only about the role of race in society but also the role of the education system as a whole in this country. The problem is that we need to educate kids about the society and world that they live in. However, there is no one correct way to view that society – there are several ways, each shaped by people’s experiences with the world. And because people are the ones who are educators (and not robots), they’ll teach according to their perspective. Kids will be forced to only see that one perspective, especially because at younger ages, kids aren’t trying to actively learn outside of the classroom. So the only perspective they’ll get will be the one from their teachers.
Is critical race theory correct? To some people, yes. To other people, no. It’s called a theory because it’s not accepted as a fact, but it’s rather theorized. Should kids learn it? That’s a matter of perspective, and it’s unfortunate that people are forcing their perspectives on each other.
I really enjoyed this post Matt! It was really well researched and put together; it’s clear that you have experience and interest in this! As history repeats itself once again, it is unfortunate to see critical race theory fall under party lines. It’s frustrating; people oversimplify issues and let their own naivety tell them how to treat issues. In the end, critical race theory is a great idea that just has to be utilized carefully and properly. On what you mentioned about how there is concern from parents over what schools are teaching their children politically – I really do believe that school is one of the greatest opportunities for children to understand different perspectives (and become better citizens!). With each of their teachers comes a new opportunity to not just learn material, but to learn a way of life. I can remember back in middle school how my science teacher traveled the world a lot, which made me almost get to experience her different way of life despite me never having moved in my life. Ultimately, I think it is good that critical race theory is getting hit with the criticism that it has because it shows that we heavily value the education of our children as a society. I hope it gets proper implementation in time, but only when that implementation is found.
Wow! This was really well put together. You did a really good job of stating both sides of this issue without favoring any one outcome. Dare I say it this could have made a good deliberation! What you said about parents being concerned and CRT being in the spotlight is true now more than ever. Most people say that Youngkin only won Virginia due to his platform on Education and that he wanted it to be more transparent, so parents know what their children are being told and taught. As for my personal view, I think I have some similar thoughts to Aaron. Both the people who want CRT, and the ones who oppose it, are honestly both right in my opinion. Because both the opposition, and the proponents, in essence, have the best interests of children in mind. They are both making decisions based on what they believe is most beneficial and fair for the education of the children currently in the public school system. Regarding whether it should be enacted in schools, just like you have detailed clearly in your response, that is a very hairy issue. I don’t know exactly where I lie. I do know some people not from New Jersey, and I was shocked to hear some of the things ommitted from their history classes, so I can see why some people would want CRT. At the same time, kids in school are like sponges, and some of the curriculum seems to focus too much on race and not enough on regular school stuff like grammar, mathematics, and science. I can definitely see why this would concern parents of young children who absorb everything they are told and accept it as truth. So I just think, this is a very touchy subject, and I think you displayed and talked about it masterfully.