The pledge was signed by no teachers on March 6, the day before. It now has 19 pledges from Madison 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 Madison teachers included, "We destroy our children’s opportunities to think, dream and hope by denying them the truth, and by lying about our responsibilities to the past" and "We need to offer the truth about our past, so that we can prepare for a future of reconciliation and justice".
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 |
|---|---|
| Amy Garvoille | I teach truth, I teach non-fiction, I teach our future citizens. |
| Anthony Jennaro | I believe education is the best path towards creating a more just, equitable society and teaching the truth is an essential tenet of education. |
| Brenda Morris | My students deserve to understand all the complexities of US history so they can work to build a better democracy and promote human rights for all. |
| Cindy Muralles | We need to teach the real history of this country in order not to repeat the past… |
| Dawn Liska-Tollefson | No comment |
| Helena Moseman | I firmly believe that those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it. Children deserve an honest education. |
| Jacob Rodgers | No comment |
| Jennifer Greenwald | History matters. The truth matters. Children can handle complexity. It’s better for our collective future if we acknowledge the full truth of our past. |
| Jeremy Buehl | teaching about the history of country has to include the parts that we would rather ignore including the explicit pattern of white supremacy that has and continues to exist. |
| Johanna Coenen | No comment |
| Jonathan Biatch | We need to offer the truth about our past, so that we can prepare for a future of reconciliation and justice. |
| Kristi Sprague | Students deserve the truth and teachers should not be censored about teaching the truth. |
| Lissa McLaughlin | We destroy our children’s opportunities to think, dream and hope by denying them the truth, and by lying about our responsibilities to the past. |
| Maxine McKinney De Royston | Our youth and our communities are watching and deserve an education that values and explores the diverse perspectives and experiences that constitute U.S. history, and other disciplinary areas. We must learn about our past, including that which is difficult and violent, in order to understand contemporary issues and tensions and build towards more just futures. |
| Michael Jones | when I became an educator, I made a promise to help our children understand our complicated world and its history, not obscure it because it makes certain people feel uncomfortable. Our children do not demand perfection from us and our ancestors, but they do demand and deserve honesty. And it is our duty to be honest with the knowledge we have accumulated, not whitewash it. |
| Sharyl Kato | Children need to develop critical thinking skills, compassion for all in how we are the same and different and understand the essential need for understanding and loving ourselves and others from a humankind and social justice perspective will benefit not harm them. |
| Shawn Matson | No comment |
| Steve Somerson | We will not truly heal as a nation and make progress on understanding each other until we... * discontinue the sugar-coated history in our classrooms, * use an equitable lens to teach our youth about oppression as well as the resilience of peoples, * honestly reflect on our past and how these events affect current events |
| Weslie Cymerman | No comment |
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