The pledge was signed by no teachers on March 11, the day before. It now has 13 pledges from Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville teachers included, "My students are capable of learning and thinking critically about a diverse range of subjects. I will not lower my expectations of them or the quality of my instruction in order to appease the fickle winds of political favor" and "The GOP has adopted a strategy of lying, following the lead of the liar, Donald Trump, whom they fear. They are canceling the voices of honest Republicans like Lynne Cheney and Brad Raffensberger. They are proposing laws to force public school educators to teach historical myth instead of historical fact. Their aim is to build a world where fact bends to match the lies of con men like Trump, who prey upon and exploit the misery of the desperate. They aim to build the kind of world George Orwell foresaw in his novel, 1984 where war is peace and true is falsehood. I will not contribute to the building of such a world. I commit to teaching the truth because when lies are taught life itself becomes a lie and meaning is lost".
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 |
|---|---|
| Donnella Quartrman | For to long have Blacks been denied the truth of their ancestry and brainwashed to believe that we did not have a vibrant, brilliant ancestral history. |
| Dylan Harvey | I believe in the freedom to teach what is true. |
| Ellen Stewart | Not teaching racial inequality in American History curricula is fundamentally wrong. Personal bias has no place in teaching any subject, especially history. It's like an English teacher teaching the alphabet from A to L and choose to leave out M to Z. Who would ever do that? Answer: NO ONE! |
| Gary Techentien | The GOP has adopted a strategy of lying, following the lead of the liar, Donald Trump, whom they fear. They are canceling the voices of honest Republicans like Lynne Cheney and Brad Raffensberger. They are proposing laws to force public school educators to teach historical myth instead of historical fact. Their aim is to build a world where fact bends to match the lies of con men like Trump, who prey upon and exploit the misery of the desperate. They aim to build the kind of world George Orwell foresaw in his novel, 1984 where war is peace and true is falsehood. I will not contribute to the building of such a world. I commit to teaching the truth because when lies are taught life itself becomes a lie and meaning is lost. |
| Jo Carlisle | No comment |
| Kevin Smith | My students are capable of learning and thinking critically about a diverse range of subjects. I will not lower my expectations of them or the quality of my instruction in order to appease the fickle winds of political favor. |
| Kristen Kimball | I will always teach the truth of our nation's history. |
| Lance Duff | We can't let propaganda ruin our country |
| Lisa Montgomery | I believe an educator's jobs are not only to inform and teach students about facts and dates and rules, but also to introduce them to the past through which we learn. |
| Lisa Montgomery | I teach adult literacy, and I refuse to lie to my students about American history and the roles of slavery, racism, and sexism in the formation of our culture, our government, and our cities. |
| Robert Wilkison | No comment |
| Tim Gilmore | I will not stop teaching the facts. |
| Warren Buck | All of our students deserve to know the whole truth and teachers need to be trusted to best know the needs of their classes. |
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