Trend – Critical Race Theory
Divide and conquer politics in action
It’s been more than a decade since then-North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis uttered his infamous, but accurate description of the strategy that he and his fellow Republicans would need in order to remain ascendant in state politics. In 2011 Tillis told an audience of supporters in western North Carolina that the key to GOP […]
GOP bill to limit topics of discussion in public schools wins state House approval
Parents, Democratic lawmakers decry censorship and "chilling effect on education" A controversial bill that would restrict how the state’s public school teachers discuss race, gender and sexuality was approved by the state House by a 68-49 party line vote on Wednesday, and is now headed to the state Senate.
State House committee advances latest version of anti-Critical Race Theory legislation
Republicans defend bill as promoting equality, while Democrats forecast chilling impact on honest classroom discussions Rep. Ken Fontenot, a Wilson County Republican, vigorously defended House Bill 187 this week, contending that the bill restricting how educators teach about race, gender and sexuality, would prevent educators from teaching racially divisive doctrines.
GOP lawmakers plan to ban more college majors in FL like ethnic studies, ‘radical’ feminist theory
State has been a frequent model for NC Republicans Republican lawmakers are proposing to expand legislation that would further limit majors and minors available to Florida university students, which would exacerbate concerns from faculty and other opponents of the bill that has already shaken up higher education in the state. The legislation also would further […]
Durham school board resolution pushes back against GOP education culture war agenda
The Durham County Board of Education on Thursday unanimously approved a resolution urging the General Assembly to vote ‘No’ on a controversial bill to restrict what educators can teacher about American history comes before lawmakers. Filed by Republicans last month, House Bill 187 would prevent educators from promoting Critical Race Theory (CRT) and what many […]
Veteran public school teacher blasts state superintendent’s decision to hire right-wing commentator
Editor’s note: The following post appeared yesterday on the popular education commentary website ‘Caffeinated Rage,’ which is maintained by veteran Forsyth County public school teacher Stu Egan. Read more of Egan’s thoughts on this subject here. —– FFS, Catherine! This DPI Hire Really Proves You Really Are Not For Public Education From today’s news: This […]
Freedom of speech is under attack in public schools, U.S. House panel told
Students and teachers told U.S. House members during a Thursday hearing that their right to talk about race and LGBTQ+ issues in public schools is being silenced due to an onslaught of new state laws as well as pressure on school boards from right-wing advocates. “To be crystal clear, this is about disrupting and destroying public education,” James Whitfield, a former principal in Texas and one of the witnesses, told lawmakers.
Kansas senator and nephew of famed author Alex Haley: Why hide our nation’s historical ‘Roots?’
Forty-five years ago this month, the televised miniseries “Roots,” based on a book written by Alex Haley, uncle of Kansas State Senator David Haley (D-Kansas City), premiered. The series reintroduced this nation to a tortured history it has tried to forget. Few people in America have a more interesting vantage point on critical race theory […]
Year in review: Critical Race Theory, mask mandates and Leandro funding made for a tumultuous 2021 in education
Critical Race Theory and face mask mandates dominated the state’s education headlines in 2021, even as students and teachers struggled to recover from a year of remote learning that saw standardized test scores fall to new lows. Racial and economic inequities in education, exposed by the pandemic, were quickly shoved to the background by a loud minority of irate parents who complained...