Journalist Jeff Bryant writes that the motivation behind the much-discussed attacks on teaching “critical race theory” is not solely about teaching the history of racism. The goal of rightwing politicians is to silence the teaching of all subjects they don’t like. Despite the Republicans’ frequent complaints about “cancel culture,” they have embarked on a national crusade to cancel uncomfortable facts about science and history.
In this article, he describes what happened to NBCT certified teacher Justin Parmenter.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I think “rightwing politicans” isn’t the correct term. It doesn’t describe who they really are, who, and what they represent.
We need a better term.
What’s a better term, Lloyd. I might say “ignorant yahoos,” or, like Mencken, “the booboisie.”
At least you didn’t call them Conservative Republicans, since they are not interested in protecting and preserving anything traditionally good or valuable in society (such as respect for justice and the law or secular, public education), the usual definition of “Conservative.” These people repeatedly and falsely flatter themselves by referring to themselves as “Conservatives” because it sounds good. They are really extreme right-wing radicals, reactionaries, know-nothings, and what I often call them, the “4 R’s”: Radical Religious Right-wing Republicans. You could throw in more words that start with R if you can think of ones that mean hypocritical, autocratic, mendacious, ignorant, credulous, fantasy-prone, dangerous, personality disorder, etc.
I agree with you 100%.
Today’s Republicans are not “conservative.”
They are in servitude to Wall Street and they don’t care about Main Street.
In education, they seek to destroy our secular public education system and funnel public money to privatizers and churches.
This is not conservatism. It’s anarchism.
Learning about past wrongs is a good thing. But making assumptions that they still exist today is a bad thing. Learning about the past helps to shape the future.
I’m really tired of people making assumptions because it’s convenient to do so.
CRT attacks people and makes assumptions that are simply untrue,
It’s been successful in creating riots though— riots that destroy neighborhoods of innocent people and their stores and ways to make a living.
It’s not only Republicans that believe that CRT is destroying what is good in our country.
It’s Democrats like me who think this is way over the top.
Whatever happened to critical thinking? Put ALL the facts on the table.
Not just the convenient facts.
why do people, who here at least who seem to have one perspective resort of name calling and derogatory stereo typing? That ends debate and dialogue and is why these problems exists. In general, regardless of your perspective, I think most people want what is best for the education of children in the schools. We do not have to agree with each other, but to paint broad strokes about people and make assumption that are blatantly wrong serves no one.
Re-PUG-ni-CONS!
The article makes some good points about state legislatures acting hypocritical in trying to limit what can be taught in the classroom while promoting school choice, but the opposite is equally hypocritical, Government funding mass education (traditional public schools) has always been controlled by state legislatures. They have approved various requirements for graduation, required certain things be taught or not taught, etc. for centuries. It is legitimate to argue that those who determined what counted were of one race or at least one perspective and therefore failed to look outside their own worldview. Evidence shows that is true to a point, however there is also clear evidence that change does occur.
Now that our society is doing a better job recognizing its’ diversity and plurality of perspectives, it seems reasonable to at least consider that mass public education as it has historically been provided has run its’ course. Social media, cable news, internet news all lean hard into each of us going to our own corners and hooking up with our own team. That ship as sailed, and there is no going back. That is a sad reality, but it is everyone’s fault, not the left or the right. The reasons for that are numerous, however, mass public education had it’s part to play in leading us to where we are now.
Given this, it seems reasonable that, much like government funded health care, government funded public assistance programs like housing vouchers and food assistance cards, and other programs that are considered to be widely successful, where recipients are granted a portion of government dollars to use wherever they are able, publicly funded school choice, that would allow parents to attend any qualified school is the natural evolution of the system that many consider broken, particularly in the inner cities.
Choice like this would allow CRT to be taught without the massive controversy we see today. It would allow the 1619 project to be taught along with any other curriculum deemed valid and legitimate. Of course that leads to arguments about what is legitimate and who decides, The answer to that is the people; parents, teachers, school officials, government, etc. This is what is happening already. Those who don’t like the system as it is now (and can afford it) are fleeing the public schools by the thousands. Publicly funded vouchers even the playing field.
Is this the perfect solution, absolutely not, Is the current system perfect? far from it. 60 years of race based school reform has failed to dramatically improve inner city schools or decrease achievement gaps. Many argue that vouchers only help motivated parents. This is true, but parenting is not the responsibility of teachers, and that represents the system now. Others argue that choice does not improve outcomes. The fact is in some places it does and in some places it doesn’t, but there is little evidence that it leads to worse outcomes. One can legitimately argue that as more parents access vouchers, the public schools per-pupil finding actually increases as only a portion of funding follows the child. The remaining dollars stay with the home school district.
Allowing schools the liberty to make decisions about what to teach and how to teach it along with greater parental choice and a reframing of the concept of mass public education is the best, and least hypocritical solution to this ongoing and growing problem in American education.
Thanks Diane.