Episode 1: Why is this Still an Issue?

Are you doing these critical things to help your child succeed academically? Take the quiz now to find out the important actions you can take to enhance your child's education. Go to my website, liberationthrougheducation.com quiz and take the quiz today. Foreign hi, and welcome to the first episode of K12 Education Untangled. My name is Dr. Kim Fields. I'm an education advocate and researcher and I'm the host of this podcast. In today's episode, I will be highlighting some of the key points about a hot topic these Critical Race Theory There is continuous discussion and ongoing uproar about implementing Critical race theory in K12 schools. The campaign against Critical Race Theory started in September of 2020 with an executive order signed by former President Trump. It has since been revoked. I'll summarize what Critical Race Theory, or crt, is all about and why it's important to be aware of what's being currently discussed. I'll then translate that into practical application, what it means for parents as far as how it affects what your children learn in school. Now let's delve into the background of what Critical Race Theory is. Critical Race Theory is more than 40 years old and is an academic and legal theory created by Derrick Bell, Kimberly Crenshaw, and Richard Delgado, among others, and they hold that racism is systemic and perpetuated by structural forces rather than by anyone's individual act of bias. It also has ties to other intellectual areas like sociology, literacy, literary theorists, and others who share that link of critical race theory with political power, social organization, and language. It's even now been extended into social sciences and teacher education. The Critical Race Theory puts forth that racism is part of everyday life in such a way that people who don't even intend to be racist can nevertheless make racist choices or decisions that fuel racism. It's not a program or a training or curriculum unto itself. CRT puts an emphasis on outcomes, not merely on the individual's own beliefs, and it calls out those outcomes to be examined and rectified. It is indeed a complex issue, and I like what Chief Justice John Roberts indicated in his opinion on a 2007 U.S. supreme Court school assignment case in which he states, quote, the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. End quote. Some state lawmakers are continuing to seek to ban the use of CRT in classrooms, especially Republican state lawmakers, and unfortunately, we are at a place, and have been for a few decades, of where politics has come into the realm of education. It has been noted that Since January of 2021, 37 states, including Idaho, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and most recently Alabama, have introduced bills or taken other steps that will restrict the teaching of critical race theory in the curriculum. So how does this apply to K12 education? The scholars who study Critical Race Theory and its application to K12 Education indicate that the policies and practices of K12 Education actually contribute contribute to persistent racial inequalities in education. And since CRT is outcomes based, it advocates for ways to change those policies. Several studies examine these policies, especially as they pertain to racially segregated schools, to the disciplining of black students, to barriers of the gifted program and selected admission high schools. It also applies to curricula that reinforces racist ideas. I'll address this ongoing battle over the book curricula in an upcoming episode. It's a hot topic as well. A new nationally representative Ed Research center study indicated that after asking more than 1200 teachers about the teaching of critical race theory, then more than 50% of these educators are against the teaching of critical race theory. It's interesting that these educators responses depended on whether they were given the definition of critical race theory first and then whether they supported it. In any case, more than 50% identified that they don't even want to support the idea of teaching critical race theory. In another study In May of 2021, by Ed Week, about 23% of educators indicated that they do not believe that systemic racism even exists. Further, they claimed that certain conversations on racism were not appropriate for schools. This is not surprising though, given that the demographics of the teaching profession in K12 environments is made up of 80% of white women. On the other hand, many educators support culturally relevant teaching for black students as well as other underrepresented groups. It is important to recognize, though, that students of color make up the majority of school aged children in this country. What's also interesting is how some parents, teacher advocates, and others conflate critical race theory with gender and sexual identity. CRT has nothing to do with either of those issues. A December 2021 study by the McCartney Institute for Democracy found that most Americans think schools do have a responsibility to teach about slavery, but only half think schools should teach about the ongoing effects of racism. This becomes even more differentiated when we look at the data and align it as far as race 79% of black Americans thought that students should learn about the ongoing impacts of slavery and racism, whereas 48% of white Americans thought that schools should teach about only the historical facts of slavery but should not address any of the contemporary race relations issues. As a parent, what can you do to bring this information to Boots on the Ground? Here's the applications that could apply to parents 1. Be aware of what your state legislature is proposing regarding bills banning Critical Race Theory concepts in schools. Some states, like Missouri and Indiana, actually push for curriculum transparency, and they require teachers in schools to make instructional materials available for parents to review. Check to see if that's available in your state. 2. Talk with your children's teachers about their curriculum and how it supports all children. Many teachers fail to understand the implications of Critical Race Theory and its application to the educational process given the demographics of the current teachers in K12 environments. 3. Keep an open dialogue with other parents about news and updates regarding the school district's position on implementing the principles of CRT in their district curriculum. 4. Stay abreast of your child's assignments, reading lists, books available in the library, etc. Just to see if they are culturally inclusive and appropriate. Here are some takeaways from today's podcast. Certainly this is a hot topic and I'm sure the discussions will continue, so stay tuned. It's about teachers against parents, against legislators. Critical Race Theory is now a catch all term that political conservatives apply to any topics or lessons dealing with race and racism, gender identity, sexuality and sexism. But let's be clear. The initial academic framework for Critical Race Theory had nothing to do with gender identity, sexuality and sexism. The foundational principles of CRT present America in the true sense of who she is, a race aware, race discriminating country upon which it built its laws and policy policies. And if we're really educating our students and really giving them the tools that they need to think critically about all issues, I fail to understand what the resistance is all about. This is an ultimate denial of learning opportunities for all students. And let's be real, History cannot be changed. Running away from history or trying to hide what happened doesn't change the fact that the events still happened. We can learn from history and hopefully move forward in a more cohesive and cooperative manner. We're talking about educating the future generations. Let's give them the knowledge, the information, the tools they need to succeed. In spite of the continued treatment of education and as a political football constant being thrown about to stir up divisiveness and separation. In case you weren't able to write down the key points about crt, I have a free handout that summarizes these key points available at www.LiberationThrugheducation.com. again, that's www.LiberationThrugheducation. to get a free handout summarizing the six key points about CRT. If this is the type of subject matter and discussion that resonates with you, please consider subscribing to my podcast on whatever service you're listening to. Also, I'd love to hear your feedback, so leave me a comment. Thanks for listening today. I hope you'll come back for more K12 educational discussions with even more exciting topics to untangle. Until next time, aim to learn something new every day. Love my show. Consider being a regular subscriber. You can subscribe for as little as $3 per month. Just go to there's no contractual obligation. You can cancel at any time. If you choose to subscribe, I'll give you a special shout out thanking you in an upcoming episode. Remember, that's HTTPs tinyurl.com podcast support to subscribe.