Since I have been in school, I have watched many rules change right before my eyes. For example, I feel like the dress code in schools is always fluctuating, going back and forth between strict and lax, depending on the school staff to enforce it or not. While I agree, there should be some sort of regulation to prevent anything inappropriate in the school environment, I think it’s cool when schools allow their students to express their individuality with colored hair, etc. I feel like it’s a form of freedom of speech, freedom to express oneself. However, there are rules being passed that I believe are extremely detrimental to a student’s education. I’m referring to the “criminal race theory” bill recently passed by Governor Greg Abbott as well as other state legislatures. I feel like it directly violates and limits a student’s capacity to learn. Students should be aware of what’s going on around them and educators should be able to conduct healthy, productive discussions on topics. This bill prevents educators from discussing things like systemic racism. History in America was unfortunately already heavily whitewashed, glossing over a terrible history, and this only makes things worse, in a time when people should be more educated than ever. It should go without saying that a student should be able to learn to their full capacity, and that an educator should be able to teach without fear of penalty for providing an honest education. As an educator, providing a safe environment is one of the main priorities. I don’t think withholding important information is conducive towards that safe environment, and only promotes ignorance.
Dear Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know that Governor Abbot had just recently passed a bill they discouraged talking about systematic racism in the classroom. I agree that history is already heavily whitewashed. I find it strange how our textbooks present images of when Martin Luther King in black and white when there are photos of him available in color, it’s almost like the textbook wants students to think that racism ended two hundred years ago, when really, it’s only been 53 years since Martin Luther King was assassinated because he was protesting for equality. Today we still find racism in America, so for Greg Abbot to pass a bill that prevents discussions on systematic racism is like taking a step back from eliminating racism. I value my student’s freedom of speech and believe everyone deserves equality and plan to talk about heavy topics such as these in my classroom no matter the consequence, like you said students deserve an honest education.
Hey Jackalin! I've attached a few links describing the bill. I'm glad you pointed out the black and white pictures in textbooks! When I learned how recent the civil rights movement was it blew my mind! I completely agree! The bill is absolutely regressive. It's attached in the third link. When you read it, it's hard to see what they're leaving out and appears like it addresses what it should, but the concepts permitted to be taught regarding racism are glossed over, The fourth link is about The New York Times' 1619 Project that’s banned by the new bill. The 1619 Project describes the year in which the first documented enslaved Africans were taken to America. I feel like the prohibition of teaching such works leads to an even further whitewashing of our history. I read some more articles about the 1619 Project and there’s a lot of controversy behind it. One of the big disputes is whether our country was founded on racism, which a lot of people disagreed with, but I feel like that’s a subjective opinion and would probably vary based on the founder. We don’t personally know what went through every founder's head. I’m glad you honor an honest education as well. I think it’s a huge injustice to misinform our students and not allow them the ability to learn of the authentic world around them.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.dallasnews.com/news/education/2021/09/17/gov-greg-abbott-signs-tougher-anti-critical-race-theory-law/
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/15/abbott-critical-race-theory-law/
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/full-text-of-the-texas-law-restricting-classroom-talk-on-racism-hb-3979/2021/07
https://www.project1619.org/