Critical Race Theory
I have been asked repeatedly what my stance is on Critical Race Theory, CRT.
In order to answer this, first I ask you, what is your definition of CRT? The media has pummeled us with a variety of descriptions and definitions and buzzwords, leading CRT to become a huge topic of debate. You may often hear “CRT is only taught in college classrooms.” You may hear others say “CRT is already being taught here in Guilford County, even in our elementary schools.”
So, what does “teaching CRT” mean to you?
If by “teaching CRT” you think that we should be teaching an accurate version of history that reflects our country’s painful reality, then absolutely I agree with you. I am all for doing that. This country was founded in a way that took land forcefully from native Americans. Our country’s founders enslaved Blacks. Irish settlers worked as indentured servants. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Women had very few rights. Brothers fought against brothers in the Civil War. Our history has many beautiful sides as well as ugly sides and we should teach it honestly. We should be teaching our students to look at the events of history with a critical eye and we shouldn’t gloss over the ugly parts. But we should teach the good too - how despite our country’s checkered past, we are all Americans, working together for the common good of the people.
If by “teaching CRT” you believe that we should be teaching about “the oppressed” and “the oppressors,” then I strongly disagree with you. I do not believe that we should be teaching our students that any group of people is better than another. We should not be teaching that one group of people are inherently born into situations they cannot get out of. One of the beautiful things about our country is that with hard work, anyone from anywhere can do anything and be anything! I believe that as educators, we should be working to heal the rifts in our country, not make them worse. We should not be teaching concepts that lead to greater division. Here in GCS, we should be building all of our students up, not tearing them down. As a school system, we are tasked with providing all students equitable access to high-quality education, regardless of their race, gender, or background. It is my profound hope that as GCS moves into a new era, we work together - parents, students, teachers, staff, administrators, board, and superintendent- to achieve this goal.
In order to answer this, first I ask you, what is your definition of CRT? The media has pummeled us with a variety of descriptions and definitions and buzzwords, leading CRT to become a huge topic of debate. You may often hear “CRT is only taught in college classrooms.” You may hear others say “CRT is already being taught here in Guilford County, even in our elementary schools.”
So, what does “teaching CRT” mean to you?
If by “teaching CRT” you think that we should be teaching an accurate version of history that reflects our country’s painful reality, then absolutely I agree with you. I am all for doing that. This country was founded in a way that took land forcefully from native Americans. Our country’s founders enslaved Blacks. Irish settlers worked as indentured servants. The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. Women had very few rights. Brothers fought against brothers in the Civil War. Our history has many beautiful sides as well as ugly sides and we should teach it honestly. We should be teaching our students to look at the events of history with a critical eye and we shouldn’t gloss over the ugly parts. But we should teach the good too - how despite our country’s checkered past, we are all Americans, working together for the common good of the people.
If by “teaching CRT” you believe that we should be teaching about “the oppressed” and “the oppressors,” then I strongly disagree with you. I do not believe that we should be teaching our students that any group of people is better than another. We should not be teaching that one group of people are inherently born into situations they cannot get out of. One of the beautiful things about our country is that with hard work, anyone from anywhere can do anything and be anything! I believe that as educators, we should be working to heal the rifts in our country, not make them worse. We should not be teaching concepts that lead to greater division. Here in GCS, we should be building all of our students up, not tearing them down. As a school system, we are tasked with providing all students equitable access to high-quality education, regardless of their race, gender, or background. It is my profound hope that as GCS moves into a new era, we work together - parents, students, teachers, staff, administrators, board, and superintendent- to achieve this goal.
Action Items
Once elected, I would push for the following action items in GCS schools:
- review curriculum to ensure that what is being taught in the classroom first and foremost aligns to academic standards
- work with administrators and teachers to remove divisive content from classrooms
- ensure that accurate history is being taught - history that truthfully reflects our county's history from multiple viewpoints
- promote community and school activities that focus on supporting and lifting up all students while developing a sense of community
- work to establish a county-wide culture of acceptance and love for all, regardless of race or background
- actively work to remove expressions of hate and anger from our school buildings