Teachers are Not the Enemy

I recently had the pleasure of leading a professional development workshop for a group of k-12 history teachers in Georgia. For close to two hours, we analyzed a set of primary sources and discussed the history and legacy of slavery in connection with the efforts of the United Daughters of the Confederacy to control the content of school textbooks in the early twentieth century as well as in connection to the ongoing debate about Civil War monuments.

The discussion encapsulated all of the things that I enjoy when working with dedicated history teachers. That is until the final moment when one of the participants asked: “Are we allowed to teach this material?”

In the silence that followed all of us seemed to understand the moment that we currently find ourselves in as history educators and how we arrived here.

The questions and fear are real.

Republicans in at least 35 states have either passed legislation or are considering bills that directly impact how the history and legacy of slavery in American are taught. While the 1619 Project and Critical Race Theory have been singled out (often falsely equated with one another) the vagueness of the language in the legislation has led to teachers pulling back on introducing subjects and source material that, in many cases, are mandated by their own state standards.

The upshot of this push on the part of Republicans to leverage fear to shore up their base and secure political points has resulted in casting teachers as untrustworthy and even worse.

But as heartbreaking as all of this is, there are even more troubling things to consider.

In Virginia, Republican governor Glenn Youngkin set up a “tip line” for parents to use to report teachers that they believe are up to no good. A chapter of Moms For Liberty in New Hampshire recently announced that it would give “$500 for the person that first successfully catches a public school teacher breaking” a law banning the teaching of Critical Race Theory.

States are now demanding that teachers post all materials online for parents to review, even though access to what is being taught has never been easier with the help of online portals.

The message is clear. Teachers are untrustworthy and routinely engaged in nefarious practices. Whatever standards and rules currently in place in school districts across the country that educators are expected to follow are insufficient. The public must take matters into its own hands.

This rhetoric has gotten completely out of control.

This past weekend, former president Donald Trump told an audience that, “getting critical race theory out of our schools is not just a matter of values, it’s also a matter of national survival. We have no choice.” He went on to suggest:

The fate of any nation ultimately depends upon the willingness of its citizens to lay down—and they must do this—lay down their very lives to defend their country. If we allow the Marxists and communists and socialists to teach our children to hate America, there will be no one left to defend our flag or protect our great country or its freedom.

And that brings us to Mississippi, where earlier today Governor Tate Reeves released a prerecorded message to accompany his decision to sign an “anti-CRT” bill into law:

Students are being force-fed an unhealthy dose of progressive fundamentalism that runs counter to the principles of America’s founding. Children are dragged to the front of the classroom and are coerced to declare themselves as oppressors, that that they should feel guilty because of the color of their skin, or that they are inherently a victim because of their race.

Governor Reeves swung for the fence in his attempt to reach a new level of absurdity. He succeeded.

I don’t think we can ignore this rhetoric any longer as simply a function of political posturing. This level of vitriol and the casting of teachers as a direct threat to their students and the general public needs to end before someone gets hurt.

Let’s hope and pray that it doesn’t come to that.

Finally, let’s remember what this political campaign is really about. I will leave it to Britanny Murphree, a self-identified conservative Republican, who took a class on Critical Race Theory at the University of Mississippi’s law school, to explain:

To date, this course has been the most impactful and enlightening course I have taken throughout my entire undergraduate career and graduate education at the State of Mississippi’s flagship university. The prohibition of courses and teachings such as these is taking away the opportunity for people from every background and race to come together and discuss very important topics which would otherwise go undiscussed. I believe this bill not only undermines the values of the hospitality state but declares that Mississippians are structured in hate and rooted in a great deal of ignorance.

This is exactly what Republicans and their allies fear and are taking steps to prevent. It’s sometimes difficult to see on days like today, but students like Brittany Murphree, their teachers, and countless others gives me hope that this most recent fight against education and the free exchange of ideas will ultimately be defeated.