Mid Valley Reporter

Critical Race Theory will be taught by one more teacher in Woodburn, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has two pledges from Woodburn teachers by the end of the week ending March 12.

They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.

The new Woodburn teacher wrote “teaching students about literature and language is impossible without making connections to history, context, critical thinking, research, current events. I believe that state-sanctioned suppression of knowledge will lead to an even more-fractured, biased, and racist society. As an educator, my commitment is to help students develop their knowledge and skills for critical thinking, not to cripple this capacity.” when pledging to teach Critical Race Theory.

Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.

Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.

Other states, such as Montana and Georgia, have denounced the teachings and are discussing a ban on critical race theory teachings.

In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon, Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
San Juana Acosta	“no comment”
Susan Droke	teaching students about literature and language is impossible without making connections to history, context, critical thinking, research, current events. I believe that state-sanctioned suppression of knowledge will lead to an even more-fractured, biased, and racist society. As an educator, my commitment is to help students develop their knowledge and skills for critical thinking, not to cripple this capacity.