Is Critical Race Theory Being Practiced in the District? - Part 1
Critical Race Theory (CRT) has become a hot topic among parents all around the country. According to the Tahoma School District, CRT…
…was originally defined as an academic concept more than 40 years ago, with the core idea that race and racism are social constructs rather than biological ones. This theory is not part of Washington state’s standards for teaching, and it is not part of Tahoma curriculum. Washington State Senate Bill 5044, which the Legislature approved this year and which will be effective on July 25, 2021, does not mention Critical Race Theory but does address dismantling institutional racism in the public school system. “The legislature plans to continue the important work of dismantling institutional racism in public schools and recognizes the importance of increasing equity, diversity, inclusion, antiracism, and cultural competency training throughout the entire public school system by providing training programs for classified staff, certificated instructional staff, certificated administrative staff, superintendents, and school directors that will be provided in an ongoing manner,” the bill states.
The district then goes on to make the following claim in the same letter:
Do Tahoma leaders think that certain groups of people are inherently racist? We strive to be anti‐racist. That means we are working to develop the skills to dismantle racist actions, policies, and institutions with those that support racial equity…
While CRT sounds justified at face value, many have shown concern that it actually creates further division. For instance, many claim that it segregates people into “oppressed” or “oppressor” categories, conditioning society with divisive victim or guilt mindsets. Regardless of the truth about what CRT is or isn’t, if CRT is not being taught and the district is striving to be “anti-racist”, then why are so many parents concerned? The reality is that while CRT may not be directly taught to kids within the district, divisive CRT-like lessons with racist undertones are being executed.
For instance, one student sent this screen shot from their teachers’ English lesson.
Students are being taught that they are “prejudiced” and are given one-sided narratives regarding the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests/riots that occurred in 2020. While we can discuss as parents whether the riots that caused death, injury and millions of dollars in damage were justified, such hot button topics have no place in a K-12 environment.
It is clear in this situation that the teacher was irresponsibly promoting their narrative when such topics should be discussed at home or in a college setting.
Summit Trail Middle School students were presented with guest speaker lessons from the highly controversial Dr. Caprice Hollins this week. Hollins has often been the topic of controversy for things such as “sending students to white privilege” conferences. She was let go from the Seattle School District in ‘08 (see story here).
While the topic of discussion (bullying) once again appears fair at face value, it has been noted for over a decade that Hollins will inject controversial and divisive lessons into her seminars. Parents know this and have been voicing concerns over her involvement in the district. The district continues to stiff-arm parental concerns on Hollins and continues to include her in district policy.
The district has even gone as far as requiring staff to take “racial privilege” seminars that leave out “white perspectives” and push white guilt onto the people tasked with teaching our children.
In addition, on the library shelves at Rock Creek Elementary, two very controversial books were found to be available to students. The first is A is for Activist which is marketed as appropriate for ages 3 to 7 and to students learning their ABCs. The actual purpose, however, seems to be much more sinister.
Here is what a parent and grandparent reported about A is for Activist at a recent school board meeting:
The opening quickly gets down to business.
‘A is for Activist,’ it states. It makes clever use of alliteration to urge these young students to ‘Actively Answer a call – any call – to action. Are you an advocate? An abolitionist [meaning a de-funder of police]? Are you an activist?!'
It waits until the letter X to identify one of its ideal activist models: Malcolm X, an advocate of human rights in the 1960’s who righteously asserted, ‘We declare our right on this earth to be a human being, to be respected as a human being, to be given the rights of a human being in this society, on this earth, in this day,’ but to which he added, ‘We intend to bring [this] into existence by any means necessary.’
Under the letter R it celebrates its role models for our children: Radical Reds, Ruinous Radicals and Rabble Rousing Riff Raff.
C is for ‘cat’ – the one nod in the list to anything traditional in elementary education. But then it adds, ‘C is for Co-op, a Creative Counter to Corporate Vultures.’
The most disturbing entry is under the letter M. ‘M is for May Day,’ a holiday created by socialists, communists and anarchists. It suggests that our young students become members of marching bands, with megaphones as their instruments.
The purpose of ‘A is for Activist’ is to subvert the social order of the United States, not to teach our children to read or write.
The second controversial book found on the library shelves at Rock Creek Elementary School is Antiracist Baby. While this book is marketed to ages Baby-3 years, it includes phrases such as: “...to make society transform,” “Point at policies as the problem, not people,” and “Policies don't always grant equal access,” to name a few. This language is clearly beyond the level of a small child. Nowhere is found the simple common-sense phrases: “Love one another,” or, “Be kind.”
An active mother in Maple Valley said of Antiracist Baby: “This is racism disguised as anti-racism. I am all about inclusion, but this book is a true abomination. It pounds many controversial claims and is way above the intellectual capabilities of their targeted audience. It is truly indoctrination at its root. I wouldn’t read this to any child.”
Check out what Dori Monson had to say about these books
Tahoma Parents also stands for inclusion and love for all. Clearly these books do not fit those criteria and do not belong in the holdings of any elementary school library.
We will leave the answer to whether CRT is being practiced in the district to you. Regardless of the “technicalities” of what CRT actually is, what is clear is that highly controversial lessons and practices are being conducted within the district. Furthermore, zero consideration is being given to a large portion of parents who are opposed to these practices. Many parents have been opting for private school or home school as an alternative, but sadly for most parents those options are off the table. This leaves concerned parents with no choice, but to subject their children to teachers who force values that do not align with their family beliefs.
Be sure to read: District Spends Almost $150,000 on Critical Race Theory Aligned Training.
