A Nevada group called the Nevada Family Alliance has proposed putting cameras on teachers to stop them from teaching Critical Race Theory.
While the Washoe County School District says Critical Race Theory isn’t part of its curriculum, educators have proposed to incorporate equity, diversity and racism into its K-5 curriculum. For some, that idea raises concerns that they think need to be monitored closely.
“You guys have a serious problem with activist teachers pushing politics in the classroom, and there’s no place for it, especially for our fifth graders,” Nevada Family Alliance director Karen England told trustees Tuesday.
Her organization’s homepage declares, “It’s at the door. Now is the time to act.”
Education Week describes Critical Race Theory, at its core, “as the idea that racism is a social construct, and that it is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies.”
Large crowds have gathered at Washoe County school district meetings where issues like the teaching of social justice issues has drawn great divide. The school district has taken to accommodating those who come out to protest and participate with spillover rooms and outdoor speaker systems.
The school board approved a task force on Wednesday to review school curriculums. Nevada Family Alliance describes itself as a watchdog group that’s key issues are “religious freedom, parental rights, sanctity of life, marriage and family, and education.”
The debate over CRT, which includes its implementation and definition, isn’t limited to western Nevada. Video of a St. Louis-area mother becoming very upset at a Rockwood School District board meeting last month drew national attention as she said, trembling, “Just because I don’t want Critical Race Theory taught to my children at school does not mean that I’m a racist, damnit!”
Some attendees at the meeting applauded, while many people on social media argued that a fervent objection to CRT is an indication of racism. That school district also clarified CRT isn’t part of its educators’ lesson plans.
“We’re just trying to engage in conversation about how different people think and how different people may see things,” assistant superintendent Dr. Shelley Willott reportedly said of that debate.
WITH NEWS WIRE SERVICES
