GOP (VA EO1) -vs- VA K-12 Public Schools – or…
How to Teach a Bad Thing Without Teaching the Thing Was Bad? Or…
Avoiding a Bad Thing Doesn’t Make the Bad Thing Less Significant or Go Away
Okay – let’s consider an issue that has captured the attention of our conservative, morally transparent GOP friends (of which, I am one) – there are now 17 states with executive orders, legislation pending, or approved outlawing K-12 public schools from teaching Critical Race Theory, or anything that may “cause division, guilt or discomfort” – yes, that’s a very open ended statement, but it is the actual phrase being shared from many governor’s offices.
So, public schools are to teach basic curriculum of K-12, and avoid anything that “may cause division, guilt or discomfort” as a result of teaching these basics – simple (maybe not simple)?
Perhaps this is an example of “Kobayashi Maru” like conditions our divided nation is forcing on itself to ensure one side of a political position maintains greater control of that political posture – as a reminder, the Kobayashi Maru is a fictional training exercise in the Star Trek franchise designed to test the character of cadets with a no-win scenario – are we really asking our public schools to manage a no-win scenario – how does anyone teach (age appropriate) rudimentary facts (not opinions) of our nation’s history, and be held responsible if an individual (student or staff) feels basic human emotions i.e. division, guilt, and discomfort…
For example, it is a fair assumption students may wonder why additional constitutional amendments were required to protect its nation’s citizens from its empowered citizens, if the nation previously announced “all men are created equal” with it’s declared independence, and established justice, domestic tranquility, welfare, and blessings of liberty for its citizens in its initial constitution.
Perhaps you feel our example is extreme, unfair, or maybe facetious – perhaps you may feel inclined to one side of the example or the other (one might say, divided) – maybe you’re wondering if anyone bore guilt for the disparity – or perhaps the whole example is just too uncomfortable to consider – okay, I’m kidding – just stirring the pot – either way you can easily see the broader point – so, here’s the concern – are we testing the character of our teachers and schools, or are we really exposing our own character?
To be fair to GOP governors (and CPACs), their efforts are truly not this vague or simplistic – instead of trying to interpret sound bites from governor’s offices, let’s look at Virginia’s recent Executive Order 1 as an example – a link to the actual VA EO1 is at the bottom of this post – in the simplest of terms, there are four basic concepts of VA EO1:
- VA public schools will “end the use of inherently divisive concepts, including Critical Race Theory” – there are more descriptive, and greater details coming from deeper within VA EO 1.
- VA public schools will focus on “imparting critical knowledge and skills in math, science, history, reading…” – for the purpose of this posts, we’ll address the teaching of history.
- VA public schools will not teach “only view(ing) life through the lens of race and presumes that some students are consciously or unconsciously racist, sexist, or oppressive, and that other students are victims” – we’ve made the assumption that VA EO1 infers this “lens” applies to present day, and future students, public school staff and leadership – this distinction will have relevance later in this post.
- VA public schools will, “…equip our teachers to teach our students the entirety of our history –– both good and bad. From the horrors of American slavery and segregation, and our country’s treatment of Native Americans, to the triumph of America’s Greatest Generation against the Nazi Empire, the heroic efforts of Americans in the Civil Rights Movement, and our country’s defeat of the Soviet Union and the ills of Communism, we must provide our students with the facts and context necessary to understand these important events…” – we have underlined some words from this extract of VA EO1 for use later in this post.
In addition to the four basic concepts listed above, VA EO1 also defines “inherently divisive concepts” as it applies to the first basic concept, and the purpose of application and execution of the executive order – “For the purposes of this Executive order “inherently divisive concepts” means advancing any ideas in violation of…”
- Title IV (promotes the desegregation of public schools) and Title VI (prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including, but not limited to of the following concepts:
- One race, skin color, ethnicity, sex, or faith is inherently superior to another race, skin color, ethnicity, sex, or faith.
- An individual, by virtue of his or her race, skin color, ethnicity, sex or faith, is racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or subconsciously.
- An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race, skin color, ethnicity, sex or faith.
- Members of one race, ethnicity, sex or faith cannot and should not attempt to treat others as individuals without respect to race, sex or faith>
- An individual’s moral character is inherently determined by his or her race, skin color, ethnicity, sex, or faith.
- An individual, by virtue of his or her race, skin color, ethnicity, sex, or faith, bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of the same race, ethnicity, sex or faith.
- Meritocracy or traits, such as a hard work ethic, are racist or sexist or were created by a particular race to oppress another race.
So, “inherently divisive concepts” that are NOT to be advanced in public schools K-12 include: segregated discriminating schools, the existence of inherently superior oppressive discriminating peoples, people’s physical traits (race, skin color, ethnicity, sex, or faith) afford them authority, or moral character to apply responsibility on other peoples for past actions, and people’s successes/failures are tied to physical traits.
SIDEBAR: We’re always puzzled when we see the language used in VA EO1 in connection with CRT – that language is the “media hype and political motive” versions of CRT, not actual CRT – we should always do our own research, so we’d know CRT doesn’t mean Whites today have culpability – or that our White skin bears responsible – or false narratives of our history is the fault of Whites today – CRT’s main point is, there always has been and continues to be life altering challenges for people of color in our nation, and it would be great if we could acknowledge that, and stop pretending that all is well with our nation.
Now that the stage is set, let’s get back on track – “how does anyone teach (age appropriate) rudimentary facts (not opinions) of our nation’s history, and be held responsible if an individual (student or staff) feels basic human emotions i.e. division, guilt, and discomfort…”
It’s important to point our that VA EO1 requires public schools to teach (and it should have stated “age appropriate”) the entirety of history, and provide students with the facts and context necessary to understand these important events (NOTE: the events referred too are the events outlined in VA EO1 basic concept number 4) – if Virginia public schools are to teach the entirety of history leveraging facts and context necessary for students to understand the importance of the applicable history, it would naturally include these fundamentals of US history:
Birth of a nation, American Indian Story, American slavery, Civil War, US Expansion, Western Migration, the Great Migration, the Industrial Revelation, the Great Depression, Prohibition, Jim Crow Laws, Reconstruction, Segregation, Civil Rights Movement, Women’s Liberation Movement, US involvement in foreign wars, etc., etc…
These fundamentals of US history, if facts and context are leveraged as required by VA EO1, would also include:
-instances of unequitable funding for schools, infrastructure, and essentials of life.
-occurrences of suppression and abuse of women and people of color.
-cases of unjust and unequal policing, legal justice, jury selection, and sentencing.
-circumstances of unequal and illegal real estate, mortgage, lending, and banking practices.
-illustrations of suppressed and illegal application of voting rights and voting districts.
-incidences of illegal and restricted access to health care, GI Bill, and compensation for veterans of color.
And there’s the problem – there’s the impasse for public schools – associated with each fundamental of US history, are layers and years of “how” and “why” – the specifics of each “how” and “why” illustrates the best and worst of our nation’s history – it is naive to believe these events can be taught without human emotions coming into play.
Seriously, the expectations of VA EO1 as well as other state’s efforts to control human emotions by manipulating education are simply absurd.
Consider the larger context beyond our political agendas – in this irrational effort to protect students from experiencing normal human emotions from our history, can we not see how “divided and uncomfortable” Americans in power have made subordinate Americans feel all throughout our history? This hypocrisy screams for justice, transparency, and a better direction – to be clear, this division and discomfort experienced by Americans of color wasn’t just during their K-12 school years – it was division and discomfort for generation, after generation, after generation.
Furthermore, how are these legislative efforts not aligned with practices of an authoritative state? It’s well known that all nations have their own versions of history – but, when it comes to American that is simply not who we claim to be – we pound our chests and proclaim fairness, equality, and justice – but is that really who we are?
Perhaps there are better options and ideas for public schools – why not teach history from a perspective of evolving maturity and growth, measured against wrongs and lessons learned – focusing on gains as well as the hard work left to do – emphasize the greatness that comes from our unique diversity and creative differences – no nation is perfect and without error, American is no different – are we playing hide & seek with our history, or are we learning from it?
Remember, avoiding a bad thing doesn’t make the bad thing any less significant or go away – but learning from a bad thing, and making deliberate course changes is truly the mark of a great nation.
Kevin's Thoughts 