Anti-CRT State Laws are Stupid—County School Boards Can Handle This!

Good op-ed (from authors across the political spectrum) about why those laws are stupid:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/05/opinion/we-disagree-on-a-lot-of-things-except-the-danger-of-anti-critical-race-theory-laws.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist?

Next, have you read about the Sullivan County School Board in East Tennessee?

In March they disciplined—and subsequently fired—a high school teacher, Matthew Hawn, for violating school district policy:

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/sullivan-county-teacher-facing-termination-at-school-board-meeting-tuesday-supporters-to-gather/?

In detailing the complaints in a disciplinary action in March, Director of Schools Dr. David Cox explained that teaching about "white privilege" was fine, but a lack of viewpoint diversity was not:

“In the charges I just read aloud in fact, I read that appropriate discussions around concepts like white privilege remain perfectly appropriate for a high school class, like Contemporary Issues. These charges of dismissal are about Mr. Hawn refusing to provide his students with access to varying points of view.”

Varying points of view? Yep, that’s not TN state law—it’s already required by the Dickson County Board of Education policy on Controversial Issues, code 4.800 (4/26/12):

quote/

The discussion of issues in the classroom which are politically, philosophically or socially controversial shall be relevant to the subject matter being taught, related to educational objectives, appropriate for the age and maturity of students, and shall not materially or substantially disrupt or threaten to disrupt the discipline of the school.

To ensure that controversial issues are presented and discussed fairly and objectively and with instruction as their goal, the following guidelines shall be observed:

1. All personnel will seek to create an atmosphere in which differences of opinion can be voiced without fear and hostility and with mutual respect for all viewpoints;

2. Teachers will encourage students to withhold judgment and to avoid making of conclusions until all relevant and significant facts have been assembled, critically examined, and checked for accuracy;

3. Teachers will seek to develop in students a sense of responsibility for their beliefs, opinions, attitudes and actions;

4. Teachers shall place major emphasis upon “why” and “how” to think rather than “what” to think; and

5. If the subject matter being taught involves conflicting opinions, theories, or schools of thought, the teacher will ensure that differing sides of an issue are explored in order to help students develop their own critical faculties.

/quote

https://www.dcstn.org/Downloads/4800.pdf?

Should we oppose this policy? It looks good to me!?

So what happened exactly? Mr. Hawn assigned an essay, “The First White President,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, and also a poem, "White Privilege," by Kyla Jenée Lacey.

Coates' essay:

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/10/the-first-white-president-ta-nehisi-coates/537909/?

Lacey’s poem:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkz5UmXugzk?

While some parents objected to the crude language in the essay and poem, the larger issue was whether Mr. Hawn had exposed students to varying points of view. In the school board meeting (3/4/21) where Mr. Hawn was disciplined, Dr. Cox said,

“The second question posed was ‘what other reading materials have you assigned recently that would offer a different perspective than the one taken by Mr. Coates in this piece?’ And his recorded response was, ‘there is no credible source for a different point of view.’”

/quote

https://youtu.be/-GH--x2zRhA?t=4555

For those who haven't read Coates’ essay, here’s one claim:

“It is often said that Trump has no real ideology, which is not true—his ideology is white supremacy, in all its truculent and sanctimonious power.”

There’s no other side to this? "No credible source for a different point of view" (Mr. Hawn's words) that Trump’s ideology is anything other than white supremacy?

Also at issue was whether Mr. Hawn encouraged students to explore “differing sides” (code 4.800) on issues raised in Lacey’s poem. Here are some lines:

quote/

What is white privilege? It is the only 5 decades of legal acknowledgment expected to correct 400 years of white transgression.

[...]

Like WTF, FOUR hundred years in the same field, literally, is an incredible resume builder.

[...]

All of a sudden having a problem with immigration, like this isn’t even your nation!!!!!

[...]

You’ve Columbused our traditions, had white girls twerking in high definition, with multi-colored hair and purple nails, but it was ghetto when we did it.

Oh I make you uncomfortable? Try a cramped slave ship. Oh wait, slavery is over now, it’s just called the prison system cause like you’re not racist cause you don’t use the n word but y’all use niggas everyday what is white privilege.

[...]

It’s European history being taught as a major and African as an elective, it is learning about my people only 28 days, like I’m not black every fucking second.

[...]

It is people thinking that affirmative action is an unfair advantage instead of keeping the qualified from being unfairly disadvantaged or throwing out a qualified applicant because their name sounded too African American.

It is everyone who hears this that dismisses this poem I just spit as reverse racism, that is white privilege. Thank you.

/quote

I have no problem with high school students being exposed to this poem, and some parents and school board members didn’t either. The bigger problem is Mr. Hawn didn’t encourage students to think critically about the claims made in the poem, an obligation he had under the board of education policy. What are those claims, implicit in the poem?

[1] It is “white privilege” to believe that 50 years of laws and court rulings designed to redress racism is sufficient.?

[2] The prison system is an extension of slavery.

[3] Affirmative action is fair.

[4] Where European history is offered as a major, African history should be, too.??

[5] White people who participate in black cultural innovations, like twerking (and jazz and hip-hop?) are like Columbus.

[6] Lacey’s poem itself cannot be racist, because “reverse racism” doesn’t exist.

You may think 1-6 are true, but would anyone deny there are credible sources for opposing views??

https://www.wjhl.com/news/local/sullivan-county-teacher-facing-termination-at-school-board-meeting-tuesday-supporters-to-gather/?utm_source=pocket_mylist?

Finally, from the March board meeting, pay attention to this exchange between a board member and Mr. Hawn:

Board Member: “When you’re setting up your lesson and you're getting ready to go forward, that's the day that you roll out— ‘I'm going to be doing this, this, this, this, and this.’ And I would assume, that that day when you rolled out your lesson, that you would have covered varying sides that day, in that, ‘we will be covering this side [gestures to her left], we’ll be covering this side [gestures to her right], and this is how we’re gonna cover the side.’ And at that point, it would just have been broad topics, not in detail. ‘But then I'm also going to be covering this side. And here's the broad topics on this side.’ Did you ever roll out your lesson in that way?"

Mr. Hawn: "Yes, I did. Yeah, I just, you know, we were just going to look at some facts of the 2016 election. What were some causes for that? What happened there, because it's, you know, the first time in American history someone with no public experience got elected, and that's, that's historic, you know, that's a historic event. And I asked the kids and I already knew, but I asked them— And can I say something else? Like, I know that, I said that ‘white privilege is a fact’ and I'm supposed to ask questions, but I also asked ‘what are we going to do about this? What can we do as a country to move past racism?’ That to me was the bigger question. How do we get past this? You know I'm tired of talking about it but I'm not as tired of talking about it as African-American people are experiencing it for 400 years."

I’m not convinced Mr. Hawn even understands what it means to teach different sides of an issue. What do you think?

But my point is, this is the way to handle teachers who seek to indoctrinate rather than teach students how to think critically. Let the school board handle it!