Texas Senate Bill Drops Teaching Requirement That Ku Klux Klan Is ‘Morally Wrong’

[j brown's body]

Max Horkheimer first defined critical theory (German: Kritische Theorie) in his 1937 essay "Traditional and Critical Theory", as a social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only toward understanding or explaining it.

I object to teaching CRT as if it was a "theory oriented only toward understanding or explaining" society when it isnt, and is instead an attempt to change that society. False propaganda intended to indoctrinate our kids.

Would hate to see society improved.

 

[j brown's body]

The police kill MORE white people than they do black. Bash the heads of MORE non union workers than union workers.

Nice to see that they've developed into an equal opportunity head bashing organization. But we all know their true purpose: protect the racist status quo. And they take this role with gusto.

 

[j brown's body]

History should be taught as history was. We don't need either side trying to brainwash children. Take slavery for example. Many parts of human society over the years had slaves. That is the history and the current history is that the world pretty much doesn't have slavery anymore and that the US and other countries ended it and even fought wars to end it. That is what it was. We don't need any extra commentary from either side regarding it.

Studying US history provides students with a unique question - how do we account for slavery, and it consequences (and what are those consequences) in a society founded on the ideas of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

 

[j brown's body]

(1)

It is not a teacher’s job to say that the KKK is evil.

If a teacher is allowed to describe movements and ideologies as evil, at the teacher’s will,
then teachers can describe Atheism as being evil.

And I assure you that there are, at least hundreds of thousands if not millions of, people
who believe that Atheism is evil (as it rejects the concept of the almighty and noble god
as god is popularly envisioned).

(2)

So, no, teachers should not be allowed to slap the label of ‘evil’ onto that which they see
as being evil and to present it in such way to minor students.

It is acceptable for a teacher to say that the law prohibited the KKK from doing many
of the things that it did. And it is furthermore acceptable for a teacher to state that
breaking the law is a bad thing to do and that the KKK clearly violated the law to a huge
extent and that the KKK caused plenty of pain to undeserving people and that if students
wish to deem this a being evil it is their prerogative but the teacher should not endorse
the label of evil or noble. And in any discussion students should be able to state antithetical
viewpoints.

(3)

I clearly remember a discussion that we had in school; I must have been 10 at the time.
A student asked the teacher what god is.

The teacher asked the kids to express what they thought god was instead of giving his own
opinion. And he certainly didn’t say that god was good or bad, noble or evil. This teacher
did his job properly.

(4)

A teacher can say that KKK acted illegally but not that they are evil or even bad.
A teacher can’t apply good or evil to any movement including BLM, Black Panthers, Satanists,
Occupy Wall Street, etc.

When it comes to terrorism such as Al-Qaeda I would say that a teacher is entitled to state
that 9/11 was an awful murderous event and that murder is illegal and generally accepted
as a bad action but again, the teacher should not be able to state that Al-Qaeda is an evil
organization.

For that matter, while most of us would agree that the act of the Gates Foundation supplying
millions of vaccines to the poor in Africa is a good thing it is still not a teacher’s job to describe
it as a good thing. A teacher can say that charities are generally accepted as being good because
they help people but that children should be able to form their own opinion and if a kid doesn’t
like charities this is his/her right. A person is allowed to think that charities are not good for society.

It is a teacher's job to provide students with primary source documents that cover, in this case, the rise and dominance of the Klan to answer the question, was the klan good or bad? And indeed, allow students to come to their own conclusion- using evidence and reasoning to support it.

 

[gino]

Nice to see that they've developed into an equal opportunity head bashing organization. But we all know their true purpose: protect the racist status quo. And they take this role with gusto.

Police do not see themselves as protecting the racist elite. What is racist about being a cop? There are MANY cops of color. How about in Atlanta where the entire gov is run by african americans?

 

[dixon01767]

Would hate to see society improved.

Certainly the improvements advocated buy the marxist and communists.

 

[cpwill]

I've been reassured by @cpwill that all of this is just media hype and overreaction.
Surprised he didn't step in and explain that.

We should be much more concerned about THE REAL evil, CRT.

Eh, close. It's not overreaction, it's a strawman argument based on a deliberate misreading of what was actually done. The logic here - that if someone thinks curriculum should be guided more directly at the local level of government that they are therefore actually secretly in favor of a particularly odious curriculum input is.....

An example of it's application:

State Level Conservative: Healthcare policy should be set at the State level. If Liberal states want single payer, they can have them, and if Conservative states want markets, they can have them.​

​

State Level Liberal: No, healthcare policy is too big, and therefore needs to be handled at the federal level.​

​

Conservative: "OH MY GOD YAWL LIBERALS JUST SAID FOR ALL THEY CARE, POOR PEOPLE CAN JUST GO HOME AND DIE FROM LACK OF HEALTHCARE"​

now, tell me: how credible would you consider that take to be?

Because that's how credible this argument is.

 

[vanceen]

It is a teacher's job to provide students with primary source documents that cover, in this case, the rise and dominance of the Klan to answer the question, was the klan good or bad? And indeed, allow students to come to their own conclusion- using evidence and reasoning to support it.

Then why is it a problem if teachers are not required to say that they were morally wrong?

I would have a real problem with keeping teachers from saying the Klan was morally wrong. But not requiring it is not the same as preventing it.

 

[vanceen]

Nice to see that they've developed into an equal opportunity head bashing organization. But we all know their true purpose: protect the racist status quo. And they take this role with gusto.

I find the internet message board use of the phrase "we all know" to be very interesting. It's nearly always followed by some assertion that is dubious and far from established. Yet "we all know...".

 

[gino]

If the people who ran CRT had kept control of it and not let it come out as white-hating, this would not have been necessary. The way that CRT has been used as a hammer to be used as a racist weapon against white people is the reason for this new legislation. Those of us that have been subjected to CRT in meetings are not amused and will not ignore such blatant racist garbage. I'd guess that anyone on this board who works in agovernment job has had to sit through such meetings.

 

[cpwill]

I've been reassured by @cpwill that all of this is just media hype and overreaction.
Surprised he didn't step in and explain that.

We should be much more concerned about THE REAL evil, CRT.

On a side note, I think earlier we discussed the partisan makeup of the parents complaining about CRT-informed pedagogy in their childrren's school, with you claiming it was all GOP astroturf.

You may find this, from Politico of interest.

...Democrats appear to be underestimating parents’ anger in places where critical race theory is top of mind. Objections to new equity plans are not the sole province of conservatives but extend to many moderate and independent voters, according to POLITICO interviews with school board members, political operatives and activists in Democratic and left-leaning communities including the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; New York’s Westchester County; Maricopa County covering Phoenix, Ariz.; and suburban Detroit.

Parents who are showing up to school board meetings and have helped launch a spate of recall elections say they are angry about a host of issues, including what they see as a myopic focus on diversity at school boards, ongoing frustration over a year of closed schools and school lesson plans that they say are becoming too progressive, too fast. While those complaints have often been branded in the media as “anti-critical race theory,” the causes of the anger are varied, and are being ignored, parents say.

The stakes aren’t lost on Amanda Litman, founder of the Democratic organization Run for Something, which works to elect school board members and other local officials: “This is a perfect storm of something that can appeal to, or draw back in, some of the suburban parents that might have voted Republican in 2016, Democrat in 2018 and 2020, but could be drawn back to the Republican Party in 2022.”...​

 

[Nickyjo]

History should be taught as is, not with a leftist slant.

How does teaching about MLK, Cesar Chavez or Susan B Anthony betray a leftist slant?

 

[j brown's body]

On a side note, I think earlier we discussed the partisan makeup of the parents complaining about CRT-informed pedagogy in their childrren's school, with you claiming it was all GOP astroturf.

You may find this, from Politico of interest.

...Democrats appear to be underestimating parents’ anger in places where critical race theory is top of mind. Objections to new equity plans are not the sole province of conservatives but extend to many moderate and independent voters, according to POLITICO interviews with school board members, political operatives and activists in Democratic and left-leaning communities including the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; New York’s Westchester County; Maricopa County covering Phoenix, Ariz.; and suburban Detroit.​

​

Parents who are showing up to school board meetings and have helped launch a spate of recall elections say they are angry about a host of issues, including what they see as a myopic focus on diversity at school boards, ongoing frustration over a year of closed schools and school lesson plans that they say are becoming too progressive, too fast. While those complaints have often been branded in the media as “anti-critical race theory,” the causes of the anger are varied, and are being ignored, parents say.​

​

The stakes aren’t lost on Amanda Litman, founder of the Democratic organization Run for Something, which works to elect school board members and other local officials: “This is a perfect storm of something that can appeal to, or draw back in, some of the suburban parents that might have voted Republican in 2016, Democrat in 2018 and 2020, but could be drawn back to the Republican Party in 2022.”...​

Interesting how professionally produced some of their signs are.

Certainly white rage is an easy emotion to evoke. The danger, of course, is that this brings more white supremacists into the GOP political spectrum and in the short term makes quality education more difficult to implement. But in the long run, I don;'t think it stands a chance.

 

[j brown's body]

If the people who ran CRT had kept control of it and not let it come out as white-hating, this would not have been necessary. The way that CRT has been used as a hammer to be used as a racist weapon against white people is the reason for this new legislation. Those of us that have been subjected to CRT in meetings are not amused and will not ignore such blatant racist garbage. I'd guess that anyone on this board who works in agovernment job has had to sit through such meetings.

The people who run CRT can't control how white supremacists characterize it.

Schools generally don't subject students to the kind of things one sees in employer meetings.

 

[j brown's body]

Then why is it a problem if teachers are not required to say that they were morally wrong?

I would have a real problem with keeping teachers from saying the Klan was morally wrong. But not requiring it is not the same as preventing it.

To keep them from saying it is morally right?

 

[vanceen]

To keep them from saying it is morally right?

First, that would be an extremely unlikely thing for any teacher to say.

Second, if the objective were to keep them from saying something, it would be far simpler to tell them not to say it rather than requiring they say the opposite.

Third, requiring any kind of moral judgement in a curriculum is foolish. Teach the facts. Anyone who learns about the Klan will figure out that they were morally wrong without a teacher stipulating that.