Virginia teacher says critical race theory has damaged community as frustrated parents demand changes
From WWW.FOXNEWS.COM
An Advanced Placement Government teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia is speaking out about what she calls "Marxist" ideas that have prompted intense infighting among county residents.
"We're told that we're living in a county that's suffering from systemic racism and I think that that whole notion has done nothing but damage our community and our school since they began pushing equity," teacher Monica Gill told Fox News this week.
She added that teachers were told to "disrupt and dismantle this systemic racism. And I can tell you, one thing that's for sure, it has been disruptive because there are parents who disagree with this ideology, there are teachers who disagree with it, there are students who disagree with it — and it is harmful."
Her comments came amid a raging debate over the county's controversial equity and diversity trainings, forms of which have surfaced in schools across the country.
On Tuesday, the frustration among Loudoun's parents once again burst forth during a contentious school board meeting. With plenty of mic-drop moments, the vast majority of in-person guest speakers lambasted ideas associated with critical race theory or the county's stalled reopening in the pandemic.
Parents have repeatedly accused the administration of providing insufficient responses to their complaints. As of recent, they've demanded a town hall where parents and officials would purportedly have a more in-depth discussion about the ideas pervading teacher trainings.
Like Gill, parents who spoke with Fox News this week indicated that the ideas taught by the school district had created division within the county.
At one point in Tuesday's meeting, an educator accused the school board of being "fascists" in their pursuit of racialized curricula.
"You are racists now, you are the fascists, you are the oppressors," said Jeremy Wright, a teacher at Douglass School.
He later told Fox News that "there was a lot that motivated" him not to make that speech. "I feel like I'm kind of walking a tight rope when I go in there and this one I made pretty personal because I just think that they're not listening."
The county has maintained that it doesn't utilize critical race theory (CRT).
"In explaining LCPS' equity priorities, it might be helpful to state what they are not. They are not an effort to indoctrinate students and staff into a particular philosophy or theory. What they are is an effort to provide a welcoming, inclusive, affirming environment for all students," said Interim Superintendent Scott A. Ziegler.
"LCPS' work on equity is a journey that requires the commitment of staff at all levels. I feel the staff's work, which has been sustained, honest and undertaken in good faith, has been misrepresented recently by some members of the public," he added.
However, opponents have suggested that the buzzwords and concepts employed are too similar not to be an advancement of CRT.
Once an obscure phrase confined to academia and high school debate rounds, CRT has garnered significant attention in the wake of George Floyd's death. Across the nation, curricula has surfaced with controversial claims linking widespread racism and White supremacy to seemingly neutral activities. For example, the states of Oregon and California have promoted materials suggesting that math contains racist elements that must be dismantled.
Loudoun parent Scott Mineo leads Parents Against Critical Race Theory with a website that continually tracks instances like these. While ideas surrounding equity and diversity have been in public education for years, public outcry has skyrocketed in recent months. Mineo told Fox News that an "awakening" occurred when the school district criticized Dr. Seuss books for carrying "racial undertones." Although headlines framed the issue as Seuss getting cancelled, the school district later clarified it wasn't banning any of his books.
The use of CRT has been defended by some.
In a statement last year, the county indicated equity trainings were key to addressing racial disparities and bias.
It read: "In addition to ensuring a racially-conscious, identity-affirming, and culturally responsive learning space for every student and employee, Loudoun County Public Schools is committed to decreasing disparities, increasing opportunities and participation outcomes for rigorous learning, dismantling barriers and interrupting the status quo for the development of stronger equitable practices."
Angela Onwuachi-Willig, an expert on critical race theory at Boston University School of Law, told the Boston Globe, that critical race theory helped people understand the complexity of race – beyond "simple" narratives that they may have been taught.
"Racism is not extraordinary," she continued. "Race and racism are basically baked into everything we do in our society. It’s embedded in our institutions. It’s embedded in our minds and hearts."
Over the past year, parents and school officials have been pitted against each other in abnormally hostile ways due to tension surrounding CRT.
Perhaps the most striking example of this involves a secret online group, members of whom critics have labeled as the "Chardonnay Antifa." School board members have been identified as members of the "Anti-racist parents of Loudoun County" Facebook group. They have allegedly compiled a list of critical race theory opponents and attempted to track, hack and "doxx" them.
David Gordon, who leads the anti-CRT Virginia Project, provided a number of screenshots allegedly taken from the private group that he said showed evidence of an attempt at soliciting cybercriminals to go after groups opposed to teaching and taxpayer funding CRT programs.
In one post, a group member shared "a call for volunteers" to combat anti-CRT advocates and websites. She asked for volunteers to help "gather information" on critics of the controversial race-based education platform, to "infiltrate" their groups and sought "hackers who can either shut down their websites or redirect them."
Others show group members listing the names, addresses and workplaces of community members they disagree with.
The full extent of board members' involvement is unclear but they've been accused of tacitly allowing efforts to intimidate CRT opponents. At least one member -- Beth Barts -- has been censured in relation to her social media activity, and was stripped of her committee assignments.
In a statement, the board found that "the confidential, attorney-client information from closed session was disclosed recently by Ms. Barts without authorization regarding social media." March's censure motion also stated that Barts violated the county's code of conduct by, among other things, failing to create a welcoming environment for residents. The incident seemed to underscore division in the county as parents outside of the board room reportedly cheered last month in response to the chair announcing additional sanctions against Barts.
A parent who spoke on the con... (Read more)
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