AFT president Randi Weingarten, who has done everything in her power to keep schools enslaved to the teachers’ union during the pandemic, is also a proponent of critical race theory.
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten, who has done everything in her power to keep schools enslaved to the teachers' union during the pandemic, is also a proponent of critical race theory.
"All of a sudden you're hearing people talk about critical race theory," Weingarten said, "people who have no idea what that term means. Or trying to ban the 1619 Project because it is trying to do exactly what you're saying, which is trying to do exactly what you're saying, which is to actually teach a factual version of oppression in America. Oppression, abused people who are in the indigenous nation and oppression against people who were enslaved."
Weingarten has been an advocate of keeping schools closed, as well, and recently tweeted out her belief that parents "saw teachers as glorified babysitters." She said that people "got a reality check this year when schooling had to be done at home," and that "Teachers deserve respect and recognition for all of the ways they help communities."
I think many people who saw teachers as glorified babysitters got a reality check this year when schooling had to be done at home. Teachers deserve respect and recognition for all of the ways they help communities. https://t.co/JTX1Kc7NUP
— Randi Weingarten (@rweingarten)
And she's right, parents' eyes were opened during the pandemic. While kids were sitting at home before virtual learning screens, parents got a glimpse into what was being taught, and in many cases, they didn't like what they saw.
Critical race theory, that concept that every historical and contemporary event, every work of literature and art, can and should be looked at first through the lens of racism, pervaded curriculum across the country. It became more obvious in the wake of George Floyd's death, when school districts were falling all over themselves to explain the incident and the forthcoming riots, but it was making headway in classrooms long before that.
It was during the pandemic, as Weingarten notes, and during the incessant, frustrating, and nearly useless remote learning sessions, that parents became aware that teachers and the course of study were not as effective as they'd previously believed.
Weingarten kept kids home because she was either too afraid of COVID or too interested in milking the opportunity to make a cash and ideology grab via federal legislation. But parents haven't played along, they don't like remote school and they don't like critical race theory.
The New York Times, which put out the 1619 Project, helped turn it into curriculum and accelerated critical race theory indoctrination by providing the tools to do so, has downplayed its impact. But several states have begun banning the theory from being taught in public schools, including Texas, Tennessee, and Arizona.
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