“As we fire the teachers who sexually abuse our children, we will be firing the teachers who do racist things to our children and traumatize them,” the teacher said.
A Beaverton, Ore. teacher spoke out on a Zoom call to let teachers know that if they are not actively encouraging Critical Race Theory for their kids they are being abusive.
Katherine Watkins identifies herself as an 8th grade humanities teacher at Cedar Park Middle School and notes that her pronouns are "she, her, we and us."
"I'm gonna say something that's not nice and not sweet," she told the assembled teachers on the Zoom call, "but it's true. If you're not evolving into an anti-racist educator, you're making yourself obsolete in this field and profession.
8th grade Portland, OR teacher has a message for her fellow teachers:
Teachers that DO NOT teach anti-racism are abusing children. Either start teaching anti-racism or the district will fire you.
(Notice how many of the other teachers on the call are nodding in agreement) pic.twitter.com/xlUrkeMCu6
— Mythinformed MKE (@MythinformedMKE)
"Our district is only getting browner and browner with our children, and so if y'know, obviously you can't change your melanin, but you can change your mind so that you can actually function in a district that is full of BIPOC children," Watkins said, while the others on the call nodded and smiled in agreement.
"So if you're being resistant, I understand that," Watkins said. "But you're gonna hafta eventually come to the light," she said, intoning a religious metaphor. Her LinkedIn bio reads: "Humanities Teacher (8th) at Beaverton School District - Antiracist Educator, Racial Trauma Informed, Speaker, Writer."
"Because if you're going to keep with those old views of colonialism, it's gonna lead to being fired because you're going to be doing damage to our children—trauma—and so as we fire the teachers who sexually abuse our children, we will be firing the teachers who do racist things to our children and traumatize them.
"And while our district might not be completely on there, OEA is working on it. Alright? NEA is working on it. And so it's just a matter of time. So you either evolve or dissolve. You've got to start long with us," she said.
Watkins has a two masters degrees, both in education and in creative writing, and has been an educator for over 16 years in the Beaverton School District alone, with stints in other Oregon schools prior to that.
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