7 Jul 2021
On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Deadline: White House,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten criticized anti-critical race theory laws “that contradict the standards that our professional obligations tell us we have to teach” and cited Texas’ law as an example because it “basically says that teachers are supposed to say that slavery is a betrayal of the founding principles of our country. Now, you know that that’s not true.” Weingarten also argued that people on the right “have to find something else to create chaos and fear with” like they did with school reopenings.
Weingarten said states have passed laws “that contradict the standards that our professional obligations tell us we have to teach and we should be teaching. So, I’ll give you an example. Texas’ new law basically says, and I’m not quoting it, but it basically says that teachers are supposed to say that slavery is a betrayal of the founding principles
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Randi Weingarten is not only a liar, but her hubris is remarkable. First, she goes on record saying that CRT is not being taught in America’s public schools.
#CriticalRaceTheory is not taught in K-12 schools. The right’s culture warriors are labeling any discussion of race, racism or discrimination as such to try to make it toxic. They’re bullying teachers to try and keep them from teaching the truth. https://t.co/Plz2inkLke
“Critical Race Theory
is not taught in elementary schools or middle schools or high schools. It’s a method of examination taught in law school and in college that helps analyze whether systemic racism exists. And in particular, whether it has an effect on law and public policy.
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Source: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File
While Critical Race Theory (CRT) heats up the news cycle at the federal, state, and local level, the largest teachers unions are weighing in.
As Leah reported, the National Education Association (NEA) voted to embrace CRT, but by Tuesday afternoon, the promotion of it was gone from the NEA website was gone. Nevertheless, Becky Pringle, president of NEA, and Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), unequivocally promoted CRT and indicated they will defend it and teachers who teach it, as indicated by POLITICO s Morning Education newsletter on Tuesday.
The NEA has approved tens of thousands of dollars to fight back against conservative groups that portray teachers as spreading racist indoctrination under the guise of critical race theory a term born from legal scholarship decades ago, though its meaning today has been distorted, according to the newsletter, which also noted:
CRYSTAL LAKE President Joe Biden pitched his proposed investments in families and education at an Illinois community college on Wednesday, telling residents of the swing district that what s good for families is also good for the economy.
The president set out for the Chicago suburbs to bolster support for both his bipartisan infrastructure deal and a broader package that he expects will be passed with only Democratic votes. His message is one designed to resonate with suburban parents, college graduates and the working poor a coalition that was key to Biden s election win last year.
“There’s a lot of work ahead of us to finish the job, but we’re going to get it done, Biden said in a 30-minute speech that he self-deprecatingly suggested was boring but important. “We’re going to reimagine what our economy and our future could be.”
Bill McGurn and Leo Terrell react on The Story
American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten claimed Wednesday night that many Republican lawmakers are bullying teachers on honest history regarding race, during a livestreamed event headlined by the controversial How to Be an Antiracist author Ibram X Kendi. There are legislators, mostly from the Republican party, who are currently bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching kids honest history, Weingarten told the audience. Look, maybe they are just trying to raise the temperature on race relations because of the next election, she continued.
Weingarten, who leads the roughly 1.7 million-member teacher s union, has delivered remarks at multiple events this week during the AFT s TEACH Virtual Conference 2021 where she has claimed that Republicans are at odds with American teachers.