Sara Gregory,
The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot
Nothing has ever ravaged classrooms worse than the COVID-19 virus, but the most impassioned discourse in American education right now has nothing to do with the pandemic.
Instead, as the leader of Hampton Roadsâ largest school district put it, a panic over lessons on so-called âcritical race theoryâ is dominating the publicâs attention.
âAll this noise is starting to drown out the âwhyâ of our work as educators,â Virginia Beach Superintendent Aaron Spence wrote in a Virginian-Pilot column last weekend. âThe boil over this needs to be brought down to a simmer.â
As battles flare across Virginia, including in Bedford, Botetourt and Franklin counties in the Roanoke region, here are some answers about what critical race theory is â and whatâs behind the political war that has engulfed the nationâs schools.