Have you voted in the school board elections yet? There is still time. The good news is that finally there are candidates, mostly parents of school age children, who come from outside the educational establishment, competing for the open positions. They offer a different perspective and when elected, their presence will challenge their fellow board members with alternative ideas, directions and answers. But how do you know which of the candidates represent your values and which do not?
Are you familiar with Critical Race Theory (CRT)? It is a crucial issue of our times and is quickly being adopted in schools across America. What is Critical Race Theory? If you are not familiar with it, read an article published by Christopher Rufo “How to fight Critical Race Theory” at https://christopherrufo.com/how-to-fight-critical-race-theory/.
In that article he states: “Critical race theory is an academic discipline… built on the intellectual framework of identity-based Marxism. …; over the past decade it has increasingly become the default ideology in our public institutions. It has been injected into government agencies, public school systems, teacher training programs, and corporate human resources departments in the form of diversity training programs, human resources modules, public policy frameworks, and school curricula.”
This is a crucial issue that will quickly identify those candidates who hold traditional American values and those who do not. There is a carefully crafted set of words and phrases that CRT supporters employ. When you ask a school board candidate any questions, listen intently to the words that they use. Some of the key words and phrases to watch for are: equity, diversity, inclusiveness, systemic racism, anti-racist, culturally responsive, the oppressors and the oppressed, hateful language, trigger warnings, white privilege and white supremacy.
The word equity can be most revealing. Have you noticed that you rarely hear the word equality anymore? Why? According to Rufo; “Equity.., sounds non-threatening and is easily confused with the American principle of equality” and “In contrast to equality, equity as defined and promoted by critical race theorists is little more than reformulated Marxism. …An equity-based form of government would mean the end not only of private property, but also of individual rights, equality under the law, federalism, and freedom of speech. These would be replaced by race-based redistribution of wealth, group-based rights, active discrimination, and omnipotent bureaucratic authority.”
Ask the candidate what the concept of equity means to them and if they support its use as a guiding principle in the school administration and curriculum. Other suggestions for questions to ask are: who are oppressors and who are oppressed in our culture? What do you mean by white privilege? Can a person who believes that they are anti-racist really be a racist? Can you define “hateful speech and provide some examples? What do you mean by diversity and how is it to be achieved?
In this election we still have an opportunity to elect people who will uphold and defend our traditional American values, not the least of which is equality!
Get educated, ask questions, demand answers, choose carefully, share your findings and insights with friends and relatives and then proudly cast your vote.