A Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) educator and administrator in the largest school district in Indiana addressed parents in a video in which he asserted when school officials say they are not teaching Critical Race Theory (CRT), “we’re lying.”
In the video posted Thursday, Tony Kinnett introduced himself as “the science coach and admin in the largest public school district in Indiana.”
This means, “I’m in dozens of classrooms a week,” he said. “So, I see exactly what we’re teaching our students.”
“When we tell you that schools aren’t teaching Critical Race Theory that it’s nowhere in our standards, that’s misdirection,” Kinnett declared, addressing the fact that many parents who have voiced concerns about the teaching of the tenets of CRT in their schools have been told the Marxist-based philosophy is not to be found in K-12 classrooms.
“We don’t have the quotes and theories as state standards per se,” Kinnett explained in his video. “We do have Critical Race Theory in how we teach.”
He elaborated, citing some sources of the instruction used to indoctrinate students in his school district:
We tell our teachers to treat students differently based on color. We tell our students that every problem is a result. of “white men,” and that everything Western civilization built is racist. Capitalism is a tool of white supremacy. Those are straight out of Kimberly Crenshaw’s main points, verbatim, in Critical Race Theory, the Writings That Formed the Movement.
This is in math, history, science, English, the arts, and it’s not slowing down. If students of color have lower reading scores, it’s because of inequity. Therefore, we take from the “white students” and give to the “color” students. That’s Richard Delgado straight out of CRT an Introduction.
All teaching is political, with reality and facts taking a back seat. That’s Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, who outlined how she saw Critical Race Theory flushed out in public schools in 1995.
“When schools tell you that we aren’t teaching Critical Race Theory, it means one thing, go away and look into our affairs no further,” Kinnett said. “It isn’t about transparency. It isn’t about cultural relevance. It’s race essentialism painted to look like the district cares about students of color.”
“We call it anti-racism,” he continued. “So, you feel bad if you disagree with our segregationist pedagogy. It’s taking advantage of kids’ vulnerability, and parents’ inactivity to preen over social snake-oil schemes designed to create division.”
“Parents,” Kinnett said. “When we tell you Critical Race Theory isn’t taught in our schools, we’re lying. Keep looking.”
The top officials of the National School Boards Association (NSBA) wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden at the end of September they were requesting federal law assistance due to “many public school officials are also facing physical threats because of propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula.”
“This propaganda continues despite the fact that critical race theory is not taught in public schools and remains a complex law school and graduate school subject well beyond the scope of a K-12 class,” the NSBA officials asserted, continuing the narrative of American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and numerous superintendents of schools throughout the country who have denied CRT is being taught in their school districts, despite partnering with companies that train teachers in the tenets of CRT so that they are equipped to indoctrinate their students.
In September, the United States Conference of Mayors adopted a resolution during its annual convention in which its members pledged to support the teaching of CRT in K-12 schools.
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the nation’s mayors support the implementation of CRT in the public education curriculum to help engage our youth in programming that reflects an accurate, complete account of BIPOC history,” the mayors stated.
In July, the National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers’ union, also moved to openly promote the teaching of CRT in K-12 schools, and to oppose any bans on instruction in both the Marxist ideology and the widely discredited New York Times’ “1619 Project.”
The union agreed to “research the organizations attacking educators,” doing what it referred to as “anti-racist work,” as well as to “use the research already done and put together a list of resources and recommendations for state affiliates, locals, and individual educators to utilize when they are attacked.”
NEA dismissed the outrage of grassroots parents, claiming the main critics of CRT are “well-funded” conservative groups.
“The attacks on anti-racist teachers are increasing, coordinated by well-funded organizations such as the Heritage Foundation,” the union said. “We need to be better prepared to respond to these attacks so that our members can continue this important work.”
NEA’s adoption of the resolutions will commit President Becky Pringle “to make public statements across all lines of media that support racial honesty in education including but not limited to critical race theory.”