NC Kansas News

There were no new teachers in Kansas City who signed the pledge on Dec. 7, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

The pledge was signed by no teachers on Dec. 6, the day before. It now has 45 pledges from Kansas City teachers.

They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.

Comments from Kansas City teachers included, "I want to be an honest educator. I want to teach the truth to and about my community" and "To change the world, we have to have these difficult discussions and conversations in our classrooms. I will not dilute my curriculum on the whims of some representatives that have never taught in their life. American Exceptionalism has no place in the classroom".

Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.

Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.

Other states, such as Montana and South Dakota, have denounced the teachings without passing specific legislation.

In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon', Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Adriana Paez	We need to start teaching the whole truth about our country’s history and the systemic inequities that persist.
Alec Hinojosa	My wife, Victoria HINOJOSA, continuously works with schools to improve fundamental learning. She is essential to the growth of our youth and needs to be able to talk about all topics she sees appropriate.
Amanda Campbell	Failure to teach all of our students an accurate history dooms us to continue the mistakes of the past, rather than to build and grow.
Andrea Ways Newman	Without the truth, things will never change for the better
Angela Lea	all students should learn the truth. History, even hard history, needs to be taught to all.
Ashley Swansonhoye	No comment
Ashly Emerson	I want to be an honest educator. I want to teach the truth to and about my community.
Caitlin Clark	We need to reckon with our past to build a better future, and we can’t reckon with it unless we learn the truth.
Chelsea Dahlstrom	America can only heal our future when we face our past.
Christina Dismang	To change the world, we have to have these difficult discussions and conversations in our classrooms. I will not dilute my curriculum on the whims of some representatives that have never taught in their life. American Exceptionalism has no place in the classroom.
Crystal Yakel-Kuntz	In order to live in peace and joy, we must teach historical truth that moves us toward justice and equity.
Cynthia Kraus	The children of this country deserve to know the truth about the country they inhabit. It was not until I turned 18 that I learned about the atrocities of oppression that have occurred in our country over the last 500+ years. Getting the full story in school will allow children to form their own opinions about political and social issues, discover who they truly are, and know that the adults in their life are telling them the truth, even the ugly parts. It will help children see that life is both and. Life is both beautiful and hard. Our country's history is both exciting and horrific. Our children deserve to know the full truth.
Debra Cullom	I believe in justice for all.
Diane Bosilevac	No comment
Dustin Wiley	There is a NWO coming
Elizabeth Mounteer	Our students deserve the truth.
Elyse Max	No comment
Hannah Duff	No comment
Jaime Ursic	I believe in multiple perspectives being shared and taught
Janet Gordanza	The truth needs to be taught. We need to fight racism with racism. It’s the vaccine all kids should must be required to take. We are the woke supremacy!
Jennifer Durbin	No comment
John Tramel	I know that we all need to be liberated from a cultural of white supremacy that is physically, mentally, and emotionally dangerous and damaging to Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color and is deteriorating the souls of white people.
Katie Jones	No comment
Kimberly Hunter	Love and healing require truth. Also, I follow Jesus, who teaches “truth will set you free.”
Kourtney Vincent-Woodbury	No comment
Kristen Norgard	Black lives matter!! We need to be teaching the truth and I refuse to lie to my students!
Laci Bostick	No comment
Lauren Robinette	No comment
Lisa Gann	No comment
Lyndsey Stailey	No comment
Mallory Hutchings-Tryon	No comment
Matthew Peterson	My students deserve to see themselves and their identities in the lessons being taught in my classroom and every classroom. Teaching about oppression and those who have worked to change oppressive structures empowers my students to think critically about what they want society to be and how their actions matter. In my classroom we will always seek to include all voices; especially those that have been historically marginalized and ignored.
Natalie Koster	Students need to learn the truth about American history.
Natalie Wolf	Teaching students the truth about history and today's society is essential in working towards a more equitable future.
Niki Scott	As a teacher, I will continue to teach history based in fact. Racism is a part of American History, as is slavery. To whitewash our history is to fail my students and I will do everything in my power to teach truth.
Rachel Ohlhausen	As a resident of Missouri, and proud public school graduate (Farmington, MO High School, Class of 2011) it was crucial that my teachers had honest conversations with us. The public education system is full of diverse teachers from all sides of the political spectrum. It is important that no freedom of information or speech is limited. This includes being honest about our history and talking through the ways that our past impacts us today. It is impossible to be a part of the current climate and not talk about racism, history, sexism and more. These conversations are healthy and needed. In the future, I want to raise my own children in the public school system. Support our amazing teachers of Missouri. Stop taking away their ability to foster learning and growth - we will all pay for this negatively in the future if we don't act today!
Raymond Taddeo	I believe in teaching the truth. I believe that you can love your country and also reckon with its history; the good and the bad. I believe that students deserve to be able to know about the history and growth of their country. They deserve to imagine an even better future than the one we've always imagined for the next generation. Anything less than that is a disservice to the country.
Raymond Taddeo	I pledge to teach the truth. A pledge to teach a non-eurocentric viewpoint of history.
Rebecca Brown	As a teacher, I believe that the United States is only as strong as its truth. We must be willing to teach the full history of our nation so that we can truly understand and respect each other enough to work together to fix the problems we face and build a better country for our children.
Sarah Knoll	My students deserve to know the truth.
Susan Garrett	I am an educator in this area and it is critical to teach the truth to our students. Every semesters students express how much they have learned that they were never taught in elementary or high school. They express how important it is to understand the societal issues can have adverse effects on the health of populations, particularly with those who have been historically marginalized. This type of learning and class discussion better prepares students to be great health care professionals.
Tracey Hughes	...I've spent way too many years of my life learning, then repeating, inaccuracies about this nation's history, while simultaneously living under many of the negative effects of those inaccuracies. It's not enough to say that this is a nation that values diversity & equality if we're not willing to *do the work* to help foster that diversity & equality...and that includes learning & teaching the ACTUAL truth and nuances about this nation, not the redacted or revised narratives that keeps everyone misled.
Uli Schneider	Truth is liberating and necessary for change to actually happen. Without truth in history we are simply perpetuating a system built on lies.
Valorie Engholm	No comment
Victoria Garcia	I believe our children have the right to know the truth to use at their own discretion.