Why Didn't We Learn About This In High School?
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In case you have not been paying attention lately, there are a lot of people, including some state legislative bodies, that are very angry with a new theoretical framework of historical analysis called, “Critical Race Theory” or “CRT.” CRT, they argue, professes that all white people (children included) are inherently racist and hold at least a share of personal responsibility for all the wrongs that have been inflicted on people of color throughout the history of the United States. They say that Critical Race Theorists are the real racists and that anti-racism education is merely a mask for a massive propaganda machine designed to shame white children in school. Furthermore, teachers are refusing to teach the real, star spangled awesome truth of U.S. History and instead are working to indoctrinate students into a radical leftist agenda. Fox News host Tucker Carlson has championed the anti-CRT movement lending his loud voice to the cause for banning CRT in school districts across the country.
None of that is true, well except for Carlson and Fox News.
CRT is not a new theoretical framework, in fact it has been around for decades. It is most definitely not part of any curriculum in public elementary or secondary schools and it does not attempt to make white children feel guilty for all the historical sins of Europeans. Teachers have been live streaming their classes throughout the pandemic and so if there is attempted indoctrination of students happening, there should be load and loads of video exposing it - there is none. And pretty much anything Tucker Carlson supports should give you pause to consider what side you are on. It should also be noted that like the term “socialism” CRT has become a sort of overused catch all to describe everything people do not understand or do not like. For example, it was pointed out to me that discussing the dichotomy of the Founding Fathers’ slave ownership and their devotion to individual liberty and free government was bringing CRT into the classroom. This is not CRT, this is just history. The fact that discussing contextual historical truths makes so many people angry or uncomfortable betrays the fact that they simply wish to look at history in a Disneyesque alternate reality.
With all of that being said, the real focus of this post is not to discuss CRT, but something that has emerged in correlation to the focus on CRT. Of all the common anti-educational and anti-teacher tropes that are thrown around, it is perhaps the most infuriating. You have probably said it or posted it… and probably recently. So common is the use of this charge that it is just largely accepted as truth and seen as fair criticism of the educational system and of teachers. The levy of which I am speaking is of course, “Hey, why didn’t we (I) learn this in high school.” This needs to be unpacked a bit.
First, I would be delusional to argue that curriculum, specifically history and social studies curriculum, is not in need of some major overhaul. There are massive holes in our history courses, specifically in how we teach United States history and Civics. Look no further than the number of folks who had never heard of the 1921 assault on the Greenwood district in Tulsa and the ensuing massacre of its black residents as evidence of that. My position here is not that there are not problems with how and what we teach, especially when it comes to how and what we teach about race and our sometimes ugly history, rather it is just that not all the holes in your historical and cultural knowledge is the result of the holes in curriculum.
Social media is largely an echo chamber of our own design, but it still can provide some useful information into how folks perceive reality. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen things like, “Share this if you think the Pledge of Allegiance should be said in schools!” or “They should teach how to balance a checkbook!” or my personal favorite, “Share this if you think they should still teach cursive in schools!” I’ll break these down real quick:
The Pledge is said in schools. Every. Single. Day. Stop sharing stupid things.
The use of a checkbook is just using basic addition and subtraction. It is taught in school. And, almost no one under fifty uses an actual checkbook or checks. Stop sharing stupid things.
No one needs to know cursive. Why are you mad about this? Stop sharing stupid things.
These types of things is why I mostly roll my eyes when people start rage posting about what is, or what should or should not be taught in public schools. It is pretty clear to those of us who work in public schools that the people posting these things have very little idea what actually happens in school. A few months ago when another post about CRT blew up on the local town Facebook page, I engaged with a concerned citizen. His comment stated, “Teachers should not be indoctrinating our children in school! They should just teach the facts!” I responded, “Do you have anything to suggest that this is actually happening?”
“No!” He replied, “I don’t know what is going on in school.”
“Okay, so there no evidence that it is happening, but you still wanted to let everyone know that it should not be happening?”
“Just because there is no evidence doesn’t mean it is not happening.”
“I would argue that it does, actually. And as you just said, you don’t know what is going on in school.”
People are mad and they do not know why.
So when I hear or see someone comment, “Why didn’t they teach us this in school?”, I usually take it with a grain of salt, but it irks me. So to answer that question, I offer the following:
Lots of times, you were taught these things in high school, but you were not paying attention, or you didn't care, or it's been decades since you were in high school and you forgot. Granted, really important things get missed and curriculum NEEDS to be updated, but sometimes, it was you.
Do you really think high school history is going to cover every event from history - like ALL of history?
At some point, it is on YOU to keep learning. You think history teachers stopped learning history after college? No, we constantly read and continue learning. You are an adult, if you think you have some blind spots in your historical knowledge, read a book (or several). I don't blame my high school math teachers because I didn't learn all of "math" or that I have forgotten much of what they taught me. They taught me those skills and I made a choice to not continue that part of my education. That is on me, not on them.
Take ownership of your own continued education. And just in case you skipped over the opening Latin phrase and did not bother to look it up…
“Not to know what happened before you were born, is remain forever a child.”
-Cicero