A recent school board meeting in Loudon County, Virginia, turned so heated that attendees faced off in dueling protests and people were hauled off in handcuffs. The main point of disagreement was over the teaching (real or imaginary) of critical race theory (CRT) in public school classrooms, and parents' feelings over that controversial nominally anti-racist but really racially obsessed ideology. The conflict represented an escalation in the ongoing national curriculum wars that, like all such battles, could be peacefully settled by recognizing families' rights to choose educational approaches instead of surrendering children to the whims of government bureaucrats.
"Parents protesting against critical race theory broke into the national anthem when the Loudoun Co., Virginia school board ended public comment because the crowd got too out of hand," Reuters' Gabriella Borter tweeted June 22. "The Loudoun County sheriff's office declared the school board meeting an unlawful assembly. Everyone told to get out or will be trespassing. Two arrests made."
The confrontation in Loudon County is part of a national debate over critical race theory (a subset of overarching critical theory) and related belief systems which, in the guise of deconstructing oppressive and hierarchical human relationships instead strip people of individuality and reduce them to representatives of group identities. This intellectual movement rejects rationalism and objectivity, and brands the West, in general, and the United States, in particular, as irredeemably racistbut its collectivism breeds racism every bit as pernicious as anything cooked up by the Ku Klux Klan.
In response, some states are banning the teaching of CRTan approach that threatens to turn advocates of the ideology into free speech martyrs fighting the entrenched establishment. Trinity College's Isaac Kamola argues that many Americans oppose the ideology "because academic, journalistic and movement efforts to critically interrogate the lasting impact of slavery and American racism fundamentally challenge the free market fundamentalist ideology." That's a wildly tendentious claim, but ideological bans lend it a gloss of credibility.
Bans also run afoul of the difficulty inherent in trying to filter ideas which can be taught without use of a red-flag brand name, or by teachers who unknowingly absorb assumptions which permeate academia and then pass them on to students without reference to specific scholarly sources. Removing ideas from their origins makes it easier to pretend the ideology has little presence in classrooms.
"No, 6-year-olds are not being taught Derrick Bell or forced to read Judith Butler, or God help them, Kimberl Crenshaw," observes writer Andrew Sullivan. "Of course they aren't and I don't know anyone who says they are. But they are being taught popularized terms, new words, and a whole new epistemology that is directly downstream of academic critical theory."
Sullivan compares the role of CRT in many schools' curricula to lessons in Catholic school, which don't dwell on theological intricacies but do pass along the religion's values. Also, he points out, CRT rejects the foundations of the liberal order in free and open societies. That ups the ante on the decades-long national battles over what is taught in public school classrooms.
"Rather than build bridges, public schooling often forces people into wrenching, zerosum conflict," notes the Cato Institute's Public Schooling Battle Map, which tracked such debates long before the current controversy. "Think creationism versus evolution, or assigned readings containing racial slurs. The conflicts are often intensely personal, and guarantee if one fundamental value wins, another loses."
That said, families that choose how their children learnmy own includedrather than defaulting to government-run institutions don't have to lose anything because we have largely escaped these battles. By homeschooling, or micro-schooling, or picking private or charter schools, we can avoid curricula permeated with ideas we find toxic and select those that present ideas of which we approve or, even better from my perspective, that encourage open debate among opposing perspectives.
"The kids break into two groups at lunch," my son tells me of his private high school. "The smaller group is really woke and always angry about something. I sit with the larger group of normal kids."
My wife and I aren't worried that the school will suddenly turn into a CRT seminary. We like and trust the administrators and teachers, but we also pay tuition. If the school abandons its open embrace of discussion and debate, we'll stop those payments and educate our son elsewhere.
That's not to say that we're emulating conservative lawmakers by trying to shield our kid from ideas we dislike. Our son is going to encounter them one way or another, so we prepare him to engage with CRT's advocates. This summer, alongside time devoted to fun activities, he's reading Cynical Theories by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, as well as materials that support enlightenment values, individualism, and open debate. You don't fight bad ideas by ignoring them; you have to understand them and their flaws.
Parents that reject liberalism and support CRT also have alternatives to battling over the content of schoolroom lessons. They can introduce their tykes to Ibram X. Kendi's Antiracist Baby Picture Book, marinate their kids in CRT-infused homeschooling, or send them to one of many private schools that offer willing families an education steeped in the ideology. That sounds like a tour through hell, to me, but if that's what they want their kids to learn, let them do so in peace, and without zero-sum arguments about what children are taught in shared institutions.
Then our kids can engage with each other's ideas in a society of diverse viewpoints.
The curriculum wars were nasty enough when they were over competing editions of textbooks spun for conservative school boards in Texas and liberal educators in California, or about whether to call the United States a "democracy" or a "republic." Now that the debate is escalating over more fundamental differences involving the value of liberal ideas, individualism, and rationality, it's difficult to see how Americans of opposing viewpoints can share tax-funded schools that fall on one side or the other of the ideological divide. So let's not even try when we can encourage the growing exodus from public schools to alternatives of all sorts.
We don't need to wage the curriculum wars at all. Instead, let's pick where and how our children are educated, and encourage others to do the same. Then they can hash out their ideas in a society that remains open to disagreement and debate.
Read the rest here:
The Critical Race Theory Debate Wouldn't Matter if We Had More School Choice - Reason
- 'She was impressed by the rationalism of Judaism': Celebrities with surprising religious backgrounds - Yahoo Lifestyle UK - April 2nd, 2024 [April 2nd, 2024]
- "I think, Therefore I Am", What Does This Descartes Quote Mean? - Exploring your Mind - January 7th, 2024 [January 7th, 2024]
- Jacek Tabisz on Humanism and Rationalism in Polish Society - The Good Men Project - January 4th, 2024 [January 4th, 2024]
- Labor icon Bill Hayden to be honoured at state funeral - Yahoo News Australia - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Thom Workman explores the roots of the war on science - NB Media Co-op - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Did the Enlightenment lead to the climate crisis? | Aviva Chomsky - IAI - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Exeter University to Offer Degree in Magic - Redbrick - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- How Apple TV's 'Lessons in Chemistry' compares to the novel - The Spokesman Review - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Rupture and Reconstruction: A Koan About Zen Itself Berggruen ... - Berggruen Institute - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Adamu Fika and persona of the old-school remarkable bureaucrat - Tribune Online - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Craig Newmark Retired from Craigslist. Now He Wants to Save ... - Observer - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Is the US turning into a Christofascist state? - The Real News Network - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Designer John Heffernan reinvented Aston Martin and Bentley with ... - Classic Driver - November 2nd, 2023 [November 2nd, 2023]
- Empiricism and Rationalism: How Immanuel Kant Changed History - January 6th, 2023 [January 6th, 2023]
- What Is Surrealism? | Artsy - December 28th, 2022 [December 28th, 2022]
- Rationalism vs. Empiricism | Concepts, Differences & Examples - Video ... - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Rationalist Judaism: Anti-Rationalism and the Charedi Vote - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Age of Enlightenment - Wikipedia - November 23rd, 2022 [November 23rd, 2022]
- Nizari Isma'ilism - Wikipedia - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Jewish philosophy - Wikipedia - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Humanism - Wikipedia - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Word of God and Work of God - Kashmir Observer - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- [Renaissance, Science and God: Paradox of Modern Western EducationVII] Individualism and Decline of the West - Greater Kashmir - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Exciting Puranic and Siddhantic Cosmology Conference | ISKCON News - ISKCON News - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- How red voracity will be used and thrown in West: The Communism of errors - MyVoice - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Words Mean Things: 'Decolonization' - The Swaddle - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- When Lancashire was rocked by a 2.9 magnitude earthquake the last time fracking came to town - Lancs Live - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- On the brink: How yesterday's fears can help us move through today's war - OnlySky - October 17th, 2022 [October 17th, 2022]
- Rationalism: What Is It and How to Apply It To Everyday Life? - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Rationalism - The Decision Lab - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Rationalism - Teachmint Explanation and Meaning| - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Martin Scorsese: rinse and repeat self-indulgence | Sean Egan - The Critic - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Origin Review - LFF 2022 - HeyUGuys - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- No, Critical Race Theory Isn't About Teaching That 'Slavery Is Real' - The Federalist - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- The Journey of the Holy Shroud of Turin - National Catholic Register - October 8th, 2022 [October 8th, 2022]
- Bengal's Tryst With Alternative Readings Of The Ramayana - Outlook India - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Warm and minimal: Riverview Courtyard House - Architecture AU - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Philosophy of social science - Wikipedia - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Expanding open access to scientific knowledge and discussion - EurekAlert - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Rome & the World: Italys elections and the Church Etienne Gilson 40 years after his death - Aleteia - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Liz Truss and the rise of the libertarian right - The New Statesman - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Debate: Theres Anger at AMU Dropping Maududi, Qutb. But Why is Sir Syeds Islam Not Taught? - The Wire - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- My Say: Allowing corruption is a greater danger than corruption itself - The Edge Markets MY - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- 'Date Me' Google Docs and the Hyper-Optimized Quest for Love - WIRED - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Advaita: Beyond monotheism and polytheism - Times of India - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Looming threats to Pakistans integrity - Global Village space - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Florence Pugh and Sebastin Lelio on the Battle Between Religion and Science in The Wonder - IndieWire - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- How Affirmative Action Was Derailed by Diversity - The Chronicle of Higher Education - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- What's the Issue with Classical Liberalism and Religion? - Independent Institute - September 6th, 2022 [September 6th, 2022]
- Evidently, Biden Does Not Know About the False Positive Risk ... - Substack - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- The Jewish and Intellectual Origins of this Famously Non-Jewish Jew - Jewish Journal - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Culture, progress and the future: Can the West survive its own myths? - Salon - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- William Brooks: From Western Traditions to Political Indoctrination: A Cultural History of Education - The Epoch Times - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Attack On Salman Rushdie Manifests Barbarism In The Name Of Religion: Taslima Nasrin - Outlook India - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Britain doesnt need a public holiday to remember the slave trade - The Spectator - August 29th, 2022 [August 29th, 2022]
- Manny Montes: Origins of critical theory - The Union - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- Overcoming the Aryan-Dravidian divide - The Hindu - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- Kid Stuff: Why Have Artists Been So Drawn to Childrens Books? - ARTnews - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- The Surprising Religious Diversity of America's 13 Colonies - History - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- 'It destroys your soul' - the human toll of war - New Zealand Herald - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- Edinburgh University is learning the hard way that there's a price to pay for going woke - The Telegraph - July 29th, 2022 [July 29th, 2022]
- Aquinas and the State - The American Conservative - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- Jordan Peterson is wrong about the postmodernists - Spiked - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- Had been staying in India since 2015 with a fake passport, voter ID and driving license: Bangladeshi Faisal Ahmed arrested for the murder of Hindu... - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- The Liberation of the Arabs From the Global Left - Tablet Magazine - July 13th, 2022 [July 13th, 2022]
- Roe v. Wade in the dustbin of history - The Spectator Australia - June 30th, 2022 [June 30th, 2022]
- What is Rationalism? | Rationalism Philosophy & Examples - Video ... - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Hume's Fork Explained - Fact / Myth - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Is it time for the dream of North Sydney Bears' long-awaited return to finally become a reality? | Sam Perry - The Guardian - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- It's the economy, stupid - The Spectator Australia - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- Jon Ronson: In 2008 Graham Linehan told me 'Join Twitter, the place where no one fights' - The Irish Times - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- The 50 Most Important People of the Middle Ages - Medievalists.net - June 1st, 2022 [June 1st, 2022]
- New Aussie rules: Conservative values have fallen out of fashion - The Spectator - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- The week in TV: The Essex Serpent; the Baftas; Fergal Keane: Living With PTSD; Clark - The Guardian - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- These Iconic Scenes From The X-Files Ask if We Are Alone in the Universe - 25YearsLaterSite.com - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Rationalism, Pluralism, and Fear in the Speech Debate - Liberal Currents - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- After School Satan Club rejected by Northern York School Board vote - PennLive - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- 12 Reader Views on Where America Is Going Wrong - The Atlantic - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- Bicentenary Year of Mirat-ul-Akhbar: Indias Pioneering Persian Newspaper that Embodied Resistance - NewsClick - April 20th, 2022 [April 20th, 2022]
- The illusion of evidence based medicine - The BMJ - March 18th, 2022 [March 18th, 2022]