A Fairfax County high school in Virginia is teaching students that they are inherently biased, according to a new report.
Centreville High School is now facing criticisms from parents over the concerning curriculum.
The concept of implicit bias has been linked to critical race theory, an academic theory that says the institutions and culture of the U.S. are systemically racist. Parent activists have also derided SEL as a sort of Trojan horse for the theory. https://t.co/83fKDFZpFA
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 17, 2023
The report
“As we strive to create more welcoming and inclusive environments where all students, staff, and community members feel comfortable, it’s important to practice respectful communication strategies with others who may have different beliefs, cultures, or perspectives,” one of the program’s slides says.
“Identifying and understanding our own implicit and explicit biases is very important and something to be mindful of in conversations,” it adds.
Students are asked to consider how their “religious, spiritual, and moral beliefs” inform what they “interpret as good and bad behaviors” and how a student’s “ethnic or racial group” has influenced their “understanding of how people should interact with each other.”
FYI:
Virginia DOE’s website lists “Basic Tenants of Anti-racist Education”, DiAngelo’s “White Fragility”, Urban Institute’s “Structural Racism in America” “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi, “Foundations of Critical Race Theory in Education”…https://t.co/7ksnH5UyZK
— BlindFaithBook (@BlindFaithBook) February 8, 2023
CRT in Virginia
The material is part of the teaching of critical race theory in Virginia public schools despite efforts to stop it.
“Issued by Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow, the interim investigation’s findings include a page taken from the ‘EdEquityVA’ program on the Virginia Department of Education’s website, which provides a list of the ‘Basic Tenants of Anti-racist Education’ sourced directly from Robin DiAngelo’s ‘White Fragility’ and the Urban Institute’s ‘Structural Racism in America,'” the Federalist reported earlier this month.
“Included in the list are statements claiming that ‘[a]ll members of society have been socialized to participate in racist systems’ and ‘[w]hite people benefit from racism, regardless of intentions,'” it added.
The use of critical race theory in the state’s schools is especially notable as Republican Gov. Glenn Younkin ran on a platform of removing it from public education.
“All Virginia students should have the opportunity to receive an excellent education that teaches all history including the good and the bad, prioritizes academic excellence, and fosters equal opportunities for all students,” he said in a statement. “This is the first step in improving Virginia’s education system, restoring high academic expectations, equipping our future generation to be career or college ready, and providing equal opportunities for all Virginia students.”
The evidence now shows that the theory is still taught despite Youngkin’s executive order and push for legislation to ban the practice from the classroom.