Pros And Cons Of Critical Race Theory

The world’s history is not perfect. Events occurred and lessons were learned. With the critical race theory booming within school environments, it is becoming very hard for teachers to discuss the world’s past. The critical race theory could negatively impact teachers' jobs, misinform teachers concerning politically acceptable content, and discourage discussion over the important periods in history that are unchangeable. Therefore, the critical race theory should be disregarded as a new law in school districts. To begin, there is a shortage of teachers and substitutes in classrooms. The critical race theory is causing many teachers across the world to lose occupations. Teachers do not teach with the intention of targeting students. In 1990,

In February 2022, fourteen states passed prohibitions on teaching about racial topics that could possibly cause disagreement or hostility between people. (Krebs). Any topic could arouse disagreement; that’s what makes each human an individual. Different states have stricter or broader interpretations of the critical race theory that do not punish teachers for merely teaching a concept that exists without advocating for the truth of the concept. Joshua Gutzmann analyzed the pros and cons from broader interpretations leaving teachers skeptical about which curriculum is allowed to be taught. He found, “Educators fearing a broad interpretation of these bans do not feel comfortable teaching critical aspects of the U.S. History, including slavery, the Civil War, World War II, and the Holocaust,” (Gutzmann). Aside from teachers, librarians within school districts are affected by the critical race theory. Librarians are struggling to uphold books on shelves for students. Recently, the Supreme Court stated school boards cannot restrict library books because members disagree with the content that is being portrayed. The board argued back that the books were “anti-America and anti-Christian”. The Supreme Court ruled this violated the First Amendment relating to Tinker vs. Des Moines, a supreme

The past is what unleashed the problems the critical race theory is causing. In order to prevent issues such as racism, gender inequalities, etc., the past must be able to be rationalized. Analyst of K-12 teachers’ speech protection, Lindsay Krebs, stated, “Conservative proponents purport that these laws protect objective, unbiased, and balanced teaching by preventing teachers from introducing concepts about racism,” (Krebs). Slavery and women's suffrage are controversial topics that are necessary to reiterate because there is no moving forward without getting uncomfortable. Working for the Administration of Education Programs, Joshua Gutzmann expresses, “Schools should prepare students for democratic life, noting that access to ideas makes it possible for citizens to exercise their rights of free speech and press in a meaningful manner, such access prepares students for active and effective participation in society in which they will soon be adult members,” (Gutzmann). Stepping aside from historic topics, music has also been accused of being racially motivated within schools. Due to the fact that not all cultures of music are taught in a musical classroom comes off offensive and disregarding of other ethnic backgrounds. Hypocritically, if other cultures of music were to be talked upon, this would come off as targeting a specific ethnic background. Chiao-Wei Liu, a professor at the College of Columbia