When it comes to CRT, excellence in schools should be the goal
To the editor,
In managing editor Travis Mounts’ recent “Random Thoughts,” entitled “Bevy of bad bills flood the Statehouse,” Mounts likens Kansas legislators to extremists who want “to tear down public education.”
As a former Kansan and teacher myself, I was definitely interested in how Mounts thought this was happening. He claimed public school attacks were being fueled by opposition to CRT – a concept, he notes, few really understand.
Unfortunately, his explanation did little to help explain the theory, simply dismissing it as an “advanced-level college discipline” that is definitely not taught in K-12 schools. Interestingly, his dismissal reminded me of another dismissal of CRT by an organization very attached to public education – the NEA (National Education Association). The nation’s largest teachers’ union took action at its 2021 annual meeting to promote critical race theory in American classrooms when it adopted New Business Item 39 and explicitly stated “we oppose attempts to ban critical race theory.”
But almost as quickly as this item was adopted, it was suddenly dismissed from their website, citing the need to do opposition research on groups that might oppose inserting CRT into educational frameworks. If Mounts and the NEA are so concerned about reactions to CRT being taught (or not) in schools, wouldn’t school transparency help the public understand what this framework truly entails?
Transparency should not be implemented in a way to burden teachers, but rather help all sides have a clearer understanding and access to curriculums. Some Kansas school districts’ websites certainly show their strategic plans and administrational structures are influenced by critical race theory. But theory and strategic plans are not the same as the actual curriculum being implemented. Wanting to know what kids are learning is not tantamount to wanting to tear down public education.
Mounts suggests that those opposing his opinion need some self-reflection. I think both sides need to reassess what their agendas truly are. If their answer is anything other than excellence in Kansas’ educational system, then they are, indeed, failing our students.
Emily Pauly
Fischer, Texas
Beautiful Kansas
To the Editor,
Ah, Kansas! Beautiful sunsets, golden wheat fields, Dorothy and Toto, abortion capital of the USA.
This is what we are facing thanks to our Wizards of Oz (the Kansas Supreme Court). Already, women are coming from other states for abortions because of a ruling from the court.
The remedy for this is an amendment to our state constitution, scheduled to have a public vote on Aug. 2, 2022.
Value them both (mother and child). Vote “yes.”
Stephen J. Lange,
Conway Springs
To the editor,
In managing editor Travis Mounts’ recent “Random Thoughts,” entitled “Bevy of bad bills flood the Statehouse,” Mounts likens Kansas legislators to extremists who want “to tear down public education.”
As a former Kansan and teacher myself, I was definitely interested in how Mounts thought this was happening. He claimed public school attacks were being fueled by opposition to CRT – a concept, he notes, few really understand.
Unfortunately, his explanation did little to help explain the theory, simply dismissing it as an “advanced-level college discipline” that is definitely not taught in K-12 schools. Interestingly, his dismissal reminded me of another dismissal of CRT by an organization very attached to public education – the NEA (National Education Association). The nation’s largest teachers’ union took action at its 2021 annual meeting to promote critical race theory in American classrooms when it adopted New Business Item 39 and explicitly stated “we oppose attempts to ban critical race theory.”
But almost as quickly as this item was adopted, it was suddenly dismissed from their website, citing the need to do opposition research on groups that might oppose inserting CRT into educational frameworks. If Mounts and the NEA are so concerned about reactions to CRT being taught (or not) in schools, wouldn’t school transparency help the public understand what this framework truly entails?
Transparency should not be implemented in a way to burden teachers, but rather help all sides have a clearer understanding and access to curriculums. Some Kansas school districts’ websites certainly show their strategic plans and administrational structures are influenced by critical race theory. But theory and strategic plans are not the same as the actual curriculum being implemented. Wanting to know what kids are learning is not tantamount to wanting to tear down public education.
Mounts suggests that those opposing his opinion need some self-reflection. I think both sides need to reassess what their agendas truly are. If their answer is anything other than excellence in Kansas’ educational system, then they are, indeed, failing our students.
Emily Pauly
Fischer, Texas
Beautiful Kansas
To the Editor,
Ah, Kansas! Beautiful sunsets, golden wheat fields, Dorothy and Toto, abortion capital of the USA.
This is what we are facing thanks to our Wizards of Oz (the Kansas Supreme Court). Already, women are coming from other states for abortions because of a ruling from the court.
The remedy for this is an amendment to our state constitution, scheduled to have a public vote on Aug. 2, 2022.
Value them both (mother and child). Vote “yes.”
Stephen J. Lange,
Conway Springs
