What is a Teacher Supposed to Teach?
Mary F. Sparks
School of Education, San Diego State University
The Social Context of Education 954
Professor Ron Evans
October 26, 2022
CRT AND TEACHING
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Abstract
Is the Culturally Responsive Teaching that we have been learning about in this teacher education
program here at SDSU, the same as Critical Race Theory? Since there has been so much opposition over
Critical Race Theory in the news, this is the question on many people’s minds. Proponents of Culturally
Responsive Teaching will say it is a research-based teaching method to connect students’ cultures,
languages, and life experiences to the classroom in order to gain access to tougher curricula and higherlevel academic skills. While the intent of Culturally Responsive Teaching “values and reflects the assets
of all students,” those who teach in this style will point out that students of color, English Language
Learners (ELLs), and other underserved populations, always seem to get the shorter end of the stick.
From this point onward the focus again becomes race-related. (ICRTJAROCRT, 2022) This is where the
delineation gets sticky.
Teachers have a lot of power to affect the academic success of the students in their classrooms.
Exercise the strategies that are available to you in the best way that you can within your school's
constraints. As educators, we can support equity by examining our own policies and systems and even
making small changes that can be effective. As we have read in Zarretta Hammond's book, CRT and the
Brain, we can all unpack our implicit bias and make sure we don't take unconscious bias into our
classrooms. While some textbooks are chosen by schools, as teachers we can choose supplements and
case studies that include a wide range of diversity. Above everything else, if you can do nothing else, it is
important to speak up when you encounter inequity in your school. It takes moral courage to speak to
peers and administration about race, sex, and/or gender-related issues, but we must try.
CRT AND TEACHING
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What is a Teacher Supposed to Teach?
Introduction
Since the beginning of teaching as a profession, teachers have been catalysts for shaping the next
generation of Americans. Today is no different, with the No Child Left Behind Act and the inclusion of
Critical Race Theory into public K-12 education in the United States. CRT is a teaching tool that has been
around for almost 50 years, but has only recently, been adopted nationally, into the public education
system. There are many obstacles facing teachers with the inclusion of this theory in the curriculum.
There are many things to consider when deciding what, when, and where as a teacher you can speak on
certain topics as a teacher. I was very interested in this topic because I am a bit confused with what I am
seeing in teaching and what I am learning in teacher education courses. My hope with this essay is to find
some clarification on the subject for both you and me.
Major Theories
The textbook for this class, American Education by Joel Springer, outlines the changing roles of
teachers throughout history. In 1840, through the board of national education, Catherine Beecher recruited
Christian teachers (preferably female) to civilize the west. The position was described as quietly teaching
neatness, order, thrift, and inspiring morality. After the civil war, teachers rushed into the South in the
hopes of creating social equality and political rights for freed slaves. Many teachers were exploited and
demeaned: not allowed to marry, not to be seen in public with romantic interests (men), and they had to
be moral models for the community. An abundance of female (versus male) teachers were recruited
because it was easy to keep their salaries low with the second-class citizenship of females. Because of
this, a multitude of men dropped out of the teaching profession. Over time teachers went from protectors
of morals to social welfare workers and vocational trainers. Teachers were enlisted to combat urban
problems: crowding, epidemics, drugs, and crimes. As well as being expected to prepare students to work
in factories. During this industrial revolution, teachers banded together and began to create the first
teacher's unions. The new role of teachers was to be workers and defenders of industrial life. From the
1920s to the 1950s, teachers were asked to take loyalty oaths to promote Americanism against the threat
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of fascist and communist ideas. School districts around the nation were purged of teachers with leftist
ideas. In the 1950s, teachers were pushed to produce winners of the national technological race with other
countries. In the 1960s, teachers became warriors in War on Poverty programs. In the 1970s, and 80s
teachers were called on to guide students into the labor market. In the 2000s, teachers were expected to
push test-based curricula under the No Child Left Behind Act, in order to retain or increase funding for
their schools and districts. (Springer, 2020) Now, teachers are called on to incorporate Critical Race
Theory (CRT) into the curriculum with opposition from parents, students, other teachers, and staff. This
has sparked an anti-critical race theory movement, in many states. CRT is currently under attack from 36
US states and on the opposite end, 17 US states have made efforts to expand CRT in education, including
California. (Stout, 2022) So, What is Critical Race Theory? Is Critical Race Theory the same as
Culturally Responsive Teaching? What are we supposed to teach and what subjects/ideas/topics are
“Okay” to talk about?
Critical Race Theory is used as a theoretical framework to help provide focus and organization to
research and teaching practices concerning race. The theory has become a topic of discussion with
families in America due to media attention and protests in school communities. There is a lot of resistance
toward CRT and there have been many calls to ban CRT from K-12 curriculum. Media coverage claims
that parents and communities believe that schools would be teaching children to hate America if they
included discussions about race and multicultural perspectives in schools. To clarify, CRT doesn't teach
students to hate America, the theory teaches students to question America, CRT is often misstated and
misunderstood. CRT was first introduced into education around 1995 by Ladson-Billings and Tate. (CRT,
2022) It should be noted when CRT first came about in the 70s, as a way to address the inequalities seen
during the civil rights movement, it was never intended to be taught in K-12 classrooms. According to
CRT, racism is the norm in American society, not the aberration. CRT defines racism not as how one
person treats another, but as how racism is embedded in the structures, systems, and policies that enforce
racial disparities in life outcomes. CRT is often misstated in the news/media, by confused educators and
community members. CRT addresses the concept that EVERYONE has implicit bias, which is an
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unconscious association of one idea with another, such as race and personal qualities, frequently evincing
a negative attitude. This is not racism unless these biases are acted upon, whether consciously or
unconsciously. (CRT, 2022) So why is Critical Race Theory being attacked and why would it be difficult
for teachers to incorporate this theory into the curriculum?
In the last year or so, several teachers across the nation have described a chilling effect or feeling
of fear about complying with state or national rules that they don't fully understand. The consensus in
many areas is to err on the side of caution for fear that a student or parent might complain, resulting in a
public battle or in extreme cases, that they may lose their job.
Supporters say the laws are needed to pare back offensive lessons about race in America,
including the notion that White people today, even children, bear responsibility for sins of the past, and
those that emphasize American racism over more unifying and uplifting elements of U.S. history. In
Florida, in 2021, one teacher hung a black lives matter flag in her classroom and was terminated because
of it. (Meckler, 2022)
Opponents say teachers need the freedom to teach all of American history, the good and the bad,
and that conversations about the unequal effects of slavery, systemic racism, and White privilege are an
important tool for helping students to analyze current events and controversies. Many of these teachers
have added curriculum, books, and lessons about racism and white privilege. (Meckler, 2022) These
efforts were accelerated following the media coverage and the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.
Interviews with various teachers and principals across the nation reveal that educators are
changing the way they teach about race in response to the new laws, sometimes in subtle ways.
Opposition is likely to persist and many teachers feel that avoiding modern parallels in order to avoid any
questioning coming up that whereby, including this information, is somehow suggesting one group is
better than another. This presents another challenge, parents have sought to remove books from reading
lists and some teachers have done so preemptively. One teacher mentioned, what about other common
topics of history? For instance, the Holocaust, might someone conclude that by teaching this part of
history that we are teaching that people of german descent are guilty by association? The consensus
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boiled down to only teaching the facts, do not teach your opinion and if you think you may get in trouble
for teaching it, don't teach it. (Meckler, 2022) Do you agree with this statement?
Is the Culturally Responsive Teaching that we have been learning about in this teacher education
program here at SDSU, the same as Critical Race Theory? Since there has been so much opposition over
Critical Race Theory in the news, this is the question on many people’s minds. Some believe that
Culturally Responsive Teaching is Critical Race Theory in disguise. Proponents of Culturally Responsive
Teaching will say it is a research-based teaching method to connect students’ cultures, languages, and life
experiences to the classroom in order to gain access to tougher curricula and higher-level academic skills.
While the intent of Culturally Responsive Teaching “values and reflects the assets of all students,” those
who teach in this style will point out that students of color, English Language Learners (ELLs), and other
underserved populations, always seem to get the shorter end of the stick. From this point onward the
focus again becomes race-related. (ICRTJAROCRT, 2022) And this is where the delineation gets sticky.
While there doesn't seem to be an end to the controversy over this issue, there are many that agree
that the new CRT does what the original CRT could have done if it were meant for a classroom. Most
importantly it allows all students to feel included and have pride in who they are, regardless of race, sex,
or gender identity. Opponents will point out that although the intentions are good, this method once again
separates students by race and belief. It does seem that for the general use of the terms, they are very
similar (excluding some key academic language) in name, application, and intent. (ICRTJAROCRT,
2022)
Conclusion
Although California does not have as much opposition as teachers in other parts of the United
States, as educators, I think we should all exercise a little bit of caution. Be careful not to interpret CRT as
something it is not. If your opinion is controversial to students or parents, it may be a good idea to keep
that opinion to yourself and stick to the facts. Stay up to date with the culture of the community that you
are teaching in. Especially where students, parents, other teachers, and administrators are concerned.
There are people on both sides of the fence and parents are very sensitive about what is being taught to
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their children using their tax dollars. Since this is an oppositional paper, I wanted to mention that there are
also teachers who have been ridiculed for speaking against CRT, especially in California, where
opposition is unpopular. I watched a video that was recently covered in the news about a teacher in
California who had an opposing opinion about CRT and it ended up costing said teacher her career: CA
Teacher fired over CRT. (Goldwater, 2022)
Teachers have a lot of power to affect the academic success of the students in their classrooms.
Exercise the strategies that are available to you, in the best way that you can, within your school's
constraints. As educators, we can support equity by examining our own policies and systems. Making
even small changes that can be effective. As we have read, in Zarretta Hammond's book, Culturally
Responsive Teaching and the Brain, we can all unpack our implicit bias and make sure we don't take
unconscious bias into our classrooms. While some textbooks are chosen by schools or districts, as
teachers we can choose supplements and case studies that include a wide range of diversity. Above
everything else, if you can do nothing else, it is important to speak up when you encounter inequity in
your school. It takes moral courage to speak to peers and administration about race, sex, and/or genderrelated issues, but we must try!
CRT AND TEACHING
7
References
Spring, Joel. American Education. 19th ed. Milton: Routledge, 2020. Web.
Hammond, Zaretta, and Yvette Jackson. Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain : Promoting
Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students /
Zaretta Hammond ; Foreword by Yvette Jackson. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin, a SAGE
company, 2015. Print.
Critical Race Theory: What should educators know and do. Leadership Magazine. Published 2022.
Accessed October 25, 2022. https://leadership.acsa.org/critical-race-theory-what-shouldeducators-know-and-do
Meckler L, Natanson H. New critical race theory laws have teachers scared, confused and self-censoring.
San Diego Union-Tribune. Published February 14, 2022. Accessed October 25, 2022.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2022-02-14/new-critical-racetheory-laws-have-teachers-scared-confused-and-self-censoring
How social-emotional learning became a frontline in the battle against CRT. NPR.org. Published
September 26, 2022. Accessed October 25, 2022.
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/26/1124082878/how-social-emotional-learning-became-afrontline-in-the-battle-against-crt
Is Culturally Responsive Teaching Just A Rebrand Of Critical Race Theory? Go2Tutors. Published
January 26, 2022. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://go2tutors.com/is-culturally-responsiveteaching-just-a-rebrand-of-critical-race-theory/
Stout C, Wilburn T. CRT MAP: Critical race theory legislation and schools. Chalkbeat. Published
February 2, 2022. Accessed October 25, 2022. https://www.chalkbeat.org/22525983/mapcritical-race-theory-legislation-teaching-racism
Goldwater Institute. Gold Water Institute. Goldwater Institute. Published May 23, 2022. Accessed
October 26, 2022. https://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/teacher-exposes-crt-my-job-was-nolonger-about-teaching/