Post by addisona on Feb 23, 2022 10:20:40 GMT
Bad For Business: How ‘critical race theory’ Bans Are Limiting American Progress
Earlier this month, 400 books were pulled off the shelves across a Texas school district in response to a new law limiting how educators can teach and engage with students on the subjects of sexism and racism. At least 28 states and counting have passed or are considering passage of laws just like this one.
These drastic efforts are driven by a cynical, orchestrated campaign against “critical race theory,” a catch-all phrase that has been divorced from its original meaning. The truth is that bans on topics ranging from structural racism to social-emotional learning make it dramatically more difficult to teach an honest accounting of American history.
Business leaders should call this out for what it is: politicians grabbing power and making our public schools collateral damage in the process. Proponents of these bans are taking parents’ legitimate desire to understand how schools approach topics such as race and engendering fear by claiming white students will be shamed. But the reality of these sweeping bans is something quite different; in Texas, a teacher was offered guidance on how to present “both sides” of the Holocaust; and in Wisconsin, the proposed law would take funding away from schools who teach about the concept of “racial prejudice.” It is clear that rather than protecting students, these bans undermine the very educational environments that promote healthy development and leave young people woefully unprepared to enter the world as adults. It also leaves them unprepared for the modern workplace. And that should worry business leaders.
It may be an obvious or seemingly trite thing to say, but young people are our future. It is why parents are thoughtful about how they raise their children, and why young people are at the heart of so many philanthropic efforts, and why businesses want schools in their communities to be top-notch. We all want to give young people the support they need to thrive as adults in their families, careers, and communities. Laws like these work in direct opposition to that shared goal.
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffraikes/2021/12/15/bad-for-business-how-critical-race-theory-bans-are-limiting-american-progress/?sh=70f70f0a4e83
Earlier this month, 400 books were pulled off the shelves across a Texas school district in response to a new law limiting how educators can teach and engage with students on the subjects of sexism and racism. At least 28 states and counting have passed or are considering passage of laws just like this one.
These drastic efforts are driven by a cynical, orchestrated campaign against “critical race theory,” a catch-all phrase that has been divorced from its original meaning. The truth is that bans on topics ranging from structural racism to social-emotional learning make it dramatically more difficult to teach an honest accounting of American history.
Business leaders should call this out for what it is: politicians grabbing power and making our public schools collateral damage in the process. Proponents of these bans are taking parents’ legitimate desire to understand how schools approach topics such as race and engendering fear by claiming white students will be shamed. But the reality of these sweeping bans is something quite different; in Texas, a teacher was offered guidance on how to present “both sides” of the Holocaust; and in Wisconsin, the proposed law would take funding away from schools who teach about the concept of “racial prejudice.” It is clear that rather than protecting students, these bans undermine the very educational environments that promote healthy development and leave young people woefully unprepared to enter the world as adults. It also leaves them unprepared for the modern workplace. And that should worry business leaders.
It may be an obvious or seemingly trite thing to say, but young people are our future. It is why parents are thoughtful about how they raise their children, and why young people are at the heart of so many philanthropic efforts, and why businesses want schools in their communities to be top-notch. We all want to give young people the support they need to thrive as adults in their families, careers, and communities. Laws like these work in direct opposition to that shared goal.
www.forbes.com/sites/jeffraikes/2021/12/15/bad-for-business-how-critical-race-theory-bans-are-limiting-american-progress/?sh=70f70f0a4e83