Critical Race Theory

[Spongebob]

I know this topic has been discussed on other threads, so apologies is this is redundant.  There is an author who's children's books were banned in Texas schools due to claimed intentional teaching of CRT to children.  His most popular book is titled New Kid and it follows the every day life of a young black boy in a mostly white school.  I haven't read the book (actually its a graphic novel) but have heard some of its content discussed and it sounds completely harmless.  This is supposedly happening in many states.  I'm curious if anyone here has had first hand experience and what you think of this development.  To be glaringly transparent, I find this practice to be nothing more than the re-implementation of Jim Crow.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I don’t have any firsthand experience with it, but I think it’s like, you know, kinda bad and stuff.

Any parent has the right to decide what books their own children read. This right does not extend to other people’s children.

Boru

[Ranjr]

Banning the book will make kids want to read it.  Good job, Texas.

[Spongebob]

I don’t have any firsthand experience with it, but I think it’s like, you know, kinda bad and stuff.

Any parent has the right to decide what books their own children read. This right does not extend to other people’s children.

Boru

I'm surprised you feel this way.  So, you feel that children should be denied the opportunity to read books that describe valid experiences regarding race and oppression?  I don't pretend to suggest that parent's don't have the right to control what their children read, but would you not agree that this "right" is being exaggerated and bloated in the determination to promote an image of "white goodness"?  IOW, I view these parents as big liars who are only perpetuating the problems of racial bias by insisting that these types of books are damaging to their kids.

---

Banning the book will make kids want to read it.  Good job, Texas.

That's possible, but then it isn't easy getting kids to read in the first place.  Now if this were music we would be in business.

[Jehanne]

Racism is a demonstrable fact; CRT simply studies such in terms of the economic impact upon those who suffer from racism:

Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination

Of course, the presentation of such research in the context of secondary education where materials must  be selected and presented under an "age appropriate" environment and manner is an entirely different question.  In any case, what the neo-nutty conservatives in Texas and elsewhere are doing is a fine example of the Streisand effect:

Wikipedia -- Streisand effect

("If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Obi-Wan to Darth Vader)

[Spongebob]

Racism is a demonstrable fact; CRT simply studies such in terms of the economic impact upon those who suffer from racism:

Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination

Of course, the presentation of such research in the context of secondary education where materials must  be selected and presented under an "age appropriate" environment and manner is an entirely different question.  In any case, what the neo-nutty conservatives in Texas and elsewhere are doing is a fine example of the Streisand effect:

Wikipedia -- Streisand effect

("If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Obi-Wan to Darth Vader)

So, do you think the overall effect of this attack on CRT (or the attack on what they believe it is) will ultimately result in more improvement in racial bias or more people opposing any attempts to improve it?

[Jehanne]

Racism is a demonstrable fact; CRT simply studies such in terms of the economic impact upon those who suffer from racism:

Are Emily and Greg More Employable Than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination

Of course, the presentation of such research in the context of secondary education where materials must  be selected and presented under an "age appropriate" environment and manner is an entirely different question.  In any case, what the neo-nutty conservatives in Texas and elsewhere are doing is a fine example of the Streisand effect:

Wikipedia -- Streisand effect

("If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Obi-Wan to Darth Vader)

So, do you think the overall effect of this attack on CRT (or the attack on what they believe it is) will ultimately result in more improvement in racial bias or more people opposing any attempts to improve it?

Both.

[Spongebob]

So, do you think the overall effect of this attack on CRT (or the attack on what they believe it is) will ultimately result in more improvement in racial bias or more people opposing any attempts to improve it?

Both.

I think you could be right.  What would be a convincing argument for those people who are what I'd call "anti CRT".  Not that this implies they know what CRT actually is, but just the people who keep putting up obstacles to talking about racial bias.

[Rev. Rye]

Something worth pointing out: In reality, CRT is something taught at college level. Undergrad level minimum, although it's probably more likely to be found at grad school level. Critical Theory is a complicated subject (and one that can get pretty batshit) and will almost certainly go over the heads of grade schoolers.

When people on the right talk about CRT, they're not talking about any actual critical theory; it's basically a label for anything that threatens to put a dent in their fragile white self-images, up to and including teaching that America gave black people a raw deal in the days when we enslaved them, let alone now.

[arewethereyet]

I don’t have any firsthand experience with it, but I think it’s like, you know, kinda bad and stuff.

Any parent has the right to decide what books their own children read. This right does not extend to other people’s children.

Boru

I'm surprised you feel this way.  So, you feel that children should be denied the opportunity to read books that describe valid experiences regarding race and oppression?  I don't pretend to suggest that parent's don't have the right to control what their children read, but would you not agree that this "right" is being exaggerated and bloated in the determination to promote an image of "white goodness"?  IOW, I view these parents as big liars who are only perpetuating the problems of racial bias by insisting that these types of books are damaging to their kids.

---

Banning the book will make kids want to read it.  Good job, Texas.

That's possible, but then it isn't easy getting kids to read in the first place.  Now if this were music we would be in business.

Are you a parent? I'm curious what experience you bring to the topic.

I have three grown kids. I never censored their reading and didn't take too kindly to anyone who tried to. From my set of classics that I had as a child, I read the un-PC versions of books to my kids though explained why some words weren't acceptable any more.

I had one teacher tell me that my son was one of the few kids in her second grade class who knew the difference between fantasy and reality. The worst way to teach kids is to hide things from them...teach them the good, the bad, and the ugly and explain why each is so.

If you have trouble getting kids to read, maybe it's because you should have been reading to them from birth on.