Activists of YA discussion

What are your thoughts on Critical Race Theory? Do you think it should be taught in schools?

thank you to @Noni, for requesting this topic!

I actually heard about this. Some states are banning this so that this isnt going around in schools. Honestly I have no clue about what this is...someone please educate me.

Rafia (Semi-Hiatus) wrote: "I actually heard about this. Some states are banning this so that this isnt going around in schools. Honestly I have no clue about what this is...someone please educate me."

Me too, I'm not really sure what that is......

I don't think it should be taught in schools. We're trying to teach people that we are all equal, no matter our skin color. Teaching young kids with VERY IMPRESSIONABLE MINDS about who is black, and who is white, and about slavery, is putting kids in the mindset that we are not all created equal. I don't want my 6 year old sister to go to school and spend time learning about race instead of learning how to read. She doesn't think that she is different because she has brown skin and I want to keep it that way.

Rafia (Semi-Hiatus) wrote: "I actually heard about this. Some states are banning this so that this isnt going around in schools. Honestly I have no clue about what this is...someone please educate me."

❤Mackenzie❤ wrote: "Rafia (Semi-Hiatus) wrote: "I actually heard about this. Some states are banning this so that this isnt going around in schools. Honestly I have no clue about what this is...someone please educate ..."

In America, some people want to introduce a new topic called Critical Race Theory into schools. Basically we'll be teaching kids about racism, racism in our systems, discrimination and race throughout US history, etc.

Mary wrote: "I definitely think it should be, especially as a student. If we were starting from a totally blank slate that would be a different discussion, but we’re not. For hundreds of years white people have..."

I get that, but are we going to be teaching young kids about the fact that some people believe you are worth less than them because you have darker skin? We want equality, we want kids to know that we are all equal, and how are we suppose to do that by showing kids about the racial standing in the world? Kids will look at everything different. If one young black and one young white kid are good friends, and we teach them about slavery, won't the black kid know that, at one point in history, people who looked like me were slaves, and people who looked like my friend were superior than me?
And what exactly is that supposed to do for a child's mindset? Nothing good.

And if we want kids to advocate for equality, we should first make sure that they know that we are all created equal, so that if they ever see someone who says different, they will band together and fight.

How old of kids are you talking here? We only learn about about anything race/ slavery related in Year 8 (12-13) if kids want to know about something, they will look it up in the internet. Imo, Not teaching about slavery in schools will not really do anything. I’m not being funny, but doesn’t everyone know about slavery anyway from parents?

And we WILL educate them about these things, but NOT when they're so young. We have no idea how they'll interpret it, and for all we know we'll make everything worse than it is now.

Bonnie wrote: "How old of kids are you talking here? We only learn about about anything race/ slavery related in Year 8 (12-13) if kids want to know about something, they will look it up in the internet. Imo, Not..."

Critical Race Theory wants to be introduced into K-12 systems, which is from kindergarten to 12th grade. While I don't have anything against teaching older kids about this sort of stuff, I don't want it taught to kids 11 years old and younger.

Oh of course yeah I agree with you! Teaching 6 year olds about it isn’t the way to go

We don't want to kids to think they are bad people or oppressed people. That's not the point. We need them to know they are equal and fight against people who say they are not.

it's already been in some schools curriculum deemed as history. it really is just history on how certain people were treated worse cause of their race, skin, etc. A lot of young POC learn about discrimination by it happening to them, happening to their family, by seeing it happen to people who look like them. you really cant just shun them away from anything race cause they already probably experienced it. when I was in 2nd grade I was already learning about mlk and rosa parks.

Mary wrote: "I respect your opinions, but I still think that kids need to learn about this stuff young!

“3-month-old babies prefer faces from certain racial groups, 9-month-olds use race to categorize faces, a..."

Okay, I understand your point. We should speak to kids about things like racism, but my question is about whether those 3 year olds will use the CRT subject to justify any race based behaviors they have. Children use what they learn or what they hear on TV, and if they are led to believe that some races are better than others, how are we discouraging them from that mindset by teaching them about racial privilege?

Strawberry wrote: "it's already been in some schools curriculum deemed as history. it really is just history on how certain people were treated worse cause of their race, skin, etc. A lot of young POC learn about dis..."

We SHOULD teach kids about things like racism, but in my opinion, not the way Critical Race Theory wants to.

My objective is, teach kids about race, encourage them to see each other as equals, and help them focus more on creating change NOW.

can someone please explain?? genuinely curious

what is critical race theory??

Nihira (Weekend Semi-Hiatus) wrote: "what is critical race theory??"

In America, some people want to introduce a new topic called Critical Race Theory into schools. They'll be teaching kids about racism, racism in our systems, discrimination and race throughout US history, and things like that.

noni wrote: "Rafia (Semi-Hiatus) wrote: "I actually heard about this. Some states are banning this so that this isnt going around in schools. Honestly I have no clue about what this is...someone please educate ..."

Okay, thanks!!

1. Teach kids about the topic of race, but focus less on the past and more on the present. Let them know about creating equality NOW and in the future.

2. Let the parents come together and agree on a curriculum. We can't teach kids when they're parents aren't agreeing to it.

I agree, Noni

ok but the thing about seeing people as equal... the problem is that right now, even if we saw everyone as equal we still wouldn't BE equal because of systemic racism.
It's also extremely important to learn about the past because of systemic racism, how it started, and what people have done to perpetuate it because that's the reason that there is a disproportionate amount of low income Black Americans, and a disproportionate amount of Black homeownership and that Black Americans get worse healthcare... it's all systemic and was created in the past.
That's why it needs to be taught because in order to create change we have to teach kids from a young age about their history.
Also, many if not most POC kids already have to learn about racism from a young age cuz they're actually affected by
it, and the point of critical race theory is that white people benefit from it and for the longest time were never "affected" by it so now they get to learn.

Jayna wrote: "ok but the thing about seeing people as equal... the problem is that right now, even if we saw everyone as equal we still wouldn't BE equal because of systemic racism.
It's also extremely importan..."

As I said, we're not going to NOT educate people about this, we are, and it's important to. And we need to reform our systems or else we'll never be fully free of racism.

But if kids saw each other as equal, and then learned about issues like systemic racism that made us not fully equal, then wouldn't they be encouraged to fight against issues like this? We're trying to make kids fight against things like systemic racism and before we can do that, we need to make sure that they know that they are equal in the first place.

but dont they already teach crt? when kids learn history about race, discrimination, racism , etc.

@Strawberry personally I've never learned about that stuff in school, which is kind of the point I guess.
@noni where did you find the "curriculum" or whatever where you see what exactly they're teaching? I'm honestly curious

Jayna wrote: "@Strawberry personally I've never learned about that stuff in school, which is kind of the point I guess.
@noni where did you find the "curriculum" or whatever where you see what exactly they're t..."

the curriculum is just what I'm calling what they're teaching. I'm saying that the parents need to all agree on what they're going to teach.

I don't know where I stand on this. I was formally educated on racism, discrimination, etc. when I was about 7-8, in like 2nd and 3rd grade. It became more in-depth as the years passed. I don't know whether it did harm, did good, or nothing really.

So I don't stand on a definite side. I do think that we should be informed of racism so we know that it's unacceptable and it needs to be prevented, but it should be learned much later, probably at age 10-12.

However, at the same time, if we don't teach them about racism, they won't get the horrible idea in their mind and won't think much about it. Unfortunately, this probably won't work since our world is still confronting racism.

So, again, I have no definite opinion of this. I hope this did not offend anyone, because I did not intend for it to.

It's interesting to read your perspectives on this though. :)

Hmm, I'm not sure I would want young kids being taught about things like that in such a young age because they are already struggling with learning basic things. And ofcourse we have to know that their level of understanding is not on such a high level compared to an older student. Kids might start to make more fun of people with different races and joke around about it. I dont really know if it sould be implemeted into such young kids maybe start it from third or fourth grade? I believe that is an acceptable age where kids can really grasp the seriousness of the situation. @noni thanks for telling me what it i! :)

Hmm, I'm not sure I would want young kids being taught about things like that in such a young age because they are already struggling with learning basic things. And ofcourse we have to know that their level of understanding is not on such a high level compared to an older student. Kids might start to make more fun of people with different races and joke around about it. I dont really know if it sould be implemeted into such young kids maybe start it from third or fourth grade? I believe that is an acceptable age where kids can really grasp the seriousness of the situation. @noni thanks for telling me what it is! :)

well the thing is, like i was saying, a ton of POC, especially Black Americans, have to deal with racism at a very young age so why should white kids be expempt from that by not teaching them about it?

I think the critical race theory is a good idea. If teachers aren't already educating their students on these important parts of history, then the crt would be a good way to help those teachers out.

Obviously, you can't expect kindergarten students to understand a lesson on racism, but you can read more inclusive books to the students that feature kids from all over the world.

I feel like whether or not you’re taught it in school, if you’re BIPOC you were probably taught about racism and how people might treat you differently because of the colour of your skin. My dad taught me when I was around 6 or 7, and did the same to my other siblings. I learnt about it in school around the same age, and it really helped me to become more aware of the world we live in. Of course, I don’t think it’s worth teaching it to really young kids, like 3 or 4 year olds, because they’re already having to grasp a lot school related concepts (counting, alphabets etc.) but around the age of 6 or 7 I think from then on it’s important for children to start being educated about discrimination.