United States President Joe Biden's administration is not pushing to include race theory in educational establishments across the country, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said despite the government promoting a radical activist group's handbook.
Psaki said that the incident in question was made in "error" as the Department of Education (DOE) has noted a handbook by the Abolitionist Teaching Network called the "Guide for Racial Justice & Abolitionist Social and Emotional Learning" was designed to be a guide for schools in how to safely reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Critical Race Theory Education
The guide claimed that there were many ways where social and emotional learning "SEL" was disguised to be a form of policing taken advantage of to punish, criminalize, and control Black, Brown, and indigenous children and communities to follow White norms. It added that Eurocentric norms were the foundation of the majority of SEL standards that were set not to empower, love, affirm, or free Black, Brown, or Indigenous children.
On Wednesday, the DOE issued a statement where it distanced itself from the group and said the inclusion of the guide in its handbook was a mistake. The writing said that the Department did not endorse the recommendations of the group and that they did not reflect the department's policies, Fox News reported.
However, Psaki noted during a briefing on Friday that Biden wished for young children in the United States to learn about the country's history, including the dark moments. The statement comes after questions of Biden's views of the "anti-racism curriculum."
The house secretary said that the Democratic leader believes the dark moments of the country's history, which include slavery and racism, were an important topic for kids to learn. Psaki said that the topic of children learning about the challenging parts of the country's history has been politically fueled.
Asra Nomani, vice president of strategy and investigations for Parents Defending Education, said officials were now revealing the issue was not part of their agenda. The official said that many groups, including teachers' unions, politicians, and activists have tried to manipulate them and the public into thinking the theory was being taught in schools, Yahoo News reported.
Widespread Criticism From Parents
The incident came after the largest teachers union in the country approved a plan to promote critical race theory across all states and some 14,000 local school districts. The NEA held its annual Representative Assembly which led to the vote of the ideology of critical race theory.
However, many American parents are still reluctant to hand over their authority of what to teach their children to alleged left-wing ideologies hiding behind the mask of educators. In a survey conducted by YouGov, 58% of Americans were against critical race theory. The survey also found that 72% of independents believed that teaching the topic in school was "bad for America."
Many local school boards have observed friction regarding the issue which many believe could soon become a national movement. They said the consequences of which may be felt by the midterm elections and more in the future, the New York Post reported.
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