The Problems With Texas’ Curriculum Change
By Maeve Merrick (@maeve.merrick), Wisteria Magazine
If you walked into your nearest high school and asked a classroom full of students their opinion on their education, it wouldn't be surprising to hear negative comments. Many students find it difficult to connect with the material they learn in the classroom due to a lack of real-world application. Classes like Chemistry and Trigonometry are stressful and seem useless through the lens of daily life. However, if the material connected to life outside of school through current events, students would be drawn in and become more receptive to learning. For example, learning about “net community production” is mundane, but connecting it to the modulating of coral reefs can make it fascinating. Taking away that real-world connection, a vital tool to understanding, can hurt the learning process, which is exactly what is about to happen in Texas.
On June 15, 2021, Governor Greg Abbott signed the "anti critical race theory" bill, which will affect the curriculum in Texas. Educators disputed the bill, arguing that, if made a law, it would make it difficult to teach about America's present and past. The law includes a list of subjects that can and cannot be taught in a Texas classroom. It also states that teachers cannot be "compelled to discuss a particular current event or widely debated and currently controversial issue of public policy or social affairs," nor give "deference to anyone's affair." However, these ideas were conflated with banning things such as anti-racist training or diversity efforts, which only exacerbated students' isolation. Critics even noted that the language of the bill was vague and not applicable to a classroom setting. Teachers worry about which subject matters could be grounds for reprimand.
The bill also states that schools are prohibited from requiring training that presents any form of race or sex-stereotyping or blame based on race or sex. It is ignorant to act like racism and sexism are not issues that need to be unlearned by our society. A large part of this bill is to eliminate teachers' bias in the classroom. How can one learn that they are biased if they are not even allowed the proper training to eliminate said bias? The bill contradicts itself by prohibiting teachers from giving a "deference to any one affair" in current events while also letting teachers' racial and sexist biases affect their teaching.
Discharging discussion of current events is harmful to the learning environment, as well as students' reception of knowledge. In theory, the idea of being objective when teaching current events seems beneficial. However, in application, it is completely unrealistic and would confuse teachers and students alike. For example, learning about the storming of the Capitol building and trying to value the rioters' side would be absurd in any scenario, let alone the impressionable minds of our youth.
In addition, the bill bans teaching that "slavery and racism are anything other than deviations from, betrayals of, or failures to live up to, the authentic founding principles of the United States." It is unacceptable to ignore that Black people were written as “three-fifths of all other persons” in the Constitution, that our Founding Fathers owned slaves, and that the effects of slavery are still prevalent today. Understanding that the “founding principles” of our country allowed and enforced slavery and racism is imperative to moving forward with reparations.
The law goes into effect in September, evoking fear and many uncertainties in teachers across Texas. Many teachers feel like the bill's vague language and the banning of the subject matter will allow them to be persecuted. They do not know what they can and cannot teach, and therefore feel uncomfortable in their classrooms.
Teachers are one of the most valuable members of our society. They mold the society of our future. This bill claims to protect and strengthen America, yet how can we expect our country to prosper if we do not allow teachers to teach the truths from which we can grow? Our educators should not be encumbered by a law that stops them from teaching the consequences of our country's actions to our students.
