In January, a Tennessee school district issued a report on 31 texts from its K-5 English language arts curriculum that had been challenged as being obscene, “critical race theory,” or inappropriate for elementary-age children.
Ultimately, only one title was removed.
Complaints targeted books in all five grades, and just over one-third of the criticisms came from parents who have elementary-age children in the district. The remaining complaints came from community members whose students are older or have no children in the district at all.
One of the most common criticisms was that the material exposed students to difficult topics too young, or were otherwise age-inappropriate. #EdChat #k12 #EduTwitter #TeacherTwitter
Complaints criticized some books for negative portrayals of white people, as well as discussing racial differences or reducing people to their race. #CRT #CriticalRaceTheory #EduColor #EduTwitter
Parents accused three of those books of being racist because they depicted racism. Those books each recounted historical fights to desegregate schools. Parents also described some of those same books as “divisive,” “hateful,” or “inflammatory.” #CRT #EduColor #EdChat #k12
Several were called anti-American or anti-government because they depicted the United States’ mistreatment of immigrants or white settlers’ violation of treaties with Native Americans. #history #HistoryTeacher #EdChat #EduColor
And a few parents challenged texts on religious grounds – one because it introduced children to the Catholic church’s historical mistreatment of Galileo, and the rest because they recounted myths from Greek and Native American traditions.
Some books were also criticized for containing sexual themes, extramarital sex, or nudity. “Sea Horse: The Shyest Fish in the Sea” also came under fire for “attempting to normalize that males can get pregnant” and diagramming seahorse mating practices.
Others were called "violent" or "dark" or "scary." Parents filing complaints said that some books – especially those about historical racism – made their children feel anxious or ashamed.
For a few books cited as emotionally troubling, a district committee reviewing the complaints recommended that schools make counseling available. However, all the books were judged to be valuable and historically relevant. Seven had their lesson plans adjusted. One was removed.
Amid a racial reckoning spurred by the 2020 murder of George Floyd and a conservative backlash to anti-racist protests, elementary schools have become ground zero for much soul-searching. ny.chalkbeat.org/2021/8/23/2263…
How history is framed has also become a political weapon for many Republicans who use charged words such as “indoctrination” to stoke parents’ fears and inflame disagreements about which classroom discussions are appropriate and which ones cross the line. tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/5/25/2245…
Amplifying the debate is a growing campaign to purge schoolbooks that offend conservative sensibilities, especially on topics related to race and gender. #BannedBooks #EdChat #EduColor #CRT tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/4/28/2304…
Add an early education literacy crisis made worse by the pandemic and a national movement to introduce harder historical texts to students at a younger age, and a political storm takes shape.
Read the story from @ChalkbeatTN and @marta_w_aldrich. ⬇️ projects.chalkbeat.org/2022/age-appro…
@marta_w_aldrich So how should the U.S. teach about slavery? Read on to see how other countries face their most shameful chapters in this first person piece by @nklrobinson. tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/5/23022…
Trying to catch up on the curriculum debate? Here’s everything you need to know. ⬇️ #EdChat #k12 #EduTwitter #EduColor #CRT tn.chalkbeat.org/2022/5/5/23048…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.