Educators who teach one-sided narratives on racism are practicing indoctrination | Opinion

As a young conservative growing up in New Jersey, my time in the Garden State’s public schools was never boring.

In a state as blue as Papa Smurf, my teachers would routinely challenge, mock, and dismiss my views because they did not fit the ideological narrative they confused with educational instruction.

When I entered the field of education, I vowed never to make my students feel as if they were second class. My goal was simple – once you enter my classroom, you may argue from any ideological position so long as your use the correct grammar, reach logical conclusions, and model exemplar rhetoric.

My job as a teacher is not to indoctrinate students in the ideological flavor of the day, but to educate students so they may develop critical thinking skills that lead them to their own conclusions. It is not rocket science.

Counterpoint: We need more teachers like Blountville educator fired for discussions on race | Opinion

East Tennessee educator essentially taught critical race theory

Recently, a lot of attention was placed on the East Tennessee community of Blountville. High School teacher Matthew Hawn, a long-time teacher with the Sullivan County Schools, made headlines when he was suspended, and subsequently fired, for teaching a one-sided narrative on racism and also insubordination.

Essentially, he was teaching critical race theory, a Marxist orthodoxy that views the world as the oppressed and the oppressors. The source of all oppression is race.

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Early this summer, I advocated for, and the Tennessee Legislature passed, guidelines on teaching history in the Volunteer State’s classrooms. Students would not be made to feel inferior simply because of their race, gender, or any other identifiable characteristic. History, too, would not be taught in a manner that held the United States was fundamentally or irredeemably racist.

Admittedly, the actions giving rise to Hawn’s termination occur prior to the law’s passage. This, however, does not negate the fact that Hawn’s actions were improper and not the model any teacher should follow.

Why teacher's approach to presenting white privilege was flawed

According to the Washington Post, “[A]t the start of last school year, [Hawn] made a pronouncement during a discussion about police shootings that would derail his career. White privilege, he told his nearly all-White class, is ‘a fact.’”

White privilege, the legal theory that Hawn described as fact, is described in the book "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," as “a system of unearned benefits afforded to those people classified as white.”

Caprice Hollins and Ilsa Govan, the authors of the book, explain that “[t]hese advantages are personal cultural, institutional and provide greater access to resources … [f]or white people, white privilege leads to a form of internalized oppression because it distorts their relationship with humanity."

Put simply, Hawn was teaching his students that white people have not earned their success but stole it. He was telling his students, specifically his white students, that they suffer from a mental defect that causes them to rationalize the abuses inflicted on minorities.

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Ironically, in teaching white privilege as “fact,” Hawn was using the same technique used by white supremacists who argued that minorities only achieved success due to affirmative action, not merit.

But Hawn’s error does not stop here, for he violated the spirit of what it means to be an educator. Hawn introduced the concept of “white privilege” as “fact.” A fact is something that is settled and undisputed.

The fact is, many argue that white privilege is a legal theory created to further a cultural Marxism that seeks to de-Westernize the West. The fact is, white privilege is not a fact but Hawn, according to the Washington Post, presented the theory to his students in a manner that sought to stifle debate and cripple critical thinking. That is not teaching, it is indoctrination.

There is no denying that Hawn was wrong, and, in fact, the Post reported that Hawn apologized for his comment. After his apology, Hawn promised to stay away from the topic. Hawn’s promise was short-lived.

Hawn shared Kyla Jenée Lacey’s “White Privilege” with his class. The poem is a three-minute diatribe that drops F-bombs, compares slavery to the prison system, and claimed that Black people destroyed neighborhoods, but white people destroyed continents.

Educators should not fuse their politics into their lessons

At a time in our history when critical thinking is lacking, people read tweets for news, and attention spans last seconds, not minutes, educators must teach students how to think and not what to think.

While Hawn might be viewed as a hero to some and a villain to others, the fact is he is embodies the culture war that has consumed the classroom and is an example of why so many parents distrust the public schools their tax dollars support.

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Hawn was not the target of an ideological inquisition; quite the contrary. Hawn knew what he was doing; he deliberately decided to fuse his politics with his teaching. Hawn is just one foot soldier in an an army that seeks to tear down Western civilization by ignoring its attributes and magnifying its sins, all in the name of anti-racism.

Anti-racism has made huge inroads in public schools with many educators proudly proclaiming to be “anti-racist educators.” Anti-racism, however, is much more dubious because it purports to be against racism when, in fact, anti-racism and anti-racist educators, are practicing racism.

For anti-racism rejects the concept of equality of opportunity for an equity in outcome. And who are the individuals, students, employees who must forgo their equality of rights? Those who have white skin.

Where Edmund Burke once wrote, “I would not know how to draw up an indictment against a whole people,” teachers like Hawn respond, “just watch us.” Sullivan County rightfully drew a line in the sand, but will others have the guts to do the same?

Joseph R. Murray II is a Tennessee educator, education and attorney, and a former speechwriter for Patrick Buchanan. He is the author of "Take Back Education," out January 11th. He may be reached at jrm@joemurrayenterprises.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Critical race theory: Educators should not practice indoctrination