Almost a full year after millions of Americans took to the streets to protest police brutality and to stand in solidarity with the Black community against racism, our Idaho legislation is burying its head further into the sand.
While holding up discussion of bills to approve teacher salaries for the coming year, the House, Senate and Governor swiftly passed a law banning teachers from discussing “critical race theory” and the roles that racism and sexism have played in shaping U.S. history.
Our 2021 legislative body is almost entirely made up of white people. Men outnumber women by more than 2-to-1 in both the House and the Senate.
This is a good example of why Idaho students should be taught critical race theory; the demographics of who holds power in our state is the result of centuries of discrimination and we will only be able to move forward as a state with an honest conversation about that power dynamic.
Instead of working to dismantle discriminatory institutions in the state, our elected officials have chosen to paint critical race theory as the big bad wolf.
They have linked it to Marxism, to socialism and to communism, claiming that teachers are indoctrinating Idaho’s students with Leftist ideology. They may be unwilling or unable to consider their own privilege and internalized racism, but that does not make their characterization of critical race theory accurate.
Critical race theory means acknowledging how past racial discrimination and violence shape our laws and institutions today. It is not about making white students feel guilty for actions taken before they were born. It promotes an understanding of how those past actions have translated into privileges today. It means that Latinx, Native American, Asian American and Black figures will no longer be excluded from Idaho’s history books. It would allow students to learn parts of Idaho and U.S. history that are often swept under the rug, honoring the memory of everyone who has shaped our state and country.
Idaho’s public schools are ranked among the worst in the nation for education and for teacher salaries. Instead of villainizing teachers for doing their jobs in a challenging work environment, we should be supporting them with everything we have. Our elected officials likely did not receive racially inclusive educations, but that does not excuse them for holding future generations of Idahoans back.
We need funding for public school programs, better pay for teachers and support for improving curricula where gaps exist in our education. Instead, our legislators are patting themselves on the back for ensuring that no student ever has to confront histories that make them feel sad or uncomfortable, further restricting our schools from catching up with the rest of the country.
If it came to light that Idaho math programs were omitting algebra, we would move to bring algebra back into all classrooms. We would never pass laws prohibiting algebra from being added to the curriculum because it might be difficult for some students to learn about. Why is history treated differently?
Call it critical race theory or call it inclusivity or accuracy, our history classes are missing something. Idaho stands to gain so much if we can get over this fear of learning about our history. We are likely doomed to continue repeating that history until we do.
Beth Hoots can be reached at [email protected]