6 more Peoria teachers sign Critical Race Theory pledge in week ending Jan. 15

By NW Valley Times

Jan 22, 2022

Critical Race Theory will be taught by six more teachers in Peoria, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

No new teachers sign the pledge the week before. It now has six pledges from Peoria teachers by the end of the week ending Jan. 15.

They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.

Comments from new Peoria teachers included “We can not change our current situation without learning from our past.” and “Students deserve the truth.”.

Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.

Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.

Other states, such as Montana and South Dakota, have denounced the teachings without passing specific legislation.

In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon, Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”

Teachers in Peoria who’ve pledged to teach Critical Race Theory

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Paige Dehaan	“no comment”
Breanna Malmos	“no comment”
Kaitlin Griffin	Students deserve the truth.
Tina Sanders	We can not change our current situation without learning from our past.
Melissa Girmscheid	“no comment”
Chelsea Charlton	“no comment”