THE CASE FOR THE 1619 PROJECT: IMPLICATIONS
Playing Old Political Tricks: Educational Implications on The Debated 1619 Project
How smoke and mirrors in debating history creates dissent and fixes nothing
“Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it” is being re-enacted in the politics of 2021. The conservative party is up to its old tricks — attacking a 40-plus-year-old historical and legal analysis called Critical Race Theory.
The Republicans feign ignorance in the irony of white supremacist tactics — gaslighting — in their attempt to squash the discussion of race in America’s schools. As usual, their party members offer no practical solutions to solve problems in America, and they choose to make war on cultural topics instead. Smoke and mirrors.
Rather than having rational conversations or using the already-established methods of curriculum challenge, poorly-informed, anti-Democrat citizens — and, it is likely, hired operatives—are making demands for changes on social media, such as a recent post on the Next Door App.
Its language prompts the question as to whether the author is a parent within the school system: “Parents of children in Prince George’s County Public Schools, I sent an email to the principal of Bowie High School asking him if Critical Race Theory has been being taught [sic]or will be taught in the coming years. His answer was to contact the board…” Also, the area in which the person is posting is a democratic stronghold and majority-minority in demographic makeup, so the note will likely not accomplish much. In this environment, that’s like throwing a bomb in the crowd to see what happens.
The teaching of history is the latest target of conservative Republicans. Local and state governments have been and continue to be the victims in this latest round of bait-and-switch politics. At this writing, nine states have passed some type of related law (“Where critical race theory is under attack”). Thankfully, the recent election granted Democrats control of both Houses of Congress and the Presidency. The Democrats have all the power they need. So the argument against Critical Race Theory is unlikely to have sway at the federal level for a few years. But the parties in charge do change, and where might such a change lead?
Past federal government policies brought us the current Every Child Succeeds Act and the former “No Child Left Behind” law, both iterations of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which remains the single largest source of federal revenue for public schools. However, public education in the United States is primarily funded on the local and state level, so financial penalties resulting from teaching what Republicans call Critical Race Theory will occur on local and state levels first. And if a future president follows one of these right-leaning state legislative bodies, he or she is likely to implement that state’s policy on a national level.
For instance, George W. Bush contributed his idea of comparing testing results with the 2001 reauthorization of ESEA, the No Child Left Behind version. Bush had seen success in raising test scores for Black and Latino students under a Texas testing program. For a decade, this legislation led the nation’s public schools to count students in a multitude of demographic areas such as free and reduced lunch recipients, students of parents working at local military installations, Black, Asian, etc. It also had unintended consequences, such as losing funding or receiving additional oversight if the testing score gap between any two groups was too large.
While Bush’s simplistic solution was to raise the test scores of the lower group, the task would prove to be nearly impossible when the average of few students could significantly change the mean, (“Data and statistics”; “How does an outlier affect the mean?” ). “The No Child Left Behind Act is largely seen as a failed experiment” according to History.com and others (“Why it worth reading George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind speech”).
If a future president decides to solve the non-problem of Critical Race Theory, the likely result is that an already poor education about Black history is going to become worse. In my public school education, I only learned about American history in two years, 7th and 11th. I had a white male teacher in seventh grade and a white female teacher for junior year. Neither teacher stressed Black history or taught much about race in America.
The only thing that they taught me was how to feel angry after just a year in their classes. For instance, the 7th-grade teacher decided to have a debate for and against slavery, and that I, the only Black student in the class, would be on the side in support of slavery. I took the zero. Before that point, my grade was perfect so my grade could easily take the hit. But I was greatly disappointed by the teacher despite his apology after the class debate.
In other words, Democrats actually work to make life better for Americans and people abroad, while Republicans spend more time sowing dissent in their attempts to grab power.
In his 2017 article “Chin up, America” Simon Rosenberg is one of those journalists who recognizes that “while the Republicans have [had] more power, the Democrats have been by other measures a far more constructive and successful party.” In other words, Democrats actually work to make life better for Americans and people abroad, while Republicans spend more time sowing dissent in their attempts to grab power.
The Jim Crow past of southern states indicates that this latest argument against Critical Race Theory will serve to disenfranchise the constituents of those served by Republican politicians. Purposely keeping your voters uninformed will surely allow for the repeat of past problems such as voter suppression and limited or no access to Medicaid and other government services more easily available in states run by Democrats.
Current discussion and legislation derail the talks that educators need to have to prepare for students’ arrival in the fall: which pedagogical choices seem to be the best for incoming students, do we have the supplies and personnel to handle the number of students entering, what changes will get us closer to target levels in reading, mathematics, science, and other tested areas, and how do we help students succeed in the in-person school environment after they have been learning virtually for a year or more?
America has yet another example of the conservative party trying to distract us from the necessary work of preparing the youth to be ready to fully participate in a diverse society.
When I was a few decades younger, I thought that the racists would eventually perish. However, I realize that American racism has a purpose in the maintenance of a preferred power structure, and I am doubtful that waiting works. Advancement comes in “fits and starts,” so I am not hopeless. But those who desire a better life must continue to work for future generations, even if the current generation experiences obstacles.
America’s original sin was to implement chattel slavery, with the masters falsely saying that slavery was not that bad. The continuing sin lies in devious tactics to seize power and teach false narratives or to omit history. The counter to this thinking is to not give up. Those who seek racial justice must maintain positivity, pursue win-win solutions, and set policy with an abundance mindset.
Children need an education that keeps them curious about their more diverse society and they must be equipped with a breadth and depth of knowledge to make sound evaluations about their world. The educational implications of teaching history as explained by “The 1619 Project” enables all students to understand the past and thereby create a better future. What an America that would be.
References
“Data and Statistics | 6th Grade | Math.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-sixth-grade-math/cc-6th-data-statistics#cc-6th-mean-median-challenge.
“How Does an Outlier Affect the Mean of a Data Set?: Socratic.” Socratic.org, 17 May 2017, socratic.org/questions/how-does-an-outlier-affect-the-mean-of-a-data-set.
“Map: Where Critical Race Theory Is Under Attack.” Education Week, Education Week, 28 June 2021, www.edweek.org/policy-politics/map-where-critical-race-theory-is-under-attack/2021/06.
“President George W. Bush Signs No Child Left Behind Act into Law.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 5 Sept. 2019, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-bush-signs-no-child-left-behind-act-into-law.
Rosenberg, Simon. “Democrats Have Had More Success Than the GOP and Should Keep Their Chins Up | Op-Ed | US News.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 20 Jan. 2017, www.usnews.com/opinion/op-ed/articles/2017-01-20/democrats-have-had-more-success-than-the-gop-and-should-keep-their-chins-up.
Rudalevige, Andrew, et al. “The Politics of No Child Left Behind.” Education Next, 17 Aug. 2020, www.educationnext.org/the-politics-of-no-child-left-behind/.
Strauss, Valerie. “Why It’s Worth Re-Reading George W. Bush’s 2002 No Child Left Behind Speech.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Apr. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/12/09/why-its-worth-re-reading-george-w-bushs-2002-no-child-left-behind-speech/.
“Why We Published The 1619 Project.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Dec. 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/20/magazine/1619-intro.html.
Melissa Edwards is currently writing about life lessons, learning to meditate and seek equanimity, humorous cooking, education, and parenting. Writing and teaching are her ways of helping to make the world to be a better place.