September 8, 2021 • 24 mins
Elementary school teacher Jennifer Tafuto resigned her position in Manchester, Connecticut public schools on July 14th. Teachers in her district were asked to track their daily activities as part of equity training. They were required to fill out a “Daily Racial Reflection Timeline” that included a list of choices of how individuals both white and non-white should feel about race as they move through their daily routine. Newt’s guest tells more about her experience on the front lines of teaching critical race theory in the classroom.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
On this episode of News World. My Guest Today was
an elementary school teacher up until July fourteenth of this year,
when she resigned her position teaching in Manchester Public Schools
in Connecticut over an excessive focus on race. In the
last year, Jennifer and her co workers were asked to
track their daily activities as part of equity training for
(00:27):
the district. They were required to fill out a daily
racial reflection timeline that included the following instructions. Quote. First,
list as many actions as possible of your regular daily routine,
starting with immediately after you wake up until you return
to bed at the end of your day. Second, after
(00:48):
completing your timeline, reflect on how race plays a role
in what you have listed. Discussing this with others can
help close quote. They then provided a list of choices
of how individuals, both white and non white, should feel
about race as they moved through their daily routine. She
was also given scripts on how to respond to her
(01:08):
students when or if they ask about the Black Lives
Matter movement, how to emphasize race, and characters and books
here to tell us more about her experience on the
front rinds of critical racial theory in the classroom. I
am really pleased to welcome my guest, Jennifer Tafuto. Jen,
(01:37):
thank you for joining me today. And you know, I
realized that you were a teacher in elementary school in Manchester, Connecticut,
just east of Hartford. Before we get into what actually happened,
what kind of you interested in wanting to teach in
the beginning, and what grade were you teaching. Thanks for
having me, mister speaker. I appreciate you inviting me here.
(01:58):
I always wanted to be teacher. I was a fourth
generation teacher. My mother taught for thirty five years before
retiring just recently to watch my daughter full time. And
my grandparents and their parents were teachers, so it's always
something that's been in my blood and something that I've
always been interested in. I consider myself a lifelong learner,
(02:20):
So for me, I always wanted to share my love
of learning with my students, and I was really excited
to be able to jump into that career right after college.
So you've received your bachelors from the University of Virginia
and a master's degree in education from John Hopkins, so
certainly your educational credentials are pretty impressive. Thank you did
(02:42):
you grow up in Virginia or how did you end
up at the university. No, I grew up here in Connecticut.
I always wanted to go to the University of Virginia.
I fell in love with it when I visited, and
it was really a dream to go there. That's great.
Did you spend any time at Jefferson's house a little
bit of time, and it's a remarkable place, just in
terms of his designing at the beautiful So when did
(03:05):
you start to see equity training getting introduced in your
school district? You know, it's hard to pinpoint right when
it started happening. I vaguely remember a few years ago,
So just some background information. This was only my third
year teaching in this district. Prior to this district, I
taught in Bridgeport, Connecticut at an upper elementary level, fifth grade.
(03:28):
So in Manchester, you know, I remember there are meetings
talking about equity and trying to include some of these
topics in the classroom. But it really got progressive this
past school year. And I was a fully remote teacher
this past school year, so it was an interesting dynamic
to be teaching from my house to my students and
(03:51):
their families at their houses and having a focus on
this topic in light of all the learning regressions that
a lot of students experienced. So it was a very
interesting year for sure. So you are required to have
equity sessions yees seven and eight year olds? I mean,
(04:13):
what is an equity session? Yes, it was part of
our schedule. We had to include an x amount of
time to devote to these lessons that were given to us.
So it was two days a week for approximately forty
minutes per day. And what are the sort of things
you would do during an equity session? We were given
(04:34):
books to read with our students. They were mailed to
me since I was home boxes of books that we
were reading with our students throughout the year. And there
were questions and conversation starters that followed along with the
read aloud books, and it was expected that we went
through those questions with our students pretty much verbatim. And
(04:56):
I mean, how did the students react to this? It
was interesting, had a lot of students where it just
went completely over their heads. They're so young, so you know,
if a question came up about tell me what that
black or brown character is doing, how do you think
that black or brown character feels. The kids would often
remark on the clothes that the character was wearing, or
(05:18):
what sport he or she was playing, you know, something
that had nothing to do with the character's race, and
making assumptions about injustices. I did, however, have a parent
just recently remind me of this that she had reached
out to me in the school year. She was concerned
because her daughter was pointing out people's races in a
(05:39):
public setting. So it was an interesting dynamic I guess
where it went over most of their heads. And then
I was able to see the implications, as did a parent,
that these conversations did have. And I remember the parents
saying that her daughter said, no, mom, it's okay, I'm
allowed to say black and brown people because that's missus.
(06:00):
T Fudo says. So you've got examples of how a
student's morning routine could be racist, which I thinks one
of the weirdest parts of this whole experience. How did
that work? So that document that the racial timeline was
a professional development assignment, so that was not for the students. Fortunately,
(06:22):
I think that that would have been even further over
their heads than anything else that was something that was
given for teachers to complete. It was a very bizarre
task that I don't think many people were expecting to complete.
So as I understand that the instruction manual listed examples
such as wake up and get coffee, brush teeth, and
(06:44):
take a shower, how is that racist? Your guess is
as good as mine. I'm not quite sure. In hindsight,
I think it's a little insulting to people of any
race to have to think about those things. How I
should worry about whether when I brush my teeth I'm
doing it in a white way or a non white way.
(07:06):
Make sure you're being equitable when you drink your coffee
in the morning. And again this was not for students,
this was for teachers. So as part of one of
the professional development Equity trainings, there was a daily racial
reflection timeline given. It says, quote the purpose of this
timeline is to detail your moment to moment daily routine
(07:27):
in order to investigate how you intentionally, consider, subconsciously, planned,
consciously avoid, or live oblivious to the impact of race
in your habits of life. End quote. So some of
the examples there are a lot so entry narrative examples.
Three types A someone considered non white who has become
(07:47):
aware of how much they consider or center race. By
doing this timeline, I realized that I set my clock
forty five minutes earlier than I will actually get up,
because if I push snooze more than twice, I will
not be scrambling in the morning or late to work.
I'm concerned about being late because it could reinforce stereotypes
that my racial group are late or not as professional
as whites be. Someone considered white who wants to become
(08:11):
more aware of how to center race and become more
racially considerate. Wow. Doing this timeline and reading some books
has my looking at how oblivious I've been to race
my cell phone. That woke me up. What third world
country is in conflict to get the precious metals for
its computer components? Who is being exploited or possibly enslaved
(08:31):
to get me my coffee beans? Option c Someone who
is oblivious to race's impact and wants to avoid centering, considering,
or thinking about race at all. I slept well, And
that's the sorts of things that they wanted you to do.
That was one assignment from a professional development activity, yes,
that we were told to complete and reflect on. They
(08:54):
were so concerned that you deal with Black Lives Matter
in an appropriate way as they defined appropriate, that you
were actually giving prescripted responses. If a seven year old
student ask about or mentioned Black Lives Matter, what were
some of the things that they wanted you to say?
I will read you the footnote. If BLM is mentioned
(09:14):
by students, please refer to footnote. What is the BLM movement?
The Black Lives Matter Foundation is an organized movement advocating
for non violent civil disobedience in protest against incidents of
police brutality against black people. What about other lives? Don't
they matter? Too? Absolutely? However, right now, black men, women,
and sometimes children are victims of police violence at a
(09:36):
higher rate than other people because of systemic racism. So
it's important that we recognize that there is injustice and
discrimination in the way our systems value the lives of
black people, and that's why it's important to assert that
black lives do matter. Imagine you are outside playing with
a group of friends. While you are playing, you fall
down and scrape your knee. Should we give everyone a
bandage because everyone matters? Or should we give it to
(09:58):
you because right now now you need it more than
everyone else. We should give you the bandage right now
so you can heal. The rest of your friends are
okay at the moment and can't support you until you
are better and ready to play in the same way
they can. This is an example of equity making sure
that when someone is at a disadvantage they receive the
help they need. Similarly, it's important that people are groups
(10:20):
that are at a disadvantage because of a system or
structure that receive more support, and saying Black lives matter
shows that support. So they literally wanted you to sort
of memorize or to learn these kind of answers. They
were scripted so that if we ever encounter them, we
knew how to address them. It's amazing that this was
(10:40):
happening all across the country. This wasn't just your local school,
but in fact, there's an intern nationwide effort led by
the teachers' unions to bring into the system these kinds
of thinking. You made a good point. This is certainly
not exclusive to Manchester, and my speaking out on this
had nothing thing to do with me trying to take
(11:02):
them down by any means or you know, show them
in a bad light. For me, it was all about
my students, and that example of the Black Lives Matter
conversation is just one of many that were extremely uncomfortable
and that I don't think was really appropriate for seven
and eight year old It does seem to me leading
(11:24):
a discussion with seven year olds about black lives matters
at a minimum is very political and probably isn't among
the highest values that the students have. You made a very,
(11:54):
very big decision. How did you come to the conclusion
that this required you to step out of the classroom. Truthfully,
I was so uncomfortable with so many meetings and the
curriculum that was being pushed on my students. At the
end of the day, I've only wanted what's best for
(12:15):
my students, and I want them to understand how important
they are and that I should not treat them differently
because of the color of their skin. So for me,
I did make the decision because I didn't agree with
the direction of this work has been going. There wasn't
one moment in time. There were definitely a few of
those prompts that I mentioned before that were hurtful, you know,
(12:38):
and I definitely felt like my integrity as a teacher
was questioned with them. But overall, it was just a
long time coming. I think with this work, well, I
just know, given what you said earlier about your parents
and your grandparents, that teaching is really a deep part
of your family tradition, and it must have been a
(12:59):
very difficult and challenging decision. It sure was. I hope
some day to get back into the classroom, assuming I
can teach math and reading and writing, teach my students
to respect each other and to come together. But until then,
I definitely want to stay involved in education on some level.
(13:20):
Just not sure what that looks like. At this point.
You're speaking out. I'm looking at the list share. It's amazing.
The State Education Department, the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendence,
the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, the Connecticut Association
of Schools, the American Federation of Teachers, the Connecticut Education
(13:40):
Association got together and issued a joint statement that this
was all legitimate. I guess so I try to stay
off from reading these comments and these remarks. It's just
interesting because it's a sign you must have touched a
nerve and you must have really frightened some very powerful people.
(14:02):
What was the reaction you got in school. The support
that I got from teachers within that district, districts in
the state and outside of the state was overwhelming. It
was truly so incredible to hear from so many people
thinking me. You know a lot of people saying that
(14:22):
they wish that they could say something, but there's such
a level of fear in talking about these conversations. And
I think that teachers are really scared of sharing how
they truly feel because it could cost them their jobs.
In a sense, they're afraid to speak up even if
they deeply disagree. Yes, And of course when you look
(14:44):
at all that list of people piling on, you can
see if you were an individual teacher, that's pretty remarkable.
It's pretty daunting. I have a book coming out in
November called Beyond Biden, and we talk about critical race theory,
and one of the points I make is that the
woke see racism everywhere and feel compelled to call it out.
(15:06):
This process is referred to as problematizing. And these are
some recent headlines we got from left wing publications. The
unbearable whiteness of hiking and how to solve it, The
unbearable whiteness of baseball, how star wars reinforces our prejudice,
the racism of technology, and why driverless cars could be
(15:28):
the most dangerous example yet. The grocery store shows us
how systemic racism works. Western civilization means classics and white supremacy.
Addressing anti blackness and specialty coffee, that's what I found
particularly exciting. How can you take seriously a person who
walks up to you and says specialty coffee illustrates anti blackness?
(15:52):
Why is American classical music so white? Systemic racism can't
be fixed without tackling it within sight? Why heterosexual relationships
are so bad for us? And the candy industry has
a long history of racism that we can ignore. I mean,
these people write these articles seriously. This is not a
(16:14):
comedy channel thing. Did you encounter any of this stuff
or was that in a different world? No? I think
that's definitely a different world. I am a normal person.
I actually didn't really see myself as a very political
person prior to these conversations injecting themselves in my workplace.
(16:36):
So this whole world is very new to me and unfamiliar,
and I find it very interesting but a little bit crazy.
When you started to talk out about this. What kind
of reaction did you get in the teachers lounge or
at lunch in the cafeteria. I think, like I said earlier,
(16:56):
teachers are definitely scared to speak out about it. I
was fully remote last year, so my interactions with teachers
were purely through text messages and phone calls and that
type of thing. And they didn't agree with it. They
thought it was inappropriate and uncomfortable. But again, no one
wants to be labeled or to lose their job. When
(17:19):
you did speak out, what kind of reaction did you
get from people around the country? Mostly positive, but again
I'm off of social media, so I'm sure there are
lots of negative comments as well, and that's okay. I
think it's okay to disagree respectfully. I'm all about their respect.
The support has been really nice and just reaffirming that
(17:41):
it's important to stand by your convictions. Especially for me,
when it comes down to it, I only want what's
best for my students and for the future of our country,
So for me, that's definitely the most important thing. And
I just try to keep remembering that we discovered that
this is happening around the count A whistleblower uncovered a
(18:02):
fifth grade social studies lesson in Philadelphia that asked students
to celebrate the black communist Angela Davis. Students were asked
to act out free Angela Davis rallies demanding that the
government released the black panther imprisoned on charges of murder, conspiracy,
and kidnapping. And in California, third graders were made to
(18:23):
quote deconstruct their racial identity and rank themselves according to
their power and privilege. In school, teachers told students they
lived in a dominant culture of white middle class cisgender educated,
able bodied Christian English speakers. I'm going to repeat that
because they talk a whole language that frankly, I'm not
(18:45):
totally into white middle class cis, gender educated, able bodied
Christian English speakers. Thus the dominant culture. And that was
in California for third graders. I mean, it's strange that
across the whole country you have this surge by the
education establishment to get us, in a sense, to brainwashers
(19:08):
into things that really are I think one false and
two very deeply divisive, very inappropriate, first, second, third, fourth graders.
Bob goes my mind. But I'm curious now that you've
been through this. What is your advice to other teachers
who find themselves in similar situations. I think at the
(19:30):
end of the day, I know it's scary to leave
a career. I'm terrified still every day and I miss
the classroom. But if you truly believe that this work
is harmful, then you have to speak up. And you
know they told us in past conversations and equity meetings
to lean into the discomfort. That was always the headline,
(19:53):
So I think it's important to do the same, but
out of the situation and lean into the discomfort, talk
about why you're uncomfortable with it. If you want what's
best for our students and you agree that they were
all created equal, then you have to say something and
remove yourself to really understand what's going on. How can
(20:16):
parents be aware of what's being taught. I have a
sense that a lot of the virtual learning from home
parents were startled by some of the things they saw
being taught that they'd never realized when they was being
taught in a classroom, But now that they were seeing
it in their own home by zoom or something, they
were much more concerned or much more engaged. From your
(20:40):
own experience how can parents be aware of what is
being taught in their children's classrooms. That's a great question.
I've heard from a lot of parents of all backgrounds
in support, which has been much appreciated as well. And
I think that there has to be some level of
transparency with what's being taught with the curriculum that schools
(21:01):
are pushing. And so I actually just was talking to
a parent a little while ago who requested all of
the Equity curriculum lessons from her child's district so that
she was familiar with what was going on and could
pretty much approve it or not. Although I did also
(21:22):
here that apparently there is a no opt out option
for these lessons, so interesting. So given all that, I mean,
how do we stop this from happening? I think that's
the million dollar question. I think that there just needs
to be more people speaking about it and you know,
talking about the implications. At the end of the day,
(21:44):
I don't think this should be a political issue personally
for me, I think it's an ethical issue what would
be best for our young children, and I think that
there needs to be a lot more conversations about the
implications that this could have on our young children. Are
young students. That's greatness. I really appreciate your willingness to
(22:06):
talk with us. I realize you have no intention of
becoming a public figure, but I think you're helping educate
the country. And talking with my friends at seventeen seventy
six Action, they just felt that you had such an
important story to tell and has shown so much courage
in being willing to stand up and tell it. And
I want you to know that I'm personally very grateful
(22:29):
both for your courage and for your willingness to help
others understand what's going on. Well, thank you. I appreciate
that they've been awesome at seventeen seventy six. Adam is great.
He's such a trailblazer, and I'm so happy to be
able to associate with him. Yeah, I think Adam is
doing a great job at seventeen seventy six ACTION, and
(22:50):
I think he's totally committed to making sure that the
facts about American civilizations survive and that the kind of
by past education we've been talking about does not overwhelm
the system. So I'm delighted with Adam's work at seventeen
seventy six ACTION. But I'm also delighted that you, as
a citizen that would have the courage and be willing
(23:12):
to come and be on the show. So thank you
very much for joining me. Thank you so much for
having me, mister speaker. Thank you to my guest Jennifer Tafuto.
You can learn more about critical race theory and the
work of the seventeen seventy six action on our show
page at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced by Gingwish
(23:35):
street sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Debbie Myers,
our producer is Garnsey Sloan, and our researcher is Rachel Peterson.
The artwork for the show was created by Steve Pendley.
Special thanks to the team at Gingwish three sixty. If
you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple
(23:55):
Podcast and both rate us with five stars and give
us a review so others can learn what it's all about.
Right now, listeners of news World can sign up from
my three free weekly columns at Gangwish three sixty dot
com slash newsletter. I'm newt Gangwig. This is newts World
On this episode of News World. My Guest Today was
an elementary school teacher up until July fourteenth of this year,
when she resigned her position teaching in Manchester Public Schools
in Connecticut over an excessive focus on race. In the
last year, Jennifer and her co workers were asked to
track their daily activities as part of equity training for
(00:27):
the district. They were required to fill out a daily
racial reflection timeline that included the following instructions. Quote. First,
list as many actions as possible of your regular daily routine,
starting with immediately after you wake up until you return
to bed at the end of your day. Second, after
(00:48):
completing your timeline, reflect on how race plays a role
in what you have listed. Discussing this with others can
help close quote. They then provided a list of choices
of how individuals, both white and non white, should feel
about race as they moved through their daily routine. She
was also given scripts on how to respond to her
(01:08):
students when or if they ask about the Black Lives
Matter movement, how to emphasize race, and characters and books
here to tell us more about her experience on the
front rinds of critical racial theory in the classroom. I
am really pleased to welcome my guest, Jennifer Tafuto. Jen,
(01:37):
thank you for joining me today. And you know, I
realized that you were a teacher in elementary school in Manchester, Connecticut,
just east of Hartford. Before we get into what actually happened,
what kind of you interested in wanting to teach in
the beginning, and what grade were you teaching. Thanks for
having me, mister speaker. I appreciate you inviting me here.
(01:58):
I always wanted to be teacher. I was a fourth
generation teacher. My mother taught for thirty five years before
retiring just recently to watch my daughter full time. And
my grandparents and their parents were teachers, so it's always
something that's been in my blood and something that I've
always been interested in. I consider myself a lifelong learner,
(02:20):
So for me, I always wanted to share my love
of learning with my students, and I was really excited
to be able to jump into that career right after college.
So you've received your bachelors from the University of Virginia
and a master's degree in education from John Hopkins, so
certainly your educational credentials are pretty impressive. Thank you did
(02:42):
you grow up in Virginia or how did you end
up at the university. No, I grew up here in Connecticut.
I always wanted to go to the University of Virginia.
I fell in love with it when I visited, and
it was really a dream to go there. That's great.
Did you spend any time at Jefferson's house a little
bit of time, and it's a remarkable place, just in
terms of his designing at the beautiful So when did
(03:05):
you start to see equity training getting introduced in your
school district? You know, it's hard to pinpoint right when
it started happening. I vaguely remember a few years ago,
So just some background information. This was only my third
year teaching in this district. Prior to this district, I
taught in Bridgeport, Connecticut at an upper elementary level, fifth grade.
(03:28):
So in Manchester, you know, I remember there are meetings
talking about equity and trying to include some of these
topics in the classroom. But it really got progressive this
past school year. And I was a fully remote teacher
this past school year, so it was an interesting dynamic
to be teaching from my house to my students and
(03:51):
their families at their houses and having a focus on
this topic in light of all the learning regressions that
a lot of students experienced. So it was a very
interesting year for sure. So you are required to have
equity sessions yees seven and eight year olds? I mean,
(04:13):
what is an equity session? Yes, it was part of
our schedule. We had to include an x amount of
time to devote to these lessons that were given to us.
So it was two days a week for approximately forty
minutes per day. And what are the sort of things
you would do during an equity session? We were given
(04:34):
books to read with our students. They were mailed to
me since I was home boxes of books that we
were reading with our students throughout the year. And there
were questions and conversation starters that followed along with the
read aloud books, and it was expected that we went
through those questions with our students pretty much verbatim. And
(04:56):
I mean, how did the students react to this? It
was interesting, had a lot of students where it just
went completely over their heads. They're so young, so you know,
if a question came up about tell me what that
black or brown character is doing, how do you think
that black or brown character feels. The kids would often
remark on the clothes that the character was wearing, or
(05:18):
what sport he or she was playing, you know, something
that had nothing to do with the character's race, and
making assumptions about injustices. I did, however, have a parent
just recently remind me of this that she had reached
out to me in the school year. She was concerned
because her daughter was pointing out people's races in a
(05:39):
public setting. So it was an interesting dynamic I guess
where it went over most of their heads. And then
I was able to see the implications, as did a parent,
that these conversations did have. And I remember the parents
saying that her daughter said, no, mom, it's okay, I'm
allowed to say black and brown people because that's missus.
(06:00):
T Fudo says. So you've got examples of how a
student's morning routine could be racist, which I thinks one
of the weirdest parts of this whole experience. How did
that work? So that document that the racial timeline was
a professional development assignment, so that was not for the students. Fortunately,
(06:22):
I think that that would have been even further over
their heads than anything else that was something that was
given for teachers to complete. It was a very bizarre
task that I don't think many people were expecting to complete.
So as I understand that the instruction manual listed examples
such as wake up and get coffee, brush teeth, and
(06:44):
take a shower, how is that racist? Your guess is
as good as mine. I'm not quite sure. In hindsight,
I think it's a little insulting to people of any
race to have to think about those things. How I
should worry about whether when I brush my teeth I'm
doing it in a white way or a non white way.
(07:06):
Make sure you're being equitable when you drink your coffee
in the morning. And again this was not for students,
this was for teachers. So as part of one of
the professional development Equity trainings, there was a daily racial
reflection timeline given. It says, quote the purpose of this
timeline is to detail your moment to moment daily routine
(07:27):
in order to investigate how you intentionally, consider, subconsciously, planned,
consciously avoid, or live oblivious to the impact of race
in your habits of life. End quote. So some of
the examples there are a lot so entry narrative examples.
Three types A someone considered non white who has become
(07:47):
aware of how much they consider or center race. By
doing this timeline, I realized that I set my clock
forty five minutes earlier than I will actually get up,
because if I push snooze more than twice, I will
not be scrambling in the morning or late to work.
I'm concerned about being late because it could reinforce stereotypes
that my racial group are late or not as professional
as whites be. Someone considered white who wants to become
(08:11):
more aware of how to center race and become more
racially considerate. Wow. Doing this timeline and reading some books
has my looking at how oblivious I've been to race
my cell phone. That woke me up. What third world
country is in conflict to get the precious metals for
its computer components? Who is being exploited or possibly enslaved
(08:31):
to get me my coffee beans? Option c Someone who
is oblivious to race's impact and wants to avoid centering, considering,
or thinking about race at all. I slept well, And
that's the sorts of things that they wanted you to do.
That was one assignment from a professional development activity, yes,
that we were told to complete and reflect on. They
(08:54):
were so concerned that you deal with Black Lives Matter
in an appropriate way as they defined appropriate, that you
were actually giving prescripted responses. If a seven year old
student ask about or mentioned Black Lives Matter, what were
some of the things that they wanted you to say?
I will read you the footnote. If BLM is mentioned
(09:14):
by students, please refer to footnote. What is the BLM movement?
The Black Lives Matter Foundation is an organized movement advocating
for non violent civil disobedience in protest against incidents of
police brutality against black people. What about other lives? Don't
they matter? Too? Absolutely? However, right now, black men, women,
and sometimes children are victims of police violence at a
(09:36):
higher rate than other people because of systemic racism. So
it's important that we recognize that there is injustice and
discrimination in the way our systems value the lives of
black people, and that's why it's important to assert that
black lives do matter. Imagine you are outside playing with
a group of friends. While you are playing, you fall
down and scrape your knee. Should we give everyone a
bandage because everyone matters? Or should we give it to
(09:58):
you because right now now you need it more than
everyone else. We should give you the bandage right now
so you can heal. The rest of your friends are
okay at the moment and can't support you until you
are better and ready to play in the same way
they can. This is an example of equity making sure
that when someone is at a disadvantage they receive the
help they need. Similarly, it's important that people are groups
(10:20):
that are at a disadvantage because of a system or
structure that receive more support, and saying Black lives matter
shows that support. So they literally wanted you to sort
of memorize or to learn these kind of answers. They
were scripted so that if we ever encounter them, we
knew how to address them. It's amazing that this was
(10:40):
happening all across the country. This wasn't just your local school,
but in fact, there's an intern nationwide effort led by
the teachers' unions to bring into the system these kinds
of thinking. You made a good point. This is certainly
not exclusive to Manchester, and my speaking out on this
had nothing thing to do with me trying to take
(11:02):
them down by any means or you know, show them
in a bad light. For me, it was all about
my students, and that example of the Black Lives Matter
conversation is just one of many that were extremely uncomfortable
and that I don't think was really appropriate for seven
and eight year old It does seem to me leading
(11:24):
a discussion with seven year olds about black lives matters
at a minimum is very political and probably isn't among
the highest values that the students have. You made a very,
(11:54):
very big decision. How did you come to the conclusion
that this required you to step out of the classroom. Truthfully,
I was so uncomfortable with so many meetings and the
curriculum that was being pushed on my students. At the
end of the day, I've only wanted what's best for
(12:15):
my students, and I want them to understand how important
they are and that I should not treat them differently
because of the color of their skin. So for me,
I did make the decision because I didn't agree with
the direction of this work has been going. There wasn't
one moment in time. There were definitely a few of
those prompts that I mentioned before that were hurtful, you know,
(12:38):
and I definitely felt like my integrity as a teacher
was questioned with them. But overall, it was just a
long time coming. I think with this work, well, I
just know, given what you said earlier about your parents
and your grandparents, that teaching is really a deep part
of your family tradition, and it must have been a
(12:59):
very difficult and challenging decision. It sure was. I hope
some day to get back into the classroom, assuming I
can teach math and reading and writing, teach my students
to respect each other and to come together. But until then,
I definitely want to stay involved in education on some level.
(13:20):
Just not sure what that looks like. At this point.
You're speaking out. I'm looking at the list share. It's amazing.
The State Education Department, the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendence,
the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education, the Connecticut Association
of Schools, the American Federation of Teachers, the Connecticut Education
(13:40):
Association got together and issued a joint statement that this
was all legitimate. I guess so I try to stay
off from reading these comments and these remarks. It's just
interesting because it's a sign you must have touched a
nerve and you must have really frightened some very powerful people.
(14:02):
What was the reaction you got in school. The support
that I got from teachers within that district, districts in
the state and outside of the state was overwhelming. It
was truly so incredible to hear from so many people
thinking me. You know a lot of people saying that
(14:22):
they wish that they could say something, but there's such
a level of fear in talking about these conversations. And
I think that teachers are really scared of sharing how
they truly feel because it could cost them their jobs.
In a sense, they're afraid to speak up even if
they deeply disagree. Yes, And of course when you look
(14:44):
at all that list of people piling on, you can
see if you were an individual teacher, that's pretty remarkable.
It's pretty daunting. I have a book coming out in
November called Beyond Biden, and we talk about critical race theory,
and one of the points I make is that the
woke see racism everywhere and feel compelled to call it out.
(15:06):
This process is referred to as problematizing. And these are
some recent headlines we got from left wing publications. The
unbearable whiteness of hiking and how to solve it, The
unbearable whiteness of baseball, how star wars reinforces our prejudice,
the racism of technology, and why driverless cars could be
(15:28):
the most dangerous example yet. The grocery store shows us
how systemic racism works. Western civilization means classics and white supremacy.
Addressing anti blackness and specialty coffee, that's what I found
particularly exciting. How can you take seriously a person who
walks up to you and says specialty coffee illustrates anti blackness?
(15:52):
Why is American classical music so white? Systemic racism can't
be fixed without tackling it within sight? Why heterosexual relationships
are so bad for us? And the candy industry has
a long history of racism that we can ignore. I mean,
these people write these articles seriously. This is not a
(16:14):
comedy channel thing. Did you encounter any of this stuff
or was that in a different world? No? I think
that's definitely a different world. I am a normal person.
I actually didn't really see myself as a very political
person prior to these conversations injecting themselves in my workplace.
(16:36):
So this whole world is very new to me and unfamiliar,
and I find it very interesting but a little bit crazy.
When you started to talk out about this. What kind
of reaction did you get in the teachers lounge or
at lunch in the cafeteria. I think, like I said earlier,
(16:56):
teachers are definitely scared to speak out about it. I
was fully remote last year, so my interactions with teachers
were purely through text messages and phone calls and that
type of thing. And they didn't agree with it. They
thought it was inappropriate and uncomfortable. But again, no one
wants to be labeled or to lose their job. When
(17:19):
you did speak out, what kind of reaction did you
get from people around the country? Mostly positive, but again
I'm off of social media, so I'm sure there are
lots of negative comments as well, and that's okay. I
think it's okay to disagree respectfully. I'm all about their respect.
The support has been really nice and just reaffirming that
(17:41):
it's important to stand by your convictions. Especially for me,
when it comes down to it, I only want what's
best for my students and for the future of our country,
So for me, that's definitely the most important thing. And
I just try to keep remembering that we discovered that
this is happening around the count A whistleblower uncovered a
(18:02):
fifth grade social studies lesson in Philadelphia that asked students
to celebrate the black communist Angela Davis. Students were asked
to act out free Angela Davis rallies demanding that the
government released the black panther imprisoned on charges of murder, conspiracy,
and kidnapping. And in California, third graders were made to
(18:23):
quote deconstruct their racial identity and rank themselves according to
their power and privilege. In school, teachers told students they
lived in a dominant culture of white middle class cisgender educated,
able bodied Christian English speakers. I'm going to repeat that
because they talk a whole language that frankly, I'm not
(18:45):
totally into white middle class cis, gender educated, able bodied
Christian English speakers. Thus the dominant culture. And that was
in California for third graders. I mean, it's strange that
across the whole country you have this surge by the
education establishment to get us, in a sense, to brainwashers
(19:08):
into things that really are I think one false and
two very deeply divisive, very inappropriate, first, second, third, fourth graders.
Bob goes my mind. But I'm curious now that you've
been through this. What is your advice to other teachers
who find themselves in similar situations. I think at the
(19:30):
end of the day, I know it's scary to leave
a career. I'm terrified still every day and I miss
the classroom. But if you truly believe that this work
is harmful, then you have to speak up. And you
know they told us in past conversations and equity meetings
to lean into the discomfort. That was always the headline,
(19:53):
So I think it's important to do the same, but
out of the situation and lean into the discomfort, talk
about why you're uncomfortable with it. If you want what's
best for our students and you agree that they were
all created equal, then you have to say something and
remove yourself to really understand what's going on. How can
(20:16):
parents be aware of what's being taught. I have a
sense that a lot of the virtual learning from home
parents were startled by some of the things they saw
being taught that they'd never realized when they was being
taught in a classroom, But now that they were seeing
it in their own home by zoom or something, they
were much more concerned or much more engaged. From your
(20:40):
own experience how can parents be aware of what is
being taught in their children's classrooms. That's a great question.
I've heard from a lot of parents of all backgrounds
in support, which has been much appreciated as well. And
I think that there has to be some level of
transparency with what's being taught with the curriculum that schools
(21:01):
are pushing. And so I actually just was talking to
a parent a little while ago who requested all of
the Equity curriculum lessons from her child's district so that
she was familiar with what was going on and could
pretty much approve it or not. Although I did also
(21:22):
here that apparently there is a no opt out option
for these lessons, so interesting. So given all that, I mean,
how do we stop this from happening? I think that's
the million dollar question. I think that there just needs
to be more people speaking about it and you know,
talking about the implications. At the end of the day,
(21:44):
I don't think this should be a political issue personally
for me, I think it's an ethical issue what would
be best for our young children, and I think that
there needs to be a lot more conversations about the
implications that this could have on our young children. Are
young students. That's greatness. I really appreciate your willingness to
(22:06):
talk with us. I realize you have no intention of
becoming a public figure, but I think you're helping educate
the country. And talking with my friends at seventeen seventy
six Action, they just felt that you had such an
important story to tell and has shown so much courage
in being willing to stand up and tell it. And
I want you to know that I'm personally very grateful
(22:29):
both for your courage and for your willingness to help
others understand what's going on. Well, thank you. I appreciate
that they've been awesome at seventeen seventy six. Adam is great.
He's such a trailblazer, and I'm so happy to be
able to associate with him. Yeah, I think Adam is
doing a great job at seventeen seventy six ACTION, and
(22:50):
I think he's totally committed to making sure that the
facts about American civilizations survive and that the kind of
by past education we've been talking about does not overwhelm
the system. So I'm delighted with Adam's work at seventeen
seventy six ACTION. But I'm also delighted that you, as
a citizen that would have the courage and be willing
(23:12):
to come and be on the show. So thank you
very much for joining me. Thank you so much for
having me, mister speaker. Thank you to my guest Jennifer Tafuto.
You can learn more about critical race theory and the
work of the seventeen seventy six action on our show
page at newtsworld dot com. Newtsworld is produced by Gingwish
(23:35):
street sixty and iHeartMedia. Our executive producer is Debbie Myers,
our producer is Garnsey Sloan, and our researcher is Rachel Peterson.
The artwork for the show was created by Steve Pendley.
Special thanks to the team at Gingwish three sixty. If
you've been enjoying Newtsworld, I hope you'll go to Apple
(23:55):
Podcast and both rate us with five stars and give
us a review so others can learn what it's all about.
Right now, listeners of news World can sign up from
my three free weekly columns at Gangwish three sixty dot
com slash newsletter. I'm newt Gangwig. This is newts World
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