A major discussion taking place all over the country right now is should critical race theory be taught in public schools.
For those who do not know what that is, according to the Associated Press, critical race theory was developed by scholars in the 1970s and 80s “in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. It centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions and that they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.”
You can click here to read the full AP article.
Some people are arguing that it should be taught in public schools while others are against the idea.
While on WOMT’S Be My Guest program on Monday (July 12th), Manitowoc Public School District Superintendent Mark Holzman answered the question, “Is critical race theory being taught in the MPSD?”
Holzman responded in blunt fashion, saying “Critical race theory is not something that is taught in our curriculum. It is not something that has ever been taught. We have not made any changes in our curriculum.”
Holzman also said that he is “not exactly sure why” this conversation is coming up now because, “The feedback that we got from the state, was that he was not in any understanding of any school district in Wisconsin that had critical race theory as part of the curriculum.”
MPSD Superintedent Mark Holzman
The Superintendent went on to say that the MPSD is “dedicated to providing learning opportunities for ALL kids.”
There are roughly 5,000 students in the school district, and Holzman said that roughly 37% of them identify as an ethnicity other than white, but “That doesn’t mean that we are in a model to teach the 37% of the kids any different than the 60% who identify as non-colored, or as white.”
Holzman also stated, “we are in the business of providing opportunities for all kids…our focus needs to be on our kids.”
He encouraged anyone who has any questions about any aspect of the curriculum to contact the MPSD office at 920-686-4777.
