An education bill is working its way through Minnesota’s legislature that will require the teaching of “ethnic studies” starting in kindergarten.
Republican State Rep. Peggy Bennett describes the bill:
The first bill is an ethnic studies requirement for our schoolchildren and schools. This legislation would mandate that all students successfully complete a semester-long “ethnic studies” course to graduate from high school. It also requires that ethnic studies must be taught in elementary, middle, and charter schools. The only problem is, this is not the “ethnic studies” that most people think of when they hear this term. When most of us think about ethnic studies, we think about studying and learning about the differences and similarities of other cultures, their histories, perspectives, etc. – and that would include serious discussions about the evils of racism.I think all of us would agree that ethnic studies like this is important to having healthy relationships with our neighbors, both here in Minnesota and throughout the world. This is already required instruction in our current Minnesota social studies standards. The ethnic studies referred to in this bill, however, has a very different definition: “Ethnic studies analyzes the ways in which race and racism have been and continue to be powerful social, cultural, and political forces, and the connection of race to other groups of stratification, including gender, class, sexuality and legal status.”This ethnic studies bill would also require the Department of Education to hire “dedicated ethnic studies staff” who’s job in part would be to monitor schools and ensure compliance, as well as develop “a model ethnic studies curriculum” for school districts to use. The model curriculum must also include “a power, race, class, and gender analysis” and “an intersectional analysis of climate, health, food, housing, education and policy.”This bill is ethnic studies on overdrive and seems designed to push a particular political ideology into the classroom rather than teaching understanding of other peoples and cultures.
You read the text of the bill here (archive link).
One parent–Kofi Montzka, who describes herself as an attorney, wife, and mom–spoke out against this evil, racist indoctrination at a March 21st public hearing. Her outstanding speech has gone viral.
Kofi Montzka, a mother to three boys, said the language of the bill “tells kids of color that they are stuck in a caste system based on their race.”“You might ask: why in the world would a black person speak against ethnic studies? Because not everything that sounds good is good,” she said. “I’m sick of everyone denying the enormous progress we’ve made in this country acting like it’s 1930. We used to have a race-based system. We got rid of it and now you’re all trying to bring it back.”She said ethnic studies will “not help kids succeed” but instead will “remove any reason to try.”“This is not some theoretical crap. This happens,” she said. “If this law is passed, teaching this hopelessness to kids of color will be mandated starting in kindergarten.”Montzka said she can understand why some white legislators might support the bill, since it’s not their kids being “told they can’t succeed.”“But you legislators of color, how can you? You made it despite the invisible boogeyman of systemic racism,” she continued. “You were voted in by a majority of white people. You hold some of the most powerful positions in this state. But you want to tell my kids and other kids of color that they can’t succeed? It’s shameful.”
Here is a longer thread with her remarks included in the text:
Montzka appeared on Fox & Friends to discuss her opposition to the bill.
Watch:
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