CRT Experts Offer Advice On How Parents Can Fight Back Against Indoctrination In Their Child’s Classroom

I remember the moment I saw the post on our church’s Facebook page last summer — an innocuous-seeming bundle of recommended resources from the family ministry to help parents talk to their kids about racial injustice. Some of the suggestions were fine, if not particularly deep, like a “children of the world” floor puzzle and a picture book about God’s creativity in making people in all different colors. But others set off clanging alarm bells.

One, an article titled, “A White Families Guide to Talking About Racism: How Can We Grow to be Anti-Racist,” specifically recommended that parents with adopted children of another ethnicity separate them from the rest of the family for discussions.

“The guide is intended for caregivers to use with their white children,” the resource said, “If you have children who are not white, but who are also a part of your family, this guide is not for them. Black, indigenous, and other children of color DO NOT need to be present while you process through how you may have been complicit in racism. This will cause them further harm and trauma.” [Bold emphasis theirs.]

Using buzzwords like “allyship” and “co-conspirators” arising from Critical Race Theory (CRT) — the ideology that America’s primary institutions and systems are irreparably racist — the authors went on to assert, “Your kids are exposed to racism all of the time.” They defined “white privilege” as “something that all white people have.”

Another resource — “Raising Kids Who Will Initiate Racial Equality” — spoke of “deconstructing” and “reconstructing” children’s racial awareness.

Finally, the head of the family ministry shared an illustration of the racism “spectrum” that classified most people as somewhat racist.

As I read through the material, a sick knot formed in the pit of my stomach. By enrolling our kids in a small Christian school, we’d avoided the divisive philosophy wreaking havoc in public education only to find it cropping up in our church.

While the ministry director’s resource list didn’t mention it, thanks to our jobs in journalism, my husband and I were well aware that at least one of her recommended authors had advocated employing CRT as a “useful analytical tool” alongside Scripture. And another had argued that assigning white authors to seminary students is evidence of “white supremacy.” But how many of the other moms and dads knew nothing about the source of the ideas our pastors were asking us to teach our kids? How many diligently did so, heaping a burden of meritless guilt on their children’s tiny shoulders?

Flash forward a year, and parents of every race and political party are much more educated on the cultish nature of CRT and are demanding teachers drop it from their curriculum.

Yet despite confrontations with school boards across the country, the nation’s largest education union is promising it will continue to teach CRT in all 50 states, in 14,000 districts. In just the last few months, school principles have advised teachers to create fake curriculum for parents so they won’t know what students are being taught, and teachers have asked fourth graders to hide CRT-based assignments from their moms and dads.

So parents can hardly expect they’ll receive an announcement when their child’s class is about to start a new unit on why little Madison is a good “ally” but little Matthew is a “spirit murderer.”

As kids go back to school (and Sunday school) this fall, how can parents protect their children’s hearts and minds from Marxist ideas being forced upon them? I spoke to leading CRT critic and Manhattan Institute Fellow Christopher Rufo and CEO of Classical Learning Test Jeremy Wayne Tate for advice.

Here’s what they had to say.

Beware of Buzzwords

As Columbia linguist John McWhorter has argued, in many ways CRT functions as a religion, complete with its own sacred language. Here are some key words that should spark concern:

• Whiteness
• White privilege
• White fragility
• Oppressor/oppressed
• Intersectionality
• Systemic racism
• Spirit murder
• Equity
• Antiracism
• Collective guilt
• Affinity spaces

“If parents see these terms in school materials, they should immediately ask the teacher, principal, and/or school board for the full documentation regarding the curriculum and teacher training program,” says Rufo. “If the school district refuses, parents should file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [request] and get them — they have an absolute right to know what’s happening in their child’s school … Demand transparency.”

Model and Expect Courage from Your Kids

No child wants to be called a nasty name, and older kids, especially, may fear they’ll be ostracized or worse if their parents push back against CRT instruction. Some might even worry they’ll be viewed as racists by their peers.

Rufo acknowledges it takes courage to raise your voice against divisive and damaging ideas. But he says in his experience the vast majority of parents of all racial backgrounds oppose teaching children that they should be categorized as “oppressor” and “oppressed” based on skin color. “In fact,” he says, “the polling data shows that the strong majority of Americans oppose critical race theory, including the strong majority of independents, Latinos, and Asians.”

So if you push back against CRT indoctrination, the odds are very high that you’ll be speaking for other parents of every class, color, and creed who will join you. They’re likely just looking for someone to lead the way.

Most importantly, your child will see how committed you are to championing what is true and good despite pressure from the culture (a lesson with innumerable applications).

Rally Together

Related to the above, it’s not uncommon to feel leery to confront the school alone, especially for parents who don’t naturally have outspoken personalities. But Rufo points out that there are ways to find likeminded individuals who will want to stand up with you.

“If the school is teaching the principles of critical race theory, parents should publicize this in the local press and on social media,” he says. “Then rally a group to attend the next school board meeting—and make [your] voices heard as a group.”

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

Combat Bad Resource Lists with Good Ones

Tate says one of the less-explored problems of our current social justice preoccupation in schools is that an obsession with being “relevant” has dramatically reduced the amount of time spent studying the classics and history. “The great paradox here,” he says, “is that only studying the modern world leaves students wholly unequipped to have any perspective on the modern world. They are left with no historical reference points.”

The same is frankly true in many churches. None of the resources our family ministry sent out went further back into history than American slavery. And then, they dealt with the subject without any discussion of the natural rights, based on a Judeo-Christian ethic, woven into our founding documents that planted the seed for eradicating slavery and Jim Crow laws. Worse, none examined bigotry and partiality as a failing common to humankind, leaving children to think their nation is uniquely evil.

One of the most frustrating parts of my experience with my church resource list was that I wasn’t prepared to respond with better instructional options. Rufo says such resources are becoming more widely available, and he points to Hillsdale College’s 1776 curriculum, including American history, government, and civics lessons for K-12, as a great resource.

Look for Ways to Make Homeschool and Private School Work

The idea that only the wealthy can afford private school is a misnomer. So is the notion that only families where one parent has lots of available time during the day can homeschool. Tate says that if parents start exploring options outside the public school system, they will probably be surprised to find out how workable a home-based or private education can be.

First, he points out that most private schools have tuition assistance available and parents who inquire may discover they qualify for aid. But he also stresses that more people are working from home than ever before, so many parents are already more available to take on a larger role in their children’s education. And contrary to popular belief, homeschooling doesn’t require giving kids eight hours of undivided attention.

“I know countless families where both parents work and have figured out how to homeschool,” he says.

Recent news coverage backs up Tate’s observation. According to a July 26 Associated Press report, homeschooling is surging across the country, especially among minority families.

“The specific reasons vary widely,” the article notes. “Some families who spoke with The Associated Press have children with special educational needs; others seek a faith-based curriculum or say their local schools are flawed. The common denominator: They tried homeschooling on what they thought was a temporary basis and found it beneficial to their children.”

As Tate said on Twitter, “Don’t feel qualified to homeschool? Who on this planet is more determined than you to see your child thrive?”

The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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