Portland Maine News

There were no new teachers in Portland who signed the pledge on March 7, according to an online pledge from the Zinn Education Project.

The pledge was signed by no teachers on March 6, the day before. It now has 88 pledges from Portland teachers.

They’re one of the thousands of US teachers pledging to continue educating students about the controversial Critical Race Theory, which explains racism is embedded in US culture and politics.

Comments from Portland teachers included, "I work for equity" and "Educators don't hide the truth from students or ourselves".

Though the concept was first suggested in the late 70’s, it has recently exploded as a contentious issue between the American right and left in the last two years.

Many who signed the pledge are defying state bans on the teachings. Arizona, Idaho, Iowa, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas have passed legislation banning discussions about the US being inherently racist.

Other states, such as Montana and South Dakota, have denounced the teachings without passing specific legislation.

In an interview with The Washington Free Beacon', Ashley Varner of the Freedom Foundation accused the Zinn Education Project of providing “left-leaning propaganda to teachers.”

Teachers	Thoughts on Critical Race Theory
Alethea Work	Teaching the truth matters. We can not let legislatures make reality illegal to discuss and teach.
Alex Mojdehi	Censoring our collective history as a nation continues to injure and divide us as humans beings. Openly addressing the tragedies on which our nation was founded is a way to heal and grow, be good neighbors to each other, and prepare students for future commitments to ethical and just actions.
Alexis Abrams	Only by learning about the injustices perpetrated by our country's institutions and examining still-present systemic racism can we move toward healing divisions and building a more humane future.
Alicen Gaitanis	No comment
Alison Ellsworth	We need to learn from the past and present to improve the future.
Amy Lindahl	There is no better future without learning the truth of our past and present.
Amy Schmidt	No comment
Amy Zanghi	Education is about sharing knowledge, not mis-information. Students deserve to learn history from different perspectives, and the history of this country includes much more than the conquests and successes of white men. How can things get better if we don't teach them how the problems were created in the first place? Racism isn't an individual problem. It's a systemic problem, and can't be changed if we leave that crucial information out of students education.
Andrew Porta	The condition of truth is to allow suffering to speak" - Cornel West
Anna Scarpino	I don't want the people who died fighting for equality to have died in vain.
Ariel Collins	No comment
Barron Barron	Students deserve truth. Many know when we're lying to them.
Beth Gardner	We have to learn from the mistakes we have made if we hope to avoid repeating them in the future. Only when we are honest about the state of things can we improve them for our historically marginalized communities.
Beth Levin	students want to know the truths about U.S. history, not a literally "whitewashed" version that erases the effects of slavery or other atrocities.
Carolyn Claridge	No comment
Caryn Anderson	Telling the truth is what our kids need to hear and deserve!
Chelsea Clyde	Our youngest learners especially, should know true history as they learn to navigate our world.
Christa Weiler	Our country’s history needs to be true and honest so we can all learn from the past, gain more empathy, and make better decisions moving forward
Christina Bechstein	No comment
Christopher Naze	No comment
Daniel Kumprey	My pledge is this: "I refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history and current events — regardless of the law.
Dr. Tina Lageson	We should always teach the truth….the good, the bad, the inequities…so we can all work to make improvements with clear knowledge!
Drew Robinson-Woods	The brutal history of our country must be taught that so oppression can end. This is the foundation for change, we must admit what happened.
Elizabeth Israel-Davis	my students deserve the truth. They deserve to see their culture and language as an asset. They deserve to know that their families and ancestors built the wealth and power of this nation and that they deserve that wealth and power fully. They deserve to see the systems which were purposely built to keep them from that wealth and power so that they can dismantle them. I will teach the truth for this generation so that they can teach it to generations to come.
Eric Swehla	It’s not just that the students need to be honestly taught to be critical thinkers, it’s that everyone in our society will benefit from a future filled with better businesses, better science, better medicine, better families, and better neighbors.
Francine Buker	The facts are the facts. We need to operate from known facts in order to preserve our democracy and to create a just and equitable earth for all human beings.......so we can move humanity forward in compassionate love.
Franki Dennison	No comment
Greg Burrill	Until Americans realize that African-American history IS American history, we will be helpless to solve many problems that plague us."-James Baldwin
Heidi Earle	teaching students to become critical thinkers is my job
Jackie Blair	No comment
Jake Kulaw	No comment
James Zartler	No comment
Jarmila Darby	No comment
Jennifer Brennock	This is important.
Jennifer Fullilove	All of our students deserve to know the truth of our history, based on facts that represent all of us.
Jessica Loomis	history is about cause and effect. We are not in a post-racial society. The harm caused in the past is harm lived through today. We study history to understand ourselves and what we are capable of and to understand who we are today. We study history to better understand inequities and injustice that exist today. We study history so that we can have a better future for our children.
Jill Howdyshell	We are at a critical moment in history. Educators must step up to the plate to the truth, to teach in a way to acknowledge past transgressions—otherwise how can we move forward??
Katherine Ostrow	No comment
Kathleen Gutierrez	Children deserve to know the truth.
Kathy Diamond	We cannot continue to whitewash history
Katrina Levin	I am a white teacher who believes that we need justice for all. I teach students history and want them to learn the history of this country through the lens of those whose stories have been left out of mainstream history. This is my pledge to do what I can to empower my students.
Keith Barger	I owe the truth to my students. The only way teaching and learning history can impact the present with any meaning is to be truthful. Only be seeing what was done can we make different choices.
Kelli Mitchell	No comment
Keri Troehler	I don't want students to actually live in George Orwell's 1984.
Kristen Clark	No comment
Kristina Rothwell	Truth matters.
Laura Rodriguez	No comment
Laura Valent	our students of color deserve to be represented and the truth to be told
Leanne Forsberg	Teaching our true history, as opposed to a white-washed one, will help raise a conscientious and critically-thinking generation that knows, sees and works to dismantle systemic racism!
Liz Fouther-Branch	I am signing for those of us that became educators based on the laws that required a free and public education for all student. I also believe that our young people have a right to learn "all" of the history of the United States in order to become critical thinkers and to make decisions about the policies and practices that no longer serve the greater good of this country.
Lora Worden	our students deserve, not only to learn the truth about our history, but to learn to critically evaluate information so they can decide for themselves what is accurate, what is reliable, what is authentic. Our students need critical thinking skills to be active, engaged, and informed citizens in our democracy. Additionally, our students deserve to hear from multiple perspectives in historical and contemporary events (in all stories and all areas of life!). This helps our students develop empathy, which is also an essential skill. Our students deserve to hear the whole story of our history so they can decide for themselves how they think and feel about it and decide for themselves what kind of citizen they want to be and what kind of country they want.
Marcie Brewer	We must all work actively to dismantle white supremacy in our schools, our government, and our country.
Marie Taylor	history matters.
Mario Peri	I will not lie to my students. Young people need to understand all actors in US and World History, not just a narrow interpretation that favors white privilege.
Marta Repollet	Students have a right to learn the truth of our past in order to better shape their future.
Meg Scata	I believe we need to teach facts from experts Frederick Douglass quote: For it is not light that is needed, but fire...For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
Megan Oleary	Teaching the truth is my right.
Melissa Blount	My students deserve to know their own histories, and I will not censor the collection of topics in our school library to appease those afraid of learning the truth.
Michael Rooney	We must understand our past to move forward and build coalitions among diverse groups of people. We must that understand how our societal systems have harmed some while benefitting others.
Michelle Becka	I believe in telling the truth!
Michelle Schardt	There is a huge misinformation campaign against critical race theory. If we do not teach the institutional practices that have lead us to the inequitable circumstances in our country, we will perpetrate the injustices. Critical race theory explains why there are more Black men and women incarcerated, why Black, brown and indigenous students graduate from high school at much lower rates than their white peers. If we understand more, we can do better.
Molly Kerns	No comment
Molly Renauer	I work for equity
Noah Johnson-Greenough	I believe that students should know the true history of racism and other forms of discrimination in this country, if we are truly able to heal and grow as a nation.
Oj Bradshaw	No comment
Olson Miller	Absence of TRUTH makes us all not just part of a lie, but LIARS! My children and yours deserve the truth.
Paul Sheprow	My students, all of my students, deserve the truth.
Rebecca Dumeyer	Living, loving, nurturing society can only be successful if we understand, examine, and learn truth.
Rev. Chuck Currie Dd. Dmin. Mdiv.	No comment
Rhett Savage	I think it is important to let teachers teach.
Robbin Isaacson Deweese	Students have a right and a need to be taught truth, however uncomfortable. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (George Santayana)
Robert Kaneko	No comment
Robert Peate	The United States were founded on genocide, slavery, racism, and oppression. Institutional racism is a glaringly obvious and defining characteristic of our society today. I will not lie to my students, no matter who wishes me to do so.
Samantha Trask	No comment
Sarah Jackson	Our children deserve to know the truth.
Shannon Dery	I saw that the Daily Wire is publishing the names and hometowns of the teachers who will not be intimidated by the Right. This is clearly an attempt at intimidation. I will not be intimidated. Add my name.
Stephanie Haas	I grew up learning the whitewashed history of the United States. I want children to know the reality of the world they live in so they can take action, think critically about justice, and improve our world with what they know.
Susan Andree	It is so important that we protect the ability of teachers to engage in culturally responsive teaching. This includes honest history, cultural vocabulary, and affirming that all children are safe, seen, valued, and feel that they belong.
Susan Eisman	I care deeply about justice. There is no way our country can move forward w/o acknowledging the various oppressions that are firmly rooted in our country’s past and present.
Suzanne Cooper	We have a responsibility to teach true history so that we help raise children who can change our unjust world!
Suzie Peachin	No comment
Suzie Peachin	Educators don't hide the truth from students or ourselves.
Tara McDowell	No comment
Ted Dreier	No comment
Tyler Riggs	No comment
Virginia Warfield	ALL students have the right to know accurate history and how systems of oppression interact to maintain and reinforce racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and all forms of oppression which run counter to the values and ideals of a true democracy.
Whitney Alfrey	Students need to be taught to draw their own conclusions after being presented with multiple perspectives of an issue.
Wl Chapkis	Injustice matters.