Free Republic

Thousands of teachers are pledging to teach critical race theory in the face of state laws seeking to ban it from classrooms. More than 5,000 educators have signed the Zinn Education Project’s "Pledge to Teach the Truth" since June 21. In the letter, the leftist education group claims the United States was founded on "structural racism and oppression"—tenets of the Marxist-based ideology called critical race theory. "We, the undersigned educators, refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history and current events—regardless of the law," the pledge reads. Legislatures in several states have passed bills to restrict educators from teaching...

Last week I went shopping in our small rural hometown, where my family has attended the same public schools since 1896. Without exception, all six generations of us - whether farmers, housewives, day laborers, businesspeople, writers, lawyers or educators - were given a good, competitive K-12 education. But after a haircut, I noticed that the 20-something cashier could not count out change. The next day, at the electronics outlet store, another young clerk could not read - much less explain - the basic English of the buyer's warranty. At the food market, I listened as a young couple argued over...