CLASS ASSIGNMENTS ASKED KIDS TO USE LABELS AND DISCUSS HOW SOCIETY TREATS YOU BASED ON YOUR RACE OR GENDER.
9th GRADE IDENTITY ASSIGNMENTS
Multiple assignments in Rockwood’s Cultural Identity unit asked students to label themselves, and others, by aspects of their identities:
race, religion, gender, sexual orientation.
Parent reactions:
“…I’m not sure why it's ok for an adult to ask my child about their sexual orientation, especially in a public school. …Meanwhile my son's reading score went down.”
—Marquette parent
“I’m upset about what’s being taught in schools regarding race bc it’s dividing us, not bringing us together.”
—EHS parent
This type of content is often intended to reinforce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE) efforts in Rockwood.
Rockwood Board of Education Director Jessica Clark spoke about this issue as a school board candidate in March of 2022. Clark says she has both black and white children in her family.
She says she decided to run BECAUSE of Critical Race Theory in the district. See her talk about it here, at around the 4 minute mark.
Rockwood insists it does not teach Critical Race Theory.
And, it's true: the words Critical Race Theory have not been found in Rockwood's curriculum or daily lessons.
But, the beliefs and practices associated with CRT are in them.
The labels referenced above are necessary in CRT, because, according to CRT, our country's laws and policies are set up to treat you differently based on those labels.
White males are treated well and are, therefore, privileged. Everybody else is oppressed in one way or another.
That was the point of the graphic above, and, of question #2, seen, right.
Parent reaction to the question:
“Tonight my son told me that the questions they had to answer today in LA (language arts) made him uncomfortable. It’s the last question where they are supposed to group and label the different groups. Basically, what we’ve always taught him not to do to people.”
“It goes against everything our family believes and taught our children about not judging people for skin color, religion, sexual orientation, or anything that isn't the content of their character.”
—Marquette parent
IDENTITY IN A GRAPHIC
Parents say students spent weeks of their language arts class time focused on their "identities."
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| Example the teacher showed to students to give them ideas. |
Note about the graphic below:
Top half: “Christian” on the top right and “Democrat,” a little below that.
Bottom half, circled: “democrat,” “Jewish,” “prochoice.” (We added the circles.)
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This is also a suggested example from the teacher; not made by a student. |
Side note: Religion and political affiliation/beliefs are topics that are generally off limits with students, due to federal privacy rules in the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment, or PPRA.
It is unclear if there was any violation of PPRA; but the topics raise a red flag.
Students also began to discuss how society views them because of their race, gender, or religion and how those characteristics shape their experiences in society.
As part of this unit, they also watched this video, which says white people have privilege. They also read this article that reinforced the same message.
Action:
Parents attempted to challenge the Cultural Identity unit, which is where these lessons were taught. But, the district changed the rules in the challenge regulations and did not accept our documents. This was because requirements had been met the previous semester instead of the current semester.
Note:
Identity topics are not in Missouri’s learning standards. Districts can choose how to meet the state’s learning standards. Rockwood chose these assignments.
DETAILS:
Cultural Identity unit
Language arts
Spring, 2020-2021 school year
Parent Concerns:
Divisive
Identity should not be the most important
Inappropriate questions
Status: Unknown