Is a new stealthy form of racism being taught in Iowa schools?

The answer appears to be yes. Ames Community School District (ACSD) has become the most obvious example of this sneaky movement. The ACSD pushed left-wing political ideology under the guise of diversity, equity and inclusion. ACSD Director of Equity Anthony Jones admitted as much when he said, “What we are doing is bringing ideology into the conversation, but not just ideology, we are also bringing people.”

What exactly is this ideology? It is all based on something called Critical Race Theory (CRT). It decrees the American social fabric is fundamentally constructed in race.

It teaches race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating. CRT brainwashes people that members of any race are inherently racist or sexist or inclined to oppress others.

The ACSD is also using the 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter Movement as the outline for how they are going to mentor students overall. Among those 13 guiding principles are Empathy and Black Villages. Empathy is defined as “one’s ability to connect with others by building relationships built on mutual trust and understanding.” While Black Villages is defined as “the disruption of western nuclear family dynamics and a return to the ‘collective village’ that care for each other.”

The use of the term comrades is intentional and not simply a synonym for “friends.” As anyone who lived through the Cold War knows, communists like Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin, Khrushchev and the rest all referred to their countrymen as “comrades.”

Using public dollars to teach K-12 students western values surrounding the nuclear family need to be “disrupted” is political ideology. Public dollars should not be used to teach students families need to be disrupted because they are somehow oppressive.

The ACSD distributed a year-long planner titled “2020-2021 Planning to Change the World: A Plan Book for Social Justice Educators.” Included in the resource material for teachers to use is “Fighting for a Living Wage” – a collection of links and resources related to organizing for the “Fight for $15” a struggle to increase the minimum wage to $15. In the section titled, “Make the Fight for Living Wage a Teachable Moment” are lesson plans and multimedia resources related to the “Fight for $15.”

Using public dollars to indoctrinate students into organizing and supporting a left-wing political stance such as raising the minimum wage to $15 is an inappropriate use of those dollars.

Who else is teaching this stealthy form of racism? According to the ACSD, the following school districts have joined them: Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waterloo, Storm Lake, Pleasant Valley, Clear Creek Amana, Mt. Vernon and Holy Family Catholic Schools in Dubuque.

As always, I look forward to hearing from you.

——

Dean Fisher is the state representative for District 72. Contact him at dean.fisher@legis.iowa.gov