Politicians are tired of teachers blaming their white students for the racism of the past.
The newest policy trend sweeping the nation is a crack down on teaching about America’s past of racism in schools.
Teachers have been using their platform to tell students about the past examples of racism in America. This past has made students in the present feel guilty for actions to which they have no connection, and politicians are no longer going to tolerate it.
These anti-critical race theory policies started mildly by banning over 1,600 books in public libraries and schools throughout the nation. Educators responded indignantly to these policies by ensuring their students who did not have access to it in classrooms still had access to all literature outside of school. Politicians attempted to combat this by creating financial incentives to keep white students comfortable in all schools. This means that schools who attempt to have trainings that only value students of color, LGBTQIA+ students or female students such as diversity training or sexual assault prevention trainings will have state funding revoked to ensure all students feel included.
Still, educators are not listening to the complaints of concerned parents and citizens who fear the next generation will not understand that racism is not their fault because it is a relic of the past. The natural next step that conservative politicians are calling for to uphold the traditional values of America are public executions for school teachers who teach about racism.
Despite the vast historical precedence that is used to justify these new policies, it may not be the best way of handling this particular problem.
Firstly, it will be very expensive. Executions of this nature require a level of preparation that would be a large financial burden on states. States that implement death penalties generally see a large increase in the cost of supporting their criminal justice system. In Kansas, the cost of a case that required an execution was 70% more than a comparable one that did not. The scale of executions required for this policy would increase this burden immensely. In the status quo, these states are actually saving money on the current anti-critical race theory policies since their violation means they have to spend less on education.
Secondly, teacher turnover is already too high; it would devastate the student to teacher ratio in schools. Especially in states like Texas and Oklahoma, they are already facing a lack of people willing to be educators. Even if they find enough teachers to fill their classrooms, they typically leave to work in other less disadvantaged states. This policy would decrease the amount of teachers too significantly which would make education less accessible for all students, particularly in the states that need more reliable teachers.
Lastly, it could potentially cause emotional distress for certain students. Research proves there is a link between high teacher turnover and decreased student performance. One of the factors of this correlation is the emotional attachment students form to their teachers. This means that despite the fact that some teachers may not treat all their students equally which can cause emotional distress, the impact of their execution is likely to be worse than the guilt they inflict on white students.
