The Connecticut education system passed a "woke" curriculum in December pushed by current Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona that asks students to understand "the construct of race and why and how it was developed," and includes three days focusing on "Systemic Racism" and the "Black Lives Matter Movement," reports Fox News.
It also includes a look into what "African American, Black, Latino(a), and Puerto Rican histories reveal about the United States, its foundation, and how power is structured today."
Cardona himself stressed the importance of getting teachers on board with the subjects when he was the state's education commissioner, according to emails obtained by Fox via a Freedom of Information Act request.
"We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more 'woke,'" he wrote.
The Biden administration is actively pushing an agenda on racial equity, which has been derided by critics as inequitable.
"Under the leadership of Secretary Cardona, the Department of Education remains committed to advancing educational equity and ensuring that we prioritize, replicate, and invest in what works for all students, not just some," a U.S. Department of Education spokesperson told Fox News.
The course, on "African-American, Black, Puerto Rican, and Latino studies," is optional for the upcoming school year but required starting in the fall of 2022.
"Identities matter, especially when 27% of our students identify as Hispanic or Latino and 13% identify as Black or African-American," Cardona said when the curriculum passed in December, Fox News reported. "This curriculum acknowledges that by connecting the story of people of color in the U.S. to the larger story of American history. The fact is that more inclusive, culturally relevant content in classrooms leads to greater student engagement and better outcomes for all."
Connecticut's 2020 Teacher of the Year Meghan Hatch-Geary was pushed to be involved by Cardona.
"We need teachers behind this wave of our curriculum becoming more 'woke,'" Cardona said in the email.
She "studied Black and Latino studies for her Master's Program... Has created programming incorporating social justice, for race and gender inequalities... Her application included more references to the importance of Black leaders in History than anything I have read before... She volunteered teaching in Ghana and Ecuador... Understands curriculum reduces invisibility for students of color and creates global preparedness for all students."
Hatch-Geary presents herself on her Twitter account as an "antiracist-focused educator." Her Twitter bio also includes the quote, "There is no such thing as an apolitical classroom."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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