The Conversation: Why critical race theory should inform schools

White middle-aged female teacher sitting in front of a classroom reading a book to her students — Parents protested a new anti-racism policy at an Ontario school board saying their children could ‘internalize shame and guilt because they’re white.’ Unsplash

Some parents have been raising concerns about the teaching of critical race theory in public schools in the United States. Recently, these specious claims have been showing up in Canada too. School boards are being questioned for their anti-racism policies and the teaching of CRT to students.

recently published a story that detailed how Waterloo Region District School Board trustees in Ontario were told by some parents they were concerned their children could “internalize shame and guilt because they’re white.”

A school delegation called “for more transparency about what’s being taught in classrooms on critical race theory and white privilege” and asked education staff to provide a working definition of the terms in relation to “anti-racist lesson plans.”

And last month, on Durham Catholic School Board’s “new anti-racism policy” reported that trustees and members of the public had concerns about language such as “white supremacy” and “colonialism.”

The language, they said, “reflected ‘critical race theory,’ an academic concept that contends racism — whether intentional or not — is systemic and embedded in institutions.” The Star reported that this language was removed from the new policy.

Read the full article written by Carl E. James, Professor and Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora (Faculty of Education, �첥��Ƶ) and Vidya Shah, Assistant Professor (Faculty of Education) in .

Listen to the full podcast, discussing the injustices and inequalities in the education system with guest Carl E. James, Professor and Jean Augustine Chair in Education, Community & Diaspora (Faculty of Education, �첥��Ƶ) on .