As governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz required public school students in in his state to take classes rife with left wing racial dogma.
The Daily Caller reports:
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz signed a law in May 2023 as Minnesota governor that will require schools to offer “ethnic studies” courses that may include lessons on “resistance” and discussions on “social identities.”
The law requires elementary and middle schools to teach ethnic studies classes by the 2027 to 2028 school year, while high schools must offer a course on the topic starting in the 2026 to 2027 school year, though some districts have already begun implementing ethnic studies programs. The program is described as an “interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity” and says it will emphasize “perspectives of people of color” and analyze “the ways in which race and racism have been and continue to be social, cultural, and political forces.”
Critical Race Theory being taught in schools has been a hot button issue — especially over the last decade. While most American public schools teach slavery and the Civil Rights movement, leftist activists and politicians argue it doesn't go far enough, and have advocated for teaching children to think in sociological terms.
The Daily Caller continues:
Some intended learning outcomes of ethnic studies that were set out before the legislation was signed include identifying “the ways power and language construct the social identities of race, religion, geography, ethnicity, and gender” and understanding “the roots of contemporary systems of oppression,” according to a 2021 academic standard document released by the Minnesota Department of Education. The standards outline learning requirements for ethnic studies for every year from kindergarten through ninth grade.
The standards also call for Minnesota children to be introduced to racial topics starting in kindergarten, such as forms of resistance against systemic power and how they can fight against injustices. The benchmarks for high school students include “racial capitalism” and “anti-Blackness” and mention “contemporary systems of oppression” such as “how criminality is constructed and how social, political and legal systems define a person as a criminal.”
In 2020, parents became acutely aware of the politicization of young children's classrooms, and many expressed outrage. Parents began showing up to school board meetings leading to changes in curriculum in some schools but in other districts, their protests fell on deaf ears, and parents that challenged the status quo found themselves ostracized and outright banned from participating in their kids' education.
After the bill was signed into law, Minnesota Justice Alan Page stated in a press release, “For me, this is about justice. Our educational system has systematically failed children of color, Indigenous, disabled, and poor children. It is important that the plan recognizes this failure, and acknowledges that systemic change is needed.”
In 2021, the second largest school district in the state instituted a program using “equity, anti-racism, and social justice” to teach “critical and interdisciplinary study of race, ethnicity, and indigeneity with a focus on the experiences and perspectives of people of color” and encourage “aware[ness] of your own bias, power, and privilege” and “resist[ance] all systems of oppressive power rooted in racism through collective action and change.” In the 2023-2024 school year, less than half of Minnesota public school students met the state's proficiency standards for reading or math.
That doesn’t surprise me at all, I didn’t like the way he treated his son on stage.