In 2020, in about 570 protests across 220 locations in America, from May 24 to August 22 of 2020, mobs ruthlessly rampaged through America. Rioters cause approximately 2 billion dollars worth of damage. These ‘1619 rioters’ harassed restaurant patrons, blocked highways, smashed police cars, and killed dozens who attempted to limit their span of rage. Masked youths by the thousands clenched their sweaty fists, instigating an impulse of anarchy, shouted “Black lives matter”. While American flags were set aflame, signs accused America for systematic racism, statues and monuments were either vandalized or toppled, and retired Officer David Dorn was murdered.
Are these today’s “antiracists”? What sociopolitical developments made so many Millennials and Gen Z youths question, critique, and challenge the status quo of America’s social order to the extent that they topple Fredrick Douglas’ statue?
The problem begins with an inappropriate and destructive approach to American education. The current education establishment hides that fact that critical race theory has an academic theory and a method to apply itself to change America.
The structure of this deconstructive approach to education is called culturally relevant pedagogy. To discover the destructive nature of this pedagogy, one must go to its founder and primary sources that define it.
Culturally relevant pedagogy synthesizes black feminism with critical race theory towards K-12 education. Its founder, Gloria Ladson-Billings “investigates Critical Race Theory applications to education.” In the culturally relevant pedagogy manual, ‘Dreamkeepers’ (1995), Gloria stresses how teachers must “work in opposition to the system that employs them.” Gloria’s pedagogy normalizes Derrick Bell’s idea of ‘permanent racism’ into the nation’s classrooms (page 142). In line with Critical Race Theory, Ladson-Billings’ book assaults colorblindness as “dysconscious racism” (page 34-35). She calls culturally relevant pedagogy a ‘subversive pedagogy’ (page 140) and a pedagogy of opposition in another article she wrote entitled ‘But That’s Just Good Teaching’. She admits that her pedagogy is one of subversion to America.
This theme of opposing the system that employs teachers is reinforced in Ladson-Billings’ article “Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy of Education”. In this article, Ladson-Billings applauds teachers who form secrets with their students, entrusting students with ideas they teach against the policies of the district. Moreover, Ladson-Billings claims that the context of culturally relevant pedagogy is rooted in Black feminist thought. This means culturally relevant pedagogy advocates for the sexualization of children, exposing impressionable children to narratives by the LGBT+ community as well as those who label themselves as “antiracists”.
Much of the language in Ladson-Billings’ Dreamkeepers, is repeated in an article that she co-authored with a former critical race scholar, William Tate. In their article ‘Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education” (1995) we understand how the themes of: dysconscious racism, structural inequities, Derrick Bell’s idea of permanent racism, race being significant in America, challenging the status quo, opposing colorblindness, and the religious axiom of “systemic racism” causes societal “inequities”. In the book Dreamkeepers, the manual for culturally relevant pedagogy, all of these narrow minded phrases and ideas of bigotry can be traced back to Gloria’s manifesto of replacing traditional teaching with critical race theory in education.
For example, in “Toward a Critical Race Theory of Education”, before the authors declare their unwillingness to apply the spirit and intent of justice to both the oppressed and the oppressor, lest the American status quo prevails, they wrote, “Thus, in critical race theory in education, like its antecedent in legal scholarship, it is a radical critique of both the [American] status quo and the purported [civil rights] reforms.” (emphasis added)
In her article “But That’s Just Good Teaching” (BTJGT) Gloria, categorizes her pedagogy as a pedagogy of opposition, in which students develop a sociopolitical critique of America’s status quo, challenging its current social order. The goal critical race theory, like its antecedent in legal scholarship, is within the definition of culturally relevant pedagogy. You’d have to undergo an enormous level of cognitive dissonance to attempt to prove otherwise.
Furthermore, Gloria frames this sociopolitical development as the chief notion that defines culturally relevant pedagogy, calling it a ‘critical consciousness’. In other words, culturally relevant pedagogy teaches students how to be at odds and in conflict with the American virtues. The BTJGT article clearly and plainly defines culturally relevant pedagogy with the notion that: “…students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order…students must develop a broader sociopolitical consciousness that allows them to critique the cultural norms, values, mores, and institutions that produce and maintain social inequities.“
In another article entitled, ‘Culturally Relevant Pedagogy 2.0: a.k.a. the Remix’ Ladson-Billings says, “we also want those in the [white middle class] mainstream to develop the kinds of skills that will allow them to critique the very basis of their privilege and advantage.” Gloria defines “mainstream” in BTJGT as “White, middle-class mainstream.” How to discuss white privilege without making white people feel guilty for being an oppressor, our author does not say.
To this point, we have clearly shown how culturally relevant pedagogy is analogous to both critical race perspective in education and critical race theory in legal scholarship, straight out of the mouth of its pioneer.
Why does this matter? Culturally relevant pedagogy teaches racism like John C. Calhoun taught a positive aspect of slavery. This type of inappropriate influence motivates students to burn down capitalist businesses, topple statues, burn the American flag, and clench their fist to protest systematic racism. Culturally relevant pedagogy spawns this conflict and its a problem. The fact that culturally relevant pedagogy is black feminism synthesized with critical race theory, raising up black power revolutionaries against America should be a concern to anyone. It’s not about being culturally relevant, its about carrying on an incremental revolution through education. This movement of black power guilts whites into either challenging the status quo of America as systematically racist or be labeled a racist. This ‘pedagogy of opposition’, as Gloria describes it, is a subversive pedagogy, uses corrupt and false teaching methods to pitch students against each other or their nation.
Adam Mahdavi is a teacher at The South Carolina Preparatory Academy. Mr. Mahdavi earned both his Certificate in Bible from Ambassador Baptist College and Bible Diploma from Faith Bible Institute in 2017. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Carolina’s School of Education. He currently lives in the Midlands area with his wife and daughter.
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