To the editor:

Those in New Ulm who say that Critical Theory will not be in our schools, please read this. The following information has been gathered by the “Center of the American Experiment”:

(QUOTE) The primary vehicle for CRT ideology in the third draft of the Minnesota Department of Education’s educational standards is “Ethnic Studies.” … MDE has now incorporated it in its final draft. As a result, it appears Minnesota is poised to become one of a handful of states that require the radical Ethnic Studies agenda for all grades.

The first Ethnic Studies standards (Std. 23) teaches that a student’s personal identity is determined by his or her group status:

• “Identity: Analyze the ways power and language construct the social identities of race, religion, geography, ethnicity and gender. Apply these understandings to one’s own social identities and other groups living in Minnesota, centering those on whose stories and histories have been marginalized, erased or ignored.”

The second and third standards (Std. 24 and Std. 25) require students to organize to “resist” America’s “systemic” abuse of power against “marginalized,” “oppressed” groups:

• “Resistance: Describe how individuals and communities have fought for freedom and liberation against systemic and coordinated exercises of power locally and globally…and organize with others to engage in activities that could further the rights and dignity of all;” and

• “Ways of Knowing: Use ethnic and indigenous studies methods in order to understand the roots of contemporary systems of oppression and apply lessons from the past to eliminate historical and contemporary injustices.”

How will radical Ethnic Studies standards play out in Minnesota classrooms? [Here are a few benchmarks listed for different levels. More could be cited.]:

Kindergartners must “retell a story about an unfair experience that conveys a power imbalance.” (K.5.24.1)

First-graders must “identify examples of ethnicity, equality, liberation and systems of power, and use those examples to construct meanings for those terms.” (1.5.23.1)

High school students will be required to:

• “Analyze how caste systems based upon race, social class, and religion have been used to justify imperialism, colonization, warfare, and chattel slavery; how those caste systems and justifications have changed over time; and how they influence our society today,” and

• “Examine the construction of racialized hierarchies based on colorism and dominant European beauty standards and values.” (END QUOTE)

Even if those in charge of our schools would decide to reject these standards and not incorporate them in our classrooms, teachers are being trained in it. They would have to consciously avoid using this indoctrination as an integral part of their instruction. The only option for parents who see where this is heading may be alternative education for their children.

Mary Thom

New Ulm