Celeste Fiehler knows how destructive identity politics can be. She lives it every day in a house divided over race and politics. And she says California’s push to make “ethnic studies” a statewide requirement to graduate from high school is only going to make matters worse.
“My life is hell,” she told The Epoch Times.
Fiehler, 40, is married with four children in the public school system and one in college. She is one of several local parents in La Quinta, California, who have spoken out against critical race theory (CRT) being taught in California schools.
The local Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD) will offer a new ethnic studies course in the fall, and Fiehler is worried it will include CRT and racial ideas pushed by the California Teachers Association that promote concepts like “divorcing the default of whiteness,” which she sees as racism towards white people.
“It’s disgusting. It’s full-on racist. It’s so sad,” Fiehler told The Epoch Times.
“More and more, we hear from parents across the political spectrum who are outraged about what they see as indoctrination and a radical philosophy that divides students by color, and fails to instill a love for our country,” she said.
CRT stems from Marxist ideology, which focuses on class struggle between the “bourgeois” and the “proletariat.” But CRT adds a controversial racial component by focusing on the struggle between white “oppressors” and “oppressed” other races.
The theory has gained support among many left-wing activist groups, academia, and government in recent years. But over the past few months, parents have increasingly spoken out against CRT teachings they claim are hidden under the guise of “ethnic studies” and other euphemisms. Several states have banned CRT in public schools and other government institutions.
In response, the largest teachers union in the U.S., the National Educators Association (NEA), recently approved a resolution stating that CRT is “reasonable and appropriate” to teach to K-12 students. The group plans to “publicize” CRT and has dedicated staff to “fight back against anti-CRT rhetoric.”
BY BRAD JONES
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