Critical Literacy is being implemented in ELA and Social Studies classes in Grand Haven and schools across Michigan by the State of Michigan Department of Education. It is a form of prejudice and racial discrimination that undermines the values of our community. The degree to which it is implemented in your child’s classroom depends greatly on the teacher. None-the-less, this philosophy is currently taking root and will continue to grow until the community and people of Michigan put an end to this destructive and toxic philosophy of education.
According to the State of Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards:
“Today’s society demands an urgent need to move beyond content-based teaching and the application of discipline-specific skill sets (e.g., thinking like a historian, geographer, economist). Critical literacy is the next cerebral step as students move toward an approach to see and “read” themselves and the world…. Critical literacy has been defined as “learning to read and write as part of the process of becoming conscious of one’s experiences as historically constructed within specific power relations” (Anderson & Irvine, 1982).”
Critical literacy is a critical theory; a Marxist concept. It is a philosophy of teaching that results in students developing negative views of their surrounding world. When implemented, students learn to look at everything, all subjects throughout the entire school day, through a “lens”. Lenses can be race, class, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. Proponents of Critical Literacy like to focus on differences in power and privilege, social constructs, taking action, identity and social issues.
When the focus is race, critical literacy is Critical Race Theory taught to students throughout the day and across the curriculum, but called Critical Literacy. When the focus is a person who identifies as LGBTQ, critical literacy is Critical Queer Theory taught to students throughout the day and across the curriculum but called Critical Literacy.
Like many words these days, the definition of racism has changed. According to a 1982 McMillan Dictionary for Children, discrimination is an unfair difference in treatment, and racial prejudice is an opinion that has been formed based on common characteristics of a group in a hasty way without careful thought. This is exactly what Critical Literacy is teaching our students to do. Using a “lens” to view any group with common characteristics fits the definition of prejudice. When these prejudicial views are applied to a treatment, that is discrimination.
It is perfectly fine to notice and celebrate differences between various groups of people, but today those differences are being tied to outcomes. Whether it’s a hiring practice, how many people become sick, or sent to prison… if an outcome is tied to a physical characteristic that is discrimination. When schools hire teachers based on race that is racial discrimination. When schools require certain percentages of books in their libraries be written by people with defined characteristics, that is discrimination. When students learn to view books through a racial lens, they are learning prejudice. When these characteristics are tied to outcomes, that is discrimination. Scholars like to call this type of discrimination equity.
Philip Carl Salzman wrote an excellent article in 2018 for Troy Media entitled When Diversity and Inclusion Result in Reverse Racism. The article explains how policies of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion actually work to create reverse racism. He explains how diversity of opinion is rejected, and how these practices result in discrimination in favor of victims, and how merit is no longer a valued characteristic.
Critical Literacy divides people into the oppressed and oppressors based on characteristics that people cannot change. Over time it becomes woven into every educational resource and taught throughout the day and across all subjects. It breaks down society and pits people against each other. It is destructive and dangerous and should not be used as a philosophy of education in any school. Instead, GHAPS should focus on characteristics such as achievement, integrity, moral character, and work ethic.