Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Amber Aragon-Autobee | Washington, DC
our children deserve to know the truth in order for our country to be what it needs to be, especially for our BIPoC babies! They deserve better and it's our responsibility to do right by them and their future- our future!
Karla Ambriz | San Francisco, CA
I am latina, and want to empower youth, be resilient and unite for people of color
Sue Larson | Skokie, IL
If we have any hope of becoming a more just society, we have to teach our young people all the history, not just some of the history.
Laurel Levitan | Oakland, CA
Even five year olds know the world isn’t fair or if someone is treated differently because of their skin color. And if I’m not honest with them or ignore them, then their understandings about the world will be based on the unsupported assumptions of a five-year old and THAT is how fear and hate form.I refuse to do my students the disservice of leaving their questions unanswered or at least unresponded (“I don’t know” is often my answer to science questions). I refuse to send the message that asking questions is not OKAY. I refuse to convey that is OKAY for people to be treated inequitably or for those in power to misuse it by exploiting those they claim to represent.In my classroom, every person matters simply because they are person. I am refuse to lie or avoid explaining why my students don’t see this applied outside the classroom as well.
Andreas Haugen | Seattle, WA
our history and how we acknowledge it defines us as a nation and as individuals. If we ignore and fabricate the past, our foundation is built on lies and ignorance. If we recognize the faults and heroic struggles of our past, we can rise upwards on a foundation of truth and honor.
Shannon McArdle | Malone, NY
to begin the destruction of systemic racism and inherent bias in this nation, students need to learn the full truth of our nation’s history. This will be an uncomfortable process, but a necessary one.
Kristen Lindquester | Pagosa Springs, CO
I believe that teaching the truth is not about blame, it's about dissolving the lies and the systems that have been put in place to keep certain members of our community oppressed.
Gaye McCollum-Nickles | Reno, NV
In 30 years of teaching, I’ve never lied to my students. I have taught honest history from the day I first walked into a classroom. I’ve designed curriculum to reflect those values. My courses were based upon scholarly research and often presented what were uncomfortable truths about labor, black listing, vote suppression, Jim Crow, and social justice movements.
Stacy Bartlett | Stillwater, MN
I am committed to developing "critical thinking that supports students to better understand [scientific] problems in our society, and to develop collective solutions to those problems [engineering]. [I am] for truth-telling, [discovering, uncovering, analyzing data and trends, investigating, asking questions, defining problems, engaging in argument from evidence, and obtaining, evaluating and communicating in ways that advance scientific literacy and] that move us toward a more just society.
Rusty Rust | Long Beach, CA
We cannot fix our social system without first recognizing that there is a problem.
Shanna Hunter | San Antonio, TX
Texas says we have to teach the "other side of the Holocaust." WHAT OTHER SIDE??? Absolutely not. HB3979 is a JOKE and I will teach the TRUTH.
Sheli Ballard | Charleston, SC
I am committed to sharing honest, comprehensive content in such a manner as it is relevant and meaningful to ALL students.
Wendy Green | Mount Vernon, NY
It is morally incomprehensible to work to erase people's worth and history simply because the truth makes one uncomfortable. It is anti-God and anti-everything that is right and just.
Kurt Dunbar | Bellingham, WA
It is sad when so many are fearful of the whole truth being taught. Essentially, this is an inadvertent commentary of what American history really was and is.
Shannon Krueger | Granville, ND
I believe understanding and empathy for experiences other than our own creates opportunities for change that benefit everyone.
Tynisha Edwards | Palmdale, CA
One,The truth should never be erased. If you don't know history and truth you are doomed to repeat it's failures.
Darrin Smith | Johnston City, IL
For too long we have taught a whitewashed version of history that has led many good, honorable people to have a flawed belief that we have learned from, and corrected our mistakes as a nation and a people.
Brooke Bivona | Camden, NJ
Our children deserve the whole truth.
Lesley Mace | Durham, NC
True reconciliation cannot happen until the truth of our history is faced honestly and bravely. It is because I love this country that I want to encourage students to see it for its triumphs and faults and to empower my students to make it a country that serves ALL.
Kevin Lydy | Yellow Springs, OH
To ignore or minimize raceportrays a distressingly incomplete history of our nation’s past to our students. Educators atall levels (from Pre-K through University) can teach students to think critically about race, gender, and various other identities in ways that support ALL STUDENTS. As educators we are trained to help our kids understand the complexities of our national history and to take pride in what the United States has accomplished while acknowledging the times we have failed to live up to our ideals.
Dara Bode | Aztec, NM
Jennifer Anderson | Wilmington, NC
Truth kills ignorance.
Diane Kessler Seaman | Merrick, NY
Teaching the truth is essential, vital, and necessary.
Naqiba Gregory | West Sacramento, CA
We need a educated society who can think critically and make informed decisions in the future.
kathleen Boyle | Chimacum, WA
I believe students need to know the truth and education is crucial to a just world.
Selected Pledges
Click on pledge below to read many more.
As an educator who is serious about teaching the truth I will not be bullied into silence. I will do my part in the fight for equity and equality by making sure my students are most equipped to fight this ugliness in the real world.
Yes, the truth of American history needs to be taught, but also its impact on the rest of the world, such as its role in WWII. I just finished teaching a college-level course on the Holocaust, and could not believe how little the students knew about the rest of the world’s participation in the war! They seemed to believe that WWII was ended by the US alone!
“When you begin to do things that raise the achievement of the poorest and disenfranchised students, you may not always get applause. You need to be ready for that.” Dr. Asa Hilliard
“Resistance is a powerful motivator precisely because it enables us to fulfill our longing to achieve our goals while letting us boldly recognize and name the obstacles to those achievements.”
Dr. Derrick Bell
Our young people deserve the truth and it is our kuleana (responsibility) to give space and opportunity for the truth and the difficult conversations.
If we don’t teach it all, we teach nothing…
Social justice is a major theme of my Humanities 7 course, and my school uses Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s HILL framework (development of identity, skills, knowledge, Criticality) to frame our entire curriculum. Student agency through research work and essay writing, and action-oriented civic engagement work, define what we “cover” in my course.