Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Lauren Bianchi | Chicago, IL
Tara Shaw | Philadelphia, PA
Stephanie Felder | Philadelphia, PA
Teaching students to think historically is important.
Kevin Kelly | Bryn Mawr, PA
Patricia Hynes | Reston, VA
teaching the historic truth is my job.
Alex Kopp | Philadelphia, PA
We must understand the past to improve the future
Danielle Bullock | Brooklyn, NY
Erin McCarthy | MILWAUKEE, WI
The existence of structural racism is not an opinion.The success of communities & individuals of color and all groups sidelined to the margins of history for centuries, despite every political, economic, cultural, and social obstacle possible, makes American history captivating. I'll keep teaching it.
Parker Schramme | Memphis, TN
Mark Nelson | Chicago, IL
Education should be uncensored in order for individuals to form their own opinions based on all the facts. Apparently indoctrination and propaganda is the only way the GOP can elect their pack of nut jobs, fascists, religious fanatics and low wage monopolists into key government and judicial positions.
Andrew Saltz | Philadelphia, PA
If I'm not teaching the truth, I'm lying
Bobbie Schmaus | Santa Rosa, CA
Gary Falkenberg | Asheville , NC
White washed history is just wrong.
Victoria Breakstone | Lafayette, CA
I refuse to lie to young people about history and current events. I will not use curriculum that is incorrect about U.S. history. Children need to learn the history of the U.S. and the world so that it doesn’t repeat and the world becomes a better place.
Nicholas Marzuola | Cleveland, OH
Students need to know *all* of history, including the parts that might make some people uncomfortable. History should not frame events or people in a falsely-created positive view, but rather from events and actions that actually occured.Anybody who tries to silence reality is likely a fascist. The only way to stop fascism is truth, knowledge, and empowerment.
Jason Spray | St Louis, MO
Steven Buller | Philadelphia, PA
Fascists are attempting to erode the ability of educators and communities to fight back. Hiding behind mythologies and spreading lies will only further increase authoritarianism. I believe in telling the truth. I will be telling the truth.
Alysia Scofield | Washington, DC
Joan Hurley | Southington, CT
The nefarious inequities of our legislative and social histories must be made overt & explicit. No topic is taboo. It is through discourse and investigation that our students will become true citizens of democracy.
Peggy Janicki , BCCA
Truth, is a Coast Salish Law, and as an Indigenous Teacher I am obligated to Teach about our Genocide in Canada. Our Indigenous Nations are confirming unmarked graves at the Indian Residential Schools and everyone needs to know.
noenoe barney-campbell Campbell | Honolulu, HI
It’s important to teach the truth. For years we have subjected children to myths that have been created and propagated by the government and textbook writers as well as brainwashed school district people. Lets teach the truth no matter how ugly it is!!!
Lindsay helfman | Dearborn, MI
I refuse to teach a government-mandated, whitewashed version of history. I teach my students to be critical thinkers and to weigh evidence about past events. I would rather lose my job than lie to kids.
Judi Freeman | Boston, MA
Tracey Scronic | Brooklyn, NY
... all people deserve to know the truth about the history of our country and its role in the persistence of oppression across the globe. Teaching the truth is the best way I know to tear down the power structure that maintains the oppressive status quo.
Kyle Eichner | Cambridge, MA
Children need to know the whole truth of our country’s history - and it is our responsibility as teachers to help them ask questions, look at different perspectives, and figure out what they think about it.
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.