Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Rebecca Russell | New Port Richey, FL
I pledge to teach the truth, regardless of what was passed on Friday by the Board of Education and signed into law by Givernor DeSantis. My students deserve nothing less.
Michael Surgeon | Medford, OR
Lisa Waszak | Milwaukee, WI
All children need to hear the truth. We need to end systemic racism, not perpetuate it.
Jennifer Collier | Kenosha, WI
lauren calig | shaker heights, OH
Until we teach the truth about systemic racism, we will not be able to change the systems.
jacqueline fawaz | Atlanta, GA
The usa is a democratic country, truth about our history and that of others is crucial in making sure there is equity for all adding transparency to ensure justice and prevent wrongs from being repeated.
Matt Wiegand | Carson City, NV
Not teaching about systemic racism is a great example of systemic racism.
Amanda Laister | Monmouth, OR
Jamie Call | Ogden, UT
Teach the truth.
Cecilia Robinson | OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
All children will be better humans when they hear the stories of all people from multiple perspectives
Gaye McCollum-Nickles | Reno, NV
We used Zinn as our major textbook and supplemented with original materials; that was the right decision.
Tanya Frierson | Marietta, GA
The truth can’t be censored and we need to encourage critical thinking and critical conversations in and out of the classroom.
Derek Koehl | Huntsville, AL
Attempts to censor learning are un-American. Compromising the education of our youth to score political points with white supremacists is despicable.
Demiana Ghobrial | Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Andra Burns | Atlanta, GA
Because truth matters. History matters. And Black and Brown students matter.
Lisa Steffen | Gurnee, IL
Our kids must learn from our history in the effort to not repeat our mistakes.
Charles Hamilton | Elkton, MD
I teach in DE and I have had many students of color and the fact that all students regardless of color need to hear the truth, however ugly, about the history of the United States. I love my country but and, maybe because of that, the truth about race and other issues like gender and sexual identity needs to be told unfettered and honestly so that students can learn and make up their own minds about our country and how to make it better for all.
Christine Truscello | Fair Lawn, NJ
my students deserve a shot at understanding, questioning, and demanding change for their futures.
Leo Wolf | Chicago, IL
Adrienne Martin , DE
Jennifer Ward | Canton, GA
Charlotte Shepherd
In order to develop critical thinking skills that students need to become good citizens and our future problem solvers, students must be taught the entire, unadulterated truth about our nation's history - all the good and bad together without bias.
Karen Packer | Sherman Oaks, CA
Lies kill and destroy. Truth supports life.
Josh Nixon | Hickory, NC
students need to understand the problems of America’s past and present in order to form a better future, and it’s essential for teachers to guide their students through the struggles of coming to grips with reality.
Christopher Naze | Portland, OR
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.