Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Megan Lynd Meier | Chicago, IL
we must cultivate critical thinkers and citizens that fully understand history and how our nation has grown and evolved over time. We must be open and honest with our ourselves and with our students so that we can move forward and work together to create a more a just and equitable society.
Allie Curry | San Francisco, CA
Ellie Walsh | Chicago, IL
Timothy Flanagan | Mystic, CT
I support teaching the truth about racism and other forms of oppression in our country's history as well as today. I want my students to have the knowledge and tools to challenge all forms of oppression and build an even greater country.
Timothy Schroeder | Douglas, MA
We must be committed to the moral obligation of pursuing truth, as it will bring about justice and healing for all.
Sarah Kohrs | Mt Jackson, VA
I believe it is imperative to be truth-tellers in a climate that wants to keep one perspective at the forefront of how we view history. And yet, history is a multi-faceted array of perspectives - even if traditionally those with wealth, power, and literacy have circumvented the right of others to tell their stories, too.
Niall Twohig , CA
systemic analysis give students a deeper understanding of the tensions, pressures, and frustrations they feel. It shows them that they are not alone, that there is hope even in the most desperate conditions. These teachings remind students that they can live, not just for themselves or things, but for others and a more perfect union.
Robert Imperato | Vineland, NJ
Honesty needs to be taught to young people to help them understand the inequalities that many have experienced. Cannot candy coat history. Teaching the truth will hopefully help avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Elizabeth Winslow | Denver, CO
Racism is wrong. Truth telling is about Justice, truth telling is about modeling right action as an educator, and finally, truth telling is about me!
LaVera Luster | Chicago, IL
I agree that the truth should be taught to the students to empower them with the knowledge and tools to work towards ending all injustices.
Yael Sacks | New York, NY
We can't heal from oppression without telling the true stories of what happened, and dreaming something new for our world.
Kari Wimbish | Charlotte, NC
Gabriel Alegre | San Mateo, CA
As a graduate of the College of Ethnic Studies at SFSU, and an educator in the SF Bay Area, I #TeachTruth in the classroom that reflects the communities I serve. Students want to see themselves in the histories we teach in a relevant and meaningful way.In 1968 the Black Student Union/Third World Liberation Front went on strike at SFSU for a little over 4 months. Among the demands that were won as a result of the stirke was the establishment of the School of Ethnic Studies, later renamed in 1994 as the College of Ethnic Studies---the first of its kind in the country.
Patricia Stevens | Chicago, IL
Christina Alaniz | Banning, CA
I am committed to teaching the true history of this country.
Ginger Riddle | Leavenworth, KS
My students deserve the opportunity to learn about issues from a variety of perspectives; to examine statistics and draw conclusions; to think critically even if occasionally it is uncomfortable. Attempts to legislate what teachers teach are harmful. They will slow our country's progress toward empathy toward one another and true equality. These laws insult the teaching profession and disrespect teachers and administrators who have worked hard to earn their degrees and licenses. Legislators are not education experts and should leave the teaching to teachers.
Staci Dugan | Denver, CO
Monica Zimmerman | Philadelphia, PA
Being Unapologetically Me cannot be silenced.
Tonia Nelson | Chicago, IL
Demetricia Hodges | Tacoma, WA
It is vitally important that we teach historical and present truth to help our young people develop critical minds and eyes in an effort to strengthen their individual and collective agency for substantive systematic transformation.
Kristen Shellenberg | Deer Park, TX
Our education system needs to reflect more voices in our history and correct the misinformation that is being taught as fact.
Jamie Jones | Lawrence, KS
Molly Towner | Anchorage, AK
Students deserve the truth!
Emma Steinheimer | Philadelphia, PA
Crystal Harris | Chicago, IL
Presenting current information and teaching students to evaluate information critically is an necessary skill for true democracy and citizenship.
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.