‘Evolve or dissolve’ — Beaverton, Ore., teachers told to accept ‘anti-racism’ teachings or get fired

Update:

2021 Social Science Standards Integrated with Ethnic Studies.

Beaverton School District has released new Social Science Standards.

On Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 10, 2021, during the school day, the Beaverton School District in Oregon hosted a virtual professional development event on Zoom, called “Equity ABAR Summit: If Not You Then Who?” at which teachers were shamed into accepting ideas rooted in the controversial ideology of critical race theory.

‘Anti-bias, anti-racism’

“ABAR” is the latest buzzword for the “anti-bias, anti-racism” teachings of critical race theory.

According to a message from a staff member in Beaverton School District and a member of the Equity-ABAR Summit Planning Team, more than 3,000 educators from the district participated in the meeting, which she called an “exceptional opportunity to engage in courageous conversations about equity, social justice and racism in education.”

She wrote: “It is a chance for you to be committed to your profession and begin a journey for justice and racial equity in all the social contexts in which you interact as an educator and individual.”

She said the objectives of the summit included: “unearthing issues of racism,” “decentering whiteness in the classroom,” “decolonizing academic curriculum,” “exploring intersectionalities” and “disrupting deficit thinking narratives” and “elevating and empowering BIPOC students and staff’ [sic] voices,” referring to “Black, Indigenous, People of Color.”

Beaverton is one of the largest districts in the state of Oregon, serving over 42,000 students.

Rodarte said 58 educators from the district planned the summit.

During the closing session of the event, one local teacher, a humanities teacher at Cedar Park Middle School, compared teachers who don’t subscribe to this anti-racist ideology to teachers who sexually abuse students. She warned that they will be “fired” and told them to “evolve or dissolve.”

‘Evolve or dissolve’

At 23:16, with Zoom participants nodding their heads in agreement, the teacher said, “I’m going to say something that is not nice and not sweet, but it’s true. If you’re not evolving into an anti-racist educator, you’re making yourself obsolete in this field of profession. Our district is only getting browner and browner with our children. Obviously, you can’t change your melanin, alright, but you can change your mind, so that you can actually function in a district that is full of BIPOC children. So if you’re being resistant, I understand that but eventually you’re going to have to come to the light. Because if you’re going to come with those old views of colonialism, it’s going to lead to being fired, because you’re going to be doing damage to our children — trauma. So, as we fire the children who sexually abuse our children, we will be firing the teachers who do racist things to our children and traumatize them. And, while our district might not be completely on there, OEA [Oregon Education Association, the teachers’ union] is working on it, alright? NEA [National Education Association, the teachers’ union] is working on it.“

At 24:30, she said, “It’s just a matter of time. You either evolve or dissolve.”

To see descriptions of all the breakout groups, click here, or download the attached PDF.