Wit & Wisdom Language Arts Curriculum with Critical Race Theory in Texas Schools
By Carole Hornsby Haynes October 7, 2022
Although Texas, along with a number of other states, has banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory in K-12 schools, these concepts are still being taught. Wit & Wisdom, a K-8 English language arts curriculum that integrates grammar and literature with history, geography, art, and science, has been aligned to state standards in all 50 states. The lessons are designed to be culturally responsive – a Critical Race Theory code term meaning that political lessons are integrated into the academic content.
Wit & Wisdom uses Transformative Social and Emotional Learning to instruct teachers about presenting lessons with Critical Race Theory, segregation, gender fluidity, racism, violence, brutality, slavery, graphic death, suicide, cannibalism, fear anti-Christian and anti-American sentiment, gore and pornographic images. At all levels, the lessons are age inappropriate.
Lessons drill down on negativity, fear, anger, and social justice with students being asked to engage in class discussions and to write their “feelings” about the subject. Students are being “transformed” to hate America and whites.
Great Minds, the publisher of the curriculum and partially funded by the Gates Foundation, denies that Critical Race Theory is taught, even though their website notes the curriculum is designed to help students fight systemic racism. A review of the lessons proves the tenets of Critical Race Theory are being taught, both explicitly and implicitly. Here are several examples from the numerous lessons More information and examples can be viewed here.
In the second grade book, Separate Is Never Equal, the stories portray one race as being inherently superior to another, with whites portrayed as oppressor. Racial division is the goal of this lesson, a violation of the state ban on Critical Race Theory.
In The Story of Ruby Bridges, the teacher instructs second graders during their lesson on grammar lesson on adjectives and adverbs to use “vicious” and “rudely” to describe whites. This is designed to trigger anger and hostility toward white students.
The story does not mention the Civil Rights Act of 1964 nor the famous 1963 speech, “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr. By omitting lessons on the progress of race relations since the sixties, Wit & Wisdom deliberately instills the idea that America is fundamentally a racist nation with whites as oppressors and blacks as the oppressed. The lessons promote racial division and resentment, a violation of the Texas state ban.
In Coming to America, third graders are conditioned to view illegal immigration as a humanitarian issue without any discussion about why nations limit immigration or the violence and crime perpetrated by drug cartels and some illegals. In a teacher directed “feelings” discussion, students are told that the immigrant children are very sad because their families are separated. The reason for the separation is not addressed. Children are being sent a subtle message that America is a racist nation, clearly a violation of the ban on Critical Race Theory.
Despite the myth that 85% of children’s brains develop by the time they are five, the fact is their brains continue to develop until about age 25. Children do not have the maturity or capacity to think critically about a topic. They lack an academic foundation in US. history and a critical distance from which to judge the Wit and Wisdom lessons.
Since state Critical Race Theory bans are being ignored, it’s up to the grassroots to stop schools from using Transformative SEL with culturally responsive teaching and activist teachers from instilling their radical ideology into young minds.
Note: Wit & Wisdom is found in the IDEA Pre-K-12 charter schools with more than 80,000 college-bound students in 143 schools across Texas, Southern Louisiana, Florida, and Ohio. IDEA schools also teach Eureka Common Core Math. IDEA’s website notes their mission is to be “ a diverse, equitable, inclusive and anti-racist organization,” – DEI -- all code words for Critical Race Theory.