Signatures
This is the list of people who have signed the pledge or petition to date.
Rachel Dworkin | Florence, MA
I will teach the truth no matter what!
Doron Zinger | Irvine, CA
Teaching truth, addressing systemic inequity, and repairing historical harms is a critical part of education.
Kelly Lormand | Summit, NJ
Neil Oliveria | Lawrence, MA
I believe the only way to solve the problems we now have in our country is through the truthful education of our young people. Only education can fight the false claims that many so-called leaders are now trying to impose on the nation. Our children deserve this.
Tara Charkow , NJ
I must.
Jack Gilroy , NY
My students lived the life of justice called for by Howard Zinn. They studied, debated issues and acted nonviolently in the streets in support of civil rights, in opposition to war and to call for environmental action.
Susannah "Sukie" Keita | Phoenix, AZ
My students' freedom of speech and freedom of expression was threatened during the election season of 2020. Students in Grand Canyon University's Department of Dance were to perform a piece that highlighted people who suffer brutality and death at the hands of police. It was a sensitive portrait that was co-created by students and faculty. When the dean acted to silence their voices, they protested during the live-streamed concert. What I have taken away from this devastating experience is that free speech within our public institutions must be protected. It is absolutely critical.
Ashia Ray | Newton, MA
As an Autistic Asian American mother of two elementary-aged children, I've grown up with the consequences of a public school system that erases my identity, the violence against people like me, and an intentional erasure of the barriers that face families like mine.The only way we can begin to address systemic and individual racism, ableism, and sexism against us is to talk openly about both the history and current practices that prevent us from living as truly equal citizens in the US.
Catherine Day | Harrisburg, PA
every student has the right to have an accurate portrayal of a country's history. As someone who grew up with a skewered view, it was polarizing to learn the true history of this country and how people of color's achievements were glossed over and how their treatment was. Keeping students uninformed is an attempt to keep them silent and compliant. Accurate education allows students to have information so that they can make decisions about their lives.
Caroline Gannon | Rotonda West, FL
It is important to stand for what I feel is right and imperative for future generations.
Collisa Lankford | Athens-Clarke County, GA
As an educator I believe have an obligation to tell the whole truth about our country's past, our present and to also encourage students to think critically about the direction we should take as a nation. In order to effectively evaluate and adequately understand our nation, we must study and reflect on our past with regards to indigenous peoples, people of color as well as countries we have subjugated for our own benefit. Without introspection there is no truth and without truth we'll learn HIStory, but we will never learn the whole story. I resolve to present the whole story so that my students can be equipped to right wrongs and to craft a more equitable inclusive story as well as an equitable and inclusive world.
Kirsten Jensen | Bellingham, WA
All students deserve the truth and to feel a sense of belonging
Rhonda Stewart | Nashville , TN
I believe education is important and an educated and informed individual can determine for themselves how and what they want to believe about the origin of our country. Truth is not subjective but it is dynamic and positions us in a place of reverence.
Delaney Colson | Rutland, MA
Dresden Koons | Chevy Chase, MD
Leah LaVelle | San Diego, CA
Truth is power and this country needs to learn the truth in order to heal.
Courtney Dover | Orange, NJ
Liana Luna , NJ
Dianna Morton | Provincetown, MA
Truth heals
Jaime Abarca | San Diego, CA
Loring Nagle | Raritan, NJ
Love wins.
Emily N | NY, NY
Charlene Bing | Somerset, NJ
History should not be cherry picked to make people feel better about themselves at the expense of an opportunity to grow and progress as a society. If you are unaware of the mistakes of your forebearers then you are doomed to repeat them. Never again.
Shannon Proctor | Albany, OR
Change is needed and to get to that change we need truth to be taught to everyone!
Charles Willis | Los Angeles, CA
I believe in dismantling systemic racism and oppressive white supremacy.
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.