How to Tell if the Curriculum is Critical/Liberated
Jargon/Keywords
Critical/Liberated curricula use similar jargon that is found in certain political and ideological propaganda. These words support anti-democratic ideals that uplift Marxist thought, while seeming innocuous. In other words, they sound harmless and helpful, while actually promoting ideology that is counter to enlightenment principles. Below is a list of some examples, but commonly used words are radical, critical, intersectional, resistance, and white supremacy (defined as something all white people exhibit due to their skin color, not their behavior or character).
Below are other words that indicate a Liberated approach to curriculum. Of course, it’s not the individual words themselves that are necessarily the problem but, rather, their “code meanings” in the context of Liberated Ethnic Studies.
Accompliceship
Cisheteropatriarchy
Colonialism/imperialism
Consciousness raising, critical consciousness
Critical Race Theory
Decolonization
Empire-building
Hegemony/counter hegemony
Herstory, hxrtory
Holistic humanization
Liberation / liberatory
Settler-colonialism
Transformative resistance
White privilege
Critical healing
Radical hope
Neo-Marxist concepts
Revolution, radicalism, resistance, true/truer democracy
Denigration of capitalism, individualism, meritocracy
Leading questions
Questions that are framed in a manner that directs students towards specific outcomes are most likely presented through a Liberated/Critical lens. These are referred to as leading questions because they lead students to an answer that fits within the predetermined Liberated/Critical viewpoint.
Example:
“How did they challenge systems of White supremacy?”
“How did they contribute to racial equality, social justice, or improving society? What skills, attributes or approach helped this person succeed?”
Similarly, Liberated/Critical Ethnic Studies lessons are framed only from a one-sided political ideology. These examples are always taught in a way that shows “white supremacy” in an effort to harm minority communities.
Example: “Dominant Narratives” as taught in Liberated/Critical Ethnic Studies are: denial of climate change, people against COVID vaccinations and mask mandates, voter ID laws. This one-sided approach to issues does not allow for debate or inquiry.
Radical Movements and Role Models
Something to look out for is learning materials, readings, role models, and social movements where one-side is promoted and the counter is either excluded or minimized. These learning materials demonstrate bias towards a specific ideology. This is not always easy to spot. However, here are some examples of what to look out for.
Militant movements and violent figures are the only ones used as examples for social justice and change
Lolita Lebrón: led an armed group of Puerto Rican nationalists in an attack on the US House of Representatives in 1954. They fired 30 bullets from a spectator’s gallery, wounding five congressmen.
Oscar Lopez Rivera: led the Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional Puertorriqueña, a paramilitary Marxist-Leninist organization responsible for over 130 bombings in US cities.
Yuri Kochiyama: Maoist advocate, admirer of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda.
Pol Pot: described in Liberated/Critical curricula as a popular Communist leader “who fought the U.S. backed Cambodian government …to weed out anything that had any U.S. or western influence…" Then, "as a reaction to the bombings… 10% of the population was killed." In reality, Pol Pot was the head of the brutal Khmer Rouge Communist Party responsible for the Killing Fields massacre of one-quarter (est. 2 million) of their own people.
Third World LIberation Front (TWLF): TWLF lead the way to the creation of Ethnic Studies in higher education, the group’s flaws are completely ignored. TWLF leaders promoted antisemitism and celebrated oppressive communist dictators like Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Ho Chi Minh (whose actions caused many people from various ethnic groups to become refugees).
Role models who do not fit into the liberated/critical box are excluded or minimized are Thurgood Marshall, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and John Lewis
‘Us vs. Them’ Binary
The Liberated/Critical framework constructs situations where individuals, communities, and systems are pitted against one another. It never presents circumstances where working towards common goals is a positive; there always must be a “bad guy.” This is referred to as the us versus them binary.
Oppressor vs. oppressed/victim
Privileged vs. underprivileged
Uplifting of Political/Advocacy Stances
The Liberated/Critical framework has specific political goals within education. Students are encouraged to participate in resistance movements that support militancy and resist work that results in productive, nonviolent change, like electoral, legislative, and judicial processes. (Example of encouraged movement: BDS/Anti-Zionism)
Guiding Principles
You can get a sense of the differences in language from the below contrasting principles.
“Critique empire in history and its relationship to white supremacy, racism, patriarchy, cisheteropatriarchy, capitalism, … and other forms of power.”
“FAIRstory teaches historic and contemporary racism while inspiring students to feel that their voices and actions count. The curriculum emphasizes the dignity and worth of each person because of our common humanity.”
“Connect ourselves to past and contemporary resistance movements that struggle for social justice on the global and local levels to ensure a truer democracy” [“Truer democracy is a Marxist term for abolition of private property.”]
“Teach students about social justice and social responsibility, and to understand that they can become agents of change at local, state, national, and global levels.”