Long-time Hoosier STEM educator Tony Kinnett has faced hard times since speaking out against the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Indiana schools.
Kinnett blew the whistle via social media by posting screenshots of materials he was sent as an educator and links to videos of racial equity officer meetings that were conducted with middle school students at Butler lab 60 by Black Lives Matter activists.
The Hoosier educator was immediately suspended with pay as a result of his actions and a formal investigation was launched.
On Wednesday, Kinnett delivered comments at the Indiana State House regarding two upcoming bills that regard the teaching of CRT, which are under consideration by the Indiana General Assembly.
“Some of the concepts that are being pushed through are encouraging race essentialism, segregating kids based on color, and telling students that they’re responsible for past discrimination in the country,” Kinnett told Hammer and Nigel. “This is all based on the 1619 project by Nicole Hannah Jones and the various writings of Richard Delgado, Derek Bell, and Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings.”
Kinnett is uniquely qualified to speak on matters of CRT being taught in Indiana schools.
“I was asked to testify today because I have a lot of experience with education policy,” explained Kinnett. “I used to work in governor Walker’s office in Wisconsin and I’ve studied critical race theory for eight years at the graduate level.”
Kinnett wants Indiana students to have the opportunity to learn without being exposed to intense racial segregation.
“Teaching Critical Race Theory is not the same thing as teaching history,” said Kinnett. “No advocate desires that we remove teaching about slavery or the bad things in our nation’s history.
“The vast majority of parents simply want their students not to be discriminated against based on past historical events and they don’t want their kids to be taught false data that this country was founded and exists to perpetuate racism,” Kinnett explained. “That’s Critical Race Theory and that’s not teaching history, that’s teaching activism.”
Click below to hear Hammer and Nigel’s full interview with Tony Kinnett.
https://omny.fm/shows/hammer-and-nigel-show/tony-kinnett-talks-crt-education-in-indiana
