South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said she signed a pledge this week that aims to restore “patriotic education” as liberals push critical race theory in the school curriculum. Republicans like Noem have criticized the race curriculum for sowing division and hate, and teaching anti-American values to students.
In a Twitter post earlier this week, Noem said she is the first candidate in the country to sign a promise called “The 1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools.”
“Teaching our children & grandchildren to hate their own country & pitting them against one another on the basis of race or sex is shameful & must be stopped. I’m proud to be the 1st candidate in America to sign ‘The 1776 Pledge to Save Our Schools,” wrote Noem.
The pledge, signed by Noem, promises to take steps to restore “honest, patriotic education that cultivates in our children a profound love for our country,” and teach “that all children are created equal, have equal moral value under God, our Constitution, and the law.” It also will “Prohibit any curriculum that pits students against one another on the basis of race or sex” and “Prevent schools from politicizing education.”
“In partnership with @1776ActionOrg, @RealBenCarson is helping to stop this woke, anti-American indoctrination at the state and local level & this pledge is a vital tool for clarity & accountability,” wrote Noem in the Twitter post.
Noem penned an opinion piece for Fox News with former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson on Monday, dubbing critical race theory as a “radical concept” and writing that the curriculum “pits them against one another on the basis of race and gender under the guise of achieving ‘equity.’”
The organization, 1776 Action, was created to counter ideas like critical race theory and advocate for education based on former President Donald Trump’s 1776 commission, which was created to bring back the teaching of the founding documents.
BY MASOOMA HAQ