Key Takeaways / CRT prep

 1. The first major takeaway from this course, thus far, has been the hypocrisy shown by people banning books. We have often discussed how the people banning books are not the ones reading them. I think that point is very important going into the Critical Race Theory discussion, as the ones banning the teaching of CRT, are rarely the ones experiencing discrimination. Teaching children an accurate history of the United States, the existence of biases, and the presence of discrimination across the nation produces generations of knowledgable and empathetic youth. Protecting students' innocence is not an excuse to promote ignorance. 

2. Another main takeaway that I think is important to note in the discussion, is that many of the students unable to read these books, are seen as consenting adults. In a majority of states in the US, the age of consent is sixteen. It astounds me that these "children" are legally old enough to consent to sex, but too young to read about sex or diverse sexual orientations. With the recent Florida legislation, banning the discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity, it is important to comment on the discrepancy in what qualifies as an adult. Saying "gay" does not lead to a higher prevalence of gay youth. Moreover, the discussions from these books do not promote violent or sexually explicit youth.