South Iowa News

Since the law preventing the teaching of critical race theory in Iowa’s classrooms went into effect, teachers statewide say discussions stop short of delving deeper into systemic racism and white privilege.

Iowa City teacher Melanie Hester recalled to Chalkbeat an instance in which a student inquired about the present whereabouts of Native Americans but she couldn’t give a full response.

“That’s where I’m like, well, I’m not really sure how to answer that,” she told the website. “I kind of stuck to the lesson and if they didn’t understand, I just kept moving forward — which is not best practice.”

Defined as a 40-year-old academic concept that says race is a social construct, critical race theory has been a political flashpoint for more than a year.

Eight states restrict the teaching of racism and sexism, according to the Des Moines Register.

Iowa is among those states, with Gov. Kim Reynolds signing a law last June that bans teaching about white privilege and racial equity.

“Students deserve to speak freely about race and gender,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa tweeted Jan. 4.

The new laws prompted teachers to resort to the using the Socratic method, which employs open-ended question-and-answer sessions, Yahoo News reported.

One topic educators approach with caution is the events of Jan. 6 a year ago.

Teachers direct students to conduct their own investigations by using credible news sources and critical thinking to help deduce their own conclusions, according to Yahoo News.