A California father has come under fire after saying he doesn’t want his daughter to learn about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Garren Bratcher, from North Highlands, Sacramento, caused outrage when he asked to have his 14-year-old daughter opt out of the classes.
Ella, who attends San Juan High School said the ethnic studies class on BLM made her feel ‘uncomfortable in class.’
Bratcher, who said the classes don’t align with the family’s beliefs, argued that it would ‘create that divide in the classroom that becomes dangerous to a student.’
After hearing the lesson taking place online, he wrote to Ella’s school asking if they could provide a different lesson plan as he believes, ‘the ethics behind [BLM] is not something you should be teaching a 14-year-old child. It sounded more like a recruitment tactic, not an educational experience,’ as per CBS Local.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the school denied the request, pointing out that ethnic studies are a crucial part of the school’s syllabus, which must be completed in order for her to graduate.
The San Juan Unified School District, of which the Suan Juan High School is a part of, has defended the school’s decision to enforce the class, calling the ethnics lesson plan as ‘completely appropriate’, particularly in light of the events of the last 12 months.
‘The course is taught in alignment with the state framework and this particular unit asks students to consider two relevant questions: How has race and ethnicity been constructed in the United States and how have they changed over time? And, how do race and ethnicity continue to shape the United States contemporary issues?’ the statement read.
‘The Black Lives Matter movement is a timely and important area of study in processing these two questions. This particular assignment asks students to analyze and summarise a text to identify comparisons and differences between current and past events. Students are not asked to develop an opinion with regard to any particular civil rights movement but instead are graded on the demonstration of their critical analysis skills.’
Meanwhile, the found of Sacramento’s Black Lives Matter movement has spoken out, saying it’s highly important that children are taught about Black history in the United States, as well as the BLM movement.
Tanya Faison said: ‘It’s about time our schools are teaching our kids the truth about our history in this country.’
*story by UniLad
