Instigator / Pro

Boba_Tea

1500

rating

debates

50.0%

won

Topic

#4717

CRT should remain in the Education System.

Status

Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics

Better arguments

Better sources

Better legibility

Better conduct

After 3 votes and with 21 points ahead, the winner is...

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Parameters

Publication date: 07.17.2023 12:01AM
Last updated date: 08.28.2023 11:21PM
Type: Standard
Number of rounds: 3
Time for argument: Three days
Max argument characters: 10,000
Voting period: One month
Point system: Multiple criterions
Voting system: Open

Contender / Con

prefix

1511

rating

debates

75.0%

won

Description

No information

Round 1

Boba_Tea

07.21.2023 08:50PM

Pro

Forfeited

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07.22.2023 04:57PM

Con

First off, this is my third debate. I hope to get the ability to vote by completing this debate.

Secondly since pro has forfeited. CON takes the advantage.

Pro argues that "CRT should remain in the Education System."

Defintions:

CRT = Critical Race Theory as defined below

Education system = The formal classroom teaching of skills, ideas, knowledge and social behavior.

remain in education system = The actual concepts taught in actual classrooms with validation from agencies involved in education and the communities where the concepts are taught

"critical race theory (CRT), [is an ]...

intellectual and social movement and loosely organized framework of legal analysis based on the premise that race is not a natural, biologically grounded feature of physically distinct subgroups of human beings but a socially constructed (culturally invented) category that is used to oppress and exploit people of colour. (1)

“ Critical race theorists hold that racism is inherent in the law and legal institutions of the United States insofar as they function to create and maintain social, economic, and political inequalities between whites and nonwhites, especially African Americans.” (2)

“ Critical race theorists are generally dedicated to applying their understanding of the institutional or structural nature of racism to the concrete (if distant) goal of eliminating all race-based and other unjust hierarchies." (3)

CON contends that CRT is more of a political concept than a rigorous academic endeavor. It perhaps merits an occasional mention as such, but should not be a course in and of itself.

(1) https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory

(2) https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory

(3) https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory

Round 2

Boba_Tea

07.25.2023 04:57PM

Pro

Forfeited

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07.25.2023 07:55PM

Con

We have seen that CRT is a "social movement" (1). A study from Stanford states "social movements are focused on the collective rights of specific groups, such as women or minorities. " (2) And "The collective nature of social movements makes them contentious because they can put groups in conflict with each other, as well in conflicts with the state,” (3) Thus it can be seen that social movements such as CRT are by their very nature both polarizing and divisive.

Another argument about incorporating CRT in a curriculum, is the apparent failure of the educational system to perform at an acceptable level with current courses.

"In the 1980s, economists puzzled by a decline in the growth of U.S. productivity realized that American schools had taken a dramatic turn for the worse. After rising every year for fifty years, student scores on a variety of achievement tests dropped sharply in 1967. They continued to decline through 1980." (4)

The US Department of Education, as cited by Education Week, states that "While 80 percent of high school seniors receive a diploma, less than half of those are able to proficiently read or complete math problems." (5)

Therefore it is clear that CRT should NOT remain in the public school curriculum.

It is polarizing

It is divisive

It is a social movement and as such is more an item to be dealt with as a "current event" discussion item rather than as a "stand alone" study.

Its inclusion will not improve the performance of the public schools

Its exclusion will not degrade the performance of the public schools

(1) https://www.britannica.com/topic/critical-race-theory

(2 https://ed.stanford.edu/news/high-school-textbooks-present-social-movements-largely-thing-past-according-stanford-scholars

(3) ibid

(4) https://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Education.html#:~:text=In%20the%201980s%2C%20economists%20puzzled,continued%20to%20decline%20through%201980.

(5) https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-10-reasons-the-u-s-education-system-is-failing/2015/08

Round 3

Boba_Tea

07.28.2023 07:55PM

Pro

Forfeited

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07.29.2023 11:21PM

Con

There are numerous problems with having Critical Race Theory remaining in the educational system.

As shown earlier it is a social movement. This is defined as "A social movement is a loosely organized effort by a large group of people to achieve a particular goal, typically a social or political one. This may be to carry out a social change, or to resist or undo one. It is a type of group action and may involve individuals, organizations, or both." (1)

Note that it is "typically a social or political " effort (2). Do social movements belong in schools? Do political movements belong in schools?

Other social movements have been incorporated into, for example, a footnote in a history class. Usually their mention is to a large extent “after the fact”.

Political movements are even more scarcely used in teaching.

Thus these facts remain about CRT:

It is polarizing

It is divisive

It is a social movement and as such is more an item to be dealt with as a "current event" discussion item rather than as a "stand alone" study.

Its inclusion will not improve the performance of the public schools

Its exclusion will not degrade the performance of the public schools

No. CRT should not remain in the educational system

(1)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_movement#:~:text=A%20social%20movement%20is%20a,individuals%2C%20organizations%2C%20or%20both.

(2) ibid

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08.28.2023 05:03PM