The Carol Swain Story
I understand that persistent emails on one subject (even one as monumental as the education of our youth) can become an irritant to the point of causing the recipient to resent the intrusion, and delete without reading, or, to dig in and burrow more deeply into sincerely held convictions that are being questioned and challenged. Therefore, rather that speaking directly to you I am taking the liberty of introducing you to Carol Swain in her own words. For those of you who know the details of her remarkable life and are familiar with her acclaimed books she will need no introduction.
Dr. Swain is one of 12 children raised in a shack in rural Virginia whose mother was frequently beaten my her step-father, even to the point of being chased by him wielding an axe and threatening to kill her. From those desperate conditions she has become one of the most distinctive and provocative African-American voices in America. She is the Founder of the Veritas Institute which teaches that the way to success is by hard work and civilized relations results form public and mutually responsible public discourse. Her resume includes professorships at Princeton and Vanderbilt Universities.
I trust that those of you still reading will want to know whether our K-12 students have been or will be introduced to Dr. Swain, to her writings and to her life story. If not, I assume you will consider it a grievous omission by those who developed the curriculum focused on teaching Black and Latino History. Her ideas, like those of Bob Woodson, Thomas Sowell, John McWhorter, Shelby Steele, Jason Riley, Greg Loury and a host of others, are indispensable in teaching history, not merely as a ledger of successes and failures, bemoaning ignominious episodes and celebrating occasions of triumph, but how the tapestry is stitched together to accurately recount American history.
Carol Swain’s voice and presence must be at the table when the tale is told…..and the others mentioned……..the discussion cannot be had in any meaningful way without them and I am concerned that they have deliberately not been
History gets much more interesting when we move from a simple compilation of facts to an explanation of those facts. Historians interrogate the evidence of the past in order to understand it and explain it as best s/he can. The student’s role is not to regurgitate the “ right answer” or parrot back what is printed in the cirriculum. It’s the process, the attempt at grappling with the evidence that counts. Carol Swain is one who has grappled with evidence from her past, and that of America, and has cast it into a logical, convincing interpretation. She has not abandoned intellectual rigor or devalued accuracy. She teaches us the austere lesson: not to generalize from false premises based on inadequate evidence. She does not believe that America is a systemic racist country. She has described Critical Race Theory as a form of “abuse” to young students and that it creates a “ hostile learning environment.” She anguished that, “when messages are sent about White privilege and minorities being victims and racism being permanent that’s something very damaging. She said, “ It’s not good for America. We need to keep pushing back.”
So,I ask you, was Carol Swain consulted when this curriculum was formulated, is she mentioned during the course, are any of her prize winning books assigned as required reading? It is your duty to supervise not merely who was consulted, what assumptions were made, and what has been included, but also, who and what has not been. Then you can answer the question of whether our students are being taught or indoctrinated. Then you will have embraced your duty and performed it proudly.
Tim