Combatting Critical Theory in the Classroom

Hold my Drink Podcast Blog, Episode 50

A former STEM teacher and administrator at an independent private school in Washington State, Steve Welliever was at the epicenter of a lot of the critical theory dogma that is making its way into our classrooms. After leaving his school with a series of grievances, he applied for teaching positions with no success, eventually taking a construction job to pay the bills.

Despite now being outside of education, he’s dedicated his life to combatting critical theory in the classroom. In today’s podcast he gives some practical boots-on-the-ground tips and insights for those who are either unaware of the issues, or who are aware, but don’t know what to do.

Like many stories we hear, the impetus for introducing racialized pedagogy in Washington started out with bipartisan support to give more attention to diverse cultures in education. Only after receiving widespread support (because, really, who doesn’t support more cultural competency… anyone?) were the critical race theory underpinnings unveiled.

An Ethics Study Advisory Committee was established to create a framework. Steve has fought to be in these committee meetings (they are public, although he wasn’t always welcome). What many parents don’t know, is that they can be in these meetings too. While the…