Utah School That Allowed Students To Opt Out Of Black History Month Curriculum Changes Policy

February 8, 2021, 7:44 am

Education in the United States has skewed white, male, and heterosexual for as long as anyone can remember, and any progress made towards being inclusive always seems to be met with resistance by folks hoping to maintain the status quo.

Advertisement
Hide

But at one school in Utah, the opposite has finally happened.

Advertisement
Hide

Maria Montessori Academy in North Ogden announced earlier this month that students would be allowed to opt-out of curriculum related to Black History Month if their parents wished — a decision that was immediately met with severe backlash.

According to the school’s director, Micah Hirokawa, the decision had been made after several parents complained about their children centering the history of Black Americans for a few weeks out of the year.

“We should not shield our children from the history of our Nation, the mistreatment of its African American citizens, and the bravery of civil rights leaders, but should educate them about it,” he wrote on Facebook.

The decision made national news, with many people expressing frustration that parents could and would choose to yank their kids out of lessons that weren’t about white figures in history, especially considering most schooling centers the white history of the United States basically all year long.

Advertisement
Hide

Do black students get to opt out of the other 9 months of instruction?

— Rep. Steven Woodrow (@WoodrowForCO) February 7, 2021

Advertisement
Hide

Meanwhile, Mormons teach their kids a bizarre alternative history where Jesus visited America and Native Americans were white people cursed with dark skin as “punishment” for disobedience to make them undesirable. I fucking wish I was kidding. Mormonism is steeped in racism

— Meaningless Absurdity (@VoxAbsurdum) February 7, 2021

Let’s examine for even a fleeting moment the logical underpinnings of a system in which white-centric history is simply considered “history” and is mandatory learning, but in which one month of curriculum focused on Black history and achievement is this separate, optional thing. https://t.co/LZY2waWY7Z

— Carolyn Petit (@carolynmichelle) February 7, 2021

Advertisement
Hide

This is why charter schools are a horrible idea

— Donna Campbell (@ditsy_chic) February 7, 2021

I don’t know where to start…. racism is taught… and the fact that kids are being told by their own parents to not learn about black history and black excellence is sickening and sad!! And this is just part of the problem….. smh https://t.co/8vWkz0lZKQ

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) February 7, 2021

Disappointment in the decision came from within the school too, with some parents of students sharing their criticism on the initially Facebook post.

Advertisement
Hide

“I was appalled to see the form sent out that allows parents to opt their kids out of this and to hear that some parents have requested it,” wrote a woman who identified herself as a parent of MMA students.

The strong wave of backlash seemed to do the trick, with Hirokawa informing Insider that the opt out form is no longer available and that the school was able to work things out with parents who had initially requested their children be excused from the lessons.

Share this article

*First Published: February 8, 2021, 7:44 am