In this motte-and-bailey graphic, both the motte and the bailey arguments are composed of the actual words and actions of the Eanes School Board.
The indefensible bailey: We pledge to promote social justice by recommending racist resources, hiring a DEI consultant trained in Critical Race Theory, inserting equity in every corner of the District, and raising students’ critical consciousness.
This phrases in this sentence comes from the District’s own words and actions:
- We pledge to promote social justice: this is from the EISD DEI landing page for the 2020-21 school year. The Wayback Machine first captured this controversial language in September 2020 (it could have existed before that) and shows that the language was dropped between April and August of 2021.
- by recommending racist resources: the Resources list existed on the EISD DEI website until July 2021.
- hiring a DEI consultant trained in Critical Race Theory: Dr. Mark Gooden, who’s studied and supports the ideas of Critical Race Theory, was hired for the 2020-21 school year. The District paid him $140,000. In June 2021, the School Board renewed his contract for the 2021-22 school year.
- inserting equity in every corner of the District: the School Board has infused the concept of equity everywhere in the District. Three quick examples: develop a system of equity-focused restorative justice; each campus will create an Equity Team; and teachers will be trained in racial equity leadership training and “the idea of teaching and instilling equity in our students.” (This last phrase comes from Dr. Gooden’s description of his teacher training, but the source document seems to have been removed from the Eanes website. If you see something controversial on the Eanes website, be sure to take a screenshot. You never know when it will be disappeared.)
- raising students’ critical consciousness: Wow. This phrase comes from the District’s DEI FAQ page. The term critical consciousness is used in an incoherent phrase—”Equity in education is a goal supported by a critical consciousness . . . ”—to answer the question How do you define Equity as it pertains to education? Critical Consciousness is a Marxist concept derived from Critical Pedagogy—a pedagogy which seeks to teach students to see the world through Critical Theory. (Equity in education is a goal supported by a critical consciousness . . . —seriously?!? Who writes these garbage phrases?!?)
The reasonable motte: Between April and August 2021, the School Board’s controversial pledge to promote social justice was removed from the EISD DEI webpage and replaced with the reasonable and anodyne sentence (the motte): Our primary goal for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is to improve school climate by creating an environment where all of our students feel accepted and welcome.
To be crystal clear, nobody disagrees with the current reasonable sentence. It’s the now-hidden bailey—a controversial pledge to promote social justice and the corresponding actions of the school board—that are completely unacceptable.