Dr. Hoven said: “We have to own the curriculum that we write“. We agree.
In this radio interview, Mark Reardon asked Dr. Hoven about consultant and self-described CRT expert that he hired, LaGarrett King, to help write curriculum.
He played some of the outrageous statements by LaGarrett King to our staff from this: FHSD Public vs Private Presentations on Black History Curriculum
This was Dr. Hoven’s response:
“With any consultant who comes to us, we hear their advice, we take some of their advice, we don’t take other people’s.
So I would ask any anybody to put the video aside and look at the end result”
It seems odd to hire a CRT expert and have your staff spend many hours with him when you claim to not be teaching CRT, but we did look at the end result: We read the entire curriculum document produced by the district (and Dr. Hoven already knows that).
Sadly, you don’t have to read very far to find the narratives of Critical Race Theory. Here are the very first references in the Black History Curriculum in “Unit 1: Sample Learning Plan”
- “Technical Terms and Quotes Document”
This document includes these terms: Privilege, Antiracism, Identity, Microaggression, Triggers, Intersectionality - “Black History is Not American History: Toward a Framework of Black Historical Consciousness” — LaGarrett King
“Independence Day observances and Brown v. Board are just two examples of ways the history curriculum presents Black histories only if the narratives closely align, or can be manufactured to align, with the attitudes, dispositions, and characteristics of white-centered historical narratives.”
“Teaching about Black history sends a message that Black histories are defined through oppression and liberation.”
“Black histories have been problematic and susceptible to the evils of sexism, capitalism, and Black ethnic subjugation”
“In dismantling white epistemic logic, we should ask the question: are we developing Black history through the oppressor’s historical lens, or do our histories represent and center Black perspectives and voices?”
“Power, oppression, and racism are important concepts for understanding how systems and institutions have victimized Black people throughout history”
“Primary sources with race-neutral guiding questions are not enough.”
Regardless of what Dr. Hoven says, the curriculum (that he owns) demonstrates that they did listen to LaGarrett King, he did an excellent job indoctrinating our staff, and they intend on passing that along to our students.
Francis Howell Families has asked to be interviewed by Mark Reardon this week to discuss many of Dr. Hoven’s claims.