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That Pesky Word

Did November’s election put an end to the Critical Race Theory (CRT) nonsense? Nope. Behold Mary Beeman reprising her Captain Queeg role [March 10 letter “Question the Work”]. Lest anyone forget, last year as campaign manager for five Republican Board of Education (BOE) candidates (Row B), she doggedly insisted, contrary to all evidence, that CRT was part of our school curriculum. Those in position to know (educators, BOE, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Paul Freeman) assured us it wasn’t.

While rationalizing her fear of CRT during a UConn education forum, Beeman mused: “Helping kids of color to feel they belong has a negative effect on White, Christian, or conservative kids.” In response to the outrage that those words triggered, she described her comment as “clumsy” and “taken out of context.” Curious minds wondered: In what context are those words not offensive?

In November Guilford voters, showing no appetite for race-baiting power plays, turned out in record numbers (highest in Connecticut). The Row B platform was so toxic, all candidates lost by 2-1 margins. In a startling display of hubris, they then claimed a victory-of-sorts in their historic defeat, promising that legions of eyes would be watching everything.

In that spirit, an unchastened Beeman has scrutinized every educational utterance, searching for evil conspiracies. Using geometric logic, she’s onto something big: She caught folks referring to their “work.” Gasp! Apparently those are menacing words (kind of like “race”). Beeman wants parents to interrogate kids about what’s really going on? Whomever can parents trust? Tough choice: Captain Queeg, or selfless, professional educators who work hard for our kids every day? Oops—there’s that pesky word again. Is the verb also blacklisted?

Greg Kinsella

Guilford