What is Teacher Certification?

Teacher certification is a proof-based promise that allows teacher candidates to become teachers. Holding a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and typically must complete a teacher preparation program are required for teacher certification - Arizona uses a two-tier system in which educators first apply for the initial 3-year provisional certificate appropriate to the area of teaching focus and then advance to the 6-year standard certificate after earning teaching experience.

What are the current issues confronting educators?

According to weareteachers.com, 55 percent of educators are ready to leave the profession earlier than planned, doing more work than expected, and being underpaid. Burnout symptoms, as well as stress and depression, have increased among educators, with only 30% of teachers satisfied with their current positions. It was reported that the reasons teachers felt ready to leave were a lack of support, a heavy workload, and struggles with student behavioral issues at school.

How are districts and governors dealing with the teacher shortage?

Recognizing the issue, Governor Ducey signed legislation to expand training pathways for future educators by providing the opportunity to pursue a career in education and assist children in catching up. Going into training before getting a teacher certificate or finishing a degree would benefit educators by increasing their flexibility in obtaining a teacher license. For example, in Arizona, a teacher shortage has lasted six years, with 26 percent of teacher vacancies remaining unfilled by the end of 2021, and more than half filled by teachers who did not meet the standard to become a teacher. “Government regulations surrounding the teacher certification process can impose undue burdens on teachers and can subsequently limit the pool of qualified professionals in the field – Alternative credentialing can break down these regulatory burdens, making it easier to hire and retain more teachers.” Wrote ALEC officials, in education and workforce development area. While Arizona has eliminated the process of teachers teaching without a teacher certificate, Alabama has also made changes to According to WSFA, Alabama, Montgomery has reported that the Alabama has lowered the minimum score for teacher certification test score between the regular cut score and minus one standard error of measure, so about five points below, so those who are in the required score range with higher normal GPA can receive the teacher certificates, and as a result, nearly 1,200 teachers scored one standard error measure below a passing score for those who took tests between Sept. The Kentucky Professional Standards Board and the Kentucky Department of Education approved an emergency regulation alternative route to teaching certification - an EPSB-approved college or university may collaborate with a school district or educational cooperative to develop an expedited certification program that results in a bachelor's degree and initial teaching certification. “We’re being proactive about it like many districts are, but the challenge is real.” Said Dr. Marty Pollio, the JCPS Superintendent to WYMT, addressing the teacher shortage and emphasizing the need to come up with the solution. As a solution to the teacher shortage, the Houston Independent School District offers the program to enroll in their alternative certification program to become full-time teachers. Along with the ACP, the district has implemented one of the most competitive salary compensation plans, with new teacher salaries starting at $61,5000 plus $2,000 signing bonuses. According to click 2 Houston.com, up to $5,000 stipends are offered to teachers in areas where there is a critical teacher shortage, and the same amount stipends are given to all bilingual and special education teachers. To address the issue of teacher shortages, school districts are raising teacher salaries with bonuses and lowering the requirements to become an educator. However, there have been no significant improvements in resolving teacher shortages, but hopefully impartial compensation for teachers will bring back the teachers who plan to leave - though consider whether lowering the standards for teacher certification exams is truly the best they can think of - which may eventually impact the students' education.   Read more: Teachers Are Burned Out and on the Verge of Leaving the Classroom

Nowadays, a wide range of scholarship programs are available to college students through their school's financial aid office, the Department of Labor's website, or through private scholarship services, among other places.

Colleges are now offering new scholarships to students.

Colleges are now offering new scholarships to help college students financially; Catawba College, for example, has announced 28 new scholarships. According to WBTV, the 28 new scholarships were either created or increased to Presidential level with a $150,000 endowment level and are awarded to Catawba's top merit students. Abby Walter, a May 2022 graduate, credits Presidential Scholarships for helping her grow into a strong, confident leader during her four years of college. “Because of the mere existence of an endowed scholarship, I am currently working as an intern for Congressman Hudson and have experienced and learned so much in political field,” said Oluwafikemi Fawehinmi, a 2022 graduate, to wbtv.com. Colleges began offering scholarships to students who thought it would be impossible to attend college after learning how much it would cost and how long the process would take. The Michigan College Advising Corps program, which began in 2010 and has helped over 20,000 students across the state, made it possible by assisting high school students in determining and achieving their both short- and long-term goals through continuous training and 'providing guidance to a team of advisers, all recent college graduates,' according to Michigan News. “I would guess we have hundreds of our kids that wouldn’t have gone to college, wouldn’t have reached their fullest potential without this program. I think it’s incredible that the university of Michigan is paying for this program to help kids get into any college.” Bob Zwiers, a teacher at Holland High School said. River Parishes Community College has also announced a new scholarship opportunity for Class of 2022 high school graduates along with a parent or guardian to receive approximately $1,000 scholarships to encourage a parent or guardian to learn new skills that could improve family lives, which Chancellor Quintin Taylor, interim, believes would be "the opportunity to transform the fortunes of individuals, families, and communities." Wabash College has also announced new scholarships to assist low-income students, awarding $10,000 to six Pell Grant recipients each year and continuing to promote the scholarship among exemplary students with socioeconomic barriers to earning their college degrees - According to the journal review, Wabash has also invested beneficial resources in increasing access and graduation of young men in order to increase the population in higher education. [caption id="attachment_3368" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Presbyterian College provides $25,000 annual scholarships to each of the 600 Palmetto Girls State delegates. Photo: PresbyPhotos / Licensed Under: CC BY 2.0[/caption]

What is College Scholarship Scam, and how can you avoid it?

According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), there have been cases of students being duped by college scholarships, which makes it very similar to actual grants and scholarships for college. According to Wral.com, approximately 50% of those who participated in the survey were asked to pay money before applying for the scholarship, which is a red flag that the person you're dealing with might be a fraudster - 73 percent of those said they had actually paid money before applying for a scholarship. Because a significant number of applicants have fallen victim to scholarship scams, guidance to distinguish between genuine scholarship opportunities and scams is required for both parents or guardians and, of course, applicants. Wral.com offers advice on avoiding scholarship scams - No scholarship committee could guarantee winning the money for college, and legitimate scholarships do not require applicants to pay before applying for college scholarships. In addition, applying for college scholarships requires applicants to fill out information such as application essays, requiring some process to earn a scholarship. According to WRTV, BBB provides college students with advice. Applicants should be aware of scams such as fake credit cards, too good to be true apartments, safe credit reports, and online shopping scams. Applicants must be aware of unsolicited offers and understand that winning a scholarship or grant for which they did not apply is nearly impossible. In this case, candidates must examine the process by which the organization obtains your name and contact information. Institutions and colleges offer a variety of programs that could benefit applicants applying for college scholarships; however, now that scholarship scams are targeting students who have missed the scholarship application deadlines, perhaps acknowledging the right guidelines and process would prevent students from falling victim to a scam.   Read more: What Is Excelsior Scholarship and Is It Really Beneficial?

China is paradoxically entangled with an increasing youth unemployment rate and a shortage of workers, all the while producing the highest number of college graduates in its history. China has gone through numerous educational policy developments, especially since Deng Xiaoping opened the country’s economic door to foreign businesses in 1978. At the core, the policies have been deeply impacted by the country’s pursuit of rapid economic growth, and more recently, of a global foothold in science and technology. Accordingly, the government has pushed for having a higher percentage of its labor force educated beyond compulsory education. As a result, the college enrollment rate for 18-year-olds in China reached a record high of 57.8 percent, up from 40 percent six years ago. However, its emphasis on education came with a repercussion; the unemployment rate of college graduates is increasing. Although it rose only 0.2 percent from the previous year from 18.2 percent to 18.4 percent, the trend is concerning as the national urban unemployment rate fell from 6.1 percent to 5.9 percent within the same period. Considering that the Bank of America has allegedly estimated the youth unemployment rate in China to reach 23 percent by July this year, the problem cannot be overlooked. The workplace disruption caused by Covid-19 could have well been an explanation for the youth unemployment rate during the highs of the pandemic. Yet, as the jobless rate among 16- to 24-year-olds is showing the opposite trend as that of the national, the pandemic would likely not provide a convenient explanation for the worrisome trend anymore. Shunli Ren, a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, claims that the youth unemployment rate may be explained by how students think of jobs as a result of the government’s long emphasis on education, reinforcing the centuries-old cultural perception of scholarship. She gives an old proverb, “of all trades, scholarship rules supreme,” as a part of the explanation. The saying roughly implies that professions not requiring much educational background are not highly regarded in Chinese society. In short, Ren believes that college graduates in China are only looking for highly esteemed jobs, ignoring numerous job openings in the manufacturing industry. The shortage of workers in the manufacturing industry has, indeed, been a problem in China for a long time. National Public Radio’s (NPR) interview with Yen Xiyun, a recruiter for electronics factories in southern China, provides a first-hand view of the problem. Xiyun’s comment on what she hopes for her 12-year-old son’s future also exemplifies Ren’s argument regarding the widespread cultural perception in China. One of the interviewers reported, “she hopes he’ll be successful — a dragon, as she says — but outside of the factory.” [caption id="attachment_3360" align="aligncenter" width="800"] The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China has been successful in pushing for more higher-educated in the labor force. However, its policies for the past few decades now present a nationwide problem — an increasing number of college graduates and an increasing youth unemployment rate. Photo: Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China[/caption] However, Ren does not solely blame the younger generation’s cultural perception for the increasing jobless rate among young adults or for the worker shortage at factories. Rather, she takes a hard stance against the government’s educational policies, especially criticizing the early sorting of students only after nine years of compulsory education. In China, those who wish to proceed with their education after middle school need to take a test (zhongkao), and based on the result, their options for further education can be limited. Students with a passing score can apply to high schools, while those who do not have to either discontinue their studies or proceed to secondary vocational school. As of 2020, over 1.8 times more students entered regular senior secondary schools (high schools) than the number of students who proceeded to secondary vocational schools. Chinese students’ academic projectile had been confined based on their secondary education; students from secondary vocational schools mostly have to join the workforce and high school students went on to college after taking the infamous entrance exam (gaokao). Even junior colleges — post-secondary vocational training institutions — were mainly reserved for high school graduates who did not score high enough to enter regular college. Yet, as recently as June last year, China’s Ministry of Education (MOE) announced that it will “reduce the barrier for zhongzhuan [secondary vocational schools] students to enter higher education” by implementing a “vocational education gaokao.” [caption id="attachment_3358" align="aligncenter" width="1235"] The number of college graduates in China has steadily increased over the last decade. This year, it set a record number of college graduates of 10.8 million, while the country enters the worst job market in decades. Source: Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China Graph: Caixin[/caption] Although the government’s measure may alleviate the seemingly everlasting educational immobility, especially for the rural poor, it will most likely add more to the already ongoing problem of youth unemployment. All the while the country enters the worst job market in decades, Chinese higher education institutions are producing a record number of college graduates of 10.8 million, exacerbating the mismatch between the job market’s demand and supply. To overview, China is paradoxically experiencing a concerning increase in youth unemployment and a shortage of workers especially in the manufacturing industry, at the same time. It seems that the centuries-old perceptions — factory works are “low-end and low-quality” and education is the key to success — stand in the way of solving the labor force mismatch and consequent increase in unemployment. In part, the perceptions seem to be a byproduct of the government’s policies to promote education among its working population for the past few decades. Moreover, its attempt to increase educational mobility, though it is a praiseworthy goal in itself, may be working against achieving the goal of changing the perceptions. Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, provides theoretical, and yet fundamental advice, “One of the important pursuits of the modern vocational education system is to cultivate talent suitable for model social development, and that requires the establishment of a social value system that respects the equality of all people.”   Read More: U.S. Universities To Divest Endowments From Chinese Entities

A bill has been drafted in congress to push universities to divest their endowments from Chinese entities suspected of involvement in human rights violations. As a potential superpower, China has been attempting to extend its global influence with soft and hard power. The country’s attempt to spread its language and culture, as a part of its soft power, in the U.S. through Confucious Institutes has mostly been curtailed since 2018 with the growing anti-China sentiment under the Trump administration. On the other hand, its hard power has surprisingly been more successful on the global stage; it has constructed artificial islands in the South China Sea to expand its military presence in the region. Other than the U.S. sending aircraft carriers and navy fleets to pass through the area and a few sanctions, there have not been any serious consequences. The U.S. government has been more cautious about China’s other manifestation of hard power —investment — in the country. The restrictions on foreign investment, especially from China, have become tougher during Trump’s presidency followed by the trade war between the two nations. Donations and endowments to U.S. higher education institutions were also put under scrutiny a few years later. Strangely enough, in the meantime, investments in foreign, namely Chinese, entities by U.S. colleges with their endowments have not been monitored at a similar level. However, an attempt to change the status quo was made earlier last month. Representative Greg Murphy, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, drafted the Protecting Endowments From Our Adversaries Act “discourag[ing] billion-dollar, tax-advantaged university endowments from investing in entities that have been deemed an unacceptable national security risk.” The “adversarial” entities are those included under the U.S. Government Lists (USG), such as Entity List, Military End User (MEU) List, Unverified List, and FCC Covered List. The infamous Huawei, the world’s second-largest smartphone maker and the world leader in telecommunications (especially in 5G technology), is listed under the FCC Covered List. He stated in the draft, “We know that U.S. endowment dollars have funded Chinese companies in the past, and this draft seeks to address the pervasiveness of the problem. Colleges and universities have been warned about the national security implications of funding our adversaries. It’s time that Congress have an open and honest conversation about the risks these investments carry and take action to address it.” If signed into law, the bill will apply to private colleges and universities with endowments over $1 billion. It is reported that Murphy sent letters to 15 private universities with the largest endowments at the beginning of this month. Although the names of all 15 private institutions are not revealed, the 2021 NACUBO-TIAA Study of Endowments provides a clearer picture. In the letter, he asks the school whether they have invested endowments in any entity on the aforementioned USG lists and what policies they have to divest from entities added to the sanction lists. [caption id="attachment_3225" align="aligncenter" width="8368"] China has continuously been criticized for violating the human rights of Uyghurs — a Muslim ethnic minority largely residing in the north-western province of Xinjiang, China. Scholars estimate that at least one million Uyghurs have been arbitrarily detained in internment or "re-education" camps in the province since 2017. Photo: Leonhard Lenz / Licensed under CC0 1.0[/caption] This is not the first time such concerns were raised, just as Murphy mentioned in his statement. In 2019, BuzzFeed questioned several U.S. universities for funding Chinese firms responsible for developing face recognition technology surveilling Muslim ethnic minorities in China. About a year later in 2020, Keith Krach, the former Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, wrote a letter to the governing boards of American universities, urging them to divest from entities involved in human rights violations. Schools have not changed their course of action, at least until recently. However, the situation seems to have changed. Harvard University, which has the largest endowment of $51.9 billion, is considering reducing investment in China for “growing political and market risks.” Likewise, Yale University, which collected the third-largest amount of endowment of $42.2 billion in 2021, will initiate a review of its investments “to determine whether some may be deemed ineligible for Yale investment in light of the Chinese government’s widespread human rights violations.” While this is the first official congressional move to check and manage university endowments’ connection to “adversarial” entities, the chance of it becoming law does not seem entirely marginal. Florida’s Republican Senator Marco Rubio introduced a bill last month to restrict colleges from working with Chinese higher education institutions in any areas related to military capability. Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia joined him at a meeting in April to voice concerns on the same issue. Even though the bill was not regarding the endowments, it showed that there are mutual congressional concerns about U.S. colleges’ ties to Chinese entities. Pedro Ribeiro, vice president of the Association of American Universities (AAU), commented to Insider Higher Ed News following the meeting with Senator Warner in April, “We are currently reviewing the legislation and share Representative Murphy’s goal of protecting our national security and defending human rights. AAU universities are at the forefront of innovation that drives not only our economy but also our national health and security. We are committed to working with Congress to protect our immensely important work from undue foreign influence.”   Read More: Japanese Version of China Initiative Raises Questions for Universities

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has killed and injured countless people, making it "one of the most defiant terrorist attacks in European history." According to NPR, the Russian missile struck a crowded shopping mall in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. This war has impacted in every area, including geopolitics, foods and economics, energy, and security, causing shortages of wheat, barley, corn, and other grains and pushing millions of people into hunger, as well as energies that most of the European Unions have been relying on to Russia, has faced Russia's demand for payments in rubles and has sought alternative sources. While the Ukraine war has had an impact on global supply chains, it is undeniable that it has had an impact on education. Higher education, particularly colleges and universities, is reacting differently to the Russia-Ukraine situation. According to Fierce Education, administrators and staff members at some universities and colleges are showing their support for Ukrainian people by notifying and announcing their support directly for Ukrainian people, either by holding an international event to support Ukrainian students at college or by making an announcement. For example, Louisiana State University held an event at the International Cultural Center to raise awareness about the Ukraine War and, of course, to raise funds for the Ukrainian army. According to Higher Ed Dive, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ended a long-standing relationship between the two research institutions that was backed by the Russian government, eventually terminating the MIT Skoltech Program — despite the great respect and appreciation for the contributions of Russian colleagues. Another example would be Jeffrey Hanley, who, according to Penn State University news, has used the skills he learned in the Penn State online MBA to assist Ukrainian refugees in the United States. The border with Mexico. He also stated that the country would accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees who have arrived at the San Ysidro Port of Entry — "A lot of that comes back to the skills and abilities I developed," Hanley said, adding, "I really do love my country and believe that we have the power to make a difference in the world." The course he took assisted him with his supply chain management course in stacking resources, teaching him how to write the most concise and direct-action memos of his time, and learning about 'Power and Influence.' [caption id="attachment_3218" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] People are staging a protest at the White House on February 26th, 2022, in anticipation of Biden's response. Photo: Ted Eytan / Licensed Under: CC BY-SA 2.0[/caption] As some colleges and universities began to speak out against Russia, other colleges and universities in the United States stepped up to protect Ukrainian students. The Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration provided Ukraine students with deportation protection, allowing them to keep their visa status. “I think closing their embassy in the United States, kicking every Russian student out of the United States, those should all be on the table, and Putin needs to know that every day that he is in Ukraine, there are more severe options that could come.” Said Rep. Eric Swalwell, emphasizing the wrongness of Russians to Ukrainians. According to the University of Scranton's home page, the university has a lighted gateway sign with the Ukrainian flag to show support and pray for peace and freedom to return to the Ukrainian people, as well as University of Colorado, where it has made its investments in Russian companies public, has now exited its investments in Russian companies to support the people of Ukraine. “Like so many others, we have watched in horror as this invasion has brought senseless violence and aggression to the region,” said Todd Saliman, the President of University of Colorado, hoping to end this conflict. Middlebury School, too, has announced a difficult decision regarding the Russian-Ukraine War, stating “Middlebury has made the difficult decision to suspend the in-person program for the School in Russia.” Militarily, the invasion has not gone the way anyone expected, and this has made it virtually impossible to make future predictions as to what the situation will be like in Russia for our students. The best way to ensure our students’ safety, which remains our top priority, is to remove students from Moscow and Irkutsk as soon as possible.” However, Matt Duss, the Senator Bernie Sander’s foreign policy advisor, denied the idea, “This is empty hawkish posturing that would punish students while doing nothing to help Ukrainians,” retweeted on the post. Colleges and universities are demonstrating the need to support Ukraine by donating or providing supplies, but they are also demonstrating tremendous support by announcing plans to withdraw from Russia in protest of the country's invasion of Ukraine. “We’re just hoping that students take away how this is personally affecting a lot of us,” Larysa Brandys, president of the Ukrainian Student Association at the University of Illinois said.   Read more: Universities Should Not Cut Communication With Russia

Title IX, the most well-known law enacted by President Richard Nixon on June 23rd, 1972, for gender equity in athletics and preventing sexual harassment on campuses, is now celebrating its 50th anniversary - applying to athletics, employments, discrimination, admission, classroom, sexual assault, and violence on campuses. According to the Trevor Project, 45 percent of LGBTQ youth have seriously considered suicide by 2021, with 14 percent having attempted suicide. Along with suicidal thoughts and attempts, 73% of LGBTQ youth reported anxiety, and 58% reported depression. 73 percent of LGBTQ youths have experienced discrimination at least once in their lives, and 82 percent have requested and desired mental health care, but only 40 percent have received it. [caption id="attachment_3119" align="aligncenter" width="2000"] 50 percent of students aged 13 to 17 have considered suicide, and 18 percent have attempted it, while 37 percent of students aged 18 to 24 have considered suicide, with 8 percent having attempted it. Photo: The Trevor Project[/caption] Now that Title IX is in effect for the 50th year, UCLA's Williams Institute has made changes to provide strong protection for LGBTQ students. Elana Redfield, federal policy director at the Williams Institute, admitted that people's humanity is being debated, and it is a difficult thing to do. “The Supreme Court has upheld the right for LGBTQ+ people to live and work without fear of harassment, exclusion, and discrimination – and our LGBTQ+ students have the same rights and deserve the same protections. I’m proud to have directed the Office for Civil Rights to enforce Title IX to protect all students from all forms of sex discrimination,” Miguel Cardona, the U.S Secretary of Education stated. The actual goal for this was “to give full effect to the law’s reach and to deliver on its promise to protect all students from sex-based harassment and discrimination,” Cardona added, mentioning that this is the solution to “ensure all our students can learn and grow and thrive in school no matter where they live, who they are, whom they love or how they identify.” As LGBTQ students become more visible than ever, they are looking for LGBTQ-friendly colleges, knowing that the community environment and their mental health are linked.  According to the OCR report, LGBTQ students are frequently bullied, either physically or mentally. This problem has gotten worse as the Covid-19 pandemic has prevented students from receiving direct school support, as well as preventing them from attending school. The University of California, San Diego is another well-known college with a strong resource center for LGTBQ students, including a pride parade to support and build affinity among a diverse population of members. Genny Beemyn, the director of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst's LGBTQ resource center, also strongly advocated for providing the need to feel safe for LGBTQ students and shared the research he discovered on how colleges serve LGBTQ students - having staff members on campuses advocating for LGBTQ was the solution. Purdue University also supports LGBTQ students by committing to the community for LGBTQ students, ranking as the #1 most LGBTQ+ friendly college in Indiana according to BestColleges.com. The purpose of having an LGBTQ community at Purdue is to uplift a community that allows them to be themselves -in a great place where students can feel safe, comfortable, and give out opportunities to help others gain new perspectives on LGBTQ. “Not every person has met someone in the community before, and they might just have genuine questions that maybe they don’t know how to ask,” Doan, a junior studying aeronautical and astronautical engineering continued, “if we give them a space to ask those questions with the language that they have, we all benefit.” According to Campus Pride, which has been the leading LGBTQ national benchmarking tool for colleges and universities since 2007, it assists students in locating LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities that have resources such as inclusive policies, programs, and practices for LGBTQ students, as well as internship opportunities. “LGBTQ and ally student leaders and campus organizations in the areas of leadership development, support programs, and services to create safer, more inclusive LGBTQ- friendly colleges and universities.” Shane Windmeyer, the founder, and executive director of Campus pride said to Best colleges.com. However, it is critical not to rely solely on college resource centers or LGBTQ websites, but to be aware of issues and to try to support the community from within society. Today, Highered mentions that encouraging faculty, staff, and departments to become information clearinghouses for areas of interest to students and scholars is important, as is offering faculty development focused on improving classroom climate for LGBTQ and other minoritized students - keeping in mind that everyone living in this society has the right to be treated equally.   Read more: Race-conscious College Admissions Policies at Risk

Education in the United States, at least for K-12, has been relatively guarded against being used for political rhetoric. Rather, politics has sometimes been used as a tool to stimulate discussions and debates in classrooms. Topics for such activities have been limited to something that everyone can agree on, such as what can be done to keep the vicinity of schools clean or how to help peer students to have a healthier diet. Paula McAvoy, an associate professor of social studies education at North Carolina State University, said in an interview with National Public Radio (NPR) that the key point of utilizing politics in education is to teach the process of democracy. “It really is the process of deliberation that is the major skill being taught […] They’re learning how to form arguments, how to weigh evidence,” she said. However, schools are becoming more cautious to host “political classrooms,” all the while politicians have been increasingly utilizing education as a political battleground to gain more votes. The fierce political conflict last year — which still continues — regarding the critical race theory (CRT) in schools is a great example. The main idea of CRT is that racism is a systemic problem in the U.S. deeply carved into laws and institutions, rather than a matter of individual bigotry. The proponents believe that historic patterns and systemic momentum continue making disadvantageous playing fields for people of color in many parts of society. The theory had been mostly discussed among scholars as a cross-disciplinary intellectual movement until some critics accused of it infiltrating K-12 education in the U.S.

Robin Steenman, the president of the anti-CRT group Moms for Liberty, argues that public schools in the U.S. are injecting progressive ideologies into children, making them “hate their country, each other, and/or themselves.” She points to the in-class use of books like “Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation” and “The Story of Ruby Bridges” as an example of “both explicit and implicit anti-American, anti-white, and anti-Mexican teaching.” Her group filed an official claim to the Tennessee Department of Education in June last year. The department declined to investigate since the complaint was regarding the 2020-2021 academic year, while the agency was only authorized to handle matters from 2021-2022. Despite the initial setback, the conservative’s push against CRT in Tennessee has accelerated. The McMinn County Board of Education in the state removed the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel “Maus” from its governing classrooms earlier this year in January. The board stated that it banned the book because “of its unnecessary use of profanity and nudity and its depiction of violence and suicide.” Art Spiegelman, the author of “Maus,” responded to the board’s decision that his book indeed contains disturbing imagery because it is about a “disturbing history.” He commented to the New York Times that he felt as if the board is asking, “Why can’t they teach a nicer Holocaust?” The conservative groups’ challenge against public education is not only limited to teachings on race nor is it confined to Tennessee; protests were held across the country, questioning how race(ism), gender, and sexuality are taught in classrooms. The state of Florida, for instance, rejected 54 math textbooks on the ground that they include CRT. Florida Department of Education went as far as to describe them as “publisher’s attempts to indoctrinate students” in their official news release. [caption id="attachment_3112" align="aligncenter" width="577"] The American Library Association compiled statistics on censorship which were filed for the above reasons in 2021. Regardless of the discussion on the legitimacy of their complaints, parents with conservative viewpoints often list LGBTQIA, CRT, and "woke" as their rationales for book challenges. Source: American Library Association[/caption] The American Library Association announced that it tracked "729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals." The association reported that, with most attempts being against those written by or about Black or LGBTQ+ people, last year saw the highest number of attempted book bans since it started data gathering 20 years ago. Andrew Hartman, a professor of history at Illinois State University, commented on the growing trend of politicizing education. He mentioned that Republican politicians have been supporting “the conservative, largely white, religious or evangelical parents,” strengthening such groups’ voices and nationalizing their complaints. "And often, Republican politicians are frankly opportunistic about ginning up support for themselves, for their candidacies … because these are issues that animate their base,” he elaborated. Their efforts are producing tangible results. Although most of the conservative candidates were not successful (with about 28 percent of the 275 politically identifiable candidates, according to Ballotpedia), several ultra-right candidates for positions in education administration were elected. For example, Al Loma, a pastor at Victory Outreach who posts numerous anti-LGBTQ, anti-vaccine, and pro-gun memes on his Instagram, was elected for Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education At-large. Republicans and their supporters have, in fact, been especially successful in legislation. Education Week, an organization providing K-12 education news and information, reported that 42 states have taken steps to eliminate CRT or have introduced bills to limit how racism and sexism are discussed by teachers in classrooms since January of last year. Of them, 17 states have effectively instated bans and restrictions. [caption id="attachment_3113" align="aligncenter" width="1001"] Efforts to eliminate the supposed CRT infiltration into America's education continue across the country. 42 states have attempted to remove or restrict how teachers can discuss racism or sexism in classrooms. 17 states have successfully imposed restrictions via legislation or other measures. Source: U.S. State Legislatures, The African American Policy Forum, and Education Week / Graph: ABC News[/caption] As the anti-CRT and anti-equity education efforts spread across the country with practical results, so has the aggression on educators who support the previously racism- and sexism-conscious curriculums. The National School Boards Association wrote to President Biden in September last year, asking him to step in and for protection. However, instead of empathizing with the school board members under seemingly ever-intensifying threats of violence for their beliefs, a few state affiliates criticized the group for some of the wordings in the letter. Less than a month later, the group removed the letter from its website and replaced it with an apology. Meanwhile, many educators are fighting back against the politicization of education by correcting a fundamental misunderstanding — there is no CRT embedded in primary and secondary education. Michael Thomas, former superintendent at Colorado Springs School District 11 who left his job in dismay with some conservative school boards’ campaign against him, pointed this out. “When people are conflating equity with critical race theory, they’re grossly mistaken,” he said. Some parents have also formed an organization in an opposition to conservatives’ growing shadow on education. Revida Rahman and Jennifer Cortez founded One WillCo, an organization to support and help students of color to raise their voices, in Williamson County in Tennessee where Moms for Liberty also started. Rahman said, “All you have to do is explain to children and they get it. We don't give our kids enough credit to handle the conversations that we have.” Cortez agreed with her co-founder, “I can understand why some might think this is divisive because it feels uncomfortable. But the truth is, it's better if we can talk about it and learn how to talk about it.” The future of primary and secondary education in the U.S. can be expected to be decided within this year. In a few months on November 8, 2022, 35 out of 100 Senate seats and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives will be contested. Depending on the midterm election outcome, American education will either continue its racism- and sexism-conscious education or become “color-blind.”   Read More: History of Legal Challenges Against Affirmative Action in Higher Education

Following the release of Covid-19 in China, people began to express their rage toward all Asian Americans living in the United States, displaying discrimination in both physical and verbal abuse, as in the case of six Asian women who were victims of Asian Hate crime in Atlanta. According to NBC News, anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339 percent in 2021 compared to 2020, with approximately 10,380 reports of hate incidents from March 2020 to September 2021, primarily in city areas such as New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, and including both verbal harassment and physical violence. With so many cases of Asian hate crimes on the rise, Michigan News reported that Asian Americans have armed themselves with Covid-19 effect in response to racism. According to research, increased hate crimes and racist acts against Asian Americans had a strong correlation with increased firearm purchases. “Our data suggests that racism and its link to increased firearm ownership and carrying may put Asian Americans at elevated risk of firearm injury.” Hsing-Fang Hsieh, an assistant research scientist in health behavior and health education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, stated. This was becoming an increasingly difficult problem to solve in terms of protecting people who had experienced racial discrimination as well as neighbors or people around people who engaged in unsafe firearms behavior. Another study, led by Tsu-Yin Wu, director of Eastern Michigan University's Center for Health Disparities Innovation and Studies, and published in the Detroit News, found a strong link between the increase in firearms among Asian Americans and racist incidents. According to Wu's study, 6 percent of respondents said they bought a gun to feel protected - from racism when the pandemic began; 55 percent of those who bought a gun said it was their first time owning a gun. "It's about how to keep it safe so that other people can't get ahold of it when it's loaded," Wu explained. Still, no solutions have been found to reduce the Asian hate from Covid-19, however, John C. Yang, the president and executive director of the nonprofit civil rights group Asian Americans Advancing Justice mentioned that “We must bring attention to the hate that impacts all communities,” he continues, “Especially during a time when groups are trying to divide and pit vulnerable communities against each other, we must remember that we are stronger together.” [caption id="attachment_3084" align="alignnone" width="2560"] STOP ANTI-ASIAN RACISM & CHINA BASHING RALLY at Chinatown Archway, 7th and H Street, NW, Washington, DC Photo: Elvert Barnes / Licensed Under: CC BY-SA 2.0[/caption] According to NYC Human Rights, some campaigns were held to combat anti-Asian discrimination, harassment, and bias, such as posting texts-fighting fear with facts. Graphics depict additional resources for victims of hate crimes, such as how to seek help from community-based organizations. PBS NewsHour also mentioned some factors for how to respond to hate, such as reporting the hate crime or incidents by calling 911 immediately, checking in with Asian American peers, knowing the history of Asian American discrimination, and advocating for awareness. However, according to Endless Tide: The Continuing Struggle to Overcome Anti-Asian Hatred in New York, only 0.03 percent of anti-Asian attacks were reported in 2021. Improvements should be made by developing better guidelines and standards for classifying incidents as possible hate crimes - Hate crimes are often underreported because victims are unsure whether or not to report them. Of course, all hate crime laws should be revised. According to the Asian American Bar Association of New York, improving access and transparency in the reporting of hate crimes data - by disclosing the data of hate crimes, investigations, and prosecutions - could lead to a change in community trust in law enforcement. The Police Chief also added that consistent reporting could lead to prevention - both victims and witnesses must report accurately and proactively, outreach to Targeted Groups, reporting hotlines and webpages, etc., even if they are unsure if it is related to hate crime. People must report hate crimes as soon as they witness them because victims of hate crimes experience more psychological distress than victims of other types of crimes, including depression, stress, and anxiety. Everyone's safety and rights should be protected, regardless of gender, race, or color, and it's time to act by prioritizing efforts to prevent hate crimes. Asian Americans have been targeted; who will be next?   Read more: Race-conscious College Admissions Policies at Risk