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While reading through the data sources, it was also clear that there were misunderstandings on Critical Race Theory. While there tended to be a trend pointing more to the ‘left side’ seeing how others were misunderstanding Critical Race Theory, both sides did show signs that the general public was misunderstanding the topic. In order to find these data points I turned to both qualitative and quantitative coding for the news articles. When looking at the data quantitatively, I used key-words such as “misunderstood” and qualitatively I looked at specific quotes where the author alluded to the topic of Critical Race Theory being misunderstood.
The articles from both ‘far left’ and ‘far right’ tend to have a theme that viewers are misled by the ‘opposing side.’ While the ‘far left’ and ‘left’ categories are claiming that the ‘right’ and ‘far right’ are misunderstanding CRT, the same discussion is happening when the roles are reversed. In a ‘left’ categorized article it states, “Yet, even those who condemn or seek to ban critical race theory in schools often struggle to define what it is” (Anderson, 2021). This same theme of misunderstanding is echoed in a ‘right’ categorized article, ‘“Frankly, I have had no experience with critical race theory in my life, from elementary school to medical school. The first I heard of it was in a Republican state legislative hearing on a Texas law aimed at banning teachers from discussing contentious modern issues” (WSJ, 2021). Both of these quotes show that there is a lack of understanding in the public about what CRT really is, a ‘center’ categorized view also shows that there is a disconnect between the argument on CRT and the understanding of the theory itself.
“During the latter half of last year, a video of a man who stated the most important issue in Virginia’s governor’s race was banning CRT in schools went viral on Twitter. But in an ironic plot twist, after a few questions, he quickly buckled and admitted that he knew nothing about the theory…Yet, many argued that he did not seem to flinch at the absurdity of his apparent oblivion about CRT. But he is not alone. Others have come before him to rally the troops in a war against CRT while being clueless about the topic.”
Hoskin, 2022
This article shows that while people argue for each side of Critical Race Theory in education and the workplace, there is still a large misunderstanding from both sides on what the theory actually is. Understanding this big flaw in the argument on the theory shows how different views and framing on the topic through written news media can be confusing and only flame the falsehoods of this debate. Having a thorough understanding of a topic through in depth reading from the real theorist can allow for more understanding and less polarization on important topics such as Critical Race Theory in education.