Robinson’s Social Studies Stance Attracts National Attention | Eastern NC Now

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Mitch Kokai.

    Alex Nester of the Washington Free Beacon highlights Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's campaign against anti-American social studies standards.

• North Carolina's newly elected Republican lieutenant governor is leading the fight against a statewide social studies curriculum that would weave critical race theory into history lessons beginning in kindergarten.
• Mark Robinson, the first African American to hold his position, has been an outspoken critic of the new curriculum standards, which he says were created because of the board of education's political agenda rather than to educate students. The curriculum would require second graders to learn "how various indigenous, religious, gender, and racial groups advocate for freedom and equality," while fourth graders would learn how "revolution, reform, and resistance" shaped North Carolina.
• "I don't think that these things that we have included have been for the benefit of the students," Robinson said during a school board meeting in late January. "There's no reason why we should be trying to teach second graders about the complex issues of race. Those children have enough on their plate learning how to read, and write, and do mathematics."
• Robinson is working to build an opposition to the curriculum, which he characterizes as divisive and anti-American. ...
• ... As long as the objective is teaching students that the United States is a racist nation, Robinson says he will not approve.
• "The system of government that we have in this nation is not systemically racist; in fact, it is not racist at all," he said. "To say that this is a racist nation — that is not true. And when we write standards that point to that direction in any way, we are doing our students a disservice."

    Ray Nothstine wrote this week at CarolinaJournal.com about the importance of Robinson's work.

• Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson frequently brags that he's not a politician, but that doesn't mean he's not incredibly savvy when it comes to politics. Robinson, whose main task consists of presiding over sessions of the N.C. Senate, is elevating the importance of first principles lost by so many in our state and nation today.