On August 26, the Virginia Department of Education posted a video training all Virginia teachers (including those in Spotsylvania County) on how to teach students about 9/11. The training video was made in the context of being culturally responsive, inclusive, and equitable. However, there was a lot of wordsmithing and avoidance of basic facts. One such example comes from speaker Dr. Amararah DeCuir at the 48:33 mark in the video.

https://youtu.be/lAgKJEOMdF4?t=2913

“When we’re teaching 3rd grade thru 12th grade and our students are asking more direct and more complex questions, determine what is relevant information for them to know. Unfortunately, I was made aware of an example in a classroom some years ago where a teacher distributed a worksheet and asked the students to write the names of the extremists who caused 9/11. That is not a relevant detail. It is not relevant information at all.”

Listen to how the speaker says the last 2 sentences in the video. The Virginia Department of Education wants school systems including Spotsylvania County to promote the idea that being culturally responsive, inclusive, and equitable is more important than teaching basic facts.