Tag: Education

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education Racism WTF?!

Pennsylvania School District Bans Book About Rosa Parks Over Fake ‘Critical Race Theory’ Outrage

On Monday in the city of York, Pennsylvania, the Central York School Board voted to keep a list of banned books dealing with race on its resource list or materials for students, despite protests from students and members of the community.

According to the York Daily Record:

Jane Johnson, president of the school board, said in a Sept. 10 release the materials were banned because of concerns from parents, the retirement of longstanding Superintendent Michael Snell and the shelving of a social studies program which focused on Black Lives Matter and other racial justice material.

Johnson said the content was banned because of the material and not because the authors are almost all from Black or Latinx heritage.

“The board believes that the fundamental purpose of school is that of core academics, objective education without indoctrination from any political or social agenda, and we look forward to the forthcoming review of the List and bringing balance to our classrooms,” Johnson’s statement read.

One of the books on the list is I Am Rosa Parks, written by Brad Meltzer, who has also authored historical books for children about Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others. He said Sunday on CNN that he cannot understand why the school board objects to a book about civil rights icon Rosa Parks:

“You know, all my friends were so angry, but I was heartbroken. I was heartbroken because it means that there are all these students that will never hear the story of Rosa Parks. And that’s exactly why I started writing these books, is to kids can see these amazing members of history. They can learn empathy, and compassion, and kindness. They can call it a freeze, but when kids can’t get these books, it’s a ban. And these kids can’t get the story of Rosa Parks or Malala [Yousafzai] or others, it breaks my heart.”

Meltzer added that teachers are now telling him they’re afraid to even mention race in their classrooms:

“Race is a hard subject matter, but nothing good comes from not discussing something that’s hard. And to me, that’s what these great leaders always stand for is you have to deal with these issues. If we don’t, we can’t go forward. What you’re seeing now is a pushback against that boogeyman of critical race theory where they are scared of what to do.”

What makes no sense at all, Meltzer concluded, is that the people making the decisions about what to teach to black children are all white:

“Listen, you have an all-white school board who bans a list that is basically almost every person on there, is it a book about someone who’s Black or by a Black author? Do the math on that. And when you hit Rosa Parks, a children’s book about Rosa Parks, the reason I’m talking to you today is that you realize that in all the back and pointing fingers, we’ve lost common sense. It’s Rosa Parks. You messed up if you’re banning Rosa Parks.”

Banning Rosa Parks. There should be a law against THAT, not against teaching the history of this country.

Here’s Brad Meltzer on CNN:

Categories
Coronavirus Donald Trump

Trump’s Plan To Reopen Schools Is Getting Major Resistance From Republicans

Even though coronavirus cases are rising ominously in at least 36 states and some (Arizona, Florida, Texas) are considering shutting down their states to help control spread of the virus, Donald Trump is insisting that when cooler weather arrives in the Fall, he expects schools to be open and filled with students. He’s even floated the idea of taking federal education funds from states or localities that refuse to open their doors.


But while Congressional Republicans have been mostly supportive of Trump’s desperate attempt to make it appear that everything is back to normal in order to rescue his fading chances of being reelected, there’s also increasing backlash in the states and among organizations that are normally supportive of the administration, according to Poltico:

“An overwhelming alignment of state and even Republican-aligned organizations oppose the rush to reopen schools. The nation’s leading pediatricians, Republican state school chiefs, Christian colleges and even the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have all challenged parts of Trump’s pressure campaign.

Noelle Ellerson Ng, of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, echoed Hofmeister’s remarks, noting:

“The bullish position of ‘open your doors or don’t get money’ is ill timed, misinformed and doesn’t reflect the nuanced work that goes into the decisions state and local leaders have to weigh.”


Despite those concerns being voiced by people at the local level, the White House is moving forward with its plans, always pretending they care about parents and students despite the clear goal of reopening schools: To salvage Trump’s reelection campaign, with Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, telling Fox News on Friday that not having schools open places parents in an untenable bind:

“You talk to a single working mom, she’s got to send her kid to school, the kids at home, she can’t go to work, she may not be able to afford help. It’s also true with working folks who are two-person families and I think that’s an important part of this.”

Of course, the solution to such a quandary would be for the administration to increase funding for distance learning, daycare, and other social services that would help parents and their children better deal with the situation. But that isn’t going to happen because neither the president or anyone in his administration gives a flying red fark about women, children, or the mounting COVID-19 death toll. It’s all about Trump’s perverted desire to gain more power if he gets a second term in office.

Children are expendable to Trump and Republicans. They only care about themselves. The rest of us are nothing more than chattel.

Categories
Coronavirus education The Trump Adminstration

Ivanka Trump Gets Embarrassed After Insisting That American Kids Go Back To School ASAP

Bless her little heart, Ivanka Trump is always eager to try and put a happy face on her father’s most odious pronouncements and decisions, but she usually just makes matters worse, proving that she did indeed inherit her cluelessness from her father.

Such is the case with the Trump administration’s decision to demand that children who attend public schools go back to class this fall, come hell or high water, and regardless of the health dangers posed by the novel coronavirus, which has so far infected over 3 million Americans.


The White House is so committed to sending kids back to school that they’re even threatening to withhold federal education funding from states that don’t go along with their harebrained scheme.

And that’s where Ivanka comes into the equation, putting her two cents worth in via Twitter:

Be sure and note how Ivanka tries to suggest she actually gives a diddly damn about single mothers and what they have to go through on a daily basis. That’s rich coming from a woman who has nannies to help raise her children and has never had to actually work a day in her life, let alone bear a burden other than determining what shoes she’ll be wearing to her next cocktail party.


And then there’s the fact that Jared and Ivanka send their children to private schools, so the mandate from her father won’t impact her or her kids in the least, as lots of people reminded her:

Sorry, Vanky, but you have zero credibility on this or any other issue that matters to real Americans. No one believes a damn word you or your father say.

Categories
education

Teacher Blasts Education Secretary Betsy DeVos In Open Letter: ‘You Are Who We Thought You Were’

From the moment she was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos has been under fire from those concerned that her unorthodox views on how to best educate students could wind up creating two separate systems: One for the wealthy and another for everyone else.

Teachers were especially opposed to DeVos, and for good reason. This is a woman who has never taught, has no formal training in the field, and holds controversial views on using public money to fund charter and private schools. And in the three months since she was confirmed, DeVos has done little to allay those fears.

Veteran educator Patrick Kearney wrote an open letter to DeVos which he shared with The Huffington Post, and in that letter, Kearney lets the Education Secretary have it with both barrels, writing:

“You’ve now been the Secretary of Education for a few months and I have to say, we’ve moved from being freaked out to understanding that you are who we thought you were.”

Specifically, Kearney criticizes DeVos’ first budget for the Department of Education, which would eliminate $1.2 billion from after-school programs and also cut $27 million in arts education and $12 million for Special Olympics programs. That same budget would eliminate a loan forgiveness program which is meant to serve as an incentive for teachers to work in rural communities. Kearney blasts the budget:

“Your budget seems to try to surmise that schools are wasting money by providing safe places to go after school, giving young people the opportunity to create art, and supporting special education students.”

The drastic budget cuts would be accompanied by increased funding for charter schools and voucher programs which would use public funds to allow students to attend private and religious schools. To that, Kearney commented:

“Who are you serving?. Your proposed budget would suggest that your interest is in diverting dollars away from programs that directly impact young people and putting those dollars into the pockets of those who would like to make a profit in the business of educating our young people.

“In no universe does your budget make public schools better for the students who need them the most.”

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org

Categories
Discrimination education WTF?!

Georgia Governor Complains About ‘Colored People’ In Rambling Speech (VIDEO)

Considering what he said yesterday as part of a speech he gave, it’s probably a very good thing that Georgia Governor Nathan Deal cannot run for re-election.

Speaking to state educators as he urged them to support a Constitutional amendment which would allow the state to take control of failing schools, Deal remarked:

“The irony of some of the groups who are opposing doing something to help these minority children is beyond my logic. If you want to advance the state of colored people, start with their children.”

Asked later about what he had said, Deal told a reporter:

“I did not mean to insult anyone, but I was upset.”

Deal has a history of making racially insensitive remarks:

  • He has used the term “ghetto grandmothers.”
  • He once told a group, “My wife tells me she could look at her 6th grade class and tell you which ones were going to prison and which ones were going to college.”
  • The Georgia Governor has been part of the birther movement over the years, much like Donald Trump, whom Deal supports for President. Asked once about President Obama’s birth certificate, Deal responded, “I have no idea where he was born.”

It should also be noted that Deal has been under investigation for financial wrongdoing for decades. Most recently, Deal was alleged to be part of a scheme which mandated that those seeking state inspections for their cars use facilities in which Deal held a monetary stake.

Since I live in Georgia, I’m more than a bit familiar with Deal’s ignorance, intolerance, and moral bankruptcy. Were he able to run again in 2018, he would be toast. This man is an embarrassment to the Peach State and the entire country. In other words, he’s a typical Republican.

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org