I remember how it was -- JR
Kids’ book ‘Our Skin’ in NYC schools blames racism on white people
In a world gone mad, elites keep peddling untruths
An “inflammatory” children’s book being distributed to New York City schools teaches kids as young as 2 that the concept of race was created by white people who claimed they were “better, smarter, prettier, and that they deserve more than everybody else.”
The book “Our Skin” was penned by Harlem activist Megan Madison and Brooklynite and library worker Jessica Ralli, and published last year. It begins with a simple discussion of skin tones — then launches into a screed that blames the idea of race on white people along with an illustration of scary-looking human skulls encased in glass and sitting on shelves.
“A long time ago, way before you were born, a group of white people made up an idea called race. They sorted people by skin color and said that white people were better, smarter, prettier, and that they deserve more than everybody else,” the book declares.
It goes on to say “That isn’t true or fair at all!” with a picture of a “Caucasian” man holding up the “Most beautiful skull.”
The book, aimed at those ages 2 to 5, has been distributed to at least one Manhattan kindergarten, one on Staten Island as well as a school in Brooklyn and appears to be part of the Department of Education’s new “Universal Mosaic Curriculum.” The DOE announced the plan under former Mayor de Blasio to standardize instructional materials and “better reflect” the system’s demographics. It is to begin in 2023.
The tome is on a suggested reading list parents can access through the website TeachingBooks. It is part of the “Universal Mosaic Independent Reading Collections” for kindergartners created by the DOE’s Library Services, the site says.
Brooklyn parent leader Vito LaBella called the text “inflammatory.”
“That page alone in my mind is just preaching hate,” he said, referring to the text about sorting people by skin color.
LaBella said at least one school in southwest Brooklyn’s District 20, where he’s a member of the Community Education Council, received the books. The principal had been told by former Schools Chancellor Meisha Porter they would be coming. They were to be delivered to kindergarten classes, but the principal was holding off, he added.
“There were no instructions or curriculum guide with them,” said LaBella, who is seeking the Republican nod to challenge state Sen. Andrew Gounardes.
He said he planned to discuss his concerns about the book at Wednesday’s CEC meeting.
A Manhattan parent of a kindergartener saw the book in his son’s school this week in a box marked “Mosaic curriculum.”
The dad said he looked through the book and stopped cold at the page saying white people invented race.
“The book itself is fine and a lot of what is said in the book is productive and I think very helpful in a discussion of race,” he said. “However, there’s just an excerpt from it that I think is so damaging that it should disqualify the whole book.”
He said he would address his concerns with the principal.
“Racism should be talked about, but it should be talked about correctly,” he said. “I think that telling 5- and 6-year-olds that white people are all responsible for all racism is not helpful. It’s going to be very traumatic for many 5- and 6-year-olds who are going to blame themselves and blame their parents.”
The book’s narrative adds that “racism is also the things people do and the unfair rules they make about race so that white people get more power.”
There is no discussion that groups other than whites might be racist.
https://nypost.com/2022/05/07/kids-book-our-skin-in-nyc-schools-blames-racism-on-whites/
****************************************************The Left Finally Admits Remote Learning Was a Total Failure
A newsletter from The New York Times breaks down the disastrous effects school closures had on kids during the pandemic sparked by the Wuhan coronavirus.
When news of the virus first broke, schools were ultimately the first to close. And they tayed closed for nearly two years, causing kids to fall behind educationally and socially.
According to a Harvard study, students lost on average the equivalent of about 50 percent of a typical school year’s math learning between 2020 and 2021.
Even kids who went back to school in 2021 still lost about 20 percent of their typical math curriculum learning.
Ultimately, the research found remote learning was the primary driver for these learning gaps. Evidence suggests that these problems were completely preventable.
It is clear remote learning did more harm than good.
Additionally, the article notes that many administrators could have recognized this as early as the fall of 2020.
Fast forward to what we know now, children are at a very low risk of severe illness or death caused by the Wuhan coronavirus. Studies also show that in-school transmission between kids is extremely rare.
According to The New York Times, the schools that did re-open early on did not see a substantial spread compared to schools that remained closed.
An interesting take to point out is that low-poverty schools (many of which are run by Democratic officials) stayed closed longer than in Republican-run states. Evidence shows this is because Democrat-run districts were more likely to have unionized teachers advocating for remote learning.
Research indicates that children in schools who did re-open earlier rather than later, thrived in and out of the classroom.
Furthermore, two years of disruption from a normal routine, from being around peers, and from engaging with other kids proved to be catastrophic. The road to recovery for children’s social, mental and learning capabilities may difficult.
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Australian PM says schools not expelling gay students, doubles down on religious discrimination act
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says gay students are not being expelled from religious schools, doubling down on re-introducing the failed religious discrimination act (RDA) without extra protections for gay and transgender students.
The government attempted to pass the legislation earlier this year but shelved it after five of its own MPs crossed the floor to vote with Labor and the crossbench on amendments that bolstered the sex discrimination act (SDA) to give transgender students extra protections.
Mr Morrison had promised extra protections for gay students to accompany his religious discrimination bill but has since walked back from the pledge.
Today he said if the Coalition won government, he would introduce the religious discrimination act on its own and amend the sex discrimination act "sequentially".
"We've been having this conversation for about the last four years, and on each occasion it has been presented that apparently students are being expelled each and every day, each and every week, or each and every year," Mr Morrison said.
PM remains firm over religious discrimination bill
The Prime Minister says a re-elected Coalition government would push ahead with its long-promised religious discrimination law without making changes to protect LGBTQI children at the same time.
"There is no evidence [of that] because the religious schools themselves don't wish to do that. They don't wish to do it. This is an issue that is actually not occurring in these schools."
When pressed to reveal how much time there would be between the two bills, Mr Morrison would not specify. "They are different issues and that is my view," he said. "They're both important issues and the government's position is they'll be dealt with sequentially."
Earlier this year, just before the legislation was introduced to parliament, a Brisbane school was criticised for sending a letter to parents demanding they sign a contract affirming students identify as their birth gender and that homosexuality was "sinful".
The contract was withdrawn a few days later after backlash from parents and the wider community.
At the time, the Prime Minister said he did not support the controversial contract and reiterated his promise to protect gay children from discrimination.
Moderate Liberals want the government to pursue the religious discrimination act and changes to the sex discrimination act at the same time to protect vulnerable students.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese today pointed to a letter in which Mr Morrison promised to protect gay students at the same time. "I'm astonished he has walked away from that," Mr Albanese said. "We need to protect people from discrimination, whether its religious discrimination or on the basis of sexuality.
"If people don't think some young people are discriminated against and vilified, then that just does not reflect reality."
While being questioned by journalists today, Mr Morrison took aim at Labor for not supporting the legislation in its original form, rather than admitting his own party was split on the issue.
"I'm quite determined," Mr Morrison said. "People have learnt that about me. I don't give up on things. "I had hoped to pursue these issues in a bipartisan way. I'd very much hoped to do that. "But the issue was hijacked and the outcome was thwarted … it was hijacked by the Labor Party and the crossbench."
The Prime Minister was asked if he thought the moderate Liberal MPs who crossed the floor had changed their minds, or if he had written them off because they were under threat in their seats from independents and Labor.
"The issues that they were addressing were not related to the religious discrimination act; they were related to the sexual discrimination act, and we should be able to see those, we should be able to pursue them sequentially, as we set out," Mr Morrison said. "That's the government's policy. There's no change to the government's view here."
Moderate Liberal MP Katie Allen, who was one of the five Liberals who crossed the floor earlier this year, today would not rule out doing the same again, if there was no protection for gay and transgender students. "I will be very clear: I have a very strong view on this and I will not be changing my position," she said. "I believe that you can protect religious freedom and protect gay and trans students at the same time."
"That's the thing about political negotiations, it is always a negotiation and I will stick with my position, because I believe in the protection of gay and trans students."
Federal Labor supports new religious discrimination laws but Mr Albanese has not given a specific time frame for any accompanying protections for gay and transgender students.
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My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
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