I remember how it was -- JR
Washington school bans students’ 9/11 tribute for being ‘racially insensitive’
Students at a Washington state high school football game were banned from wearing red, white and blue in honor of 9/11 victims because some may find it “racially insensitive.”
The students at Eastlake High School in Sammamish said they were told at the last minute they couldn’t come to Friday night’s game in the patriotic colors, according to KTTH radio station.
“They had explained that red, white and blue was going to be seen as racially insensitive and may affect people in a way that we will not understand and for that reason that we were to change our theme,” one student told the outlet.
The students had been promoting the event on social media, calling on attendees to “dress in your USA best.”
In an email sent to parents, principal Chris Bede and associate principal Darcie Breynaert blamed the move on teachers — and insisted the reasoning had been explained to students.
“Our leadership teachers made this decision and explained it to students,” Bede wrote.
“I know tomorrow is 9/11 and understand the sacrifice and values our flag represents, but I think they just did not want to unintentionally cause offense to some who see it differently,” the email continued
The school did not elaborate specifically on what offense could be caused.
“I was instantly upset, and frustrated,” one student said.
“If Eastlake is all about including everyone’s beliefs and being together as a ‘family,’ then why are we being told we can’t represent the country we live in? I have seen other [Lake Washington School District] football teams that held a flag or did some sort of memorial recognition towards 9/11, but apparently we weren’t allowed to even wear USA colors.”
Another student said they opted to not go to the game at all in the wake of the decision.
“I was fairly upset and ended up not attending the game … [It] was really kind of [confusing] as to why the topic was so controversial that we couldn’t wear that clothing,” that student said.
https://nypost.com/2021/09/13/washington-school-bans-9-11-tribute-over-race-sensitivities/
*****************************************Virginia high school English teacher faces calls to be fired for claiming on video that telling kids to sit still is 'white supremacy'
A Virginia high school teacher has sparked outrage on social media after posting a TikTok video in which he argues that expecting students to behave, follow directions and sit quietly is 'the definition of white supremacy.'
Josh Thompson, an English teacher at Blacksburg High School in Montgomery County, specifically referred to his district's use of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a model educators use to keep students focused and respectful in school.
It is not clear how parents or students at the school are reacting to Thompson’s video or if they’ve seen it, but many Twitter users are asking that the district address it and some have even demanded that he be fired.
In the since-deleted video, which was originally posted in May, Thompson says, ‘I stated that PBIS is white supremacy with a hug and a lot of y'all wanted to know more about that . . . so if PBIS concerns itself with positive behaviors, we have to ask ourselves, “Okay well what are those positive behaviors?” And it's things like making sure that you're following directions, and making sure that you're sitting quietly, and you are in your seat and all these things that come from white culture.’
He adds, ‘The idea of just sitting quiet and being told stuff and taking things in, in a passive stance, is not a thing that's in many cultures. So if we're positively enforcing these behaviors, we are by extension positively enforcing elements of white culture. Which therefore keeps whiteness at the center, which is the definition of white supremacy.’
Conservative author Brigitte Gabrielle shared the clip with the caption, ‘FIRE this teacher,’ and Max Lugavere, also an author, shared it with the caption, ‘This is actual racism. And condescending af to people of color.’
Blogger Ian Miles Cheong shared the video with the caption, ‘Where does he teach? Do the parents know?’ And Twitter user Jovon, a black athlete and alumnus from Florida A&M University, tweeted the clip with the caption, ‘We are at the most comfortable period in human history.’
The Montgomery County School District said that they support Thompson’s right to free speech, but asserted that his views are not their own and defended their use of PBIS.
District officials told Fox News that, "A teacher is entitled to their personal belief regarding any division program. The statements made by this teacher do not reflect our PBIS program or the behavioral expectations that we have of students in our schools."
The district added that it ‘has used PBIS in our schools for eight years. We are proud of our PBIS work. This work helps create a standard for social-emotional learning and behavior expectations in the school building.’
In another video of Thompson shared by Libs of TikTok, which yielded 23,500 views, he asserts that police brutality is ‘directly connected’ to education.
He said, ‘I want to remind educators that instances of police brutality and the murders of black and brown people by police officers is directly connected to the work that we do Because if any of those people had been white, chances are they wouldn't have been murdered. Chances are they wouldn't have been brutalized. And if you don't believe me, just take a look at all the instances of white people, especially white men, who oftentimes are brandishing weapons and who were taken into custody alive.’
He adds, ‘But much of this is wrapped up in implicit bias and we have incredible power to changes peoples’ biases when they’re young. We have to talk about these issues in school because every bit of it impacts our work. The ways in which we teach, the ways we interact with students, the practices and policies we have, the way in which they’re implemented. There’s so much. And many of us our talking about this, many of us are advocating for these changes, but not enough of us are.’
Thompson’s videos come after two teachers in California faced backlash for politicizing their classrooms earlier this month. In one case, an Orange County teacher was fired after admitting on TikTok that she hid her classroom’s American flag and told students to say the pledge to a pride flag instead. And in another, a Sacramento teacher displayed an Antifa flag and Mao Zedong flag in his classroom and suggested that students were fascist if it made them uncomfortable.
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Students being told to 'deconstruct' Australian flag
The IPA's Bella D’Abrera says students being told to ‘deconstruct’ the Australian flag is part of a “wider problem in our society” where there is a minority of people who seem to “hate” Australia.
It comes as state and federal education ministers in Australia have slammed lessons put together by a third party and promoted by the NSW Education Department.
Students are asked to examine the Australian flag in part of a project to ‘deconstruct’ symbols of Australia.
"Unfortunately, these are the people who are writing the school curriculum, these are the people who are unelected bureaucrats sitting in the Department of Education in New South Wales," Ms D'Abrera told Sky News host Chris Kenny.
“It’s divisive, it’s critical race theory...it’s everything that they shouldn’t be taught.”
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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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