Friday, July 29, 2022



At This Manhattan Middle School School, Sixth-Graders Are Asked To Surveil Friends and Family for ‘Microaggressions’

A New York City public school encouraged students as young as 10 years old to keep a list of all the "microaggressions" they witnessed, both at school and in their own families, according to materials from the school’s curriculum reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon. The same students were also asked to list their gender identity—"cisgender," "nonbinary," or "trans"—as well as their sexual orientation on a graded worksheet.

The sixth-grade humanities curriculum from Lower Manhattan Community Middle School, where just 31 percent of students are white, required students to read Tiffany Jewell’s This Book Is Anti-Racist, one of only five books assigned for the 2021-2022 year. The book contains 20 lessons on "how to wake up, take action, and do the work"—including the work of confronting the police, which Jewell suggests white students can do without ending up "in jail or harmed."

"If you are a Black, Brown, or Indigenous Person of the Global Majority, you will need to decide how each outcome could end for you," Jewell writes in a chapter called "Choosing My Path." "White people, this is not something you need to do because you are at the center of the system."

From Tiffany Jewell's ‘This Book Is Anti-Racist'

The book also asks students to surveil their friends and family for racist behavior. "Grab your notebook," one "activity" instructs readers. "Look and listen for the microaggressions around you. Write them down and note your observations." Another activity asks students how "folx" in their families "resisted" or "contributed to racism," defined as the "systemic misuse and abuse of power by institutions."

The curriculum, which went into effect August 2021, came as parents across New York City were mobilizing against critical race theory in public schools—and as education officials across the country were denying that there was any such thing.

"Critical race theory is not taught in elementary schools," Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, asserted in July 2021. Parents "are bullying teachers and trying to stop us from teaching students accurate history."

One month earlier, New York Regents chancellor Lester Young stated that critical race theory "is not our theory of action" and assured parents that "we are not preparing young people to be activists."

Jewell’s book belies that assurance. "We will work together, in solidarity, to disrupt racism and become anti-racist accomplices," the preface reads. "There are many moments to pause in this book so you can check in with yourself and grow into your activism."

The curriculum could spell legal trouble for the school, which is already under investigation for separating seventh and eight-graders into racial affinity groups. That practice prompted a civil rights complaint in December from the watchdog group Parents Defending Education; on July 13, the Department of Education announced it would investigate the middle school over the complaint.

"It’s astonishing that administrators at Lower Manhattan Community seem determined to create a racially hostile educational environment on top of the civil rights investigation that was just opened," said Nicole Neily, the president of Parents Defending Education. "Parents who were once proud of the school’s academic performance compared to other New York City public schools are now concerned—justifiably so—about the school’s increasing fixation on race."

Those concerns come amid steep enrollment declines—and budget cuts—in New York City’s public schools. With enrollment down 8 percent since 2020, schools have lost $215 million in funding this year alone, forcing widespread layoffs and larger class sizes.

Divisive curricula like the one at Lower Manhattan Community School have exacerbated that exodus. One parent told the Free Beacon that their child would not be returning to the middle school this fall on account of an assignment that required sixth-graders to disclose their "social identities"—including their sexual orientation—on a worksheet. Though students did not have to "write something for every category," instructors collected the worksheet for a grade.

Such lessons aren’t the product of a few school administrators run amok but reflect the race-conscious worldview of the New York City Department of Education. In June 2020, then-executive superintendent of Manhattan public schools Marisol Rosales hosted a panel on dismantling "systemic racism in our schools," which held up Lower Manhattan Community School’s "mission statement on race" as a model for the entire school system.

"To undo the legacy of racism and oppression in this country that impacts our school community," the mission statement reads, Lower Manhattan Community Schools works to instill "anti-racist beliefs and practices."

The school’s sixth-grade humanities curriculum is a microcosm of what that education looks like in practice. Three of its five units concern "identity," with Jewell’s book listed as a "key text" for unit one. The "social identities" worksheet was part of a broader lesson on "the dominant culture," which consists of "people who are white, middle class, Christian and cisgender."

Whoever does not fit into this "box," Jewell writes, is "part of what’s called the ‘subordinate culture.’" Her description of that culture is exhaustive, albeit studded with solecisms: "Folx included in the ‘subordinate culture,’ include Black, Brown, indegenous People of Color of the Global Majority, queer, transgender, and nonbinary folx, and cisgender women, youth, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist, and non-Christian folx, neurodiverse folx, folx living with disabilities, those living in poverty, and more."

"The people who want to talk about racism all the time are the racists," said Maud Maron, who served as an elected representative for parents in the district where Lower Manhattan Community School is located. "The people who suffer are the kids who get cheated out of a wholesome school experience and hours of learning that should be focused on academics instead of race indoctrination."

Lower Manhattan Community School did not respond to a request for comment.

The focus on race extended to the seventh-grade social studies curriculum—ostensibly devoted to early American history—which used "anti-racist" guru Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning as its main textbook, according to a syllabus for the 2021-2022 school year reviewed by the Free Beacon.

These curricula do not seem to have soothed racial tensions at Lower Manhattan Community School, which is 41 percent Asian, 15 percent Hispanic, and 7 percent black.

A group of parents and administrators in April began planning a "restorative justice circle" to address alleged incidents of racism that had taken place over the school year, according to emails reviewed by the Free Beacon. The incidents included a black student calling a South Asian student "Indian Boy," an Asian student touching a black student’s hair, and a "rumor" that a white student "used the N-word."

The school eventually canceled the circle after a parent objected that it would "violate students’ privacy" and "possibly put current students at risk"—and after parents started to litigate the incidents over email, replicating the racial catfighting that had consumed the classroom.

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Critical Race Theory taught to future military leaders at U.S. military academies

United States military service academies have taught or introduced some form of critical race theory or "anti-racism" training on future military leaders, according to CriticalRace.org, which monitors CRT curricula and training in higher education.

CriticalRace.org had previously examined CRT curricula and training in higher education, elite private schools and medical schools. The project from Legal Insurrection Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to campus free speech and academic freedom, has since expanded its database to include military academies.

"The good news is that CRT and related ideologies have not yet captured the military service academies the way they have overrun higher ed, professional schools, and increasingly K-12. The bad news is that these ideologies have established a beachhead at the military service academies and are likely to expand as part of a more general military wokeness campaign from the top down," Legal Insurrection founder William A. Jacobson told Fox News Digital.

Jacobson, a clinical professor of law at Cornell Law School, founded CriticalRace.org’s extensive database. The group’s latest venture explored the United States Air Force Academy, United States Coast Guard Academy, United States Naval Academy, United States Merchant Marine Academy and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

"The purpose of the military service academies is to educate and train our future military leaders. The public has a strong interest in what happens there. Whether these students will graduate with the skills and motivation needed to defend the nation is a matter of national interest and security," Jacobson said. "The military leadership needs to consider whether training military officers in ideologies that separate Americans by race and other group characteristics, and that incessantly demonize the United States as systemically evil, serves a valid military or national security purpose."

CriticalRace.org found that all five federal service academies have some form of critical race, anti-racism, or related objectives, which sometimes fall under the umbrella of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals.

For example, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs requires a course on "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Students," according to the database. "This course includes a video on the subject of Black Lives Matter," CriticalRace.org wrote.

Four of the academies were found to offer materials by authors Robin DiAngelo and Ibram Kendi, whose books explicitly call for discrimination, according to Jacobson.

Residents of Loudoun County, Virginia, helped make critical race theory a national conversation in 2021.
Residents of Loudoun County, Virginia, helped make critical race theory a national conversation in 2021. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

All five academies also have offered voluntary CRT-related trainings or activities to their students, faculty and staff, while two have mandatory trainings for faculty and staff, according to CriticalRace.org.

"Do we really want our future military officers to view themselves and the troops they will command through an obsessive racial lens? Is military cohesion and effectiveness improved by putting people into racial and ethnic boxes? These are questions the military leadership will need to consider as it evaluates whether and how far it takes the teaching of CRT and related ideologies as part of a military service academy education," Jacobson said. "Because the education of military officers is so important to our nation, public and political scrutiny is justified."

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The truth about trans teaching in schools

The LGBT advocacy group Stonewall has come in for criticism over recent months with many big name organisations – including the BBC and the cabinet office – withdrawing from its diversity champions programme. Yet rather than toning down its controversial claims and divisive rhetoric, the charity insists on doubling down. It now seems to have children firmly in its sights.

‘Research suggests that children as young as 2 recognise their trans identity,’ Stonewall recently declared. ‘Yet, many nurseries and schools teach a binary understanding of pre-assigned gender. LGBTQ-inclusive and affirming education is crucial for the wellbeing of all young people!’.

Following a huge backlash to that tweet, Stonewall clarified that it does not ‘actively work on nursery education’. Indeed, Stonewall goes so far as to claim that ‘young children should be able to play, explore and learn about who they are, and the world around them, without having adults’ ideas imposed upon them.’ If only.

Today, from the tiniest village primary to large academy trusts, schools teach about sexuality, relationships and gender identity. They have written policies on gender identity or transgender pupils. Most are identikit statements, but the practices they engender should concern us all.

From early in childhood, children are encouraged to think about gender as something quite distinct from biology. Shropshire Council’s Family Information Service advises parents and teachers alike that: ‘While biological sex and gender identity are the same for most people, this is not the case for everyone.’

When gender is separated from biology, it cannot be assumed. The onus is on everyone to work out what their gender is and then declare it to a receptive world. Schools and local councils are on hand to guide children through this complicated process.

In Scotland, the ‘Gender Friendly Nurseries’ initiative trains staff to use gender neutral activities and toys. Course material informs nursery-workers that ‘the pressure children and young people experience to conform to binary gender definitions affects all children.’ Before they even start school, four year-olds in Brighton were once asked to choose whether they are a boy, a girl or something else.

St Leonard’s RC primary school in Sunderland informs parents that ‘gender identity is often complex and there is a spectrum of gender which is wider than just boy/man or girl/woman.’ The Castleman Academy Trust, a small group of first and middle schools in Dorset notes: ‘The culture in the UK could be described as ‘binary’…Some will be aware that their gender feelings and expressions do not match the expectations of society, whilst others will not have ‘worked it out’.’ Meanwhile, Havering Safeguarding Board tells primary school teachers: ‘Remember that a pupil who identifies as a trans girl but was born a genetic male, is not a ‘boy dressed as a girl’, but is a girl who outwardly at this point resembles a boy.’

Talk of gender being on a ‘spectrum’ suggests there are degrees of masculinity and femininity, and that whether you are male or female depends upon where on the sliding-scale you situate yourself. This is scientifically nonsensical and highly contested.

Once, progressive teachers encouraged girls to aspire to become doctors and not just nurses; or they made it clear that boys could play with dolls. The same teachers are now likely to tell children that if they like dressing up then they might be a girl; or if they prefer getting dirty in the sand pit then they could be a boy. This is a huge leap backwards for sexual equality.

At Pikes Lane primary school, in Bolton, teachers are told to: ‘Avoid where possible gender segregated activities and where this cannot be avoided, allow the child to access the activity that corresponds to their gender identity.’ We are back to the days of woodwork for boys and cookery for girls, only now children must first choose which category they fall into.

Personal, Social, Health Education (PSHE) lessons are the key site for promoting gender ideology in schools. Glebe primary school in Hillingdon provides a list of key words that Year Four children will cover in their Health and Wellbeing Module. It includes: gender, gender identity, sexuality, (lesbian, gay, cisgender, transgender, sexual orientation, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, gender expression, biological sex, intersex, non-binary, gender fluid, pronouns, transition, gender dysphoria, questioning and queer). Remember: Year Four children are just eight years old. Why must an eight-year-old know the difference between bisexual and pansexual? Wouldn’t their time be better spent learning their times tables or becoming engrossed in a story?

But such classes, it seems, are endemic. Benhurst primary school in Havering expects Year Six children to ‘know about gender identities and have an awareness of transgender issues’. This includes understanding ‘the difference between being transgender and transvestite’. At age ten.

The promotion of gender ideology is not restricted to the PSHE curriculum but is built into the core values of many schools. Castleman Academy Trust states that, ‘wherever possible, individuals should be given opportunities to say how they identify or describe themselves. This is called ‘self-identified gender’.’

Children are rightly taught about people who are different from themselves. They also need to be tolerant and respectful of other people. Yet it seems unlikely that children are also being encouraged to question the emerging gender ideology orthodoxy.

What is being taught in schools is, inevitably, hard to work out. But what we do know is that some schools now seek outside help when it comes to supporting trans kids. St James’ primary school in Leyland promises to ‘engage with any local transgender groups’ in order to ‘ensure access to information is available for transgender pupils and their parents/guardians.’ Is this really what parents want? Teachers in Bolton seeking ‘resources and further support’ when it comes to trans guidance are pointed in the direction of Mermaids, a charity that supports transgender children. Is this really the best place to look?

At all stages of schooling, teaching about gender is presented as promoting tolerance, diversity and inclusion. But this masks the fact that a highly political agenda is being promoted to a captive audience. Children are being indoctrinated into a one-sided and controversial view of gender when they are too young to challenge what they are hearing and lack the capacity simply to walk away.

Children who go along with what they are taught and decide that they have indeed been born in the wrong body find themselves feted. They are celebrated as brave victims and noble revolutionaries. This is a high pedestal from which to fall if a child comes to change their perception of their gender identity.

Sometimes, too, parents can be left in the dark. Cornerstone Academy Trust, a small group of primary schools in Devon, is not alone in stating that ‘school staff should not disclose information that may reveal a child or young person’s transgender status or gender non-conforming presentation to others, including parents/carers and other members of the school community unless legally required to do so or because the child orparent/carer has given permission for them to do so.’

It’s terrible to think that parents will be kept abreast with how their son or daughter is getting on in their school report, but not always be told that they’re transgender.

Schools nowadays are even offering guidance on situations where trans pupils might bind their chests. Pikes Lane primary school advises: ‘If a pupil is binding their chest, they should be monitored carefully during particularly physical activities and in hot weather. There is a chance that the binding could cause discomfort or even impair breathing. Short breaks from activity could be offered discretely.’

Upper Wharfedale, a secondary school in North Yorkshire, goes even further in its advice about binding. ‘It might make certain PE lessons difficult for them to participate in and could sometimes lead to breathing difficulties, skeletal problems, and fainting,’ the school notes, but nonetheless it is ‘very important to their psychological and emotional wellbeing.’

This is a shocking statement: even though children may suffer physical harm from wearing a chest binder this, we are told, needs to be balanced against their mental health. This truly beggars belief.

Parents have rightly raised concerns about their children being indoctrinated into questioning their gender identity while at school. One mother is currently embroiled in a dispute with Haberdashers’ Hatcham College in south-east London after her request to view handouts and lesson plans relating to teaching about race and gender was rejected. Staff declared the materials to be ‘commercially sensitive’.

More here:

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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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