I remember how it was -- JR
Monday, June 19, 2023
University Announces Big Move on Confucius Institute After Republicans Call It Out
A New York university will shut down its Confucius Institute by the end of June after facing intense scrutiny from Rep. Mike Gallagher, chairman of the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.
“I’m glad to see Alfred University finally doing the right thing and shutting down its Confucius Institute,” Gallagher, R-Wis., said in a statement Thursday. “But the Confucius Institute is only one tool in the CCP’s toolbox—it will use research partnerships, talent programs, and other initiatives to gain access to sensitive research and technologies that fuel the [People’s Liberation Army]’s advancement.”
“We’re going to continue to dig into the facts to make sure that no American taxpayer dollars are supporting research partnerships that the CCP can exploit for its own purposes,” Gallagher said.
China funds Confucius Institutes, founded in 2004, as “cultural” centers operating on college campuses. In the past few years, these centers have come under increased scrutiny as operations of Chinese state influence.
Gallagher sent a letter to Alfred University President Mark Zupan on May 31 and launched an investigation into the university.
“In 2022, you were awarded a $13.5 million DOD research grant for hypersonic weapons while simultaneously hosting a Confucius Institute and partnering with a Chinese university ‘actively engaged in defense research’ on behalf of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),” Gallagher wrote to Zupan.
“To put it plainly, you are conducting advanced, hypersonic weapons-related research while actively partnering with a Chinese university that performs similar research for the PLA. We seek additional information regarding this alarming matter and Alfred’s commitment to safeguard sensitive U.S. military research,” Gallagher also wrote.
A lawyer representing Alfred University responded to Gallagher in a letter Tuesday.
“Alfred University has decided to close the Confucius Institute as of June 30, 2023. I also note that Alfred University takes very seriously the issue of protecting intellectual property and improper technology export,” the lawyer wrote.
“Even though Alfred University does not engage in classified research, it has for multiple years engaged with the Department of Commerce and the FBI to strengthen its export control policies and processes,” the lawyer added. “Thank you for attention to this matter and the important oversight function you fill as a member of Congress.”
“While our community has benefited from the cultural programming provided by the Confucius Institute that we have operated since 2008, current geopolitical concerns regarding China make it difficult to continue to run it. With respect to those concerns, we have decided to close our Institute effective June 30, 2023,” Mark Danes, vice president for marketing and communications at Alfred University, told The Daily Signal in an email.
Gallagher also sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on May 31 and launched an investigation into the Defense Department.
“The Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation write to express our deep concern that lucrative Department of Defense (DOD) research grants continue to be awarded to universities that host Confucius Institutes,” Gallagher wrote in the letter to Austin.
“These institutes are ‘funded by the CCP Propaganda Department’ and ‘overseen by personnel based in Chinese embassies and consulates,’ according to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission,” the chairman also wrote
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College Board Will Not Revise AP Course to Comply With DeSantis' Education Laws
On Thursday, the College Board, which oversees the Advanced Placement program, told Florida leaders that it will not revise its psychology course that covers the topic of sexual orientation and gender identity.
According to The Washington Post, the organization sent a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to notify them that it will not change the course.
“Please know that we will not modify our courses to accommodate restrictions on teaching essential, college-level topics,” the organization said in a letter to Florida’s education department. “Doing so would break the fundamental promise of AP: colleges wouldn’t broadly accept that course for credit and that course wouldn’t prepare students for success in the discipline.”
Last year, Florida began enacting restrictions on curriculum surrounding gender identity and sexual orientation in public schools. A letter sent from DeSantis’ administration to the College Board last month asked the organization to review its courses and make changes to comply with the state law.
“Some courses might contain content or topics prohibited by State Board of Education rule and Florida law,” the department’s letter reportedly stated.
In April, Townhall covered how the College Board announced that it would revise its Advanced Placement African American studies course following criticism from scholars and from DeSantis’ administration. Reportedly, the course included lessons in “black queer” studies and “intersectionality.”
In addition to restricting lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity, DeSantis has come out against other “divisive” topics in schools, like Critical Race Theory.
In a statement, the College Board said that it is “committed to providing an unflinching encounter with the facts and evidence of African American history and culture. To achieve that commitment, we must listen to the diversity of voices within the field. The development committee and experts within AP remain engaged in building a course and exam that best reflect this dynamic discipline. Those scholars and experts have decided they will make changes to the latest course framework during this pilot phase. They will determine the details of those changes over the next few months.”
Months prior, DeSantis had rejected the AP course over its “political agenda.”
“We believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don’t believe they should have an agenda imposed on them when you try to use black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes,” DeSantis said at the time.
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Australia: Government schools losing students
No surprise why. Government schools offer a choice range of chaos and propaganda
Public primary schools in Sydney’s east, north shore and inner city have lost more than 4700 students in the past four years, with more children being clustered in composite classes to manage shrinking enrolments.
The decline in public sector enrolments – intensified in more affluent suburbs – comes as more families move suburbs, switch catchments, or leave to secure a place in year 5 at private schools.
In a letter to parents last month, Clovelly Public’s principal Matt Jackman made an impassioned appeal to parents urging them to push back against the “pressure and marketing the private sector” places on families and keep children enrolled through to year 6.
“As with most public schools in the eastern suburbs, we are seeing an even greater increase in students leaving the public education system at the end of year 4,” he wrote.
“There are a variety of reasons this happens, but the one I hear most is that private schools can’t guarantee placements in year 7 if the child does not transfer over in year 5.”
The fall has occurred as schools in the east and north have recorded the fastest growth in composite classes – where students from different years are grouped – rising by 35 classes, or 20 per cent between 2019 and 2022.
Principals say cost of living pressures mean families are relocating to more affordable parts of Sydney, while private schools are competing for top-achieving students in year 5 by offering scholarships or encouraging parents to enrol before year 7 to avoid forfeiting a place.
A NSW Education Department spokesperson said there had been a surge in births between 2005 and the end of the baby bonus payments in 2014, which was translating into falling enrolments.
Public primary schools in the eastern suburbs have been hit with the biggest enrolment drop, declining by 13 per cent in four years, followed by the northern beaches, North Sydney and inner west.
In Maroubra Junction Public’s latest annual report, the school notes declining enrolments are partly due to families moving “out of the local area for financial reasons, transferring into their local school closer to their new residence”.
Morag Bond said she opted for Coogee Public for her son Jonah – who is now in year 4 – because of the school’s proximity to the family home, the teachers and extension activities offered.
“Coogee is our local school, and we really saw the benefits in that. But it’s been hard this year. He’s losing his friends as they go into private and Catholic schools,” she said. “I appreciate it’s such an individual decision, but we are happy, and he will stay until the end of year 6.”
She is undecided about secondary options, except that it will be a school close to home. “There is also the massive financial pressure of private education. People can get seduced by well-kept grounds, or the facilities, but it’s important to look at the school as a whole,” she said.
Despite an overall decline in public school enrolments due to population changes and lower migration, private schools have retained a steady share of students over the past four years.
Independent schools increased enrolments from year 4 to year 5 by 1500 students in 2022, up by 35 per cent from 2020. Year 5 is the biggest intake grade into private schools after year 7.
Another parent, Heather Shepherd, who has a son in year 4 at Randwick Public, said there was a noticeable difference in year 5 and 6 class sizes.
“There is a lot of pressure on parents to get them into a private school, or they are moving away from Randwick because there is no co-ed public high school option. Families leave for different reasons, but I think staying at the school until year 6 is such a rite of passage,” she said.
NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar said he wants parents to see public schools as the first choice. “I know independent and Catholic schools compete strongly for enrolments. I want our public schools to be competing too, and that starts with attracting and retaining the very best teachers and school leaders,” he said.
The department spokesperson said it was common for schools across NSW to have composite classes and the evidence shows they do not disadvantage students compared with single grade classes.
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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)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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