Pride Month in Canada Starts With School Walk-Outs, ‘Pray-Ins,’ Flags Flying

Pride? I have never understood why anybody would be proud of inserting their appendage into another guy's rear orifice

As many schools across Canada began flying the Pride flag on June 3 and scheduling various events for Pride Month in June, some parents opted to keep their children home in protest.

The flag isn’t about “inclusion” as some frame it to be, said Josie Luetke of Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), a socially conservative group that organized school walk-outs. “It comes with a very controversial ideology,” she told The Epoch Times.

That ideology, she said, goes against Christian beliefs about how God created man and woman. It teaches about a spectrum of genders, and has children discuss their sexuality and gender at a young age. Ms. Luetke said she expects many Muslims also kept their children home, as happened during last year’s walk-out.

“At the very least, the pride flag confuses a lot of students,” she said. Catholic schools in particular should not hold Pride events or fly Pride flags, she said, though many do.

Ms. Luetke attended a CLC-organized “pray-in” at the Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) headquarters on June 3. This and other pray-ins across Ontario were held in conjunction with the school walk-outs nationwide.

“It’s important to let everyone know within our Catholic schools that they’re welcome, that they’re loved, and that they’re cared for,” said Mr. Campbell, who is an assistant professor of education at the University of Toronto.

“The Pride flag, the rainbow flag, represents love and inclusion. Well, I know you know what the opposite to that is. The opposite to that is hatred and the opposite to that is making people feel unsafe,” he said.

In 2019, TCDSB first voted to include “gender identity” protections in its code of conduct. At the time, the Archdiocese of Toronto spoke out against such policy.

“We do not accept the view of the human person which underlies this terminology, since that view is not compatible with our faith,” the Archdiocese said. In an interview last year with Argentine newspaper La Nación, Pope Francis said that “gender ideology” is “dangerous.”

CLC also held a pray-in at the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Various parental rights groups across Canada urged parents to keep children home on June 3. A group called Educating Minds; Parents of Waterloo Region (EMPOWR) in Ontario highlighted Pride Month activities suggested to teachers by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario.

One suggestion was that teachers read books aloud to their classes about gender and sexuality. One suggested book is “10,000 Dresses” by Marcus Ewert. It’s a story about a boy who identifies as a girl and dreams of wearing extravagant dresses.

Ms. Luetke estimated about 100 participants province-wide for the pray-ins. The walk-outs involved parents keeping their children home from school, and the number of participants may only become clear as absence rates at schools are reported in the coming months.

Last year, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board saw a major drop in attendance on June 1, the day of the national walk-out. Board spokesperson Darcy Knoll told The Epoch Times at the time that two schools in the board had up to 60 percent of their students absent, and nine other schools had 40 percent or more absent. Some absences were attributed by parents to Pride events and some to other reasons, such as wanting an extra long weekend ahead of a PA day on June 2.

In at least two schools last year—one in Edmonton and one in Windsor, Ont.—teachers allegedly scolded Muslim students for not attending Pride events.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/pride-month-in-canada-starts-with-school-walk-outs-pray-ins-flags-flying-5661864

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Columbia University alumnus donates $260 million to Israeli university in major snub of his alma mater

A Columbia grad who was 'active in World War II' has donated $260 million to Israel's Bar-Ilan University.

The anonymous donor's offering is the largest-ever gift received by the institution, and as the board chair of American Jewish University, Harold Masor, said he and his wife Amy will also donate $4.5 million to the LA-set private school.

Both gifts were made in the face of fierce pro-Palestine processions that have surfaced across the US over the past several months.

The donation to the Israeli school, again, was made by an unknown figure, who along with the sum, offered only the two identifying factors as to whom he may be.

It will go toward advancements in technology, specifically science research, as person responsible made a point to state he attended the school that has surfaced as a focal point in discourse surrounding the current conflict.

'The donor, a man of broad academic education, believed that the development of Israel’s technological resilience relies primarily on breakthrough science,' Bar-Ilan University President Arie Zaban announced Monday at a board meeting.

'The donor, a man of broad academic education, believed that the development of Israel’s technological resilience relies primarily on breakthrough science,' the 79-year-old Israeli continued.

'During his visits to Israel, he recognized the significant impact Bar-Ilan University has made in key areas thanks to its science-based infrastructure and deep connections to all sectors of Israeli society.

'This gift will be invested in the development of Deep Tech sciences and has the potential to positively influence the future of Israel and humanity.'

The university added in a statement that the donation will be used to recruit researchers seasoned in fields such as 'energy, environment, cryptography, bio-convergence, quantum, AI, and natural language processing,'

'Bar-Ilan will take the lead in building advanced research laboratories,' it continued.

'[It will support] advanced degree students, and creating state-of-the-art innovation hubs.'

Bar-Ilan is one of the largest public research universities in Israel, with some 19,000 students.

Not only did the donor make a point to tell onlookers he fought in a conflict entrenched in antisemitism, but he also reiterated how he graduated from Columbia.

'It’s a smack in the face of Columbia. It’s just the beginning,' added political Hank Sheinkopf, offering the insight to the famously pro Israel New York Post.

The school in Upper Manhattan, meanwhile, has become a focal point of student unrest seen across the US, and the donation appears to indicate dismay over this.

Moreover, The Supreme Leader of Iran - whose Hezbollah has long been viewed as a threat to Israel - thanked US college students for joining his country's 'resistance' movement against Israel with their recent spate of campus protests,

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wrote on X later last week. 'Dear university students in the United States of America, you are standing on the right side of history.'

'You have now formed a branch of the Resistance Front and have begun an honorable struggle in the face of your government's ruthless pressure - which openly supports Zionists.'

In an open letter published the next day, the radical Islamist again addressed US students, this time to say: 'This is an expression of our empathy and solidarity with you. As the page of history is turning, you are standing on the right side of it.'

The Ayatollah's shocking endorsement stunned many, considering Supreme Leader's abhorrent human rights track record.

Just this month, Iran executed three men who participated in anti-government protests, adding to the four who have already been hanged since late last year as part of the regime's response to demonstrations against the Islamic Republic.

Also this month, comedian Jerry Seinfeld, 70, was met with a a mix of cheers and boos before flag-waving students marched out of the Wallace Wade Stadium event on Sunday.

They were opposed to Seinfeld appearing due to his pro-Israel views, after which The North Carolina school issued a statement to DailyMail.com in the aftermath.

'We’re excited and delighted for the Class of 2024 and their families,' Frank Tramble, vice president for marketing, communications and public affairs at Duke said.

'We understand the depth of feeling in our community, and as we have all year, we respect the right of everyone at Duke to express their views peacefully, without preventing graduates and their families from celebrating their achievement.'

A few days earlier, President Joe Biden compared the actions of Hamas to those of the Nazis and condemned the 'ferocious surge of antisemitism' rising up around America.

'I have not forgotten, nor have you, and we will not forget,' the president said during remarks at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

'As Jews around the world still cope with the atrocities and trauma of that day and its aftermath, we've seen a ferocious surge of antisemitism in America and around the world,' he noted.

Biden's speech on Capitol Hill on Tuesday came as he tries to balance his support for Israel's war with concern for the citizens of Gaza and amid tension in his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netnayahu.

He spoke as Israel sent tanks into Rafah and took control of the Gaza side of a crossing to Egypt that is a major conduit for humanitarian aid, and as college campuses continue to be rocked by pro-Palestinian protests,

Some - including Columbia - have cancelled commencements and entire graduations, with the Ivy league school electing to do the latter in May

The president, in a forceful speech greeted with several rounds of applause, vowed to support Israel's right to exist 'even when we disagree.'

He began his remarks by tracing the rise of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany in 1933, noting the dictator rose to 'power by rekindling one of the world's oldest forms of prejudice and hate- antisemitism' through propaganda and economic hardship.

'We recommit to heading the lessons of one of the darkest chapters in human history, revitalize and realize the responsibility of never again,' he noted.

And, he pointed out, 'the truth is, we're at risk of people not knowing the truth.'

'Now, here we are not 75. years later, but just seven and a half months later,' he added in reference to the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas - the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust

'People are already forgetting - already forgetting - that Hamas unleashed this terror,' he said and vowed: 'I have not forgotten nor have you. And we will not forget.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13491191/Columbia-University-alumnus-donates-260-million-Israeli-university.html

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Australian school doubled its high achievers in exams. Now its techniques are spreading

Note "explicit instruction". Old ways work best

Just over a decade ago, Elise Mountford was teaching a routine year 6 maths class when she asked one of her students to solve a simple equation.

“He became so frustrated at not being able to do the task he knocked over a chair and stormed out of the room. That moment really hit home for me. This student had been at our school for years, but he didn’t feel capable and wasn’t engaged in learning,” she recalls.

Mountford was a teacher at Charlestown South Public at the time, a small public primary school in Lake Macquarie, south of Newcastle.

“The teachers knew something wasn’t working. The school was underachieving and was targeted by the department for reading support. We were putting in huge effort, we cared so much, but it wasn’t paying off,” she says. “We also had a school culture problem where students were disengaged.”

The turning point came in 2015 when Charlestown’s staff and then-principal, Colin Johnson, shifted the school to an explicit teaching model based on the instruction method used at south-east Melbourne private school Haileybury College.

Enrolments increased, and the school later became famed for achieving a dramatic turnaround in maths and reading results. In the five years to 2021, the school lifted its proportion of students in the top two NAPLAN bands from 34 to 79 per cent. Several years ago, it outperformed selective private school Sydney Grammar in year 3 writing.

“We brought in ‘warm-up’ sessions at the start of class and reviews at the end [of lessons] that checked students’ knowledge of concepts. Students became so much more engaged,” Mountford says. “We had been trapped in this cycle of needing to reteach all the time. And that disappeared.”

The change in approach was backed by research into cognitive load theory and a 2014 NSW Education Department analysis that showed students who experienced explicit teaching outperformed those who did not.

Mountford says teachers gave students clear instructions and broke down information into bite-sized chunks to avoid children quickly forgetting what they had been taught. Teachers check for understanding constantly to ensure students master a topic before moving to independent or inquiry learning, she says.

While overhauling the teaching approach, the school also surveyed parents about what they wanted in a bid to boost enrolments. “I spent mornings at the front gate, started a school band, and brought in more sport too,” Johnson says. “We changed the expectations of the community.”

Principles of a maths lesson under this teaching model:

Students review previously taught topics at the start of lessons in daily review sessions

New concepts and content are taught explicitly first

Maths topics are ordered so students gradually build understanding

Students work with teachers to master concepts before completing independent work

Lessons change and adapt according to students’ needs

Teachers regularly check for understanding during the class

Charlestown South is now among 30 public primary schools in the Newcastle, Central Coast and Hawksbury regions that have formed a grassroots group known as the Effective and Systematic Teaching Network (EAST) to share lesson plans, resources and hold professional learning sessions for teachers and school leaders.

“It started with Charlestown South, and [Central Coast school] Blue Haven Public, and over a few years we’ve started connecting with other schools that are teaching in a similar way,” Mountford says.

When the new NSW maths syllabus was released in 2022, Mountford and a group of teachers in the EAST network spent six months writing week-by-week lesson plans schools could use alongside the kindergarten to year 6 maths curriculum.

“We wanted to help other schools prepare for the new syllabus. It means teachers don’t need to create lessons from scratch each day, or make up questions the night before,” she says.

The lesson materials form a guide for teachers on each topic – such as division, volume or measurement. “They are fast-paced and interactive, but flexible too. Students are showing the teacher how they are working out problems as they go.”

Ian Short, principal at Vardys Road Public in north-west Sydney, which is part of the network, said the maths program and lesson outlines had helped ease teachers’ workload.

“Studies have been done on how much time can be saved by sharing curriculum resources. When teachers are doing it alone, the workload can be insurmountable,” Short says.

In 2022, the Grattan Institute suggested all Australian schools adopt a whole-school approach to curriculum planning, with a survey showing teachers are often planning on their own and regularly use YouTube and Facebook to source lesson ideas or materials.

Windsor South Public principal Belinda Bristol, whose school is also part of the network, says embedding daily reviews in maths and literacy lessons in all grades was key in stopping students falling behind.

“In the past, children would go away on holiday and forget everything. Now, we are making sure kids aren’t slipping through the cracks,” Bristol says.

Mountford, now deputy principal at Glendore Public in Maryland, said the EAST network’s maths lesson plans allowed teachers to be “highly responsive to students, but it’s still flexible for the teachers and takes the pressure off with preparation”.

“Once students have very deep understanding of the concepts, the teachers can then give them more opportunities for independent learning and problem-solving,” she says.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/this-school-doubled-its-naplan-high-achievers-now-its-techniques-are-spreading-20240602-p5jinx.html

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http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)

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http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

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http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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