Black educators at Blair push back on MCPS's ham-fisted antiracist PD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys are overthinking it. The central office will buy whatever the cheapest training is. That is the only thing they prioritize. There was a documented increase in racist incidents being reported in MCPS, and buying a screen recording of someone reading a slideshow over Zoom is much, much cheaper than auditing and retraining staff for real. I guarantee you the buyers for this training didn't preview it ahead of time.

I would agree with your logic but they have a history of using friends and personal connections for this kind of stuff so they probably knew the owner of the company or somehow connected.

[Anonymous]

I'm torn on whether the teacher who first spoke up, Collier, is a very smart troll or someone I don't want teaching my kids.

He does a great job of eviscerating the presenter, but then again, phrases like, "someone who looks like my captors" (that might be a misquote on my part), isn't someone I necessarily want teaching my kids anything, whether they also look like his captors or not.

I think there's a lot of middle class posturing going on here about race and oppression, a lot of it from people who've never had to face real, systemic issues, and I think this posturing has the potential to do a lot more damage than the people throwing it around seem to realize.

My own kid already hates history because, as they told me the other day, "it's just the story of white people being bad to other people over and over." I'm sure there are some of you who are now like, "yes! What's wrong with that?" Well, a lot. You are fortunate and sheltered people who have never had to deal with the consequences of what thinking like that does.

For one thing, it's now common in style guides to capitalize "White." The only people who used to do that were white supremacists, who believe there is such a thing as a "white race." Good job there! For another thing, everyone who is not white is not the same. They're also not all good, or oppressed, or martyred. Again, a point that should be obvious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys are overthinking it. The central office will buy whatever the cheapest training is. That is the only thing they prioritize. There was a documented increase in racist incidents being reported in MCPS, and buying a screen recording of someone reading a slideshow over Zoom is much, much cheaper than auditing and retraining staff for real. I guarantee you the buyers for this training didn't preview it ahead of time.

I think you're attributing stupidity instead of malice. Given MCPS's push for racial equity and anti-racism, this training was chosen on purpose. It's time that actual liberals finally WOKE UP and started paying attention to what progressives (aka the far left) are doing.

I think the "far left" is a red herring here. The actual issue is market forces. DEI trainings are a service, provided by a vendor, and that means that the incentive is to appease people who have power because those are the people who engage the vendor. So, if you do a DEI training in a corporate environment, the vendor is never going to focus on the all-male C-suite team. Instead, they will transfer responsibility for DEI to rank-and-file employees.

So, a systemic problem is then turned into an individual one, with the people who have the least power given the most responsibility to "fix" racism/inequality.

The same thing is true for PD in an educational environment. The people with power (Central Office) hire a vendor (Shalaby) to transfer responsibility for inequality down to the people with the least power (teachers).

MCPS abolished the LAD program, shoving a bunch of kids with learning differences back into mainstream classrooms. They defunded and dismantled programs aimed at kids whose education had been disrupted. They tied educators hands when it came to classroom discipline.

Then, when kids act up because their needs aren't being met, or because they shouldn't be in a 10th grade classroom with only a 2nd grade education, MCPS takes zero responsibility for the predictable results of their own choices.

Instead, they hired Shalaby to "explain" to teachers that they are the problem. If kids are misbehaving, it's because teachers don't respect the troublemakers enough. All of the responsibility is transfered from those with power to those without it, and Shalaby is a willing collaborator in the grift.

An organization that has equity and anti-racism as part of its core values is far left.

They are a business who is trying to make money and found a target audience in MCPS with their products.

[Anonymous]

Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm torn on whether the teacher who first spoke up, Collier, is a very smart troll or someone I don't want teaching my kids.

He does a great job of eviscerating the presenter, but then again, phrases like, "someone who looks like my captors" (that might be a misquote on my part), isn't someone I necessarily want teaching my kids anything, whether they also look like his captors or not.

I think there's a lot of middle class posturing going on here about race and oppression, a lot of it from people who've never had to face real, systemic issues, and I think this posturing has the potential to do a lot more damage than the people throwing it around seem to realize.

My own kid already hates history because, as they told me the other day, "it's just the story of white people being bad to other people over and over." I'm sure there are some of you who are now like, "yes! What's wrong with that?" Well, a lot. You are fortunate and sheltered people who have never had to deal with the consequences of what thinking like that does.

For one thing, it's now common in style guides to capitalize "White." The only people who used to do that were white supremacists, who believe there is such a thing as a "white race." Good job there! For another thing, everyone who is not white is not the same. They're also not all good, or oppressed, or martyred. Again, a point that should be obvious.

Most of this board is pretending to be middle class and those in the W schools, at a minimum are upper class as middle class cannot afford million dollar homes.

Most people just look at African American for racism and oppression. They don't look at any other race or culture and dismiss what another person who has a different skin color might be going through. That's why MCPS does't care about the anti-semitism and other things going on and have a very singular focus.

Your child's teacher is very biased and not portraying a worldly view of history. They don't realize the harm they are causing to kids, who had nothing to do with any of it and they, nor their parents were even alive when it happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

Moving here from... How shall I say, a "northern" state, I was shocked at how self-segregated people are, how much they want their kids only associating with the right sorts, how unwilling they are to quite say it, and how many gymnastics routines they go through to cling to class they think they are (and that they think is important). Some of it is about race, but mostly in the sense that the working class members of every race are seen as potentially dangerous, unenlightened, and avoidable.

I used to try and bridge those divides, but I've given up. I got tired of being lectured by those who thought I needed schooling, and tired of feeling like an unwelcome visitor at someone else's gathering. Perhaps to many of you I would always be both, but I've done what I can to take my kids out of mess of it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

The kids can change what happens going forward, but the right doesn’t want them to do it frightens white and Asian parents with the DEI boogeyman.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is so damn funny that these high school students managed to get a written statement from Shalaby herself.

It's impressive! They're doing legit work as student journalists.

What I really found funny is Shalaby's assertion that Blair educators are the only ones in MCPS who had a bad experience with her absolutely garbage PD training.

No, they're just the only ones brave enough to say it out loud and on the record.

Glad she's taking feedback, since we weren't able to provide any in person. Easily the worst PD I've experienced in 20 years of teaching. Have to contact her so she can add another school to her list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you guys are overthinking it. The central office will buy whatever the cheapest training is. That is the only thing they prioritize. There was a documented increase in racist incidents being reported in MCPS, and buying a screen recording of someone reading a slideshow over Zoom is much, much cheaper than auditing and retraining staff for real. I guarantee you the buyers for this training didn't preview it ahead of time.

I think you're attributing stupidity instead of malice. Given MCPS's push for racial equity and anti-racism, this training was chosen on purpose. It's time that actual liberals finally WOKE UP and started paying attention to what progressives (aka the far left) are doing.

I think the "far left" is a red herring here. The actual issue is market forces. DEI trainings are a service, provided by a vendor, and that means that the incentive is to appease people who have power because those are the people who engage the vendor. So, if you do a DEI training in a corporate environment, the vendor is never going to focus on the all-male C-suite team. Instead, they will transfer responsibility for DEI to rank-and-file employees.

So, a systemic problem is then turned into an individual one, with the people who have the least power given the most responsibility to "fix" racism/inequality.

The same thing is true for PD in an educational environment. The people with power (Central Office) hire a vendor (Shalaby) to transfer responsibility for inequality down to the people with the least power (teachers).

MCPS abolished the LAD program, shoving a bunch of kids with learning differences back into mainstream classrooms. They defunded and dismantled programs aimed at kids whose education had been disrupted. They tied educators hands when it came to classroom discipline.

Then, when kids act up because their needs aren't being met, or because they shouldn't be in a 10th grade classroom with only a 2nd grade education, MCPS takes zero responsibility for the predictable results of their own choices.

Instead, they hired Shalaby to "explain" to teachers that they are the problem. If kids are misbehaving, it's because teachers don't respect the troublemakers enough. All of the responsibility is transfered from those with power to those without it, and Shalaby is a willing collaborator in the grift.

An organization that has equity and anti-racism as part of its core values is far left.

They are a business who is trying to make money and found a target audience in MCPS with their products.

True but I was describing MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

The kids can change what happens going forward, but the right doesn’t want them to do it frightens white and Asian parents with the DEI boogeyman.

Neither the right nor the moderate left want their kids discriminated against because they are white or Asian.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

Moving here from... How shall I say, a "northern" state, I was shocked at how self-segregated people are, how much they want their kids only associating with the right sorts, how unwilling they are to quite say it, and how many gymnastics routines they go through to cling to class they think they are (and that they think is important). Some of it is about race, but mostly in the sense that the working class members of every race are seen as potentially dangerous, unenlightened, and avoidable.

I used to try and bridge those divides, but I've given up. I got tired of being lectured by those who thought I needed schooling, and tired of feeling like an unwelcome visitor at someone else's gathering. Perhaps to many of you I would always be both, but I've done what I can to take my kids out of mess of it.

You don’t need to lecture. You need to live by example. Ranting about it living in a million dollar house is pretty tone death. Most people are superficial and only care to put on a show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

The kids can change what happens going forward, but the right doesn’t want them to do it frightens white and Asian parents with the DEI boogeyman.

Do you raise how much racism is against Jews and Asians in mcps. Why does it scare you to admit racism is more than just white people being racist against blacks. And minorities are the majority at many MoCo’s schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of studying the facts of history, this kind of manichean thinking has reduced all the facts down to one simplistic--and dangerous--narrative. I mean, not only does it have the potential to pit kids in a diverse environment against each other due to their ancestry, it's intellectually lazy. They're not actually learning anything if all thats the only fact they need to know, the one that explains everything.

Sadly, MCPS has always had the students self-segregate and they continue to. Instead of bring students and families together they are pushing them further apart. Kids shouldn't be blamed for their ancestry as they had nothing to do with it nor can change what happened.

The kids can change what happens going forward, but the right doesn’t want them to do it frightens white and Asian parents with the DEI boogeyman.

Do you raise how much racism is against Jews and Asians in mcps. Why does it scare you to admit racism is more than just white people being racist against blacks. And minorities are the majority at many MoCo’s schools.

Because almost all of this is simply used as an excuse to usher in Marxism. I can hear the progressive howls now. "No. We don't want Marxism. We just want everyone to do what they can and get what they need." Right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm torn on whether the teacher who first spoke up, Collier, is a very smart troll or someone I don't want teaching my kids.

He does a great job of eviscerating the presenter, but then again, phrases like, "someone who looks like my captors" (that might be a misquote on my part), isn't someone I necessarily want teaching my kids anything, whether they also look like his captors or not.

I think there's a lot of middle class posturing going on here about race and oppression, a lot of it from people who've never had to face real, systemic issues, and I think this posturing has the potential to do a lot more damage than the people throwing it around seem to realize.

My own kid already hates history because, as they told me the other day, "it's just the story of white people being bad to other people over and over." I'm sure there are some of you who are now like, "yes! What's wrong with that?" Well, a lot. You are fortunate and sheltered people who have never had to deal with the consequences of what thinking like that does.

For one thing, it's now common in style guides to capitalize "White." The only people who used to do that were white supremacists, who believe there is such a thing as a "white race." Good job there! For another thing, everyone who is not white is not the same. They're also not all good, or oppressed, or martyred. Again, a point that should be obvious.

There’s something wrong with a person who doesn’t want their child to be aware of major historical events from the Middle Ages onward that involved racism, imperialism, and genocide.

How do you justify sanitizing the past?