BLM activities in dcps

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:@Jeff instead of deleted the offensive posts, have you considered locking this thread?

Yes, I have thought about locking this thread many times. But, page 6 and finally someone posted a link to the actual classroom material. I'd hate to lock the thread just after that. If people could just stay on topic, I would really appreciate it.

Valid points. Care to share your opinion on the matter

I am completely fine with the BLM classroom material being used in class. Many outside organizations influence what is taught in our schools. I actually have more concerns about the influence of the Texas state legislature than I do about BLM.

of course you are since you are an extreme liberal now imagine if a conservative action group taught their curriculum and beliefs for a week....

Perfect analogy.

Imperfect analogy. The BLM curriculum is based on real problems in America and looking for solutions. Texas is trying to evangelize the curriculum through fairy stories about a man in the sky.
Imagine a Black Lives Matter week using curriculum devoted by a far-right anti-abortion evangelical group.

[Anonymous]

I want to keep this thread open. I'm taking the 13 principles and adjusting them to extreme conservative points of view. Be honest with yourselves since I know most on here are liberals and see how quickly you get triggered. Then imagine why people not on the liberal side of things might be uncomfortable with BLM week.

1. Diversity (Generally support this but let's talk beyond race sex and gender, diversity of thought, of belief, of SES, of religion)

2. Restorative Justice (No comment triggered since this seems code for reparations for many folks on the left)

3. Unapologeticlly White (offended yes so why are we comfortable with unapologeticlly Black)

4. White Families (see point 3)

5. White Men (again)

6. White Villages (see a pattern)

7. Nationalisim

8. No problem with loving engagement (as long as you can engage with all people including conservatives )

9. Empathy again no problem see comment above

10. Straight Affirming (no we back to identity politics and divisiveness)

11. Straight Affirming again

12. Intergenerational great this goes with Diversity on point 1

13. Collective value (assuming all humans have value again even conservatives great)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I want to keep this thread open. I'm taking the 13 principles and adjusting them to extreme conservative points of view. Be honest with yourselves since I know most on here are liberals and see how quickly you get triggered. Then imagine why people not on the liberal side of things might be uncomfortable with BLM week.

1. Diversity (Generally support this but let's talk beyond race sex and gender, diversity of thought, of belief, of SES, of religion)

2. Restorative Justice (No comment triggered since this seems code for reparations for many folks on the left)

3. Unapologeticlly White (offended yes so why are we comfortable with unapologeticlly Black)

4. White Families (see point 3)

5. White Men (again)

6. White Villages (see a pattern)

7. Nationalisim

8. No problem with loving engagement (as long as you can engage with all people including conservatives )

9. Empathy again no problem see comment above

10. Straight Affirming (no we back to identity politics and divisiveness)

11. Straight Affirming again

12. Intergenerational great this goes with Diversity on point 1

13. Collective value (assuming all humans have value again even conservatives great)

Huh?
Teach about black Americans and their history without representing it as a conflict between black and white. That's part of the history but it doesn't need to be the entire focus.

[Anonymous]

Instead of spending time on the BLM manifesto, I’d rather see DCPS teach writing and math with more rigor. I have several friends who sent their children to well regarded DC public schools, where the kids did well. Then they moved for a job transfer and were told my their new public school teachers how behind grade level expectations the kids were.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are the people concerned with a BLM-developed curriculum looking at the curriculum? It doesn't discuss Palestine, and at least at our kids' elementary school, it doesn't discuss extrajudicial killings / police brutality either.

The guiding principles for Black Lives Matter at School are: black families / collective value / empathy / intergenerational / loving engagement / restorative justice / black women ("free from sexism and misogyny") / diverse / transgender affirming / unapologetic black ("to love and desire freedom and justice for ourselves is a prerequisite for wanting the same for others.")

It leads kids in a conversation about discipline in schools and the statistics around who gets what punishment for what offense (i.e. why do black kids end up suspended at higher rates for similar infractions than white kids), and that can be a way into the school-to-prison pipeline at a teacher's discretion.

The posters in school say things like, "There are lots of different kinds of people and one way that we're different is the color of our skin. It's important o make sure that all peopl are treated fairly, and that's why we--and lots of other people all over the country and the world--are part of the Black Lives Matter movement." (Here's a link: https://blacklivesmatteratschool.com/classroom-resources/)

I think that it's a thoughtful and open curriculum.

If you're concerned that the teacher will be having conversations about Palestinian liberation you should connect with them, but it's not in the curriculum.

Is it taught from a critical literacy perspective that pulls in reasoned (not hysterical) critiques of the BLM movement as well (are they included?) and allow students to draw their own conclusions?

Judging from the blog post on how teachers are using these resources, they're not talking about any of the BLM chapters. They're talking about the 13 principles and considering how these principles give context to Black History Month:

"Each group read a biography of one person who seldom appears in elementary school history lessons: Josephine Baker, Marsha P. Johnson, James Baldwin, Shirley Chisholm, and Dorothy Height.

"After they read and discussed in small groups, McCormick gathered them for a large group discussion and the students introduced their historical figures to the rest of the class. They explained what the figures were famous for and explained how they connect to the Black Lives Matter principles. For example, James Baldwin was a writer connected to the principle of "empathy." Marsha P. Johnson was a performer connected to principles like "transgender affirming" and "queer affirming." Shirley Chisholm was connected to "unapologetically black" and "black women.""

(https://www.dcareaeducators4socialjustice.org/blm/representation-and-marginalization-in-history-fourth-grade-exploration)

And this is the resource the ECE teachers used at the teacher resources fair for the week, called "They're Not Too Young to Talk About Race" (http://www.childrenscommunityschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/theyre-not-too-young-1.pdf), which makes the case--in my opinion--about the reason to use a curriculum grounded in these guiding principles to talk about the past and our present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Instead of spending time on the BLM manifesto, I’d rather see DCPS teach writing and math with more rigor. I have several friends who sent their children to well regarded DC public schools, where the kids did well. Then they moved for a job transfer and were told my their new public school teachers how behind grade level expectations the kids were.

+ a million.

Empty and misleading slogans don't an education make

[Anonymous]

The curriculum actually doesn't look that bad, but your strategy of associating yourself with an anti law enforcement organization like BLM is your downfall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The curriculum actually doesn't look that bad, but your strategy of associating yourself with an anti law enforcement organization like BLM is your downfall.

+1 Who would parents who oppose this, for the above reasons, appeal to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The curriculum actually doesn't look that bad, but your strategy of associating yourself with an anti law enforcement organization like BLM is your downfall.

+1 Who would parents who oppose this, for the above reasons, appeal to?

Directly to the DME office, I imagine?

Or to your principal?