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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
It's outrageous that Central Office is wasting their time on these virtue-signaling productions instead of actually directing children's learning and education.

Focus on academics.

Racism will never go away, but it can be addressed and managed by decreasing poverty in target populations - which you do by increasing their level of education! Not the other way round.

Get your priorities straight, MCPS.

Luckily you don't get to make these decisions. Ignorance abounds.

The only ignorance I see is in you defending PD that educators of color are telling you is insulting, ineffective and patronizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A couple of thoughts

As a Blair parent, I'm proud of the SCO team for getting this story, and that the school environment is one where teachers don't fear retribution for speaking out like this.

As an MCPS parent and taxpayer, I'm extremely annoyed that my children's educators are being subjected to this twaffle.

As someone who actually believes in anti-racism, I'm annoyed that the genuine goals of creating culturally responsive and welcoming learning environments for our community's children are being undercut by absolute nonsense like this, designed by people with no classroom experience and selected by Central Office staff who seem to have no care or curiosity about the lived experiences of educators.

Finally, I think nonsense like this is a very strong argument for a more effective School Board. If the person who made this video mandatory had any fear at all that they would need to sit in front of the Board and discuss their decision-making, we might have seen a better choice.

Do you think the School Board is unaware of this, or uninterested, or supportive?
"Effective" is only the problem of they aren't achieving ther own goals or the goals of their electorate.

I'm the PP and I think the School Board has absolutely failed to exercise their oversight function. There are a lot of reasons for that, some unique to each board member.

First of all, there is just a culture problem. The School Board does not see itself as an oversight body, so they don't engage in oversight. I think this is a failure of civic education, to be honest. The School Board is meant to be more than a "budget approver." They are meant to provide a check and balance to MCPS leadership, and to be a voice for taxpayers and residents.

As for why individual School Board members don't see their job that way? Sometimes it is ambition - they see the BOE as a stepping stone to another elected office and don't want to rock the boat.

Sometimes it is captured interests. They want to be hired by MCPS in some later professional iteration, and they know that exercising oversight might cost them that opportunity.

The third issue is a pipeline issue. The only folks I've ever seen running for BOE who seemed to have any interest in oversight were also batshit crazy in some other area. So they wanted "accountability" but only insofar as that accountability aligned with their own conservative agenda.

I'd love to see some candidates who care about oversight, who aren't seeking higher office, and who are willing to ask hard questions on behalf of Montgomery County taxpayers. I want the CO to see themselves as accountable to *someone* and the BOE is our only option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oof so Clara Shalaby is not black enough to talk about racism.

No, she's not credible enough to equate the bad behavior of an emotionally dysregulated child in the classroom with freedom fighter Rosa Parks.

If you watched that PD video and thought Dr. Shalaby emerged from it as credible on race, then I question your judgment and analytical skills.

+100 Also, in social justice circles and discussions, positionality is important. It is common for people to make positionality statements. Shalaby's positionality as a white or white-presenting person is absolutely relevant.

Interestingly, Shalaby's official portrait on her website would suggest a different positionality than her video: https://marsal.umich.edu/directory/faculty-staff/carla-shalaby

[Anonymous]

As I sat there, I was going through so many different emotions. I was going through anxiety. I was going through PTSD. I almost felt like I was going through Stockholm Syndrome. I'm listening to someone who looks like my captor telling me about racism,” he says.

How does this snowflake make it through the day? He shouldn't be teaching our children if listening to a "white passing" woman causes him such distress. Jesus H. Christ.
I am will be bet this dude mansplains to women on the regular without realizing the real threat women experience from men.

[Anonymous]

Hello! Thanks for reading our story — we would love to hear your comments and reactions to the piece at [e-mail]. And if you have any information regarding staff reactions to the training at other MCPS schools or believe your opinion would be valuable, please reach out to us as well.

Best,
Silver Chips Online editors-in-chief
Instagram: @silverchips_online
Website: sco.mbhs.edu

[Anonymous]

Hello! Thanks for reading our story — we would love to hear your comments and reactions to the piece at [e-mail]. And if you have any information regarding staff reactions to the training at other MCPS schools or believe your opinion would be valuable, please reach out to us as well.

Best,
Silver Chips Online editors-in-chief
Instagram: @silverchips_online
Website: sco.mbhs.edu

[Anonymous]

Hello! Thanks for reading our story — we would love to hear your comments and reactions to the piece at [e-mail]. And if you have any information regarding staff reactions to the training at other MCPS schools or believe your opinion would be valuable, please reach out to us as well.

Best,
Silver Chips Online editors-in-chief
Instagram: @silverchips_online
Website: sco.mbhs.edu

[Anonymous]

I would not want this teacher teaching my child if they don’t understand white people can experience racism too. What about all the antisemitism right now?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not want this teacher teaching my child if they don’t understand white people can experience racism too. What about all the antisemitism right now?

White people can experience discrimination, but racism requires institutional power in addition to individual prejudice. Besides, that's not the point. The point is whether it is appropriate for a white woman to compare a dysregulated child to Rosa Parks. The point is also whether a professional development training aimed at elementary school is a good use of time for our high school educators.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not want this teacher teaching my child if they don’t understand white people can experience racism too. What about all the antisemitism right now?

White people can experience discrimination, but racism requires institutional power in addition to individual prejudice. Besides, that's not the point. The point is whether it is appropriate for a white woman to compare a dysregulated child to Rosa Parks. The point is also whether a professional development training aimed at elementary school is a good use of time for our high school educators.

I would further argue that even if this was intended for elementary audiences, that the PD was juvenile, patronizing and unrealistic. Dr. Shalaby lives in a fantasyland, not the real world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oof so Clara Shalaby is not black enough to talk about racism.

No, she's not credible enough to equate the bad behavior of an emotionally dysregulated child in the classroom with freedom fighter Rosa Parks.

If you watched that PD video and thought Dr. Shalaby emerged from it as credible on race, then I question your judgment and analytical skills.

I’m just quoting the article since they specifically say she is not credible because she is White passing.

[Anonymous]

Then you should see what they make us watch in higher education. Recently sat though a anti racism presentation where the presenter, in a half hour timeframe, used a derogatory and racist word for white people 9 times. And her inflection when she used the word was quite nauseating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then you should see what they make us watch in higher education. Recently sat though a anti racism presentation where the presenter, in a half hour timeframe, used a derogatory and racist word for white people 9 times. And her inflection when she used the word was quite nauseating.

What was the word? I'm guessing it was "colonizers," which is not exactly a slur in the sense that you seem to be intimating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would not want this teacher teaching my child if they don’t understand white people can experience racism too. What about all the antisemitism right now?

White people can experience discrimination, but racism requires institutional power in addition to individual prejudice. Besides, that's not the point. The point is whether it is appropriate for a white woman to compare a dysregulated child to Rosa Parks. The point is also whether a professional development training aimed at elementary school is a good use of time for our high school educators.

Of course it’s a waste of time but that’s mcps for you. And, yes white people have experienced racism. Let me guess, you don’t believe the holocaust happened? Or, the Japanese internment camps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Then you should see what they make us watch in higher education. Recently sat though an anti racism presentation where the presenter, in a half hour timeframe, used a derogatory and racist word for white people 9 times. And her inflection when she used the word was quite nauseating.

Mcps is ok with that kind of racism and actively supports it. Look how they do nothing against antisemitism, hate against Muslims and other groups.