Private Schools Wokeness Over the Top

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

If you're OLD you probably don't have K12 kids right now and have not seen the insane indoctrination going on in many DC schools.

You'd be surprised. Ask OP.

I actually have middle schoolers and high schoolers right now (yup - I was an old first time mom)
And many people have asked for examples, but haven't really gotten much.

OK, here go a few good general articles:

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-turn-liel-leibovitz

https://unherd.com/2022/11/anti-racism-attacks-my-american-dream/

https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter

Using Bari Weiss for anything is discredting for any argument on any issue.

Why?

She isn't a serious journalist, yet people take her seriously. She is a fraud. Google it.

That’s a load. She deviated from the party line and the left is trying to banish her.

She was always center right. There was no left to deviate from. She is just a bad journalist and was hoisted by her own petard.

OP here. I hate Bari Weiss. However the reason she was excommunicated and cancelled is because she deviated from the new cultural left agenda (not left agenda… she was never left). As much as I can’t stand her (she’s the cancel queen) it doesn’t mean I cannot read something she wrong and agree with it. Just because I can’t stand someone, it doesn’t mean that can’t agree with them every now and then. I think the letter she wrote above was silly given who she is. But I do find myself agreeing with some of what she says on her Substack and her podcast. I don’t discount what ppl say just because I generally disagree with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I believe in diversity and equity. The way it is pushed these days is more like a religion where other opinions are not allowed (look at the Hamline University debacle.. I am muslim and every muslim I know thinks what happens is insane). I am a person who is an admirer of Edward Said's book Orientalism as well as the People's History of the United States. I am Arab so am staunchly anti-imperialist. But I think schools have gone overboard. Also there is very little critique of class. I get it - they are private schools. But it is hypocritical to be pushing all of this and ignore the class aspect.

My kids are young - Kindergarten and first grade so they haven't been exposed to a lot of this yet. But I am worried that there is some indoctrination going on.

Harsh question: Why should someone who claims to be “from a foreign background “ and from a religion that hardly represents a common viewpoint in the US expect to “fit in” — or even want to “fit in”? Surely you must realize that it’s the culture and values behind what you deem “wokeness” that has given you and your kids not just the chance of fitting in, but of being accepted at all by schools and universities that, not too long ago, we’re almost exclusively white, male, American, and, in many cases aggressively Christian?

Talk about saying the quiet part out loud. Before it went out of virtue signaling fashion, there was a melting pot theory (and practice). Now, fitting in is passe in favor of naked tribalism, which ultimately thrives no hate.

Tribalism is natural. The melting pot works when the immigrant population is low. Not enough to really form a tribe, so you mix in and assimilate.

The tribalism in the US isn't immigrant v. non-immigrant. It's the regular people vs. the insane MAGAs.

OP here. Yes when I said tribalism I meant tribalism around political groups. But I disagree with you PP. MAGAS aren’t the only ones that are insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And now I am pissed because you are so binary. It’s either agree with you or I’m a homophobe. I am so done with bullies like you and frankly so is everyone else. There are some things that are normal. The sun comes up and it goes down. Seasons come and go. People are born and people die. And 99.9 percent of people born have no real struggle with their gender and sexuality. Stop acting as though your outlier case of an intersex person is the discussion all kids need to have. Just stop.

OP here. What’s funny is intersex people are often used by those subscribing to this new gender ideology to argue that sex isn’t binary but intersex ppl aren’t the ones arguing this. Go figure.

[Anonymous]

Why are these catholic schools so woke, the pope needs to audit and reprimand them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I believe in diversity and equity. The way it is pushed these days is more like a religion where other opinions are not allowed (look at the Hamline University debacle.. I am muslim and every muslim I know thinks what happens is insane). I am a person who is an admirer of Edward Said's book Orientalism as well as the People's History of the United States. I am Arab so am staunchly anti-imperialist. But I think schools have gone overboard. Also there is very little critique of class. I get it - they are private schools. But it is hypocritical to be pushing all of this and ignore the class aspect.

My kids are young - Kindergarten and first grade so they haven't been exposed to a lot of this yet. But I am worried that there is some indoctrination going on.

OP, as a parent with older kids who have gone through DC area top independent schools, I can tell you that there absolutely is indoctrination going on, and it's getting worse and more blatant. The good news is, at least for us, our kids are well grounded in beliefs that they have learned and home, church and in our personal community. They are smart and engaged and have no problem now that they are in high school speaking up against a lot of this. (In MS, their reaction was more along the lines of snickering...)

[Anonymous]

OP here again. Ok people I’m going to peace out! Thanks for the discussion. To the PP who posted about WIS would appreciate it if you could elaborate. Thanks for the discussion. It was fun! I may pop in back to add a few more comments but I feel I’ve been online for a bit too much today lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. Ok people I’m going to peace out! Thanks for the discussion. To the PP who posted about WIS would appreciate it if you could elaborate. Thanks for the discussion. It was fun! I may pop in back to add a few more comments but I feel I’ve been online for a bit too much today lol.

DP: WIS is an amazing DC school but make sure to speak to current parents, especially foreign-born. A couple of years ago I started to hear complaints that the new HOS was trying to turn the school in a more provincial and woke direction, away from IB-centric global roots. I hope the community was able to be heard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are these catholic schools so woke, the pope needs to audit and reprimand them

What are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I believe in diversity and equity. The way it is pushed these days is more like a religion where other opinions are not allowed (look at the Hamline University debacle.. I am muslim and every muslim I know thinks what happens is insane). I am a person who is an admirer of Edward Said's book Orientalism as well as the People's History of the United States. I am Arab so am staunchly anti-imperialist. But I think schools have gone overboard. Also there is very little critique of class. I get it - they are private schools. But it is hypocritical to be pushing all of this and ignore the class aspect.

My kids are young - Kindergarten and first grade so they haven't been exposed to a lot of this yet. But I am worried that there is some indoctrination going on.

OP, as a parent with older kids who have gone through DC area top independent schools, I can tell you that there absolutely is indoctrination going on, and it's getting worse and more blatant. The good news is, at least for us, our kids are well grounded in beliefs that they have learned and home, church and in our personal community. They are smart and engaged and have no problem now that they are in high school speaking up against a lot of this. (In MS, their reaction was more along the lines of snickering...)

Which school allows speaking up? How often do your kids feel the need to do so?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am genuinely shocked about people referring to a melting pot.

I am OLD and even I remember waaaay back in the 80s talking about how the US isn't a melting pot - that was an antiquated and stupid analogy. Instead, we could think of the US as a salad bowl, where every piece retains it's own unique flavors and comes together as one better whole.

I've also read through most of nine pages and have yet to understand exactly what the OP is worried about or what she considers "woke". I get she doesn't like Kendi. OK, fair enough. Reasonable people can disagree about any specific person or idea. But not sure where the lead comes from there to some larger "wokeness" she's concerned about.

If you're OLD you probably don't have K12 kids right now and have not seen the insane indoctrination going on in many DC schools.

You'd be surprised. Ask OP.

I actually have middle schoolers and high schoolers right now (yup - I was an old first time mom)
And many people have asked for examples, but haven't really gotten much.

OK, here go a few good general articles:

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-turn-liel-leibovitz

https://unherd.com/2022/11/anti-racism-attacks-my-american-dream/

https://www.bariweiss.com/resignation-letter

Using Bari Weiss for anything is discredting for any argument on any issue.

Why?

She isn't a serious journalist, yet people take her seriously. She is a fraud. Google it.

That’s a load. She deviated from the party line and the left is trying to banish her.

FAFO. You people on the right just hate consequences. Accountability for thee but not for me.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to everyone who has been pushing back in this discussion and elsewhere. I am not sure how to pierce through the insanity that has captures so much of the education establishment, but it needs to happen. A significant course correction is necessary for the sanity and education of today’s students and society generally.

The left seems to be suffering from some sort of mass psychosis. They need to wakeup or be removed from positions of influence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is an example. My children’s private school DEI lead has set up to inclusivity groups. One related to sexual orientation and one to people of color. Which apparently only included black people. The lead staff member is black and said someone who looked like another staff member with white skin and brown eyes wouldn’t be able to join. In the name of inclusivity. My kids were really upset and said it doesn’t make sense. They were in 6th grade. The school also included discussion of gender and sexuality in the context of identity for elementary schools. And our school is moderate.

OP here. Interesting. Thanks PP and good to know. My kids are so young that we haven't been exposed to any of this yet (so my concerns are just general).

I honestly think the people who are initiating this stuff are true believers which is why I think the religion comparison is appropriate. But if you are at a moderate school with enough balance that people can speak freely, speak out. Our DEI person absolutely intended the talk about gender fluid as part of the DEI for elementary school kids until the parents got wind and freaked out. Parents felt that at the age when many kids haven’t even had basic sex ed and when many kids are just hitting puberty, adding this in was too much. The kids need to understand why their bodies are changing and what to expect and what their organs can do. That is what parents want for 5th graders. We didn’t want them literally confused but another layer of information talking about sexuality. It just isn’t necessary at such a young age. With the BIPOC club it was just super interesting to hear my kids say that how is it good for our society to start excluding people again based on race. The kids have learned about MLK and his views and this BIPOC club was directly contrary to that teaching. You can dress it up as a safe space etc but at bottom it is excluding people based on race. And that is racist. I am sure white southerners wanted blacks at the back of the bus so the white at the front could feel safe. Same same.

FYI, gender has nothing to do with sexuality. At all. If you are going to object, at least understand what you are objecting to. Maybe parents who don’t even understand the curriculum aren’t the best people to be second-guessing it. It’s like the popularly-elected Texas School Board deciding what counts as a scientific or historical fact. Unless you just want generation after generation of equally ignorant people without any intellectual advancement or progress at all, poorly-educated people shouldn’t be designing curriculum. I know you think your mom hunches are the gold standard for determining what’s developmentally appropriate at different ages, but there’s actually science on this question. And gender itself is a matter of scientific inquiry. If I asked you what makes a boy a boy, you might tell me a penis. But what about people who are born with both a or is and a vulva? Is that a boy? Or someone who is born with neither? Boy? Girl? You may say it’s a matter of chromosomes, but you’d be wrong there too. Chromosomes frequently don’t “match” genitalia. I hope you’ll take some time to read and learn about this before opining about what kids should learn at what ages. If any one manages to equip them with more basic biological information than you have demonstrated, they will be doing them a favor regardless of the context.

Please this argument is not in good faith. Very little of gender identity / trans inclusiveness is about people who are medically intersex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone who has been pushing back in this discussion and elsewhere. I am not sure how to pierce through the insanity that has captures so much of the education establishment, but it needs to happen. A significant course correction is necessary for the sanity and education of today’s students and society generally.

The left seems to be suffering from some sort of mass psychosis. They need to wakeup or be removed from positions of influence.

Oh, think of the children!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone who has been pushing back in this discussion and elsewhere. I am not sure how to pierce through the insanity that has captures so much of the education establishment, but it needs to happen. A significant course correction is necessary for the sanity and education of today’s students and society generally.

The left seems to be suffering from some sort of mass psychosis. They need to wakeup or be removed from positions of influence.

Oh, think of the children!

Yes, actually. This is a school forum. Children are actually what the focus is here. The fact that you mock that idea says everything—you are more concerned with pushing some objectionable gender or racial ideology than you are with what is actually good for kids. You shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near kids, including own, if you even have any.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to everyone who has been pushing back in this discussion and elsewhere. I am not sure how to pierce through the insanity that has captures so much of the education establishment, but it needs to happen. A significant course correction is necessary for the sanity and education of today’s students and society generally.

The left seems to be suffering from some sort of mass psychosis. They need to wakeup or be removed from positions of influence.

Oh, think of the children!

Yes, actually. This is a school forum. Children are actually what the focus is here. The fact that you mock that idea says everything—you are more concerned with pushing some objectionable gender or racial ideology than you are with what is actually good for kids. You shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near kids, including own, if you even have any.

Oh, Mommy what did you do in the Great War against wokeism?

Well, honey, I chastised people on an anonymous forum.