GDS high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You sound like someone who doesn't know what racism means.

Keep telling yourself that if it makes your day brighter!

[Anonymous]

Cope and seethe.

[Anonymous]

Here’s my supposition - GDS should eliminate the DEI office. Or they need to entirely change it. Stop making it about one group and just one group. Constantly finger wagging at the kids about their implicit racism against the black community has done lots of harm and if you ask many kids, it’s actually hardened their views against the mission of the school and what they set out to do. Predictable backlash when you tell a group of HS kids that they are part of structural racism at assemblies every single week for 3 years. It’s why many kids find creative ways to skip these assemblies despite high school monitors patrolling hallways.


Can families donating to the Hopper Fund specify that they don't want their $$$ directed to the DEI office (or allocate the money to a specific source so that the DEI office can't touch it)? Money talks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because getting admitted to GDS in 9th grade is just so easy, right?

Will no doubt be a lot easier in the wake of this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it’s all the truth. Believe every bit of it.

Yeah, it's so "true" that no one in this thread can name the specific contrary opinions that are supposedly being reported to the DEI office.

There was one just a few weeks ago. A long standing teacher reading a very famous author who wrote some charged words in his work. Boom. Teacher turned into DEI office by the form submitted anonymously by a hs student. Forced to ritually self immolate

He read the passage out loud in a book the academic department had assigned. Yes the passage contained a word that is considered deeply offensive in 2024. The teacher even warned the class before he read it.

And yet, teacher was reported. The administrative state began its investigation. Called the teacher in. An apology was forced to be sent in writing to the entire class by the teacher. That apology was sent around the school.

This happens frequently. God forbid you say “slave” in a class about slavery instead of “enslaved person”. You know the form will be used. And the kid who said slave in proper historic context will be called in.

To be clear, there are a very small number of kids who do this. But they are around. And everyone knows them. And the entire DEI apparatus at the school serves to empower these 1-2 kids per classroom

Was the student censoring "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" or "To Kill a Mockingbird"? Will they be banning those books now?

Think it might have been 'Song of Solomon". I honestly think kids at that age often have a level of righteous indignation and are in the process of learning to advocate, yet haven't learned to pick their battles yet. Learning how and when to speak up is a skill that high school students are still mastering. I like that GDS helps students find their voice and situations like this are a learning experience for everyone.

A Toni Morrison book got a DEI warning and the teacher had to immolate themselves in front of their students? That doesn't seem like a positive learning experience for anyone.

Wait, was it the n word then, and not the word slave? I am still trying to figure out what was found objectionable. Can someone please just say?

Song of Solomon. warned students he would be reading a passage in original w n word and did it. Explained why he was doing it. Despite the warning, he got reported and was in trouble.

Thank you!

I feel badly for this teacher, but I also don’t understand why a white person would ever feel the need to say that word. I just think it was a mistake to want to read that passage out loud yourself. Maybe discuss it without reading it? There is still a power dynamic at play with you being the teacher. I am white.

Wow. No. That’s what she wrote and the word she chose when she wrote it. She had a reason. Why did you choose that book to read and discuss in class if you don’t want it discussed in class? Perhaps we should ask the author if she would prefer the students censor themselves rather than discuss?

And under this rubric we would have the kids themselves saying this word to one another in class to discuss the passage. Because that’s the word the author used. I could easily see the power dynamics from such a discussion going off the rails. I don’t think even college lit classes would be having such discussions with this word at this point where white people are openly saying this word. It isn’t necessary to make your point, and it creates a power dynamic the moment you say it.

I was an English major at an ivy and I can’t imagine one of my profs doing that. I think the teacher made an error in judgment, probably well intentioned, but I don’t think it’s his place to say that word even through pedagogy.

+1

Whatever is wrong at gds, this is a separate point. If you’re teaching reading material with that word in it (book, poem, legal case, whatever), there’s no need to say the word. Your students can read. This isn’t read-aloud. There’s also been a norm against it for decades now. Instructors just say there is language here we’re not going to say aloud (same is true for other language). Any instructor who decides to read aloud to a class of literate high school students knows these norms bc they’ve been around forever. I went to public school in the Deep South, we read various books with this language, and no teacher of any color read it aloud.

That’s so stupid that it had to be a choice. Which is also stupid. Don’t reprimand for thought policing; reprimand for stupidity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are not missing the point. You’re just not hearing us. Is it suddenly okay to say this word as a white person because you give a warning first? That’s silly.

I can understand this older teacher maybe thought it was okay. For the work! The rules don’t apply in the classroom somehow when a black author wrote the word, and because the author’s point is that language has power!

Okay, but language has power! You are still an old white guy saying this word in a classroom with kids, and you are the one in that room with power as their teacher. The fact that language has power is exactly the point. You reading that word as a white teacher regardless of the wishes of your students is claiming a power over them whether you fully intend it or not.

When folks were railing against wokeness, I didn’t think the issues would be this basic. This is stuff that I as a white person understood at least 15 years ago. Seriously wtf?

Because we have moved beyond this simplistic view from 15 years ago. There are so many problems with this scenario that you outlined, including the one at GDS where there are valid reasons for any teacher to read out-loud certain passages when students are given the proper context for it. What happens when you have a white-passing teacher who is AA read the N-word? Would you rather have an inexperienced Black math teacher read Morrison out loud rather than an experienced Indigenous one? How far does identity politics enter into the classroom? If you really want to press the argument, anything in the humanities ought to be taught only by the people of the same race/gender who created certain works. Universities are changing their tune about all of this because the politics you describe are making students and teachers fearful to think critically about hard topics.

if the impact of hearing a passage spoken aloud is critical to the understanding of the work, then let the author speak. toni morrison narrated the work, it's available on audible. It doesn't need to be read aloud *by the instructor* for the instructor to teach the work.

Omg thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And it’s all the truth. Believe every bit of it.

Yeah, it's so "true" that no one in this thread can name the specific contrary opinions that are supposedly being reported to the DEI office.

There was one just a few weeks ago. A long standing teacher reading a very famous author who wrote some charged words in his work. Boom. Teacher turned into DEI office by the form submitted anonymously by a hs student. Forced to ritually self immolate

He read the passage out loud in a book the academic department had assigned. Yes the passage contained a word that is considered deeply offensive in 2024. The teacher even warned the class before he read it.

And yet, teacher was reported. The administrative state began its investigation. Called the teacher in. An apology was forced to be sent in writing to the entire class by the teacher. That apology was sent around the school.

This happens frequently. God forbid you say “slave” in a class about slavery instead of “enslaved person”. You know the form will be used. And the kid who said slave in proper historic context will be called in.

To be clear, there are a very small number of kids who do this. But they are around. And everyone knows them. And the entire DEI apparatus at the school serves to empower these 1-2 kids per classroom

Was the student censoring "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" or "To Kill a Mockingbird"? Will they be banning those books now?

Think it might have been 'Song of Solomon". I honestly think kids at that age often have a level of righteous indignation and are in the process of learning to advocate, yet haven't learned to pick their battles yet. Learning how and when to speak up is a skill that high school students are still mastering. I like that GDS helps students find their voice and situations like this are a learning experience for everyone.

A Toni Morrison book got a DEI warning and the teacher had to immolate themselves in front of their students? That doesn't seem like a positive learning experience for anyone.

Wait, was it the n word then, and not the word slave? I am still trying to figure out what was found objectionable. Can someone please just say?

Song of Solomon. warned students he would be reading a passage in original w n word and did it. Explained why he was doing it. Despite the warning, he got reported and was in trouble.

Thank you!

I feel badly for this teacher, but I also don’t understand why a white person would ever feel the need to say that word. I just think it was a mistake to want to read that passage out loud yourself. Maybe discuss it without reading it? There is still a power dynamic at play with you being the teacher. I am white.

Wow. No. That’s what she wrote and the word she chose when she wrote it. She had a reason. Why did you choose that book to read and discuss in class if you don’t want it discussed in class? Perhaps we should ask the author if she would prefer the students censor themselves rather than discuss?

And under this rubric we would have the kids themselves saying this word to one another in class to discuss the passage. Because that’s the word the author used. I could easily see the power dynamics from such a discussion going off the rails. I don’t think even college lit classes would be having such discussions with this word at this point where white people are openly saying this word. It isn’t necessary to make your point, and it creates a power dynamic the moment you say it.

I was an English major at an ivy and I can’t imagine one of my profs doing that. I think the teacher made an error in judgment, probably well intentioned, but I don’t think it’s his place to say that word even through pedagogy.

+1

Whatever is wrong at gds, this is a separate point. If you’re teaching reading material with that word in it (book, poem, legal case, whatever), there’s no need to say the word. Your students can read. This isn’t read-aloud. There’s also been a norm against it for decades now. Instructors just say there is language here we’re not going to say aloud (same is true for other language). Any instructor who decides to read aloud to a class of literate high school students knows these norms bc they’ve been around forever. I went to public school in the Deep South, we read various books with this language, and no teacher of any color read it aloud.

That’s so stupid that it had to be a choice. Which is also stupid. Don’t reprimand for thought policing; reprimand for stupidity

It is stupid that there is no distinction drawn between the n-word being abused and the n-word being read aloud as part of a work by a black writer. There's no need to speculate where this ability to distinguish among contexts leads to. Read about the shameful DEI approach at Hamline University, where a black Muslim woman cried foul when shown an image of Muhammad in an art history course. Context matters. GDS is a prep school, it's supposed to prepare students for critical thinking at the college level. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/academic-freedom/2023/05/22/report-adjunct-who-showed-images-prophet-was

[Anonymous]

As a GDS parent of a HS'er, between what I see w/ my own eyes, this thread re: the administration and the thread about GDS terrible decisions on AP testing (on the College board on DCUM), this school does seem to be really poorly functioning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because getting admitted to GDS in 9th grade is just so easy, right?

Will no doubt be a lot easier in the wake of this thread.

LOL at anyone who makes major life decisions based on anonymous message board posts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a GDS parent of a HS'er, between what I see w/ my own eyes, this thread re: the administration and the thread about GDS terrible decisions on AP testing (on the College board on DCUM), this school does seem to be really poorly functioning

HS parent here as well. It is generally very well-functioning in our experience. The AP thing is an exception, not the rule. And the administration doesn't seem to affect my DC's daily life much at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a GDS parent of a HS'er, between what I see w/ my own eyes, this thread re: the administration and the thread about GDS terrible decisions on AP testing (on the College board on DCUM), this school does seem to be really poorly functioning

HS parent here as well. It is generally very well-functioning in our experience. The AP thing is an exception, not the rule. And the administration doesn't seem to affect my DC's daily life much at all.

I hope they dont have a disciplinary action....opaque, poorly run, and lacking any accountability.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a GDS parent of a HS'er, between what I see w/ my own eyes, this thread re: the administration and the thread about GDS terrible decisions on AP testing (on the College board on DCUM), this school does seem to be really poorly functioning

HS parent here as well. It is generally very well-functioning in our experience. The AP thing is an exception, not the rule. And the administration doesn't seem to affect my DC's daily life much at all.

I hope they dont have a disciplinary action....opaque, poorly run, and lacking any accountability.

My teen is getting a great education, making good friends and is’looking forward to college. Love GDS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a GDS parent of a HS'er, between what I see w/ my own eyes, this thread re: the administration and the thread about GDS terrible decisions on AP testing (on the College board on DCUM), this school does seem to be really poorly functioning

You’re just figuring that out?

[Anonymous]

In summary, GDS and other schools should avoid teaching Toni Morrison. Stick to safe books and safe conversations

[Anonymous]

These are all right-wing trolls. They have been coming after GDS Justice Brown was confirmed. They accused GDS of teaching Critical Race Theory.

Nobody attending GDS cares about this.