Private Schools Wokeness Over the Top

[Anonymous]

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.

There is no indoctrination going on or is it treated as a religion. You sound like FOX news.

+1

These schools are trying to provide a welcoming learning environment for all comers, not just the children of the rich/elite. The use of the term "woke" is really a tell in terms of where the OP is coming from.

They are inclusive of people who agree with them. If you don't agree with their views, you are not welcome regardless of your color or religion or ethnicity. There are some private schools that are more open minded but GDS and Sidwell are proudly lefty and not tolerant of people who do not agree. Agree or leave. They have lots of sheep to fill your seat so they don't care about diversity of view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always love to see people sending their kids to private school and then complaining that they lack economic diversity. Never gets old

We're paying 50k a year to get junior into an elite school, but were shocked that more middle class people don't send their kids there, shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent from a foreign background, this article resonated with me. I feel lost here and feel like I no longer fit in.

https://www.slowboring.com/p/who-is-included-by-inclusive-language

You fit in like we do, also a foreign couple who used to live in DC:

Move to Florida! The whole coast from Miami to Delray Beach is awesome, beautiful, cosmopolitan...and sane.

Plenty of great schools too around Boca Raton, both public and private.

Give it a thought

It is among the most corrupt states in the country. No thanks.

OP here. Above response wasn’t from me by the way. Florida doesn’t appeal to me because all my in laws are here lol. Plus DC has more expats and it’s easier to get flights to back home But I’m not anti Florida like the above poster. Enjoy the sunshine!

Don't worry, it was very easy to distinguish you from the corrupt poster

Just in case look up flights from Miami, you may be surprised. There are people from all over getting along very well, including Latinos and anglos and Haitians and of course Jews and many Arabs (many come from the Ontario area to spend the winters here).

Best

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did any of you actually read the article? It’s less about how private schools are too woke (although he may very well think they are) and more about DEI is the latest phase in how elite institutions set the tone for what is considered “elite” in a classist sort of way. He compares it to all the black tie events at Harvard, which forced him to learn to tie a bow tie, which he would not have otherwise done. Its an interesting article, but its not really about what the subject suggests.

I understood his point to be that speaking the language of DEI is now code for being the right sort of person. So, ironically, it can be a barrier to inclusion because someone who came from a non-elite background is less likely to talk the talk

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Always love to see people sending their kids to private school and then complaining that they lack economic diversity. Never gets old

OP here. I know private schools are unequal. They are private schools after all. My problem is the hypocrisy and the virtue signaling. The elite like focusing on race so that the can ignore the role they play when it comes to inequality. They like pretending that they aren’t part of the problem. No need to act all high and mighty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did any of you actually read the article? It’s less about how private schools are too woke (although he may very well think they are) and more about DEI is the latest phase in how elite institutions set the tone for what is considered “elite” in a classist sort of way. He compares it to all the black tie events at Harvard, which forced him to learn to tie a bow tie, which he would not have otherwise done. Its an interesting article, but its not really about what the subject suggests.

I understood his point to be that speaking the language of DEI is now code for being the right sort of person. So, ironically, it can be a barrier to inclusion because someone who came from a non-elite background is less likely to talk the talk

Yes, you are correct and have summarized it better than I did, but its not about private schools being too woke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Always love to see people sending their kids to private school and then complaining that they lack economic diversity. Never gets old

We're paying 50k a year to get junior into an elite school, but were shocked that more middle class people don't send their kids there, shocked.

OP here. I never said I’m shocked that people that are not middle class are sending their kids there. I know what a private school is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent from a foreign background, this article resonated with me. I feel lost here and feel like I no longer fit in.

https://www.slowboring.com/p/who-is-included-by-inclusive-language

What this "Slow Boring" author seems not to understand or account for is that elite high schools are responding to the preferences of elite colleges, because the sole purpose of an elite high school is to help its students gain admission into an elite college. If it cannot fulfill this singular purpose it will not survive, no matter what other acculturation in the norms of fancy manners and society it may otherwise provide. College admission is king.

And what this author similarly seems to not understand about elite college "wokeness" is that it is the product not only of demands from the culture at large (and, crucially, the demographic of affluent teenagers that elite colleges cater to) but also its highly educated and abnormally intelligent faculty, who often lead the charge in determining intellectual and cultural norms on campus. Although this imperfect attempt at semi-meritocracy has been under attack in America for decades, for the most part smart people still run universities (not necessarily in the administration buildings, but in the lecture halls and research labs). So colleges tend to be on the progressive cutting edge, because the more educated you are, the more likely you are to hold progressive beliefs. If you really understand systemic racial and economic oppression you are going to support efforts to dismantle it (unless you are a sociopath or otherwise lacking in normal moral sensibilities, super-ego, empathy, or conscience). Even if those efforts to dismantle become absurd or performative (as, of course, they eventually do as dumber and less genuinely other-regarding people jump onto the PC train) the efforts are rooted in the result of education itself: a deeper, more nuanced, and more accurate understanding of how the world actually works.

If you don't like it, don't fret: the pendulum will swing again because not everyone with power and influence in American culture is smart or well-educated, or equipped with a functioning super-ego.

#oxymoronic
#hypocrit

[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.

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?

Exactly, she needs to hurry up and get anti-American and start apologizing for the ways of the world each of the last 10 centuries.
Must need a little more time and kendi books.

[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.

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?

mic drop

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did any of you actually read the article? It’s less about how private schools are too woke (although he may very well think they are) and more about DEI is the latest phase in how elite institutions set the tone for what is considered “elite” in a classist sort of way. He compares it to all the black tie events at Harvard, which forced him to learn to tie a bow tie, which he would not have otherwise done. Its an interesting article, but its not really about what the subject suggests.

I understood his point to be that speaking the language of DEI is now code for being the right sort of person. So, ironically, it can be a barrier to inclusion because someone who came from a non-elite background is less likely to talk the talk

Yes, you are correct and have summarized it better than I did, but its not about private schools being too woke.

OP here. My apologies. I realize now that it’s probably because woke is being misused by the right and several groups that it has lost all meaning. When I say woke I mean all the DEI initiatives. I feel it’s less about creating an inclusive community and more about signaling that you are part of this elite that speaks a certain way and acts a certain way.

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure the educated legal immigrants value things like: hard work, following the rules, staying out of trouble and crime, education, freedoms, land rights, liberty, local govt over huge central govt, etc.

Many countries in 2023 don’t have the above values or characteristics, more reward them. But maybe with a few less tests, defunding the police, reparations, admit and job quotas, and welfare programs we can really accel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there actually some “fancy pants private school” policy or event that people want to debate about as being “too woke?” People already have claws out and hurling insults, but it’s already getting boring because there is no defined topic of debate.

Fair point, but I actually think this thread (so far) has been less insult-hurling than might be expected. Maybe a few things were unnecessary (e.g. the FoxNews thing, the thing about Matt Yglesias, and the unnecessarily patronizing use of the word "adorable" [which I immediately regretted]). I do think identifying specific, objective things that have actually happened at a school (not just a fear that something might happen) would move the conversation forward.

OP identified the academic freedom crisis at Hamline, but that's a college situation, not a K-12. And, to be fair, most of those in the academic world (who otherwise overwhelmingly tend to support DEI) agree that the administration made a terrible decision. This was a case of an administration implementing a customer-service model of problem-solving (not upsetting the paying student-customers is the most important criterion in decision-making) rather than truly trying to implement DEI values. A student complained, and that panicked the administration, lest the school be regarded as intolerant. That's not a smart or nuanced approached to an issue of academic freedom.

What has *actually happened* at your area K-12 that has people genuinely concerned that "wokeness" has gone too far. And please no vague nonsense about making kids feel guilty about being white or whatnot. An actual, specific incident, lesson, event, or policy implementation that caused your concern.

OP here. Your critique is valid. I'm not talking about a specific incident but the overall direction that American culture is going in. What happens in universities is relevant because it trickles down to private schools and to the culture in general. I mentioned Hamline University because it was recent. Another story I thought was crazy was some student in a university accusing a janitor of being racist and then the janitor being fired - I think it was pre covid so forgetting the exact story. The class dynamic was insane there.

[b]I don't have any specific examples over what is happening in k-12 schools - though I do recall reading some article on Dalton in NYC?[/b] I can't find it though. It's just the general sense I have that this country is going in the wrong direction. I am thinking of pulling my kids out and just going with a regular old public school. The same BS is there too but at least its free! Plus at the very least there is less hypocrisy.

There are none. The whole "woke" thing is over the top projection from the right to foster more divisiveness in our country.

Are you referring the the Brearley letter? https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/23/nyregion/private-schools-diversity-brearley-dalton-grace.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a parent from a foreign background, this article resonated with me. I feel lost here and feel like I no longer fit in.

https://www.slowboring.com/p/who-is-included-by-inclusive-language

You fit in like we do, also a foreign couple who used to live in DC:

Move to Florida! The whole coast from Miami to Delray Beach is awesome, beautiful, cosmopolitan...and sane.

Plenty of great schools too around Boca Raton, both public and private.

Give it a thought

It is among the most corrupt states in the country. No thanks.

OP here. Above response wasn’t from me by the way. Florida doesn’t appeal to me because all my in laws are here lol. Plus DC has more expats and it’s easier to get flights to back home But I’m not anti Florida like the above poster. Enjoy the sunshine!

Don't worry, it was very easy to distinguish you from the corrupt poster

Just in case look up flights from Miami, you may be surprised. There are people from all over getting along very well, including Latinos and anglos and Haitians and of course Jews and many Arabs (many come from the Ontario area to spend the winters here).

Best

Yes! My cousin who lives in Canada tells me that this is a thing! Florida has its own issues but yes I agree that it is becoming more and more diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did any of you actually read the article? It’s less about how private schools are too woke (although he may very well think they are) and more about DEI is the latest phase in how elite institutions set the tone for what is considered “elite” in a classist sort of way. He compares it to all the black tie events at Harvard, which forced him to learn to tie a bow tie, which he would not have otherwise done. Its an interesting article, but its not really about what the subject suggests.

I understood his point to be that speaking the language of DEI is now code for being the right sort of person. So, ironically, it can be a barrier to inclusion because someone who came from a non-elite background is less likely to talk the talk

Yes, you are correct and have summarized it better than I did, but its not about private schools being too woke.

OP here. My apologies. I realize now that it’s probably because woke is being misused by the right and several groups that it has lost all meaning. When I say woke I mean all the DEI initiatives. I feel it’s less about creating an inclusive community and more about signaling that you are part of this elite that speaks a certain way and acts a certain way.

Yes the left cancels all terms and concepts it doesn’t like and the gaslights you as the bad guy, not the underlying issue and lack of merits. Is teaching three genders to 2nd graders appropriate for a school to do during class time hours? How about activist marches for the little ones? Or debates on how evil Columbus was? 7 yo? 9 yo? 12? High school? College?

Btw forget about phonics or math drills. Your parents can hire a tutor, we’re busy with the Joy of Learning the political movements of the day.