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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Can you use words that those of us not in “social justice circles” might know? Also, who gets to decide if she’s “white enough?” She possibly has Egyptian ancestry if I had to guess based on etymology her last name, which is the only info I have. Would you say that folks with Egyptian ancestry (or ancestry of adjacent nations) are not credible to enter the conversation? Particularly right now?

Assuming that Dr. Shalaby has Egyptian heritage, I'd love to hear her thoughts on anti-Arab sentiments and implicit bias in the classroom. But marginalization on one axis does not give you any particular insights into other groups.

But even that isn't really the point - the point is that she's made her career on the idea that discipline is a white supremacist construct and that children with behavioral challenges are basically civil rights heroes.

Someone who spent a grand total of maybe 5 years in a classroom has turned her grift into blaming educators for any number of factors outside their control. For whatever reason, MCPS Central Office eats it up, probably because it lets them make a case for being at the "cutting edge" of anti-racism training and because they don't have to deal with the fallout of these approaches in the classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a different high school and we all thought it was a terrible PD. Complete waste of time. Thinking of how much money is wasted by MCPS on stuff like this PD + Leader in Me literally makes me want to cry.
When I ask my school to go to a highly regarded content PD that costs money, I’m told that sorry, we don’t have the money to cover stuff like that

I just wish my kid could get a reading group, but they're so busy with stuff like this that never happens these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a different high school and we all thought it was a terrible PD. Complete waste of time. Thinking of how much money is wasted by MCPS on stuff like this PD + Leader in Me literally makes me want to cry.
When I ask my school to go to a highly regarded content PD that costs money, I’m told that sorry, we don’t have the money to cover stuff like that

I just wish my kid could get a reading group, but they're so busy with stuff like this that never happens these days.

Reading groups have not happened for average or above kids for many years. In ms and hs you are lucky if they read two books a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

No one is forcing kids to identify. However, if someone is setting themselves out as an authority on the specific experiences of kids of color in public schools, it is normal for them to also state their own position so that the audience can better understand how that person's lived experience has shaped their perspective.

You don't have to agree with the practice, but I'm telling you as someone who spends a lot of time in these spaces that it is normal and expected for someone to make it clear how their own background relates to the subject matter that they are claiming expertise on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a different high school and we all thought it was a terrible PD. Complete waste of time. Thinking of how much money is wasted by MCPS on stuff like this PD + Leader in Me literally makes me want to cry.
When I ask my school to go to a highly regarded content PD that costs money, I’m told that sorry, we don’t have the money to cover stuff like that

One of you at your high school needs to reach out and let Dr. Shalaby know. She's under the impression Blair is the only school that didn't like her nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

No one is forcing kids to identify. However, if someone is setting themselves out as an authority on the specific experiences of kids of color in public schools, it is normal for them to also state their own position so that the audience can better understand how that person's lived experience has shaped their perspective.

You don't have to agree with the practice, but I'm telling you as someone who spends a lot of time in these spaces that it is normal and expected for someone to make it clear how their own background relates to the subject matter that they are claiming expertise on.

Anyone professional should leave their personal life out of their professional life. I'm amazed at how much teachers and staff over share and what my kids know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

No one is forcing kids to identify. However, if someone is setting themselves out as an authority on the specific experiences of kids of color in public schools, it is normal for them to also state their own position so that the audience can better understand how that person's lived experience has shaped their perspective.

You don't have to agree with the practice, but I'm telling you as someone who spends a lot of time in these spaces that it is normal and expected for someone to make it clear how their own background relates to the subject matter that they are claiming expertise on.

Are you paying attention to your MS and HS kids assignments? There are lots of them on identify, race, gender, etc. We had a teacher get angry that our child could not fully state their background.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

No one is forcing kids to identify. However, if someone is setting themselves out as an authority on the specific experiences of kids of color in public schools, it is normal for them to also state their own position so that the audience can better understand how that person's lived experience has shaped their perspective.

You don't have to agree with the practice, but I'm telling you as someone who spends a lot of time in these spaces that it is normal and expected for someone to make it clear how their own background relates to the subject matter that they are claiming expertise on.

DP, and I think maybe you’re spending too much time in “these spaces” and not enough outside the echo chamber. How do you know whether someone’s heritage impacted their lived experience or not? Can a childless pediatrician not study and practice medicine effectively due to lived experience? There are ways people can become knowledgeable on things outside of simply being born into a group.

[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.

According to a very recent and politically convenient definition adopted by you, which differs substantially from the plain and historical meaning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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

Can you use words that those of us not in “social justice circles” might know? Also, who gets to decide if she’s “white enough?” She possibly has Egyptian ancestry if I had to guess based on etymology her last name, which is the only info I have. Would you say that folks with Egyptian ancestry (or ancestry of adjacent nations) are not credible to enter the conversation? Particularly right now?

Assuming that Dr. Shalaby has Egyptian heritage, I'd love to hear her thoughts on anti-Arab sentiments and implicit bias in the classroom. But marginalization on one axis does not give you any particular insights into other groups.

But even that isn't really the point - the point is that she's made her career on the idea that discipline is a white supremacist construct and that children with behavioral challenges are basically civil rights heroes.

Someone who spent a grand total of maybe 5 years in a classroom has turned her grift into blaming educators for any number of factors outside their control. For whatever reason, MCPS Central Office eats it up, probably because it lets them make a case for being at the "cutting edge" of anti-racism training and because they don't have to deal with the fallout of these approaches in the classroom.

MCPS doesn't care about arab, muslim, jewish or asian issues. They've been clear with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

This quote typifies the stupidity of the current DEI movement. I don’t care who you are - I care about the strength of your ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

No one is forcing kids to identify. However, if someone is setting themselves out as an authority on the specific experiences of kids of color in public schools, it is normal for them to also state their own position so that the audience can better understand how that person's lived experience has shaped their perspective.

You don't have to agree with the practice, but I'm telling you as someone who spends a lot of time in these spaces that it is normal and expected for someone to make it clear how their own background relates to the subject matter that they are claiming expertise on.

DP, and I think maybe you’re spending too much time in “these spaces” and not enough outside the echo chamber. How do you know whether someone’s heritage impacted their lived experience or not? Can a childless pediatrician not study and practice medicine effectively due to lived experience? There are ways people can become knowledgeable on things outside of simply being born into a group.

One of the bigger issues is the fact that some don't see how any other groups can be impacted or even be targets because of these presentations and the entire focus is on African Americans. You hear very little about other groups. There is a huge makeup of Hispanic students, so where is the representation for them?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm surprised people are still using the term white passing. It implies the person is trying to pass themselves off as white. White presenting is a more neutral term that doesn't imply the person is trying to be something they are not.

To be fair, the SCO article used "white presenting" and they did so becuase Dr. Shalaby never did the sort of standard positionality statements that we would normally see in these sorts of presentations.

Normally, she would say something like "By way of positionality, I'm a cisgender, heterosexual, woman of European and Arab-American descent." That allows the other people in the discussion to better understand where she is coming from. Because Dr. Shalaby didn't do that, the SCO authors are hedging their bets and going with "white presenting" since they haven't heard from Dr. Shalaby herself on how she identifies.

Why should her race be the sole reason she is allowed to present. And, forcing kids to identify is horrible and uncomfortable for some as if they say they wrong thing they are attacked.

They should just be clear some people due to their skin color or religion are not welcome.

No one is forcing kids to identify. However, if someone is setting themselves out as an authority on the specific experiences of kids of color in public schools, it is normal for them to also state their own position so that the audience can better understand how that person's lived experience has shaped their perspective.

You don't have to agree with the practice, but I'm telling you as someone who spends a lot of time in these spaces that it is normal and expected for someone to make it clear how their own background relates to the subject matter that they are claiming expertise on.

DP, and I think maybe you’re spending too much time in “these spaces” and not enough outside the echo chamber. How do you know whether someone’s heritage impacted their lived experience or not? Can a childless pediatrician not study and practice medicine effectively due to lived experience? There are ways people can become knowledgeable on things outside of simply being born into a group.

I think the point is that it is possible to critique this presentation from multiple angles.

There's the perspective that some people on this thread have brought to the discussion, which is that MCPS should focus on education and that these sorts of anti-racist trainings are an unnecessary distraction.

But there's also the perspective that anti-racist training is good and necessary, but needs to be delivered by trusted messengers and cannot shift responsibility to individual educators for issues that are societal, institutional, and systemic.

In this case, the lived experience of the messenger matters because she is purporting to explain racism to teachers of color. If you haven't lived with racism, you are not a trusted messenger to tell Black and brown educators about it.