Looking for schools without a dedicated DEI curriculum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are people who work really hard to pay for private school and really rich people in public schools. Smart kids public and private. My experience in private school was that the admin just made all these changes and didn’t care what the parents thought, it was very top down, “we are experts,” and that’s an attitude that seems pervasive throughout education right now. Public, private we all have a right to ask for accountability. The NAEP scores are cratering nationally both in elite and public education. You want to change how we do school? Fine, make your case, but they don’t even bother. They said tech was great, turns out it’s terrible and now the head of the teacher’s union wants it to be all AI all the time. Does it work? How are the kids doing?

Two decades of bad literacy rates before we finally got rid of whole word, which expanded inequity across the country because richer people paid tutors, but it’s the very same people who are obsessed with equity who advocated for the changes to curriculum.

We have to change how we vote and think about what politicians are better for education and about teachers unions for any of this to change. We have to stop nodding along at parents meetings and be willing to leave the “best” private schools if they aren’t educating our kids. Who cares if they can get your kids get into Harvard if they can’t do Algebra II once they are there?

Red states are doing so much better than blue right now for so much less money because they have people who notice and call out what people in the blue states dont. One tiny thing that might help is not mocking and calling racist anyone who wants to ask why it’s important for a first grader to learn to develop a math identity rather than learn their times tables, and whether the kids did better longterm in math with these new curriculums. If you say MAGA or but Trump, I know you are incapable of an actual conversation.

There are no NYC privates that get kids into Harvard who can’t do Algebra II. Your hyperbole and sky is falling message does nothing to advance your goals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are people who work really hard to pay for private school and really rich people in public schools. Smart kids public and private. My experience in private school was that the admin just made all these changes and didn’t care what the parents thought, it was very top down, “we are experts,” and that’s an attitude that seems pervasive throughout education right now. Public, private we all have a right to ask for accountability. The NAEP scores are cratering nationally both in elite and public education. You want to change how we do school? Fine, make your case, but they don’t even bother. They said tech was great, turns out it’s terrible and now the head of the teacher’s union wants it to be all AI all the time. Does it work? How are the kids doing?

Two decades of bad literacy rates before we finally got rid of whole word, which expanded inequity across the country because richer people paid tutors, but it’s the very same people who are obsessed with equity who advocated for the changes to curriculum.

We have to change how we vote and think about what politicians are better for education and about teachers unions for any of this to change. We have to stop nodding along at parents meetings and be willing to leave the “best” private schools if they aren’t educating our kids. Who cares if they can get your kids get into Harvard if they can’t do Algebra II once they are there?

Red states are doing so much better than blue right now for so much less money because they have people who notice and call out what people in the blue states dont. One tiny thing that might help is not mocking and calling racist anyone who wants to ask why it’s important for a first grader to learn to develop a math identity rather than learn their times tables, and whether the kids did better longterm in math with these new curriculums. If you say MAGA or but Trump, I know you are incapable of an actual conversation.

There are no NYC privates that get kids into Harvard who can’t do Algebra II. Your hyperbole and sky is falling message does nothing to advance your goals.

This. If anything, kids in privates are overeducated with astounding advantages. I can't believe the courses my DC has access to at a TT. It's mind blowing. The disparity feels criminal. They would be remiss not to balance these experiences with the POV of others.

[Anonymous]

Everyone wants to be a hero. So much self importance. Youtube ain’t taking that video down. Just quit if you don’t like the place.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the school, era and focus. The best of them have fantastic faculty, the worst top down admin constantly implementing new curriculum ideas without proof of concept.

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of bad science in education, and a lot of it is in schools that switch from a focus on achievement and attainment to equity. Things like SEL and new curriculum is often backed by dodgy science and questionable experts. Here’s one example out of Stanford:

https://www.piratewires.com/p/jo-boaler-misrepresented-citations

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thefp.com/p/i-refuse-to-stand-by-while-my-students

Check out this article about Grace Church. This type of DEI education in the school is exactly i want my kids to avoid.

You do realize that article is five years old? I'm a Grace parent. I'm a left of center Democrat so think the world has gone too far with DEI, but I'm not some MAGA wacko who thinks this is the biggest problem this country is facing - all of Trump's performative garbage is awful. My child is probably actually to the right of me on this.

Grace is more DEI than I would like. But I do not think it is obsessive about it. Math is math. Science is science. My child read plenty of classics in English classes. They are not ostracized for questioning progressive dogma in class. It is far from perfect. But to call it out like this is not cool. And to do so using a really dated article is intellectually lazy. But what else is new at DCUM.

[Anonymous]

I think all these schools flipped out a little around 2020. Dalton ousted its head. People I know there have different politics from each other but are on the whole pretty happy. It’s kind of school by school, which is what this person is asking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the school, era and focus. The best of them have fantastic faculty, the worst top down admin constantly implementing new curriculum ideas without proof of concept.

Such as?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.thefp.com/p/i-refuse-to-stand-by-while-my-students

Check out this article about Grace Church. This type of DEI education in the school is exactly i want my kids to avoid.

You do realize that article is five years old? I'm a Grace parent. I'm a left of center Democrat so think the world has gone too far with DEI, but I'm not some MAGA wacko who thinks this is the biggest problem this country is facing - all of Trump's performative garbage is awful. My child is probably actually to the right of me on this.

Grace is more DEI than I would like. But I do not think it is obsessive about it. Math is math. Science is science. My child read plenty of classics in English classes. They are not ostracized for questioning progressive dogma in class. It is far from perfect. But to call it out like this is not cool. And to do so using a really dated article is intellectually lazy. But what else is new at DCUM.

Thanks for your input! That’s really helpful.

[Anonymous]

SEL doesn’t have a lot of science (or any) backing it. The studies about its effects on academic achievement are from the same institution that sells the curriculum (CASEL). Wellness is a big corporate push in some of three schools. Anything that says antiracist or anti bias is based on the work of Kendhi who is a total lightweight and has been discredited. Anything saying culturally competent or a school that emphasizes equity rather than achievement are the things to be wary of. Also any place that talks about holding people accountable — it sounds like holding you accountable for individual actions, but it’s not. It’s holding certain kids accountable for the sins of their ancestors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the school, era and focus. The best of them have fantastic faculty, the worst top down admin constantly implementing new curriculum ideas without proof of concept.

Such as?