Private Schools Wokeness Over the Top

[Anonymous]

Your reading comprehension is terrible. I didn't say the internet was the ultimate source of truth. I said the internet keeps track (i.e., is a record of what people post, whether true or false).

[Anonymous]

Oh no the reading comprehension boring lady is back. You made my day. Let me remind you that no one likes your condescending and unintelligent posts. Find a new shtick

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And this is why DeSantis (or another Republican if his ilk) May very well win in 2024. Wokeneds in schools has really gone too far. I say this is a liberal Democrat.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Of course there's a difference between how the term was used when it originated several decades ago by African Americans, and now as it's been co-opted by the right-wing in recent years to be derogatory.

Words change meaning quite often in the English language. But you conveniently left that part out.

Nope didn't leave out anything. Liberals liked the word until it became unpopular with a majority of folks - who knew the real meaning.

Woke was coined by African Americans on twitter to basically mean people who were opening their eyes to systemic racism against black folks in this country.

Woke then became the new N* word for conservatives. By which I mean its a word they can say instead of the N word but means the same thing to them. Its used by people who cannot believe that systemic racism exists/is bad and hate the very idea of anyone acknowledging that fact. It is used by people on the right to mean saying/teaching anything at all from a black person's perspective.

When the OP says that wokeness is over the top at private schools, but cannot actually define anything that is happening or what that means - its probably just a general panic among the wealthy clientele that the school might be teaching their kids that black people are disproportionately killed by police, or that the Tulsa Massacre of black wallstreet is a thing that happened in this country.

Although it does seem like people on the right have also expanded their own definition of "woke" to mean - letting LGBTQ kids go to school without harassment/bullying from teachers and other students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh no the reading comprehension boring lady is back. You made my day. Let me remind you that no one likes your condescending and unintelligent posts. Find a new shtick

Oh no issue deflector is back. Keep avoiding the substance and engage in ad hominem attacks instead. No one thinks you have any credibility.

[Anonymous]

Just came across this thread and look forward to reading the whole thing this evening but, as a parent of kids in a hard-left elite DC private school, I have been growing more and more concerned about what my kids have been taught. For example, all or almost all books in an English class are by black authors (rather than what you might expect - a mix from various backgrounds and ethnicities). Also, I’ve gleaned that my kids seem to think being gay or transgender is not merely to be respected and not criticized; rather, being gay or going trans apparently is taught as something that is … normal. Books read by middle schoolers (novels?!) include soft porn kissing and petting pre-teens; transgender activists are celebrated speakers at school assemblies. A sign outside the college counseling office says, with rainbows and butterflies around, something like “gender is who you are and what you believe.” Gee, that’s great for the @90% of kids who have a hard time in middle and upper school who feel awkward, anxious, and/or are having a hard time making friends (and trying to figure out why they aren’t one of the popular kids). Anyway - big sigh. Glad others are frustrated with the extreme left indoctrination that seems to be the rule at some of DC’s private schools.

I sincerely want to thank this poster for articulating what exactly is "woke" that is bothering them at their school.

That being said - I'm wondering if you can verify that all of the books being read in English class for the entire year were written by black authors? Could you share the list here? Are you sure you weren't just looking at a list for this month, black history month, and maybe they were focusing on specific authors for the month? Did you look up every author to confirm their race?

I'm also wondering if you can clarify what "soft porn" is? How did these passages come to your attention? Did your child bring them to you? Do you read the books assigned to your kids? Would you prefer no books with kissing at all? Where would you consider a line that is less "extreme"

In your opinion are trans speakers more "celebrated" than other speakers at the school. Or are you upset that a trans person spoke at your school at all. Could you share a list of all the speakers at your school this year and would that list show a specific agenda? Were there many trans speakers or one in a long list of speakers on a variety of topics? Or are you just mad about this one speaker coming at all.

Would you prefer - or consider it less of an "agenda" - if your school just ignored the existence of trans kids? One sign by the counsellors office targeting support for a particularly at risk group doesn't seem extreme. What would your reaction be if there was sign targeting a different at risk group outside that office? Were there any other signs outside the office or just one solitary sign of support for trans kids?

What I'm trying to get at here is that there is a narrative being driven by politicians and political operatives that "Woke Schools have gone to far." These articles and speeches and news stories are often low on facts or context. They are just meant to create a gut feeling. That reading black authors has gone too far! That supporting trans kids has gone too far! ect. Some support would be fine but what schools are doing right now is too much support!!! This is done so that whenever you as a parent see anything about a black author or speaker or trans author or speaker your first thought is "TOO FAR" not to think about the context of that only being a small percentage of what your child is exposed to. The ultimate goal, by bad actors, being to ban all books by black authors and all support for trans kids. So I would ask anyone whose reading this to really consider what their own definition is of TOO FAR and what they would consider an acceptable amount of school support for these groups/ideas before freaking out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Just came across this thread and look forward to reading the whole thing this evening but, as a parent of kids in a hard-left elite DC private school, I have been growing more and more concerned about what my kids have been taught. For example, all or almost all books in an English class are by black authors (rather than what you might expect - a mix from various backgrounds and ethnicities). Also, I’ve gleaned that my kids seem to think being gay or transgender is not merely to be respected and not criticized; rather, being gay or going trans apparently is taught as something that is … normal. Books read by middle schoolers (novels?!) include soft porn kissing and petting pre-teens; transgender activists are celebrated speakers at school assemblies. A sign outside the college counseling office says, with rainbows and butterflies around, something like “gender is who you are and what you believe.” Gee, that’s great for the @90% of kids who have a hard time in middle and upper school who feel awkward, anxious, and/or are having a hard time making friends (and trying to figure out why they aren’t one of the popular kids). Anyway - big sigh. Glad others are frustrated with the extreme left indoctrination that seems to be the rule at some of DC’s private schools.

I sincerely want to thank this poster for articulating what exactly is "woke" that is bothering them at their school.

That being said - I'm wondering if you can verify that all of the books being read in English class for the entire year were written by black authors? Could you share the list here? Are you sure you weren't just looking at a list for this month, black history month, and maybe they were focusing on specific authors for the month? Did you look up every author to confirm their race?

I'm also wondering if you can clarify what "soft porn" is? How did these passages come to your attention? Did your child bring them to you? Do you read the books assigned to your kids? Would you prefer no books with kissing at all? Where would you consider a line that is less "extreme"

In your opinion are trans speakers more "celebrated" than other speakers at the school. Or are you upset that a trans person spoke at your school at all. Could you share a list of all the speakers at your school this year and would that list show a specific agenda? Were there many trans speakers or one in a long list of speakers on a variety of topics? Or are you just mad about this one speaker coming at all.

Would you prefer - or consider it less of an "agenda" - if your school just ignored the existence of trans kids? One sign by the counsellors office targeting support for a particularly at risk group doesn't seem extreme. What would your reaction be if there was sign targeting a different at risk group outside that office? Were there any other signs outside the office or just one solitary sign of support for trans kids?

What I'm trying to get at here is that there is a narrative being driven by politicians and political operatives that "Woke Schools have gone to far." These articles and speeches and news stories are often low on facts or context. They are just meant to create a gut feeling. That reading black authors has gone too far! That supporting trans kids has gone too far! ect. Some support would be fine but what schools are doing right now is too much support!!! This is done so that whenever you as a parent see anything about a black author or speaker or trans author or speaker your first thought is "TOO FAR" not to think about the context of that only being a small percentage of what your child is exposed to. The ultimate goal, by bad actors, being to ban all books by black authors and all support for trans kids. So I would ask anyone whose reading this to really consider what their own definition is of TOO FAR and what they would consider an acceptable amount of school support for these groups/ideas before freaking out.

I'm not the poster who you quoted however your arguments are exactly the point of why people like us don't speak up more loudly. You have picked apart and analyzed their argument when they led with WHY it makes THEM uncomfortable. Clearly, it doesn't make you uncomfortable but this isn't an example of someone using the media to inform their decisions, it's using their own experience to drive their comfort level. I assume that our kids are at the same school but another example is the summer reading list is 100% comprised of LGBTQ themed literature and other stories centering around persons of color. The latter topics were what we chose because my middle schooler isn't comfortable discussing anyone's sexuality. And the truth is that when you introduce these topics at such a young age that other questions arise and some kids aren't ready for that. So, I've read your critique on why some parents aren't woke enough and honestly you are the one freaking out. We just want choices for kids on topics so that they can be exposed to all topics including more traditional ones on top of the underrepresented ones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Of course there's a difference between how the term was used when it originated several decades ago by African Americans, and now as it's been co-opted by the right-wing in recent years to be derogatory.

Words change meaning quite often in the English language. But you conveniently left that part out.

Nope didn't leave out anything. Liberals liked the word until it became unpopular with a majority of folks - who knew the real meaning.

Woke was coined by African Americans on twitter to basically mean people who were opening their eyes to systemic racism against black folks in this country.

Woke then became the new N* word for conservatives. By which I mean its a word they can say instead of the N word but means the same thing to them. Its used by people who cannot believe that systemic racism exists/is bad and hate the very idea of anyone acknowledging that fact. It is used by people on the right to mean saying/teaching anything at all from a black person's perspective.

When the OP says that wokeness is over the top at private schools, but cannot actually define anything that is happening or what that means - its probably just a general panic among the wealthy clientele that the school might be teaching their kids that black people are disproportionately killed by police, or that the Tulsa Massacre of black wallstreet is a thing that happened in this country.

Although it does seem like people on the right have also expanded their own definition of "woke" to mean - letting LGBTQ kids go to school without harassment/bullying from teachers and other students.

wow so all conservatives are racist? I guess I can also say all liberals are communists. You mix economics with racial politics. And generalizations of large groups of people is simply ignorant. Also, please provide a few examples of actual systemic racism. And keep to the last 50 years because there are of course awful examples in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why DeSantis (or another Republican if his ilk) May very well win in 2024. Wokeneds in schools has really gone too far. I say this is a liberal Democrat.

YOu are not a "liberal dem"

DeSantis is he wins will destroy us. He will be KING OF THE US. WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW HORRIFIC THAT WILL BE?

I struggle to understand how people think that conservatives who cut taxes and reduce government programs are moving towards monarchy. Monarchy is the control of free enterprise - not opening it up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why DeSantis (or another Republican if his ilk) May very well win in 2024. Wokeneds in schools has really gone too far. I say this is a liberal Democrat.

YOu are not a "liberal dem"

DeSantis is he wins will destroy us. He will be KING OF THE US. WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW HORRIFIC THAT WILL BE?

I struggle to understand how people think that conservatives who cut taxes and reduce government programs are moving towards monarchy. Monarchy is the control of free enterprise - not opening it up.

You don't realize yet that wokes are the enemies of logic, facts and liberalism. They want to take us back to the Middle Ages, absolute monarchy and all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Just came across this thread and look forward to reading the whole thing this evening but, as a parent of kids in a hard-left elite DC private school, I have been growing more and more concerned about what my kids have been taught. For example, all or almost all books in an English class are by black authors (rather than what you might expect - a mix from various backgrounds and ethnicities). Also, I’ve gleaned that my kids seem to think being gay or transgender is not merely to be respected and not criticized; rather, being gay or going trans apparently is taught as something that is … normal. Books read by middle schoolers (novels?!) include soft porn kissing and petting pre-teens; transgender activists are celebrated speakers at school assemblies. A sign outside the college counseling office says, with rainbows and butterflies around, something like “gender is who you are and what you believe.” Gee, that’s great for the @90% of kids who have a hard time in middle and upper school who feel awkward, anxious, and/or are having a hard time making friends (and trying to figure out why they aren’t one of the popular kids). Anyway - big sigh. Glad others are frustrated with the extreme left indoctrination that seems to be the rule at some of DC’s private schools.

I sincerely want to thank this poster for articulating what exactly is "woke" that is bothering them at their school.

That being said - I'm wondering if you can verify that all of the books being read in English class for the entire year were written by black authors? Could you share the list here? Are you sure you weren't just looking at a list for this month, black history month, and maybe they were focusing on specific authors for the month? Did you look up every author to confirm their race?

I'm also wondering if you can clarify what "soft porn" is? How did these passages come to your attention? Did your child bring them to you? Do you read the books assigned to your kids? Would you prefer no books with kissing at all? Where would you consider a line that is less "extreme"

In your opinion are trans speakers more "celebrated" than other speakers at the school. Or are you upset that a trans person spoke at your school at all. Could you share a list of all the speakers at your school this year and would that list show a specific agenda? Were there many trans speakers or one in a long list of speakers on a variety of topics? Or are you just mad about this one speaker coming at all.

Would you prefer - or consider it less of an "agenda" - if your school just ignored the existence of trans kids? One sign by the counsellors office targeting support for a particularly at risk group doesn't seem extreme. What would your reaction be if there was sign targeting a different at risk group outside that office? Were there any other signs outside the office or just one solitary sign of support for trans kids?

What I'm trying to get at here is that there is a narrative being driven by politicians and political operatives that "Woke Schools have gone to far." These articles and speeches and news stories are often low on facts or context. They are just meant to create a gut feeling. That reading black authors has gone too far! That supporting trans kids has gone too far! ect. Some support would be fine but what schools are doing right now is too much support!!! This is done so that whenever you as a parent see anything about a black author or speaker or trans author or speaker your first thought is "TOO FAR" not to think about the context of that only being a small percentage of what your child is exposed to. The ultimate goal, by bad actors, being to ban all books by black authors and all support for trans kids. So I would ask anyone whose reading this to really consider what their own definition is of TOO FAR and what they would consider an acceptable amount of school support for these groups/ideas before freaking out.

NP to this thread; I am NOT the PP to whom you are addressing your questions and comments. But I'd like to jump in with my opinion, as a parent of kids in DC area privates who are expressing the same situations. (Same school? Possibly.)

The reason that I am paying the exorbitant price that I am for my kids' MS and US-level education is that I expect them to get exactly that - an education. I am not interested in them being preached at, indoctrinated with or introduced to concepts that are controversial and personal at best, and wrong and destructive at worst. School is not the place to discuss one's own or others' sexuality, gender identity, etc. That is something that we handle at home, as a family and within the parameters of our religious, moral and family cultural beliefs.

I understand that there are kids in the school who are not being brought up in the way that mine are, and who have parents who feel differently about the desire to have their kids affirmed by the school in whatever it is they are currently struggling with. However, that should not come at the expense of everyone else's desire for a solid, science-based, well-rounded liberal arts education. How about this - you insist that the curriculum include books on and by trans kids and alternatively structured families; I insist that the curriculum include books on the value of and need to pursue religious truth. Now is everyone happy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Just came across this thread and look forward to reading the whole thing this evening but, as a parent of kids in a hard-left elite DC private school, I have been growing more and more concerned about what my kids have been taught. For example, all or almost all books in an English class are by black authors (rather than what you might expect - a mix from various backgrounds and ethnicities). Also, I’ve gleaned that my kids seem to think being gay or transgender is not merely to be respected and not criticized; rather, being gay or going trans apparently is taught as something that is … normal. Books read by middle schoolers (novels?!) include soft porn kissing and petting pre-teens; transgender activists are celebrated speakers at school assemblies. A sign outside the college counseling office says, with rainbows and butterflies around, something like “gender is who you are and what you believe.” Gee, that’s great for the @90% of kids who have a hard time in middle and upper school who feel awkward, anxious, and/or are having a hard time making friends (and trying to figure out why they aren’t one of the popular kids). Anyway - big sigh. Glad others are frustrated with the extreme left indoctrination that seems to be the rule at some of DC’s private schools.

I sincerely want to thank this poster for articulating what exactly is "woke" that is bothering them at their school.

That being said - I'm wondering if you can verify that all of the books being read in English class for the entire year were written by black authors? Could you share the list here? Are you sure you weren't just looking at a list for this month, black history month, and maybe they were focusing on specific authors for the month? Did you look up every author to confirm their race?

I'm also wondering if you can clarify what "soft porn" is? How did these passages come to your attention? Did your child bring them to you? Do you read the books assigned to your kids? Would you prefer no books with kissing at all? Where would you consider a line that is less "extreme"

In your opinion are trans speakers more "celebrated" than other speakers at the school. Or are you upset that a trans person spoke at your school at all. Could you share a list of all the speakers at your school this year and would that list show a specific agenda? Were there many trans speakers or one in a long list of speakers on a variety of topics? Or are you just mad about this one speaker coming at all.

Would you prefer - or consider it less of an "agenda" - if your school just ignored the existence of trans kids? One sign by the counsellors office targeting support for a particularly at risk group doesn't seem extreme. What would your reaction be if there was sign targeting a different at risk group outside that office? Were there any other signs outside the office or just one solitary sign of support for trans kids?

What I'm trying to get at here is that there is a narrative being driven by politicians and political operatives that "Woke Schools have gone to far." These articles and speeches and news stories are often low on facts or context. They are just meant to create a gut feeling. That reading black authors has gone too far! That supporting trans kids has gone too far! ect. Some support would be fine but what schools are doing right now is too much support!!! This is done so that whenever you as a parent see anything about a black author or speaker or trans author or speaker your first thought is "TOO FAR" not to think about the context of that only being a small percentage of what your child is exposed to. The ultimate goal, by bad actors, being to ban all books by black authors and all support for trans kids. So I would ask anyone whose reading this to really consider what their own definition is of TOO FAR and what they would consider an acceptable amount of school support for these groups/ideas before freaking out.

NP to this thread; I am NOT the PP to whom you are addressing your questions and comments. But I'd like to jump in with my opinion, as a parent of kids in DC area privates who are expressing the same situations. (Same school? Possibly.)

The reason that I am paying the exorbitant price that I am for my kids' MS and US-level education is that I expect them to get exactly that - an education. I am not interested in them being preached at, indoctrinated with or introduced to concepts that are controversial and personal at best, and wrong and destructive at worst. School is not the place to discuss one's own or others' sexuality, gender identity, etc. That is something that we handle at home, as a family and within the parameters of our religious, moral and family cultural beliefs.

I understand that there are kids in the school who are not being brought up in the way that mine are, and who have parents who feel differently about the desire to have their kids affirmed by the school in whatever it is they are currently struggling with. However, that should not come at the expense of everyone else's desire for a solid, science-based, well-rounded liberal arts education. How about this - you insist that the curriculum include books on and by trans kids and alternatively structured families; I insist that the curriculum include books on the value of and need to pursue religious truth. Now is everyone happy?

And this is exactly why we are allowed to choose where we want to send our children. If one school doesn’t support white supremacy enough, it’s easy to find another that will.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Of course there's a difference between how the term was used when it originated several decades ago by African Americans, and now as it's been co-opted by the right-wing in recent years to be derogatory.

Words change meaning quite often in the English language. But you conveniently left that part out.

Nope didn't leave out anything. Liberals liked the word until it became unpopular with a majority of folks - who knew the real meaning.

Woke was coined by African Americans on twitter to basically mean people who were opening their eyes to systemic racism against black folks in this country.

Woke then became the new N* word for conservatives. By which I mean its a word they can say instead of the N word but means the same thing to them. Its used by people who cannot believe that systemic racism exists/is bad and hate the very idea of anyone acknowledging that fact. It is used by people on the right to mean saying/teaching anything at all from a black person's perspective.

When the OP says that wokeness is over the top at private schools, but cannot actually define anything that is happening or what that means - its probably just a general panic among the wealthy clientele that the school might be teaching their kids that black people are disproportionately killed by police, or that the Tulsa Massacre of black wallstreet is a thing that happened in this country.

Although it does seem like people on the right have also expanded their own definition of "woke" to mean - letting LGBTQ kids go to school without harassment/bullying from teachers and other students.

wow so all conservatives are racist? I guess I can also say all liberals are communists. You mix economics with racial politics. And generalizations of large groups of people is simply ignorant. Also, please provide a few examples of actual systemic racism. And keep to the last 50 years because there are of course awful examples in the past.

If you are siding with "conservatives" on this and are silent to the injustices in our society and the ability for our kids to learn about our history and culture through lenses in addition to white christian males, then at best, you are silently complicit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Of course there's a difference between how the term was used when it originated several decades ago by African Americans, and now as it's been co-opted by the right-wing in recent years to be derogatory.

Words change meaning quite often in the English language. But you conveniently left that part out.

Nope didn't leave out anything. Liberals liked the word until it became unpopular with a majority of folks - who knew the real meaning.

Woke was coined by African Americans on twitter to basically mean people who were opening their eyes to systemic racism against black folks in this country.

Woke then became the new N* word for conservatives. By which I mean its a word they can say instead of the N word but means the same thing to them. Its used by people who cannot believe that systemic racism exists/is bad and hate the very idea of anyone acknowledging that fact. It is used by people on the right to mean saying/teaching anything at all from a black person's perspective.

When the OP says that wokeness is over the top at private schools, but cannot actually define anything that is happening or what that means - its probably just a general panic among the wealthy clientele that the school might be teaching their kids that black people are disproportionately killed by police, or that the Tulsa Massacre of black wallstreet is a thing that happened in this country.

Although it does seem like people on the right have also expanded their own definition of "woke" to mean - letting LGBTQ kids go to school without harassment/bullying from teachers and other students.

wow so all conservatives are racist? I guess I can also say all liberals are communists. You mix economics with racial politics. And generalizations of large groups of people is simply ignorant. Also, please provide a few examples of actual systemic racism. And keep to the last 50 years because there are of course awful examples in the past.

limiting the ability to vote easily and quickly in ALL precincts across the country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And this is why DeSantis (or another Republican if his ilk) May very well win in 2024. Wokeneds in schools has really gone too far. I say this is a liberal Democrat.

YOu are not a "liberal dem"

DeSantis is he wins will destroy us. He will be KING OF THE US. WHAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND ABOUT HOW HORRIFIC THAT WILL BE?

I struggle to understand how people think that conservatives who cut taxes and reduce government programs are moving towards monarchy. Monarchy is the control of free enterprise - not opening it up.

Because those same conservatives support white nationalism, a Christian nation, environmental dystopia, subjugation based on limiting voting and gerrymanding, exempting political leadership from the common laws of our country and a consolidation of wealth to an oligarch class. That isn't very conservative, now is it?