Did Dr. McKnight's antiracist speech fall flat?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

But you can't educate kids when they are afraid to come to school because they are targets of racism and bias. Even if they do come to class, if they are distracted all day because someone said something mean to them, they can't learn. Try getting a kid to focus on today's science lesson when a kid in their previous math class commented about their grade on a quiz with reference to their race (I've seen Asian kids get a B on a quiz and told they were a poor representation of their race. I've seen Black kids get an A on a quiz and asked "what, are you trying to be Asian?") Kids are brutal and unkind to each other, especially if the adults around them model similar behavior towards anyone perceived as "other". The only place to address the diversity in our community and how to get along with each other is with explicit instruction in the classroom. Kids can't learn if they feel unwelcome at school.

I didn't hear anything in Dr. McKnight's speech that would stop or impede the mean and racist comments you gave examples of. Addressing those behaviors would mean spelling new or significant changes in consequence and discipline for students who do engage in the behavior you outlined.

But let's be clear: The biggest impediment to student success is NOT racists comments between other races. It's the comments WITHIN races that are the most toxic and destructive.

Comments among black kids who say things like:
- Being a good student or caring about academics is "acting white"
- Speaking English without relying on slang is "talking white"
- Going against the tropes that are popular in hip-hop and social media, like not doing drugs or engaging in language that uses the n word and the b word, is "acting white"

Racism, meaning one group targeting another group, is not the biggest issue facing students at MCPS. Many of the conflicts that break out at school happen between kids of the SAME RACE.

For example, the national newsworthy shooting that happened at Magruder last year was between two black boys. Dr. McKnight's antiracist speech does NOTHING to address that. Most of the fights that break out at school are between kids of the same race over drugs, gang/clique battles, boyfriend/girlfriend squabbles and social media beef.

You, and Dr. McKnight, are focused on the wrong thing. Which is not a surprise since MCPS is horrible at diagnosing and troubleshooting the real problems with the right insights.

It’s not just Black kids who experience hat and racism. And if your kids are doing that to each other what are you doing as parents to stop your kid’s behavior and language.

You are missing the point or you don’t care. If you keep focusing on just one group, what about all the impacted kids in other groups. Some of us cannot afford to pull our kids to privates as ones like JDS are expensive and the academics are not great.

I didn't say it was just black kids who experience hate and racism. But I'm black and therefore most knowledgable and comfortable speaking my own lived and experiences and those of my kids. Feel free to add yours.

And I think you missed my point, which is that the bigger issue is not conflict between races, but conflict WITHIN races, which you didn't even address in your reply. So I don't know what you're really talking to me about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

She needs to create a safe environment for all students. Racism is a small part of it. Parents also need to be held accountable.

I 100% agree students should be held accountable and parents should be informed of the consequences. Each repeated offense should carry a heavier weight.

School administrators should also be held accountable when the bullying and harassment form reports in writing the offense that takes place. There should be an automatic review by the Ombudsman for every time a Principal “investigates” and finds no bullying occurred. The reason bullying incidents are out of control is that Principals cover up complaints and thus there are no consequences for the offenders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

*this*

[Anonymous]

Look at the majority of the top brass has hired under Dr. McKnight at Central Office. They are not gender nor racially diverse. They do not represent demographics that mirrors the student population. However, the hires do show Dr. McKnight’s focus and where she wants to take MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the majority of the top brass has hired under Dr. McKnight at Central Office. They are not gender nor racially diverse. They do not represent demographics that mirrors the student population. However, the hires do show Dr. McKnight’s focus and where she wants to take MCPS.

I also noticed a consistent pattern with the principal promotions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

*this*

She doesn’t have a plan to address abysmal test scores. She blames teachers for their implicit biases while ignoring her own so morale will not be improving even with a pay raise. She also doesn’t have a plan to keep drugs from being brought and used at MCPS schools. She is using the focus on racism to get a news sound bite to deflect from the real problems. The lack of a plan or metric to measure the success of her plan is an example of why she is a terrible superintendent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

*this*

She doesn’t have a plan to address abysmal test scores. She blames teachers for their implicit biases while ignoring her own so morale will not be improving even with a pay raise. She also doesn’t have a plan to keep drugs from being brought and used at MCPS schools. She is using the focus on racism to get a news sound bite to deflect from the real problems. The lack of a plan or metric to measure the success of her plan is an example of why she is a terrible superintendent.

I'd be happy if she focused on educating kids and left drug enforcement to the experts like the DEA and MCPD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look at the majority of the top brass has hired under Dr. McKnight at Central Office. They are not gender nor racially diverse. They do not represent demographics that mirrors the student population. However, the hires do show Dr. McKnight’s focus and where she wants to take MCPS.

I don't know what you're trying to imply, but Dr. McKnight's "top brass" are white men, both of whom she hired: Patrick Murphy and Brian Hull. You think that's "where she wants to take MCPS"?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

*this*

She doesn’t have a plan to address abysmal test scores. She blames teachers for their implicit biases while ignoring her own so morale will not be improving even with a pay raise. She also doesn’t have a plan to keep drugs from being brought and used at MCPS schools. She is using the focus on racism to get a news sound bite to deflect from the real problems. The lack of a plan or metric to measure the success of her plan is an example of why she is a terrible superintendent.

I'd be happy if she focused on educating kids and left drug enforcement to the experts like the DEA and MCPD.

I would be happy if MCPD could randomly bring drug sniffing dogs into schools like they used to. That’s one way to get drugs out of MCPS schools. Expulsion of offenders would be another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Look at the majority of the top brass has hired under Dr. McKnight at Central Office. They are not gender nor racially diverse. They do not represent demographics that mirrors the student population. However, the hires do show Dr. McKnight’s focus and where she wants to take MCPS.

I don't know what you're trying to imply, but Dr. McKnight's "top brass" are white men, both of whom she hired: Patrick Murphy and Brian Hull. You think that's "where she wants to take MCPS"?!

Do a more comprehensive search of Central Office administrators and you will see a strong pattern.

[Anonymous]

Whenever I see the word “antiracist”, I cringe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whenever I see the word “antiracist”, I cringe.

Whenever I read about people who say they cringe whenever they see the word "antiracist", I draw the logical conclusion that they are antiantiracist, i.e., proracist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whenever I see the word “antiracist”, I cringe.

Whenever I read about people who say they cringe whenever they see the word "antiracist", I draw the logical conclusion that they are antiantiracist, i.e., proracist.

So does saying antifascist make fascists cringe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

*this*

She doesn’t have a plan to address abysmal test scores. She blames teachers for their implicit biases while ignoring her own so morale will not be improving even with a pay raise. She also doesn’t have a plan to keep drugs from being brought and used at MCPS schools. She is using the focus on racism to get a news sound bite to deflect from the real problems. The lack of a plan or metric to measure the success of her plan is an example of why she is a terrible superintendent.

She has a plan. Her plan is to pretend it doesn't exist. She needs to bring in a better curriculum that goes back to the basics. She also spoke volumes by getting rid of the tutoring program and still not notifying parents about it yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I liked the speech but also was listening for the action steps and was left feeling like it was a lot of talk. I think most of us, and certainly those with kids who are getting bullied, would like to hear what, specifically, the consequences are now for hate speech and behavior, and how the curriculum will be altered to address this as well. It’s not that I think she doesn’t care, it’s that I want to see the tangible changes in school policies. I think that’s what she wants too, so I want her to be brave and just enforce standards of decency. Give the words some teeth.

This is a broad problem for society that MCPS can't possibly address. The school system should focus on doing its job of educating kids.

This. Not MCPS’ job to fix racism.

MCPS needs to focus on EDUCATION. For all kids. Smaller class sizes and a solid curriculum.

Get rid of some of the useless Central Office bloat and get rid of the useless initiatives that don’t benefit our kids.

You can't separate racism and EDUCATION, though. No matter how much some people keep insisting that you can.

I don't need her to give a speech on racism. Her job is to make sure kids, of all races, are getting a solid education. Making speeches about racism (or global warming) isn't going to achieve that goal.

Tell us what you are going to do about the abysmal test scores. Tell us what you are going to do about the low staff morale. Tell us what you are going to do about the prevalence of drugs in our schools. That's really what parents and staff want to hear about from McKnight.

*this*

She doesn’t have a plan to address abysmal test scores. She blames teachers for their implicit biases while ignoring her own so morale will not be improving even with a pay raise. She also doesn’t have a plan to keep drugs from being brought and used at MCPS schools. She is using the focus on racism to get a news sound bite to deflect from the real problems. The lack of a plan or metric to measure the success of her plan is an example of why she is a terrible superintendent.

I'd be happy if she focused on educating kids and left drug enforcement to the experts like the DEA and MCPD.

I would be happy if MCPD could randomly bring drug sniffing dogs into schools like they used to. That’s one way to get drugs out of MCPS schools. Expulsion of offenders would be another.

This, and bring in detectors for guns/weapons like other school systems. However that would mean a partnership with MCPD and they kicked them out of the schools.

How about some transparency on what's actually going on as well.