Janney principal email about yesterday’s events

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s a phenomenal email. Anyone who has a problem with it is well...a problem themselves. And that’s my nice way of putting it.

I'm a Janney parent and I don't understand why the OP is upset. You don't need to be a super woke type to find this email appropriate in light of the events. And if you didn't like what she said - this was your heads up to stay off virtual Jamboree that morning.

[Anonymous]

I was glad to receive that email. The Janney principal has made a commitment to hold open, age-appropriate discussions regarding race and social justice. This topic is something she has supported for at least a couple of years now, and brings up regularly in school emails, so this morning's email should not have been a surprise to Janney families. My son's class (third) had a good discussion on yesterday's events, and I have no doubt that teachers of younger children also talked about things in an age-appropriate manner, like a PP referenced. If the Pre-K parent's child was doing in-person school during a regular year, there already would've been multiple sheltering-in-place drills that are handled as is appropriate to the cohort (i.e. Pre-K and K read The Mitten)...it's not like they say to a four year old, when someone with a gun enters the school, hide in the bathroom. That's obviously wrong and topics are handled sensitively. The same approach applies to what happened yesterday, and these kind of discussions build upon each other over the years, which leads to my son and I having an open talk about events while watching the news yesterday. I am glad that our school does not shy away from the hard discussions.

[Anonymous]

Not a Janney parent. Great email. Wish our charter would send something similar.

I do think that letting teachers opt out of live lessons today is a bit much. They are already working from home. My employer has not said anything about letting me opt out of meetings today, and several of my colleagues have family members who work on the Hill, are journalists, etc.

But otherwise, I don't see what people are upset about. As we know though, people will get upset about anything.

[Anonymous]

My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

Pretty sure the overwhelmingly white school will not mistake white people as the enemy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

So you want your 4 year old to work on the polarized media and understand the checks and balances in the US constitution?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

How do you know the actual discussions didn't touch on these topics? The email was not a curriculum; just a heads up that there would be a chance for kids to discuss the issues. In my kid's 6th grade class (not Janney), kids talked about some of these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

So you want your 4 year old to work on the polarized media and understand the checks and balances in the US constitution?

DP. No, but I don’t think it’s helpful to tell a 4 year old it was all about white v black racism. It was a lot more, and the important thing is democracy prevailed. at that age, empathy is the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

So you want your 4 year old to work on the polarized media and understand the checks and balances in the US constitution?

No, I have older ES kids. But I think kids can understand bullies, sore losers, and people acting rashly without all the information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lol people in AUPark were not fearful and terrified yesterday. Horrified and disgusted, yes. But fearful? Oh come on. I was fearful over the summer with all that going on and spilling into our neighborhood. But yesterday was not that.

Do you not understand that many people people who live here work in the buildings that were taken over by force yesterday? The principal has students who were traumatized, concerned that their parents were not coming home last night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

So you want your 4 year old to work on the polarized media and understand the checks and balances in the US constitution?

DP. No, but I don’t think it’s helpful to tell a 4 year old it was all about white v black racism. It was a lot more, and the important thing is democracy prevailed. at that age, empathy is the point.

Empathy with a lying president who incited a mob to storm the capitol and try to overturn an election? Your takeaway is that kids should be empathetic to these criminals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

How do you know the actual discussions didn't touch on these topics? The email was not a curriculum; just a heads up that there would be a chance for kids to discuss the issues. In my kid's 6th grade class (not Janney), kids talked about some of these things.

I don’t know what they ended up talking about, but 2 out of her 3 points described it as a whites vs blacks problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My problem is that in zealously emphasizing race, this approach simplifies the issues and borders on becoming racist itself.

The protesters were white, and the BLM protestors were treated differently.

But there is so much more going on here:
- cynical, sociopathic leadership who uses fear and lies to incite people for selfish purposes rather than work toward good.
- the difference between protesting real events and policies (BLM) and made-up, fictional BS (Trump)
- polarized media: can you be an educated person and critical thinker if you only pay attention to cherry-picked information and voices
- understanding the three branches of governments and the limited power of each!
- societal change is hard and bumpy
- when is an act of rebellion justified and how can you be sure?

The whites storming the Capitol yesterday are not representative of whites in this country generally. Pitching the whole thing as chiefly a white vs black issue risks hardening animosities rather than leading people to be more thoughtful and constructive than the ridiculousness of yesterday

Fair enough. I'm a Janney parent and wasn't upset by the email, but I agree framing this primarily as a racism issue is oversimplifying it. Even though I believe the protesters' primary motivation in following Trump is racism, the corruption of democracy is just as big of an issue in itself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would this make you upset? Me and several parents are quite shocked and upset at this.

“I have reached out far too many times in the past few years with emails on how to talk to your child about challenging topics given events occurring in our community, our city, or our country. I am heartbroken to be reaching out this morning to let you know how we will be discussing the disgusting act of domestic terrorism that occurred yesterday with students today.

I know that many of us are still processing the insurrection by White supremacists that occurred yesterday at the US Capitol. As DC residents, we have been impacted in a unique was as some of our family members, friends, and neighbors were present at the Capitol.

We will be discussing yesterday’s events at Jamboree and during Morning Mornings and virtual instruction. You may choose to keep your child offline today or to skip Jamboree today. I am including what we will discuss at Jamboree at the end of this email to let you make the best decision for your child. Additionally, please know that our teachers and staff members are still processing what happened yesterday and they may need to cancel certain live lessons or may need to step away from the computer for all or part of the day. Thank you for being patience and flexible with them during this time.

Talking points at Jamboree:
*We will discuss the basic events: a large group of primarily White people forced their way into the US Capitol building. It was a scary time for many people.

*We will also let kids know that they will be able to talk about yesterday’s events today with teachers. Our children probably have a lot of questions and the adults won’t have all the answers. We will let students know that they – or their teachers - might need to take a break from parts of online learning today because this is hard to talk about.

*We also know the Black Lives Matter protestors were treated very differently this summer than the angry mob yesterday. This is an example of the power and privilege that exists in our country today.”

Public school employees have First Amendment rights to engage in campaign activity on their own time as private individuals. They do not have the same freedom to engage in campaign activity at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Would this make you upset? Me and several parents are quite shocked and upset at this.

“I have reached out far too many times in the past few years with emails on how to talk to your child about challenging topics given events occurring in our community, our city, or our country. I am heartbroken to be reaching out this morning to let you know how we will be discussing the disgusting act of domestic terrorism that occurred yesterday with students today.

I know that many of us are still processing the insurrection by White supremacists that occurred yesterday at the US Capitol. As DC residents, we have been impacted in a unique was as some of our family members, friends, and neighbors were present at the Capitol.

We will be discussing yesterday’s events at Jamboree and during Morning Mornings and virtual instruction. You may choose to keep your child offline today or to skip Jamboree today. I am including what we will discuss at Jamboree at the end of this email to let you make the best decision for your child. Additionally, please know that our teachers and staff members are still processing what happened yesterday and they may need to cancel certain live lessons or may need to step away from the computer for all or part of the day. Thank you for being patience and flexible with them during this time.

Talking points at Jamboree:
*We will discuss the basic events: a large group of primarily White people forced their way into the US Capitol building. It was a scary time for many people.

*We will also let kids know that they will be able to talk about yesterday’s events today with teachers. Our children probably have a lot of questions and the adults won’t have all the answers. We will let students know that they – or their teachers - might need to take a break from parts of online learning today because this is hard to talk about.

*We also know the Black Lives Matter protestors were treated very differently this summer than the angry mob yesterday. This is an example of the power and privilege that exists in our country today.”

Public school employees have First Amendment rights to engage in campaign activity on their own time as private individuals. They do not have the same freedom to engage in campaign activity at school.

Who said anything about campaigning?