Elementary school children returning to a wealthy Pennsylvania classroom in the fall will learn that sympathizing with police officers is racist.
Gladwyne Elementary School—located in Lower Merion School District, one of the richest in the nation—will require fourth and fifth graders to read Not My Idea: A Book About Whiteness, which claims that white people who relate to police officers or decline to watch the news are complicit in racism. The curriculum also assigns A Kid’s Book About Racism to kindergarten and first graders.
The books are raising eyebrows among some parents, who take issue with their political focus. Elana Yaron Fishbein, a mother of two boys and a doctor of social work, penned a letter to the district’s superintendent, board members, and the school’s principal demanding the school remove its new “cultural proficiency” curriculum.
“The book teaches kids not only to defy parents but to hate themselves,” Fishbein told the Washington Free Beacon. “To hate their parents also because they are white. By default, [the kids] are white, and they’re privileged, and they’re bad. [The school] is teaching this to little kids.”
In the wake of the George Floyd protests, public schools are increasingly politicizing their curricula. In Virginia’s Loudoun County School District—the richest county in the nation—schools teamed up with the left-wing education group Teaching Tolerance to develop a new curriculum about slavery for kindergartners. The proposed lesson plans recommend restructuring history and social studies classes to emphasize slavery as fundamental to American society.
Cultural proficiency lessons at Gladwyne were announced in an email to parents on June 9. The email claims that despite offering four other lessons on equity and race, the school’s “Cultural Proficiency Committee” believes those lessons are insufficient and created a fifth lesson focused explicitly on anti-racism.
“Generally, each class also engages in a cultural proficiency lesson; however, we realize that this is not enough,” Gladwyne principal Veronica Ellers wrote in an email obtained by the Free Beacon. “We plan to continue designing lessons that promote anti-racist actions in the upcoming 20-21 school year and beyond.”
A Kid’s Book About Racism has an exhaustive list of actions it deems harmful and racist. The book claims asking questions can be racist and issues a call to action for five- to seven-year-olds to call out and identify racism.
“[Racism] happens all the time,” the book reads. “Sometimes it shows up in small ways. Like a look, a comment, a question, a thought, a joke, a word, or a belief…. If you see someone being treated badly, made fun of, excluded from playing, or looked down on because of their skin color call it racism.”
Amy Buckman, a district spokeswoman, defended the move. “The Lower Merion School District fully supports the ongoing implementation of an anti-racist curriculum in its schools and encourages the use of developmentally appropriate books that raise awareness of the very real issues of racism and privilege,” she said.
If kindergartners can be called racist for asking questions, so can parents who question the “anti-racism” being taught to their children. Fishbein told the Free Beacon that parents privately message her echoing their disapproval of the cultural proficiency curriculum, but are scared to speak out for fear of being branded racist.
“If you say anything that’s racist according to the school or parent’s definition of racism, you’re out,” Fishbein said. “You’re called a racist. No wonder the parents don’t talk.”
Lower Merion refused to respond to her emails. That silence was more than enough for Fishbein. Her children will attend a private school in the fall.
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The parents in this school district need to get off their lazy assess now and stop this from happening and then to begin recall election proceedings and get rid of the school board for failing to supervise and stop the teachers unions from destroying their children’s elementary school experience and futures.
Got it……
One of the great things about the pandemic is that it has demonstrated to parents how worthless most of the public schools are. Kids are learning more playing in their backyards over the past few months than they would learn in school. Virtual learning using sites like Khan Academy are far more effective than the public schools.
Because of this, you would think the progressive school cartel would lay low during the pandemic and wait until the kids returned to the classroom before they upped the ante and started to implement this “racism is everywhere” bullshit. But nnnnnoooooooo, as John Belushi would say. Not only are the teachers not wanting to come back to teach in the fall (but they still want to get paid, of course), but they also want to start teaching kids uber progressive dogma.
People, send you kids to private schools or homeschool them or get together with other parents and form a small education group, but don’t let your children go back to the public schools!
The largest teachers union in New Jersey, NJEA, recently complained to the Governor that not all schools could meet COVID safety standards. They would delay school openings for months, but Murphy decided to allow individual boards to decide for themselves.
A parental poll was taken in my school system during August. We have 8300 kids and almost one quarter will not be returning after Labor Day. The ones who do return will be split into two alternating groups. They will do shortened days, three days per week. While one half attends in person instruction, the other half will do remote learning via ZOOM on an issued Chromebook.
The mask lunacy and social distancing will be in force on the school bus. Students who don’t have a mask will be given one and expected to wear it on the bus and in school. Those who refuse to comply and challenge the rules will be put off the bus and sent back to remote learning at home.
The local government school gave families 3 options.
1. Regular school with Corona safeguards.
2. Online school that will just be a camera in the classroom.
3. Independent Cyber School.
My daughter will not wear a face diaper all day so #1 was out. She thought #2 was stupid because of the slow pace they use in class. She opted for #3 and hopes to turn all the hysteria into a benefit to her by taking extra classes and graduating early.
Last year with the online classes they ran they work was assigned on Monday for the week. They expected assignments, quizzes, and tests done by Friday @ midnight. She was never done later than Wed morning but had to wait until the next Monday for new assignments.
The school made a big deal that 80% chose option 1 or 2 in the newspaper. We have since learned that option #3 enrollment was capped at 20%. The ones who chose late are on a waiting list and must choose #1 or #2 now.
Good job Dad/Steve, sounds like your daughter is a winner.
Fuck yeah!!
Fucking child abuse.
um… I get what you’re trying to say but…. I would advise that you look into “Khan academy”…. just sayin’
aw screw it… I’m not going to f around … Gates is thick as shit here peeps duh!
Pennsylvania was lost back in the 1980’s. It is just NJ-lite now. Remain at your own peril.
http://www.statecollege.com/news/local-news/state-college-adopts-ordinance-to-enforce-masking-restrictions-on-gatherings,1483789/