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Teachers Union: Reopening Schools ‘Rooted in Sexism, Racism, Misogyny’

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Local 1 of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) deleted its tweet on Sunday that stated, “The push to reopen schools is rooted in sexism, racism and misogyny.”

Director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation Corey DeAngelis noted Monday CTU “filed a request for an injunction to stop in-person instruction that is supposed to start January 11th”– the day after it deleted its tweet condemning the reopening of schools:

. . .DeAngelis further observed the “reopening” scheduled for January 11 in Chicago is “only for ‘students in pre-K and cluster programs.’”

Elementary and middle school students are scheduled to return to in-person instruction in February.

He continued that, while CTU quoted Dr. Anthony Fauci in its request for an injunction, it omitted Fauci’s quote in which he stated, “The default position should be to try as best as possible within reason to keep the children in school […] the spread among children & from children is not really big at all.”

(Read more from “Teachers Union: Reopening Schools ‘Rooted in Sexism, Racism, Misogyny’” HERE)

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195 Million Chinese Students Are in School. Why Aren’t Our Kids?

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Right now in China, 195 million students K-12 are learning in-person in Chinese public schools. Meanwhile, millions of American public school students are learning in a failed remote system that can’t even keep track of thousands of students who haven’t shown up for class all year. . .

Most parents and students already know that online learning is not working. A look at recent headlines says it all: “Coronavirus: Failing grades spike in Bay Area schools with distance learning,” “25% of Wake middle and high school students failed a class during remote learning,” “Remote learning increases failing grades by 83 percent in Fairfax county,” and “5000 Alabama students haven’t shown up for any sort of class.”

Yes, the way China manages in-person schooling is authoritarian. The Communist Party keeps watch, making sure teachers are following a detailed hygiene protocol. Local officials routinely inspect classrooms, and the government uses apps and other technology to monitor students and staff, and restrict their movements. It has even instructed parents to stay away from their children.

But Americans have also been very compliant with overreaching COVID regulations. When school was open, singing was banned and kids were forced to wear masks while playing basketball or attending outdoor football practices, until finally many were shut down entirely. Americans have for too long put up with hypocritical governors and public health officials who violate their own rules.

The difference between us and the Chinese is what we value. The Chinese Communist government understands that an educated population is key to global economic dominance, so they have prioritized keeping schools open, which the science has proven can be done safely. Meanwhile, in the U.S. we have closed our schools, but have deemed pot dispensaries, liquor stores, abortion clinics, and strip clubs “essential.” (Read more from “195 Million Chinese Students Are in School. Why Aren’t Our Kids?” HERE)

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Public School: Capitalism Caused COVID-19

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A District of Columbia public school teacher encouraged students to blame the coronavirus pandemic on racism and capitalism instead of China, according to a lesson plan obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.

Hardy Middle School teacher Caneisha Mills had her students host a “People’s Tribunal on the Coronavirus Pandemic,” whose “defendants” included racism, capitalism, and the United States government. “I wanted to … point out that the capitalist system was behind the pain, trauma, isolation, and destitution [my students] were facing,” Mills said. “Capitalism, racism, and the U.S. government left us to die.”

As part of the tribunal, students had to answer a series of leading questions about America’s coronavirus response. “How does capitalism in the United States cause crises like the coronavirus and the flu pandemic of 1918,” one worksheet asked. “If the government and capitalist system are guilty, what should be the ‘sentence’?”

The material also applauded China for its handling of the coronavirus without mentioning its authoritarian political system. China took “exactly the measures that a government should take in times of crisis,” a handout for the exercise claimed, and “donated tons of medical supplies … to the United States.” (Read more from “Public School: Capitalism Caused COVID-19” HERE)

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Public School Faces Lawsuit Over Ban on Religious Masks

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A Mississippi public school is facing a lawsuit for prohibiting a third-grader from wearing a mask that read “Jesus Loves Me.”

The religious liberty law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) is suing Mississippi’s Simpson County School District because the school forced the third-grader, Lydia Booth, to remove a religious message from her face mask and retroactively changed its masking code.

When Booth’s mother asked for the specific policy that banned free expression on face masks, school officials responded with an updated copy of the school’s coronavirus plan that included a ban on religious messages—which had not been in the original plan.

The new policy prohibits messages on masks that are “political, religious, sexual or inappropriate symbols, gestures or statements that may be offensive, disruptive or deemed distractive to the school environment.”

ADF legal counsel Michael Ross said the school’s policy violates the First Amendment. “Officials simply can’t … arbitrarily pick and choose messages that students can or can’t express,” Ross said. “Other students within the school district have freely worn masks with the logos of local sports teams or even the words ‘Black Lives Matter.'” (Read more from “Public School Faces Lawsuit Over Ban on Religious Masks” HERE)

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This City’s School System Changed Grading System to Combat Racism

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The San Diego Unified School District last week approved a major overhaul to its grading system as a part of a larger effort to combat racial discrimination.

The new changes came in response to data that showed disparities between the percentage of white and minority students who received D or F grades, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

According to the data, Black students accounted for about 20% of all D or F grades during the first semester of last year, while Native American and Hispanic students each accounted for 23%. By comparison, white students made up 7% of all D or F grades during that same period.

Under the district’s new system, non-academic factors like late work and classroom behavior will not be counted toward their overall academic grade. . .

The new system, which affects mostly middle school and high school students, will be implemented over this year and next. (Read more from “This City’s School System Changed Grading System to Combat Racism” HERE)

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Boy Dares to Speak up for President Trump in Class. Teacher Asks Student Why He Supports ‘a Racist and a Pedophile.’ Bad Idea.

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By The Blaze. . .The subject was the debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden — and 12-year-old Jackson Cody said he became a fast target not only of other students, but also the teacher. . .

“The teacher asked, ‘Who supports Donald Trump?'” Jackson recalled to WHDH-TV. “And I was the only one to raise my hand.”

He noted to WBZ that “a few kids were going to raise their hands, but then they heard the teacher say to me, ‘Oh Mr. Jackson, I thought I liked you.'”

“Then she asked why I support a racist and a pedophile,” he noted to WHDH. . .

Once Jackson’s family found out what went down in his class, they fought back. (Read more from “Boy Dares to Speak up for President Trump in Class. Teacher Asks Student Why He Supports ‘a Racist and a Pedophile.’ Bad Idea.” HERE)

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Gloucester Student Said Teacher Criticized Him for Supporting President Trump

By CBS News 4. Jackson Cody of Gloucester is in many ways a typical 12-year-old; he loves sports and is also passionate about politics.

“I just feel like our country wasn’t in a great place. I just wanted to learn more about Donald Trump because it seemed like he was making our country rise again and become America again,” the 7th grader said. . .

The family contacted a First Amendment rights attorney, and asked the school for an apology.

“We tell them to stand up for yourself and don’t be afraid to speak your opinion. Their opinions are theirs, they’re not our opinions. They’re very well read children. They like to educate themselves on their own topics. Unfortunately they do disagree with us very often,” Jackson’s father, Jay Cody added.

The teacher did apologize, and the O’Maley Middle School is facilitating some training for staff. The Codys are content this has started some important conversations at home and in school. (Read more from “Gloucester Student Said Teacher Criticized Him for Supporting President Trump” HERE)

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School District Requests ‘Anti-Racist Audit’ to Help Students ‘Resist Systems of Oppression’

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Maryland’s Montgomery County Public Schools district is requesting a “systemwide anti-racist audit” to determine whether it is doing enough to help students “resist systems of oppression.”

According to a “request for proposal” document obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, the school district is looking for a consultant “with deep knowledge and expertise in … racial equity” to examine the school district’s culture, hiring practices, and pre-K-12 curriculum. The document requests that consultants investigate whether the district’s curriculum “strengthens students’ sense of racial, ethnic, and tribal identities, helps students understand and resist systems of oppression, and empower students to see themselves as change agents.” It also asks if the district is taking a sufficiently “proactive approach” to issues of implicit bias, even though the racial makeup of the district is majority minority.

Following the Black Lives Matter protests this summer, the school district said it would reevaluate its social studies curriculum to address systemic racism, “particularly for … younger students.” The school district already operates an “Equity Initiatives Unit,” which aims to counteract “bias … oppression, and inequity.” Marya Hay, a member of the unit, posted photos online of the “equity” training that staff undergo. One photo showed school district employees defining “whiteness” as “a systemic, racial, social construct backed by no scientific evidence, created to benefit white people by unequally distributing power and privilege through society’s norms, traditions, and institutions.” (Read more from “School District Requests ‘Anti-Racist Audit’ to Help Students ‘Resist Systems of Oppression’” HERE)

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School District Pushes ‘Systemic Racism’ Agenda After a Rope Swing Was Mistaken for a Noose

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A California school district announced that what “appeared to be a noose” was found hanging from a tree in front of home within the district. Local police concluded it was not a noose, but a rope swing for children. The school district swiftly responded, not by closing the investigation and moving on from the non-incident, but by instead imposing race education and “anti-racism” goals on students and staff.

The principals, assistant principals, and superintendents from both high schools in Piedmont Unified School District in Piedmont, California sent a message to parents, students, and staff in mid-September notifying them that although the intent of local rope swing was “innocuous,” the district would be discussing “systemic racism” and “identity privilege.”

The district’s statement used inflammatory language such as labeling certain identities as “dominant,” and informing families that they must “apologize” for the rope swing non-incident and others of its kind.

“While it is unlikely that most of us will replicate this particular act, it is likely that those of us with identity privilege have caused harm ‘unintentionally’ to those with non-dominant identities,” the district wrote. “Rather than absolving ourselves of responsibility, we must listen, reflect, apologize, and do better when we are told that the impact of our actions does not align with our intentions or perceptions of ourselves.” (Read more from “School District Pushes ‘Systemic Racism’ Agenda After a Rope Swing Was Mistaken for a Noose” HERE)

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Public School Teacher: We Don’t Want You to Know the Radical Stuff We’ve Been Teaching Your Kids

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Despite Democrats’ push for remote learning this fall, some public school teachers have concerns. Not because they’re worried about the quality of education children will receive, but because they don’t want parents to find out about the radical progressive agenda they’ve been pushing for years.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, a Philadelphia teacher, author, and columnist named Matthew R. Kay expressed anxiety about teachers’ ability to effectively accomplish their “equality/inclusion work” over Zoom calls when they can’t be sure who is overhearing them. The thread has since been hidden but was captured by Corey DeAngelis, director of school choice at the Reason Foundation.

“How much have students depended on the (somewhat) secure barriers of our physical classrooms to encourage vulnerability?” Kay asks. “How many of us have installed some version of ‘what happens here stay here’ to help this?”

Kay continues to outline his concerns about the “damage” that parents can do in “honest conversations about gender/sexuality.” While Kay says he is mainly concerned about conservative parents, he adds that those on the left can be harmful as well.

(Read more from “Public School Teacher: We Don’t Want You to Know the Radical Stuff We’ve Been Teaching Your Kids” HERE)

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New CDC Guidelines Come Down Hard in Favor of Opening Schools

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New US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on education and child care come down hard in favor of opening schools, saying children don’t suffer much from coronavirus, are less likely than adults to spread it and suffer from being out of school.

But the new guidelines posted Thursday do recommend that local officials should consider closing schools, or keeping them closed, if there is substantial, uncontrolled transmission of the virus. . .

“It is critically important for our public health to open schools this fall,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said in a statement announcing the updates.

“School closures have disrupted normal ways of life for children and parents, and they have had negative health consequences on our youth. CDC is prepared to work with K-12 schools to safely reopen while protecting the most vulnerable.” (Read more from “New CDC Guidelines Come Down Hard in Favor of Opening Schools” HERE)

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