What are your thoughts re Hegelian Dialectic & CRT in the Church?

[Ken]

No, I don’t think CRT indoctrination is a good idea for either elementary teachers or elementary students.

What specifically do you object to about this particular professional development effort in Mississippi that was described in the article?

[Josh]

No, I don’t think CRT indoctrination is a good idea for either elementary teachers or elementary students.

What specifically do you object to about this particular professional development effort in Mississippi that was described in the article?

I object to Critical Theory overall which pits people against each other and seeks to divide, instead of helping people be individuals and find unity in common human purpose. Critical Theory tries to divide us all into identity groups and then claim some groups are oppressing others and encouraging endless conflict.

[ohio jones]

I said it wasn't being TAUGHT in schools. Because it isn't a school subject.

By that logic one could claim that evolution is not being taught in schools, when obviously it is.

No, evolution is actually a subject. There are chapters and units on evolution in every general HS biology textbook in the country. Or at least those used in public schools.

Right. The subject is Biology, and evolution is part of the content. Likewise, the subject is Social Studies or whatever they call it these days, and CRT is part of the content, perhaps slightly camouflaged.

[Ken]

No, I don’t think CRT indoctrination is a good idea for either elementary teachers or elementary students.

What specifically do you object to about this particular professional development effort in Mississippi that was described in the article?

I object to Critical Theory overall which pits people against each other and seeks to divide, instead of helping people be individuals and find unity in common human purpose. Critical Theory tries to divide us all into identity groups and then claim some groups are oppressing others and encouraging endless conflict.

So you are objecting to some strawman idea that you are labeling "CRT" that has nothing to do with what was actually happening in this particular school district in Mississippi?

[Ken]

By that logic one could claim that evolution is not being taught in schools, when obviously it is.

No, evolution is actually a subject. There are chapters and units on evolution in every general HS biology textbook in the country. Or at least those used in public schools.

Right. The subject is Biology, and evolution is part of the content. Likewise, the subject is Social Studies or whatever they call it these days, and CRT is part of the content, perhaps slightly camouflaged.

Again, actually not true. There are lessons about race and prejudice in most elementary school classrooms as there should be. But the academic theory that is CRT? It is not actually taught anywhere in any elementary classroom because it would not make the slightest sense to do so. It would be way over the heads of any elementary classroom. It is a somewhat useful tool for teachers and administrators, and maybe something you might touch on in an AP African American Studies class, but that is about it. We also don't teach Higgs Boson, dark matter particles, and quantum field theories in elementary school science lessons either. Or the fluid-mosaic lipid bilayer model of the cell plasma membrane. Instead they learn about how seeds germinate and how butterflies grow. Or stars versus planets. Stuff like that.

[ohio jones]

It is about an academic researcher who worked with a group of staff members on an "equity team" at a highly diverse elementary school in Mississippi during their monthly professional development sessions. The focus was to listen to the actual stories of black teachers as a way of understanding racial biases that they, the teachers, might have, or that might be built into the system at that school district. You obviously didn't read the article. It was very mundane but probably useful in some minor way.

The team and I meet at least monthly (and usually more often) to plan schoolwide professional development on racial equity, which includes training sessions at faculty meetings and guiding grade-level teams through specific action items.

I will let the observant reader discern whether the professional development sessions were monthly.

"Listening to stories" was mentioned multiple times in the theoretical framework, but hardly at all in the methodology for this particular study. The team members certainly did not understand this to be the focus:

Dawn: I appreciate how we started, leading with the focus on white supremacy, making sure it’s at the forefront. Making sure there’s no question of what we stand for. Putting our beliefs on the letter [to parents at the beginning of the year], stating it in our meetings; it’s clear what the expectation is and what we represent here. Either you’re on board or this is not the place for you

Elsewhere in the paper it's explicitly reiterated multiple times that the focus is on white supremacy.

There is also much said about "listening" but then redirecting the conversation toward the official narrative. It's obvious the "equity team" was more interested in steamrolling than in understanding racial biases.

There have also been concerns over test scores, which are admittedly on the low end for the district.

If they'd spend as much effort on academics as on sowing racial division, the scores would likely improve.

[Ken]

It is about an academic researcher who worked with a group of staff members on an "equity team" at a highly diverse elementary school in Mississippi during their monthly professional development sessions. The focus was to listen to the actual stories of black teachers as a way of understanding racial biases that they, the teachers, might have, or that might be built into the system at that school district. You obviously didn't read the article. It was very mundane but probably useful in some minor way.

The team and I meet at least monthly (and usually more often) to plan schoolwide professional development on racial equity, which includes training sessions at faculty meetings and guiding grade-level teams through specific action items.

I will let the observant reader discern whether the professional development sessions were monthly.

"Listening to stories" was mentioned multiple times in the theoretical framework, but hardly at all in the methodology for this particular study. The team members certainly did not understand this to be the focus:

Dawn: I appreciate how we started, leading with the focus on white supremacy, making sure it’s at the forefront. Making sure there’s no question of what we stand for. Putting our beliefs on the letter [to parents at the beginning of the year], stating it in our meetings; it’s clear what the expectation is and what we represent here. Either you’re on board or this is not the place for you

Elsewhere in the paper it's explicitly reiterated multiple times that the focus is on white supremacy.

There is also much said about "listening" but then redirecting the conversation toward the official narrative. It's obvious the "equity team" was more interested in steamrolling than in understanding racial biases.

There have also been concerns over test scores, which are admittedly on the low end for the district.

If they'd spend as much effort on academics as on sowing racial division, the scores would likely improve.

So do you think there is no legacy of white supremacy in the Mississippi public schools? And that the legacy of white supremacy doesn't continue to ripple through public education in Mississippi? If so you are willfully blind to reality.

And take the issue of test scores. Do you think there is a racial element or racial disparity to test scores in this district in Mississippi? And if you are trying to raise test scores, do you think it might be useful to explore how and why test scores might be affected by race?

[ohio jones]

So do you think there is no legacy of white supremacy in the Mississippi public schools? And that the legacy of white supremacy doesn't continue to ripple through public education in Mississippi? If so you are willfully blind to reality.

No, but that's not what we are talking about.

[Ken]

So do you think there is no legacy of white supremacy in the Mississippi public schools? And that the legacy of white supremacy doesn't continue to ripple through public education in Mississippi? If so you are willfully blind to reality.

No, but that's not what we are talking about.

It is exactly what they were talking about. The current structure of the schools in Mississippi is hugely influenced by this legacy of white supremacy. The effects are pervasive and ongoing.

[Josh]

So do you think there is no legacy of white supremacy in the Mississippi public schools? And that the legacy of white supremacy doesn't continue to ripple through public education in Mississippi? If so you are willfully blind to reality.

No, but that's not what we are talking about.

It is exactly what they were talking about. The current structure of the schools in Mississippi is hugely influenced by this legacy of white supremacy. The effects are pervasive and ongoing.

No, that’s the opinion of radical ideologues pushing CRT.