Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

Give ‘Em An Earful

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by

James A. Bacon
in

Fairfax County Public Schools is committed to achieving “educational equity” in which every FCPS student thrives academically, socially, and emotionally, and is empowered as “the next generation of change leaders for a more just world,” declares a communique to parents issued today.

A key strategy in advancing that vision is changing teaching practices along with what is taught, states the message from Superintendent Scott Braband. “FCPS will begin by revising the existing Controversial Issues Policy and developing a new Anti-Racism Anti-Bias Education Curriculum Policy.”

If you are a Fairfax County resident and fear this new policy becoming a tool of left-wing indoctrination, you’d better speak up. FCPS is conducting a survey to gauge public attitudes. You can take it here.

— JAB

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17 responses to “Give ‘Em An Earful”

  1. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    The survey asks respondents to select from their preferred language: English, Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. I selected English.

    Among the questions. Agree or disagree:

    – My multiple identities (racial, ethnic, gender, religious, etc.) are valued and affirmed within FCPS.

    – FCPS staff are equipped to teach about racism.

    – FCPS staff are equipped to teach about multiple identities.

    – The curriculum and teaching methods (or teaching practices) provided in FCPS are culturally responsive and fee of bias.

    – If FCPS staff discuss topics of race, racism, identity, bias with students, then staff members should have clear guidance from the district about how to teach those topics.

    – A curriculum and teaching methods focused on being anti-racist and anti-biased would support students’ academic excellence and accelerate learning.

    – Teachers should have materials to guide them in creating anti-racist and anti-biased classroom environments.

    – The FCPS curriculum should give students opportunities to recognize injustices that systems create (e.g., discrimination and oppression).

    We also learn of a new ethnic classification — MENA (a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Middle East or North Africa)

    For the record, I did not submit any responses, and I would urge non-Fairfax County readers NOT to take the survey and screw with the results. Do not give Fairfax school leadership a pretext to ignore feedback they don’t want to hear.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      This survey looks like garbage. I am a Fairfax County resident. Here’s a typical question:

      21. Teaching methods (or teaching practices) address race as often as they should

      I strongly disagree. But I do so because I think the teaching methods address race far TOO OFTEN. How will they interpret my answer? It would certainly be easy to erroneously decide that my “strongly disagree” means that I don’t think race is addressed often enough.

    2. WayneS Avatar
      WayneS

      I can remember when people with “multiple identities” were considered mentally ill…

      1. Nancy Naive Avatar
        Nancy Naive

        If Wayne is your real name…😀

    3. Haviland Steele Avatar
      Haviland Steele

      I wholeheartedly agree! This survey is specifically written to guarantee certain results. The questions lead survey takers to answer only in such a way that FCPS will get the results that they want. There is no opportunity for comment and no way to answer such that one’s true opinions matter. The Liberty Academy is openly acknowledged as following critical race theory. Any answers to the survey will push that agenda, due to the way the questions are worded.

    4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
      James Wyatt Whitehead

      One more language should be added. Parents wielding pitchforks

    5. emjak Avatar
      emjak

      DJ Rippert correctly notes a problem with some of the questions — the wording of various questions allows the FCPS latitude to interpret disagreement as favoring more, not less, critical race theory. Impossible to tell whether it is the result of careless question preparation or cynical game playing.

  2. Bruce Majors Avatar
    Bruce Majors

    I don’t know if there is a Parents Association opposed to ideology in the classroom for Fairfax County.

    There are parents associations for neighboring Arlington and Loudoun counties.

    The Arlington one seems focused on re-opening schools https://arlingtonparentsforeducation.org

    The Loudoun group is also opposed to “critical race theory” and other neomarxist fads and cons: https://fightforschools.com/

  3. tmtfairfax Avatar
    tmtfairfax

    The survey is worthy of the Joseph Goebbels prize for evil propaganda. Just substitute “white” for “Jewish, Gypsy, mentally retarded or disabled.”

    What I don’t understand is why all of the woke “white” people in positions of power and authority don’t resign. Why didn’t Northam resign in favor of Fairfax? Why doesn’t Brabrand resign? There is an African-American deputy superintendent and plenty of non-white school administrators around the country. Saw a great video this week posted by an African American woman who cut woke white women a new one for deciding that African American men are victims of their race.

  4. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Does any of this have to do with Fairfax polling:

    ” Some Black parents say remote learning gives racism reprieve
    As school districts across the country rush to reopen schools, national and state polling suggests parents of color are more wary of reopening than white parents

    By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press
    May 4, 2021, 11:14 AM”

    1. tmtfairfax Avatar
      tmtfairfax

      Funny a local NAACP leader told a group of Fairfax County residents on a Zoom meeting that the lack of in-person instruction was especially hard on black and Hispanic students.

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Self-loathing liberals sometimes get confused as they seek to hate everything and everybody who disagrees with them.

        Reopening schools is racist because it re-exposes Black children to systemic racism. No, wait! Keeping the schools closed is racist (and a sign of continuing systemic racism) because the closing disproportionately, negatively affects Black children.

        Seems like liberals need to set up a “we hate everything” de-confliction process to reduce the confusion.

        1. James A. Bacon Avatar
          James A. Bacon

          Perfect example of damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t racism. No matter which path you choose, you’re racist. There is no non-racist path.

        2. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          not just liberals – but black people:

          Some Black Parents Say Remote Learning Gives Racism Reprieve

          Johnson, a Black woman, says racism is rampant in her predominantly white Georgia town. At her daughters’ school, a student once used racial slurs and told another child he doesn’t play with “brown people.” She says teachers are quick to punish or reprimand Black children and Ku Klux Klan flyers can be found in mailboxes.

          “I knew from pregnancy on that this would be something we’d have to deal with,” she said. “This is the kind of area we live in, so you can imagine that you’re always going to feel protective of your children.”

          As schools reopen across the country, Black students have been less likely than white students to enroll in in-person learning — a trend attributed to factors including concerns about the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on communities of color, a lack of trust that their schools are equipped to keep children safe, and the large numbers of students of color in urban districts that have been slower to reopen classrooms.

          But many Black parents are finding another benefit to remote learning: being better able to shield their children from racism in classrooms.

          “Now that they’re home, we feel safer,” said Johnson, who was keeping her two young daughters home despite options being made available ”

          is this yet another thing where some white folks just ignore what black folks are saying just so they can promote their own view?

          1. tmtfairfax Avatar
            tmtfairfax

            Is there bigotry? Yes. Do some people try to cover it up? Yes.

            How about the WaPo endorsing religious bigot Kamala Harris even though she and Senator Horino tried to impose an unconstitutional religious test on a candidate for a federal district court seat in Nebraska? Fred Hiatt ain’t much different in philosophy from Goebbels.

            Either bigotry is wrong or it isn’t. And one bigot doesn’t justify another.

          2. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            As bad as you speak of Harris and Horino – both are supported by blacks, Hispanics and Asians over Conservatives and GOP.

            The “unconstitutional” thing is your viewpoint – not those that support them.

            It’s not one instance of bigotry – it’s the pattern of it – over and over that trumps one occurrence that Conservatives might hang their hat on but people of color KNOW who represent them and who don’t.

  5. energyNOW_Fan Avatar
    energyNOW_Fan

    In Fairfax, but I will not get too involved because I will let the parents of my grandchildren take the lead. We moved to Fairfax last time we had cicadas, and before we had grandchildren. How time “flies”.

    Fairfax has announced essentially full time live school next Fall. That was a surprise, but now the question is, what will that look like in the new world?

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