Public Education Catch-All | Vouchers, Curriculum, Religion, Etc.

[mpaer]

For 2-3 yrs, maybe 12 yrs ago, I was a volunteer at line dance events held at Binkley Baptist . It got to be a big thing for Homeschool teenagers. Sweetest kids in the world . But there were likely some kids there that had never talked to anyone but White Christians. And they reminded me of a Farm boy from rural Wis in our dorm in Madison. He flunked out in one semester-because suddenly he could drink etc...
Not unlike kids that grow up in some Amish community-just isolated from the world

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

“… [Former State Superintendent Ryan] Walters tapped the president of The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that published Project 2025 and the blueprints that preceded it, to help rewrite Oklahoma’s social studies standards. The Legislature did not reject the rewrite, so the standards now include roughly 40 points about the Bible, Jesus and Christianity that students should learn as well as skepticism about the 2020 presidential election results and the origins of COVID-19. If the new standards survive a legal challenge, they could be in place until they’re up for review again in six years.

… In a statement to ProPublica, the new state superintendent, Lindel Fields, said that he’s sorting through previous rules and edicts that have created “much confusion” for schools, including about the standards and the PragerU teacher certification tests. He said the public rightfully has questions about how the state Education Department changes after Walters’ tenure, but “given all these pressing tasks, we simply don’t have time for looking backward. Whether we are 50th or 46th or 25th in education, we have work to do to move our state forward,” Fields wrote. He said his first tasks are “resolving a number of outstanding issues that are hindering operations” including creating a budget for the agency.

Public school superintendents do not oppose all of the mandates from the past several years. When Walters directed schools last year to place Bibles in every classroom and teach from them, one district superintendent emailed to thank him for offering “cover” to incorporate Bible-focused lessons, according to news reports….”

 

[nycfan]

—> How Politics Is Changing the Way History Is Taught

 

[nycfan]

—> How Politics Is Changing the Way History Is Taught

“… Several major curriculum publishers have withdrawn products from the market, while others have found that teachers are shying away from lessons that were once uncontroversial, on topics as basic as constitutional limits on executive power.

California, the nation’s largest Democratic-led state, has passed a law restricting what teachers can say in the classroom, and has walked back an effort to require high school students to take classes in ethnic studies.

… As recently as last year, many social studies teachers reported success in withstanding political pressure. Now, there is growing evidence that the landscape is shifting. In a September poll, more than half of the teachers who responded said that political pressure had caused them to modify their curriculums or classroom discussions, a sharp increase from March….”

 

[nycfan]

“… Several major curriculum publishers have withdrawn products from the market, while others have found that teachers are shying away from lessons that were once uncontroversial, on topics as basic as constitutional limits on executive power.

California, the nation’s largest Democratic-led state, has passed a law restricting what teachers can say in the classroom, and has walked back an effort to require high school students to take classes in ethnic studies.

… As recently as last year, many social studies teachers reported success in withstanding political pressure. Now, there is growing evidence that the landscape is shifting. In a September poll, more than half of the teachers who responded said that political pressure had caused them to modify their curriculums or classroom discussions, a sharp increase from March….”

“… Over the past two years, the A.D.L. has removed dozens of lesson plans from its website, according to a review of archived web content. Some were about transgender identity, sexism against women who have run for president and sexist tropes in video games.

The deleted lessons also included several that dealt with police violence against Black men, one on microaggressions, and a lesson on Frederick Douglass and voting rights.

In a written statement, Mr. Gutnick said that some of the lessons had been retired and others were “temporarily removed” for revisions.

A statement on the A.D.L.’s website says the group is choosing to focus its educational resources on antisemitism, the Holocaust and Jewish identity. “While we are no longer hosting many of our broader anti-bias resources, we remain deeply committed to fostering inclusive school communities,” it states.

Last year, the group phased out a 40-year-old program for schools called A World of Difference Institute, which sought to “actively challenge prejudice, stereotyping and all forms of discrimination.”

The A.D.L. continues to offer No Place for Hate, an anti-bullying curriculum that includes material on identity-based bias.…”

 

[nycfan]

“… Over the past two years, the A.D.L. has removed dozens of lesson plans from its website, according to a review of archived web content. Some were about transgender identity, sexism against women who have run for president and sexist tropes in video games.

The deleted lessons also included several that dealt with police violence against Black men, one on microaggressions, and a lesson on Frederick Douglass and voting rights.

In a written statement, Mr. Gutnick said that some of the lessons had been retired and others were “temporarily removed” for revisions.

A statement on the A.D.L.’s website says the group is choosing to focus its educational resources on antisemitism, the Holocaust and Jewish identity. “While we are no longer hosting many of our broader anti-bias resources, we remain deeply committed to fostering inclusive school communities,” it states.

Last year, the group phased out a 40-year-old program for schools called A World of Difference Institute, which sought to “actively challenge prejudice, stereotyping and all forms of discrimination.”

The A.D.L. continues to offer No Place for Hate, an anti-bullying curriculum that includes material on identity-based bias.…”

“… The organization iCivics was founded by Sandra Day O’Connor, the former Supreme Court justice, to provide free, nonpartisan curriculum materials. The group estimates that its lessons reach about nine million students annually.

This fall, though, staff members noted a significant decline — up to 28 percent — in the number of page views recorded for some popular lessons, including those dealing with separation of powers, consent of the governed and other constitutional principles.

iCivics does not yet have a full picture of why this is happening.

But Emma Humphries, the group’s chief education officer, said that in her travels across the country to train teachers, many have said they were fearful of having classroom discussions veer into politically fraught territory — like questions from students about why Mr. Trump appeared to be violating constitutional norms.…”

 

[nycfan]

“… The organization iCivics was founded by Sandra Day O’Connor, the former Supreme Court justice, to provide free, nonpartisan curriculum materials. The group estimates that its lessons reach about nine million students annually.

This fall, though, staff members noted a significant decline — up to 28 percent — in the number of page views recorded for some popular lessons, including those dealing with separation of powers, consent of the governed and other constitutional principles.

iCivics does not yet have a full picture of why this is happening.

But Emma Humphries, the group’s chief education officer, said that in her travels across the country to train teachers, many have said they were fearful of having classroom discussions veer into politically fraught territory — like questions from students about why Mr. Trump appeared to be violating constitutional norms.…”

“… In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law requiring all high school students to take a course in ethnic studies, an activist discipline that focuses on the histories and cultures of Latinos, Black Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans. Ethnic studies lessons often criticize settler colonialism, naming Israel as the prime contemporary example.

… But after some Jewish groups mounted a legal and political fight against ethnic studies — saying its critiques of Israel were fostering antisemitism — the consensus around the state’s mandate unraveled. This spring, Mr. Newsom presented and signed a budget that did not include funding for the classes. Districts are not currently required to offer the course, according to the state board of education.

In some school systems that are continuing to offer ethnic studies, there are new restrictions. San Francisco teachers must use a single textbook that does not discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Supplemental materials must be approved by administrators.…”