Republican Assault on Public Education (1 Viewer)

[MT15]

This probably needs its own thread. It ties in with a lot of different R culture wars: Attacks on universities, attacks on CRT and “woke”. Classifying teachers and librarians as “groomers”. Pushing vouchers to send tax money to private, often religious, schools. Betsy DeVos was an advocate for all these policies that will weaken public education, and there are several billionaires who also want to dismantle public education. Public education may have its faults, but it is responsible for an amazing amount of upward mobility. Kids from poor areas can still get a college prep education in a public school.

Vouchers (sometimes disguised as “school choice”) are a particular peeve of mine. Public money is diverted from poor schools to wealthy private schools, which aren’t required to offer accommodations for special needs or challenged students. Families with special needs kids are left out. Rural areas often suffer disproportionately because there are no private schools to attend, but their public schools still see the reduction in funding. Often the families who take advantage of the voucher money are upper class and the private schools simply raise tuition knowing the families are getting taxpayer money now.

Greg Abbot is being particularly vile in this area. No surprise. Voters will have to make a statement about public education. If we want to halt the growing divide in this country between the “haves” and “have-nots”, we need to pay attention to public education.

 

[Eeyore]

I understand why the Russians (Putin) would be interested in the U.S destroying public education but I don't understand why Americans would want to. People are barely functional now. At work I deal with people who are incapable of accomplishing anything without damage or injury. My phone rings constantly because, other than my boss who retires in March, I'm the only one who knows what I do. It sounds like job security but it's the opposite. They're going to run us out of business. It isn't just my department. We're loaded with ridiculously stupid people. It's difficult to explain and shocking to see. Who is going to do the work in the future?

 

[bird]

I understand why the Russians (Putin) would be interested in the U.S destroying public education but I don't understand why Americans would want to. People are barely functional now. At work I deal with people who are incapable of accomplishing anything without damage or injury. My phone rings constantly because, other than my boss who retires in March, I'm the only one who knows what I do. It sounds like job security but it's the opposite. They're going to run us out of business. It isn't just my department. We're loaded with ridiculously stupid people. It's difficult to explain and shocking to see. Who is going to do the work in the future?

It may be that Putin would like the U. S. to have a particular type of education. Radicalized white, religionist based education. Actual critical thinking is unacceptable.

 

[Optimus Prime]

What is going on in Oklahoma????
========================

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma’s education superintendent has sent an email to public school superintendents requiring them to show students his video announcement of a new Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism within the state Department of Education.

Ryan Walters, a Republican, announced the new office on Wednesday and on Thursday sent the email to school superintendents statewide.

“In one of the first steps of the newly created department, we are requiring all of Oklahoma schools to play the attached video to all kids that are enrolled,” according to the email.

Districts were also told to send the video to all parents of students.

In the video, Walters says religious liberty has been attacked and patriotism mocked “by woke teachers unions,” then prays for the leaders of the United States after saying students do not have to join in the prayer.

“In particular, I pray for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country,” Walters said.

In announcing the new department, Walters said it would “oversee the investigation of abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism.”

Two of the state's largest districts, Edmond in suburban Oklahoma City and Bixby in suburban Tulsa, said they have no plans to show students the video.............

Oklahoma schools superintendent mandates students watch announcement of new religious department

Oklahoma's education superintendent has sent an email to public school superintendents requiring them to show students his video announcement of a new Department of Religious Freedom and Patriotism.

apnews.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

The U.S. Education Department reached an agreement with an Oklahoma school district this week to address repeated instances of discrimination and sex-based harassment of students — with little intervention by staff — that surfaced after the death of a nonbinary 16-year-old in February.

Among federal investigators’ findings in Owasso’s public schools: A teacher had been grooming female students on social media, and multiple students in both lower and higher grades were subjected to repeated sex-based slurs, harassment and physical assault.

“The district’s response to some families’ sexual harassment reports was deliberately indifferent to students’ civil rights,” the department said in announcing the findings.

Federal officials began investigating the northeast Oklahoma district after Nex Benedict died a day after being rushed to a hospital following a fight in a high school bathroom. Though the death was later ruled a suicide, the sophomore’s grandmother said Nex had been the subject of “relentless” bullying and slurs and criticized school administrators for not summoning police or an ambulance after the altercation...........

MSN

Oklahoma school district cited for indifference to students’ civil rights​

 

[bird]

The U.S. Education Department reached an agreement with an Oklahoma school district this week to address repeated instances of discrimination and sex-based harassment of students — with little intervention by staff — that surfaced after the death of a nonbinary 16-year-old in February.

Among federal investigators’ findings in Owasso’s public schools: A teacher had been grooming female students on social media, and multiple students in both lower and higher grades were subjected to repeated sex-based slurs, harassment and physical assault.

“The district’s response to some families’ sexual harassment reports was deliberately indifferent to students’ civil rights,” the department said in announcing the findings.

Federal officials began investigating the northeast Oklahoma district after Nex Benedict died a day after being rushed to a hospital following a fight in a high school bathroom. Though the death was later ruled a suicide, the sophomore’s grandmother said Nex had been the subject of “relentless” bullying and slurs and criticized school administrators for not summoning police or an ambulance after the altercation...........

MSN

Oklahoma school district cited for indifference to students’ civil rights​

That is a feature to many on the right, particularly the Religionist Right.

 

[Optimus Prime]

A preliminary vote held by the Texas state board of education indicates that the state is poised to pass its new controversial Bible-infused curriculum for elementary public schools.

Eight of the 15 board members gave their preliminary approval to the proposed curriculum, called Bluebonnet Learning, in advance of an official vote expected to take place on Friday.

Revealed this summer, the curriculum alludes heavily to Christianity in its English and language arts lessons and is aimed at students in kindergarten through fifth grade.


One of the controversial lessons within the curriculum includes teaching kindergartners about the “golden rule”, which would include a lesson on the story of the Good Samaritan, a parable that demonstrates how one should “love our neighbors as ourselves” and stems from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount from the Bible’s New Testament. Another is about the significant role Jesus played in renaissance artwork such as Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper.

The curriculum has been criticized by some as disproportionately favoring Christianity over all others.

The Texas governor, Greg Abbott, a Republican, called the new instructional material “high quality” and said it “will also allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the US Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution”.…..

Texas education board signals support for Bible-infused school curriculum

Eight of 15 board members give preliminary approval to controversial syllabus before official vote on Friday

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Yet again, freedom of religion interpreted to mean freedom to force my religion on others

Oklahoma is going hard on this, even Texas and Florida have to be "damn dude, slow down"
====================================================


(NewsNation) — Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters defended a controversial video he required public school superintendents to play for students where he prays over Republican President-elect Donald Trump, saying Tuesday that he has “religious beliefs as well that I get the freedom to express.”

In a video to announce the creation of the Education Department’s Office of Religious Freedom and Patriotism, Walters said he prays “for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country.”

According to a press release, the new office is meant to “oversee the investigation of abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism.”

Speaking on “Morning in America,” Walters said he made it “crystal clear” in the video that students don’t have to pray if they don’t want to.

“We all have the free exercise of our religious beliefs that was essential in the foundation of this country,” Walters said. “We’re going to protect that.”...........

MSN

 

[MT15]

Yet again, freedom of religion interpreted to mean freedom to force my religion on others

Oklahoma is going hard on this, even Texas and Florida have to be "damn dude, slow down"
====================================================


(NewsNation) — Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters defended a controversial video he required public school superintendents to play for students where he prays over Republican President-elect Donald Trump, saying Tuesday that he has “religious beliefs as well that I get the freedom to express.”

In a video to announce the creation of the Education Department’s Office of Religious Freedom and Patriotism, Walters said he prays “for President Donald Trump and his team as they continue to bring about change to the country.”

According to a press release, the new office is meant to “oversee the investigation of abuses to individual religious freedom or displays of patriotism.”

Speaking on “Morning in America,” Walters said he made it “crystal clear” in the video that students don’t have to pray if they don’t want to.

“We all have the free exercise of our religious beliefs that was essential in the foundation of this country,” Walters said. “We’re going to protect that.”...........

MSN

I have to conclude that Walters is a dangerous person with mental issues.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Texas public schools will have the option to incorporate stories from the Bible as eight out of 15 Texas School Board members on Friday voted in favor of adding the curriculum into elementary school teachings……

Texas school board approves curriculum that incorporates Bible lessons | CNN

Education officials in Texas are expected to vote Friday on a new public school curriculum that would incorporate stories from the Bible into elementary school teachings.

www.cnn.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

Texas public schools will have the option to incorporate stories from the Bible as eight out of 15 Texas School Board members on Friday voted in favor of adding the curriculum into elementary school teachings……

Texas school board approves curriculum that incorporates Bible lessons | CNN

Education officials in Texas are expected to vote Friday on a new public school curriculum that would incorporate stories from the Bible into elementary school teachings.

www.cnn.com

of course, they will this is going to become the norm in red states. of course, we know how the GOP Christians are so its proof the bible does not fix stupid and corrupt.

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Satanic Temple will begin offering a religious program at an Ohio elementary school in response to parent requests for an alternative to a Christian “release” program.

Release time religious instruction programs began in the early 20th century to allow students religious instruction for a short period in the middle of the school day. At the Edgewood elementary school in Marysville, Ohio, where the Temple will start a program, the evangelical LifeWise program removes students for 55 minutes each week.

The program is known for the “big red bus” which transports students from school to offsite locations for instruction, such as local churches or community centers.

In recent years, release time programs have experienced a revival, particularly in Ohio. LifeWise began with two districts in 2019, and by 2023 the program grew to 325 programs in 12 states, its CEO told Fox News. Its growth coincides with a conservative movement against “woke” education, which has resulted in book bans and activists papering school boards with open records requests.

That growth has come with controversy. Religious release programs have concerned other religious groups, including Catholics, and at least one school board in Ohio rescinded permission for the program after concerned parents came out in force.

“We aren’t trying to shut the LifeWise Academy down,” June Everett, an ordained minister with the Satanic Temple, told Cleveland.com. “But I do think a lot of school districts don’t realize when they open the door for one religion, they open it for all of them.”

The Satanic Temple is a “non-theistic” church recognized by the IRS whose self-stated mission is to promote pluralism among religious views, empathy and the rejection of tyrannical authority.

Their other works include hauling a 7ft-tall bronze Baphomet statue – a winged man with a goat’s head – to the steps of the Arkansas capitol to protest the installation of a Ten Commandments monument and starting the after-school Satan club, in response to the Christian Good News clubs.

The Satanic Temple began the program – the Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (Hail) – upon the request of parents who sought an alternative to the Christian program in Marysville, which some felt alienated non-Christian students, according to a Fox News story.

“LifeWise isn’t fearful of other organizations offering [release time religious instruction],” LifeWise’s CEO and founder, Joel Penton, told WCMH. “We believe all families should have the opportunity to choose religious study during school hours and we trust parents to make the best choice for their children.”

However, he also encouraged lawmakers to pass Ohio House Bill 445, which would require school districts to authorize religious release programs.

“It is sad these programs feel the need to use the peer pressure to gain adherents to their religion,” the Satanic Temple’s director of campaign operations, Erin Helian, said in a press release. “However one measures a religion, it is not a good look to prey upon children by bribing them with field trips and snacks.”

The Satanic Temple’s programming will include “self-directed learning, good works in the community, compassion and empathy, problem solving skills, creative expression, critical thinking, inspirational guest speakers and tons of fun!” It will remove students from school once a month to participate...............

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/04/ohio-satanic-temple-elementary-school

 

[Optimus Prime]

From displaying the Ten Commandments to demanding that teachers use the Bible in their classrooms, conservatives seem determined to blur the lines between church and state by infusing Christianity into public schools. And with Donald Trump headed back to the White House and a conservative majority in the U.S. Supreme Court, reshaping the country’s education system is looking increasingly feasible.

Late last month, the Texas State Board of Education approved a Bible-based curriculum for public school students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Texas schools will not be forced to use the curriculum, but those that do will be rewarded with extra funding, up to $60 per student.

The material uses the Bible in a variety of lessons, including directly quoting from it, as well as teaching about Creationism — the Christian belief that God created the Earth in one week — and the crucifixion of Jesus.

“[Conservatives] have globbed onto schools as a place to indoctrinate students,” Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping public institutions secular, told HuffPost. “They want to raise the next generation to learn false history, illegitimate science, and to favor Christianity over other faiths and nonreligion.”

Proponents of including the Bible in public classrooms argue that doing so doesn’t violate the Constitution because Christianity is central to understanding the history and founding of the United States.

Public school educators, however, were quick to blast the move.

“Texas American Federation of Teachers believes that not only do these materials violate the separation of church and state and the academic freedom of our classroom, but also the sanctity of the teaching profession,” the teachers union said in a statement. “These prescriptive materials cannot meet all learners in all contexts, and teachers must be empowered to adapt to the needs of their students.”

There are signs that the incoming presidential administration may not be opposed to finding ways to allow Christianity into public schools. Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump presidency that was written by conservative organizations, says the Department of Education should be eliminated. It also calls for allowing local taxpayers to foot the bill for parents to send their children to alternative schools, many of them religious — essentially a means of establishing publicly funded religious schools.................

Republicans Have A Plan To Get Christianity Into Public Schools

With Donald Trump’s re-election, reshaping the country’s education system is looking increasingly feasible.

www.huffpost.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

Giess this can go here
=================

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering the possibility of withholding massive research grants from “woke” schools they claim lack academic freedom.

Trump’s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and economist at Stanford, reportedly wants to target so called “cancel culture” at a number of top progressive universities, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Those with knowledge of Bhattacharya’s thinking told the newspaper that he’s considering linking the doling out of billions in federal research grants to a measure of “academic freedom” on campuses and punishing those that apparently don’t adequately embrace perspectives championed by conservatives.

Bhattacharya wants to take on what he views as academic conformity in science, which pushed him aside over his criticism of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including his opposition to school closures and mask mandates to stop the spread of the virus. He suggested in a Wall Street Journal op ed in 2020 that only up to 40,000 Americans would be killed by the pandemic. More than 1.2 million people died.

While he hasn’t yet established how to measure academic freedom, he has been looking at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the nonprofit’s scoring of universities and their rankings based on freedom of speech.

The nonprofit bases its rankings on surveys of students’ views on whether they feel comfortable sharing ideas, with schools being negatively scored if their administrators punish faculty for opinions, or if they withdraw an invitation to a speaker following a possible controversy.

Some of the schools that receive NIH grants but have bad rankings, according to the nonprofit, include the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and the University of Southern California, The Journal noted.

Those at the top of the rankings include the University of Virginia, Michigan Technological University, and Florida State University.............

Trump’s team looking at withholding massive research grants from ‘woke’ schools

Trump’s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, wants to target so-called ‘cancel culture’ at top universities

www.the-independent.com

 

[fooferdoggie]

Giess this can go here
=================

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering the possibility of withholding massive research grants from “woke” schools they claim lack academic freedom.

since these idiots can't even define what woke is it's going to be bad.

 

[Scoutster]

Giess this can go here
=================

President-elect Donald Trump’s team is considering the possibility of withholding massive research grants from “woke” schools they claim lack academic freedom.

Trump’s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a physician and economist at Stanford, reportedly wants to target so called “cancel culture” at a number of top progressive universities, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Those with knowledge of Bhattacharya’s thinking told the newspaper that he’s considering linking the doling out of billions in federal research grants to a measure of “academic freedom” on campuses and punishing those that apparently don’t adequately embrace perspectives championed by conservatives.

Bhattacharya wants to take on what he views as academic conformity in science, which pushed him aside over his criticism of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including his opposition to school closures and mask mandates to stop the spread of the virus. He suggested in a Wall Street Journal op ed in 2020 that only up to 40,000 Americans would be killed by the pandemic. More than 1.2 million people died.

While he hasn’t yet established how to measure academic freedom, he has been looking at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and the nonprofit’s scoring of universities and their rankings based on freedom of speech.

The nonprofit bases its rankings on surveys of students’ views on whether they feel comfortable sharing ideas, with schools being negatively scored if their administrators punish faculty for opinions, or if they withdraw an invitation to a speaker following a possible controversy.

Some of the schools that receive NIH grants but have bad rankings, according to the nonprofit, include the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, and the University of Southern California, The Journal noted.

Those at the top of the rankings include the University of Virginia, Michigan Technological University, and Florida State University.............

Trump’s team looking at withholding massive research grants from ‘woke’ schools

Trump’s nominee to head the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, wants to target so-called ‘cancel culture’ at top universities

www.the-independent.com

I went to school at Michigan Tech, nice.

 

[Optimus Prime]

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, has faced a barrage of criticism over allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse.

But another aspect that has long raised alarms among military experts is his stated desire to use the military as a means of spreading Christian nationalism around the world — a mission at odds with both the Constitution's freedom of religion amendment and the military's non-ideological purpose.

There's a lesser-known program tucked into the military system that would enable Hegseth to advance this goal, Politico reported on Monday: namely, the Department of Defense Education Activity agency, which is in charge of running schools for kids whose parents are serving in the military and live on bases. This program educates around 67,000 kids — and the GOP had longed to change how it works for years.

Should Hegseth survive his rocky confirmation, "he will have the opportunity to bend a key facet of the education system in his image. It would also be a way to resurrect the 'patriotic education' blueprint Trump advanced during his first term and set an example Republican-led states can follow," reported Juan Perez Jr.

Indeed, right-wing education scholar Max Eden has made this point before, stating, “The federal government does have control over one major school district’s curriculum — that can be a model for our nation.”

Hegseth, who has long wanted more religion in government life and once urged Christian kids to come to school with Bibles to argue against same-sex marriage, would theoretically be able to alter the military school program to inject Christian nationalist principles, teaching kids to advocate for America to be ruled under Christian law — which would in turn enable like-minded leaders in red states to try to push local school districts to adopt similar instruction.............

MAGA could use military schools to test Christian fundamentalist curriculum: analysis

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, Fox News personality Pete Hegseth, has faced a barrage of criticism over allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse. But another aspect that has long raised alarms among military experts is his stated desire to use the military as a...

www.rawstory.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

They say everything is bigger in Texas — apparently, including the hypocrisy.

How else do you explain people who say they oppose “indoctrination” in public schools, but want to turn elementary school classrooms into Sunday Schools?

With help from a temporary appointment by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the state board of education has narrowly approved a controversial new curriculum that targets elementary school students for religious indoctrination. Texas officials may deny that’s what they’re doing, but it’s the reality that Rice University religion scholar David Brockman found when he studied the plan.

For example, the biblical creation story is used in an art lesson for kindergartners, with questions for students not about the art but about the biblical account.

“It is difficult to avoid concluding that this art appreciation unit is being used to smuggle in what is effectively Bible study,” Brockman wrote.

He also found that the teaching plan treats biblical stories about miracles and the Christian belief in Jesus’ resurrection as historical facts. A section on the Roman Empire for older students draws heavily on New Testament accounts of the life of Jesus, something unclear in the letter parents would receive about the curriculum.

The curriculum slants history, highlighting Christian opposition to slavery and segregation while ignoring the ways Christianity was used to justify and defend them. Brockman concluded that the way the curriculum addresses religious liberty suggests a political agenda and “smacks of indoctrination rather than education.” ..............

Religious-right activists have been trying to turn public schools into mission fields for a long time.

In 2000, People For the American Way Foundation published an exposé of inappropriate proselytizing and antisemitic course materials in Bible classes being taught in Florida school districts.

A decade ago, Southern Methodist University religious studies professor Mark Chancey documented that Bible classes in Texas public schools were being taught from a fundamentalist viewpoint with materials “designed to evangelize rather than provide an objective study of the Bible’s influence.”................

https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5039377-religious-indocrination-in-texas-schools/

 

[Optimus Prime]

A Kansas school board reportedly rejected textbooks because they believed that the teaching materials were too “biased” against Donald Trump.

A proposed contract with a Boston-based education company was also voted down by the newly elected conservative majority on the Derby Board of Education over their public statements on diversity, equity, and inclusion,KCUR-FM reported.

The $400,000 contract with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was rejected even though it was recommended by Derby High School teachers, who requested a new school curriculum after being left without social studies textbooks for several years.

But board members reportedly said that parts of textbooks and other learning materials offered by the company did not reflect fairly on Trump’s first presidency………

Kansas school board rejects textbooks because they’re too anti-Trump

Derby Board of Education members reportedly said that parts of textbooks and other learning materials did not reflect fairly on Trump’s first presidency

www.independent.co.uk