Kentucky becomes the fifth state this year to enact an educational gag order. This one "opens teachers up to criminal charges for teaching history incorrectly." The sponsor says it's an oversight and will be fixed. We'll see. #EdScarecourier-journal.com/story/news/pol…
KY SB 1 is awful even w/o the criminal charges "mistake." It requires teachers to teach that "defining racial disparities solely on the legacy of [slavery] is destructive to the unification of our nation" and that "America's success" depends on "cooperation among its citizens."
SB 1 also requires teachers to assign a list of 24 historical documents -- chosen by legislators, not teachers, who are apparently not qualified to determine what students should read in their classes. The list includes Ronald Reagan's "A Time for Choosing" speech.
In all, 18 states have now enacted educational gag orders, either through law or via an educational policy or executive order. Six of those states regulate speech in colleges and universities, too. docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d…
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On Friday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee quietly signed HB 2670 into law. It's one of the worst educational gag orders that has become law so far, and it's aimed specifically at higher education. #EdScarewapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/…
The bill bans any "mandatory training," which would include classroom instruction, that includes concepts that would "promote resentment" of any "class of people." What's a "class of people"? The law doesn't specify, so it could potentially include enslavers, or Nazis.
HB 2670 passed in part because the Claremont Institute issued a report attacking every administrative department at UT-Knoxville, including community-engaged learning and student affairs, as in the thrall of CRT. TN legislators read it and panicked. tennesseelookout.com/2022/02/17/con…
So this is what it's come to. Kids learning meditation skills = bad. Understanding and empathizing with other people = bad. Using a term like "social emotional learning" that is not universally understood by non-specialists = bad.
Let's talk about this.
Teachers are professionals. That means they learn concepts that non-professionals in their fields don't already know. When I talk to a plumber or welder or mechanic, I expect to hear terms I don't already know. I'm talking to a professional in a field in which I'm not trained.
There is an anti-intellectualism in this anti-teacher mvmt that won't be satisfied until teachers pretend not to know any more about education than non-teachers do. That's what it will take to make the anti-teacher crowd stop feeling threatened by teachers' knowledge & expertise.
DeSantis says people like me who oppose "Don't Say Gay" law support "sexualizing kids in kindergarten," "injecting woke gender ideology into second-grade classrooms," and "enabling schools to ‘transition’ students to a ‘different gender’" without parents. miamiherald.com/news/politics-…
Of course, DeSantis' comments are nonsense and I don't believe any of those things. But I'm struck by how DeSantis doesn't believe any of the things he hates could be originating WITH THE STUDENTS. Yet that's exactly what teachers tell me is happening.
Some students are queer. Some students are transitioning. All students are aware that gay and trans people exist. Students ask questions in class! Students want to know about themselves and the world around them and they people they meet.
So much nonsense in this PLYUSD hearing on an educational gag order. Let's just scratch the surface here: latimes.com/socal/daily-pi…
Nonsense: a parent complained that her kids were told to take down Trump flags in their Zoom rooms and take off MAGA hats, so she supports banning critical race theory. Fact: critical race theory has nothing to do with banning Trump flags and MAGA hats.
Nonsense: "Trustee Marilyn Anderson made a distinction between 'structural' and 'systemic' racism in opposing the instruction of the latter." Fact: structural racism and systemic racism are synonyms.
In many educational gag orders targeting higher education, legislatures are seeking not only to limit the “divisive concepts” taught in trainings and orientations, but also in college classrooms. A thread:
Look at Florida’s HB7, soon to become law. Among other things, the bill forbids teachers from explaining the concept of racial and gender privilege and from describing equity-based criticisms of racial colorblindness.
Some higher ed bills include “savings clauses” that claim to limit Constitutional violations in these laws. As we wrote, these “are the legislative equivalent of painting a happy face on a sad clown: They do not change the underlying nature of the thing.” pen.org/report/educati…
Here's the playlist you didn't know you needed: the ten best Disney non-musical animated film scores, as determined by yours truly. Ground rules: the score can be from a musical, but can't be written by the composer of the songs. List is chronological. youtube.com/playlist?list=…
1) Elmer Bernstein, The Black Cauldron (1985). What do you get when you ask a legendary film composer to score one of the worst animated films ever? A spectacular, overwrought, and wildly inappropriate horror score featuring an ondes martenot, of course.
2) Bruce Broughton, The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Broughton brought his A game to this lovable B movie, particularly the scenes featuring a soaring eagle named Marahute.