This is funny... Apprently the GOP is outright calling some of you stupid to your face: In voting against Juneteenth as a holiday one GOp Rep said: "I fully support creating a day to celebrate the abolition of slavery. However, naming this day National Independence Day will create confusion and push Americans to pick one of those two days as their Independence Day based on their racial identity." So he thinks a group of white GOP voters will be so stupid as to confuse what is July 4, 1776 and what is June 19th because he already knows he got into office confusing and taking advantage of dumbass voters so they will probably not know which date is Independence Day of America from Britain haha. Also he thinks you are so stupid that your brain can only handle one holiday so GOP fucktards will sit down and say "Which holiday do I celebrate with hot dogs and fireworks?!??!"
Yes, the GOP guy does not see what is going on. This is a Cancel and Replace movement at work. There will not be two Independence Days to confuse people. There will only be one and the schools will educate them on what that one is. Most products of the current lefty school system don't even know about the original one anyway so there will be no basis for confusion.
Cucker Tarlson in court: "I'm in etertainment, you shouldn't take me serious" Cucker Tarlson in online media: "please believe me"
Only idiots are confused. July 4th is Independence Day. Juneteenth is celebration the end of slavery. I think the GOP needs crayon to spell it out.
CRT being pushed on staff at Wake County Schools... Critical Race Theory themed training in Wake County Public Schools: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy Training by Wake County Public Schools Office of Equity Affairs staff included “experiencing discomfort;” discussions of “antiracist curriculum,” and the district’s “Culturally Responsive Framework.” https://nsjonline.com/article/2021/...ublic-schools-culturally-sustaining-pedagogy/ "Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy" slide from anti-racist teacher training conducted Wake County Public Schools Office of Equity Affairs. RALEIGH — “Experiencing discomfort” and “leaning in” to an “antiracist approach” to teaching are part of the Critical Race Theory-themed training teachers in North Carolina’s largest district have been receiving. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is the belief that all facets of society, people, and history are inherently racist and some supporters of CRT argue resolution of such racism is impossible. CRT is based on Marxist Critical Theory, which divides all aspects of society into two groups, oppressed and oppressors. CRT adapts Critical Theory using a racial lens, with whites being the oppressors and all minorities the oppressed. In a previous report, audio and video obtained by North State Journal revealed Critical Race Theory-themed professional development training conducted by the district’s Office of Equity Affairs staff. Those staff members include Special Assistant Christina Spears and Director of Equity Affairs Teresa Bunner. The “antibias” training sessions conducted by the Office of Equity Affairs (OEA) in the Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) discussed how to build on “culturally responsive” and “antiracist” curriculum. The sessions also included four “agreements,” which were detailed by Spears. She also described the use of a “Compass” for staying “morally, emotionally, intellectually, relationally engaged” in the conversation on topics like “experiencing discomfort,” “speaking your truth,” and “non-closure.” On the topic of “experiencing discomfort,” Spears defined it as a “willingness to take risk to deal with the reality of race and racism, particularly as it relates to teaching and learning toward an antiracist approach.” “So, we’re going to ask you to lean into discomfort during our learning times together,” Spears told the teachers and staff involved in the session. Participants in the antibias training were sent off to “small groups” where they were to discuss a presentation slide titled, “Working Toward an Antiracist Approach.” The slide contained five concepts: Multicultural Education, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies, Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist. At the conclusion of the small group sessions, Spears and Bunner took turns directing the training and named individuals responsible for some of the discussion topics, like “multicultural education,” which Bunner attributed a “deeper understanding of” to Dr. James Banks. Banks is known as the “father of multicultural education” and for outlining its five dimensions. Over time, Banks’ “multicultural education” has been adapted and expanded on through the incorporation of social justice and Critical Race Theory themes. Culturally Responsive Pedagogy Pedagogy, as defined by the Oxford dictionary, is the “method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept.” The original intent of “Culturally Responsive Pedagogy” was for teachers to have a better understanding of the students in their charge, including understanding their backgrounds and cultural similarities and differences. With regard to “culturally responsive pedagogy, Spears brought up the work of Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings. The work of Ladson-Billings focuses mainly on how CRT can be applied in elementary and early childhood education settings. Ladson-Billings wrote about CRT applications in education in her 1998 paper, “Just what is critical race theory and what’s it doing in a nice field like education?” In that paper, she writes that “Critical race theory sees the official school curriculum as a culturally specific artifact designed to maintain a White supremacist master script.” Ladson-Billings goes on to say that “This master scripting means stories of African Americans are muted and erased when they challenge dominant culture authority and power.” Ladson-Billings also argue that according to CRT, classroom instruction assumed Black students are “deficient” and testing is grants whites “power” because they achieve higher scores. She also doubted CRT would “go very far into the mainstream” and CRT in education would “likely to become the “darling” of the radical left.” Bunner’s comments regarding “culturally sustaining pedagogy” were directed at work produced by Dr. Django Paris. Paris was a student of Ladson-Billings and his efforts build on work and concepts by Ladson-Billings. “So, if you just look at that first… “culturally sustaining pedagogy” seeks to perpetuate and foster to sustain linguistic literate and cultural pluralism as a part of schooling for positive school transformation and revitalization,” Bunner said while reading a presentation slide. “That’s a big sentence right there.” She went on to say that “Dr. Paris argues that it’s not enough just to create space where it’s okay for students to come in as their cultural selves, but we have to create space that honors and builds on that and sustains who each individual is as a cultural being into the space.” This explanation of Paris’ idea for creating such spaces and culturally sustaining pedagogy arguably has roots in segregation and segregating student achievement. In 2014, Paris co-penned an article on the Harvard Education Publishing Group website titled, “Beyond the White Gaze.” In that article, Paris asserts that there should be separate teaching pedagogies for “students of color” and that those students should not be measured against “White, middle-class norms that continue to dominate notions of educational achievement.” “Making sure the white gaze isn’t the dominant one in teaching and learning takes us to the edge of approaches to teaching that reposition the cultural practices of communities of color as assets, rather than deficits, in classroom learning (known as asset pedagogies),” Paris wrote. “It is at this edge that we offer culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) as a needed way forward in the face of continued pervasive assimilationist, antidemocratic educational practices and policies.” Wake County’s “Culturally Responsive Framework” Spears’ earlier mention of Ladson-Billings eventually segued to the WCPSS “culturally responsive framework” and a graphic of a triangle representing that framework. Spears said that the framework was “borne out of the work of Gloria Ladson-Billings,” and has three components: Academic Achievement, Develop/Maintain Cultural Integrity, and Critical Consciousness. “Culturally Responsive Pedagogy” slide from anti-racist teacher training conducted Wake County Public Schools Office of Equity Affairs. Spears’ description of the framework during the training was brief, however, 2018 and 2019 OEA “equity” documents obtained by North State Journal bring more context into view. The OEA’s 2018 Equity Leadership and Support Guide states that the “WCPSS Equity Leadership Framework provides the theoretical and content basis for advancing equity work in schools and classrooms,” and that the framework is “constructed around five focus areas: Courageous Conversations, Color Consciousness, Identity Development, Culturally Relevant Teaching, and Examining Privilege.” The diagram (below) is the 2019 representation of the WCPSS Cultural Responsiveness Framework. Verbs places along those three components include “See,” “Understand” and “interrupt.” Wake County Public Schools Office of Equity Affairs “Cultural Responsiveness Framework” circa 2019. Spears said these verbs were added by Trice “as a way to start to put each of those things unto practice,” presumably, in the classroom. Her description of the framework during the training was brief, however, 2018 and 2019 OEA “equity” documents obtained by North State Journal bring more context into view. The OEA’s 2018 Equity Leadership and Support Guide states that the “WCPSS Equity Leadership Framework provides the theoretical and content basis for advancing equity work in schools and classrooms,” and that the framework is “constructed around five focus areas: Courageous Conversations, Color Consciousness, Identity Development, Culturally Relevant Teaching, and Examining Privilege.” In a 2019 document titled, “Equity in Action: Moving Beyond The Conversation,” the OEA gives its “working definition of equity” as “Eliminating the predictability of success and failure that correlates with any social or cultural factor” and that “Educators work toward equity by interrupting inequitable practices, challenging biases, and creating inclusive school environments for all.” The five focus areas of the 2018 Equity Leadership guide are repeated in the 2019 Equity in Action document but are called “Equity Competencies.” The 2019 definition of equity has been changed very recently by Rodney Trice, the assistant superintendent of the OEA. At the May 19 meeting of the Wake County school board, Trice presented a new “equity policy.” “Educational equity is defined as raising the achievement of all students while narrowing the gaps between the lowest and highest performing students and eliminating the racial or cultural predictability and disproportionality of which student groups occupy the highest and lowest achievement categories,” reads the new equity policy. The policy also states it will “identify and mitigate” any instructional materials deemed “culturally biased” as well as “pedagogies that result in achievement disparities.” Additionally, the new equity policy states the district will “eliminate practices that lead to the over-or under-representation of any student group compared to peers in areas such as special education, student discipline, academically or intellectually gifted programs, and Advanced Placement courses. Recently, California’s Department of Education has created a similar framework, in which honors, gifted or advanced courses in mathematics have been deemed inequitable because historically not enough minorities are represented in those courses. The California policy justifies dismantling advanced courses stating that “districts and schools must confront the structural inequities of tracking and ability grouping, and to strengthen their efforts to support all students learning along a common pathway.”
Legislator’s ‘equity coaching’ organization involved in Wake County schools’ Critical Race Theory course State Rep. Graig Meyer’s 'Equity Collaborative’ paid tens of thousands to coach and train district staff on implicit bias, privilege and other Critical Race Theory elements https://nsjonline.com/article/2021/...e-county-schools-critical-race-theory-course/ Slide from The Equity Collaborative's Critical Race Theory course RALEIGH — An “equity coaching” organization co-founded by a North Carolina state representative was scheduled to offer professional development training on the controversial Critical Race Theory to Wake County Public School teachers and staff. The course, which was titled “Intro to Critical Race Theory,” was to be conducted by a member of the Equity Collaborative, an organization co-founded and run by state Rep. Graig Meyer (D-Orange). The Equity Collaborative website says it is a “national consulting firm,” and their goal is to “help organizations develop their own capacity to create educational equity and social justice by addressing bias and oppression.” Records on file with the N.C. Secretary of State show that Equity Collaborative was formed as a limited liability corporation in 2014 by Jamie Almanzán and Meyer. According to the organization’s website, Almanzán is a “facilitator, teacher, curriculum developer and leadership coach” who is the owner of “The Equity Collaborative in Oakland, California.” The “Intro to Critical Race Theory” training course was posted to WakeLearns, the internal portal that houses teacher and staff development and training. “Deep inside the Equity Collaborative brain, we see schools through the lens of Critical Race Theory. Join us to explore how CRT helps explain everything about why public schools continue to perpetuate inequities, possibly permanently,” the course description read. The course was pulled by the district after North State Journal filed a records request for the course materials. Wake County Public Schools (WCPSS) communications director Tim Simmons said in an email to North State Journal that the instructor for the course was Equity Collaborative’s Almanzán and that the class materials are “retained by the Equity Collaborative, and not WCPSS.” Simmons also said that the class was dropped from the WCPSS catalog “as soon as the listing was discovered.” “The course did not go through the normal approval process and we are currently reviewing how ‘intro to Critical Race Theory’ was inserted into the district catalog,” Simmons wrote. “Critical Race Theory is not the basis for any curricula developed in WCPSS because it does not cleanly align with the district’s efforts to ensure equity for all staff and students.” Meyer told North State Journal in an email that the Equity Collaborative “did offer this workshop one time last summer.” Statements of Economic Interest filed by Meyer over the years as a legislator include his work and ownership of Equity Collaborative. “We do not release our contract or payment terms, so I cannot share any information about that. And we also do not share materials as they are proprietary,” Meyer said when asked about course materials and payments from WCPSS. “I’m sorry that I can’t be more helpful at this time.” While Meyer did not share any materials, the Equity Collaborative website does have a page containing presentation slides, one of which is a 31-slide presentation dated May 7, 2020, titled “Intro to Critical Race Theory.” The presentation materials include the “Five Tenets of Critical Race Theory,” which include Counter-Storytelling, Permanence of Racism, Whiteness as Property, Interest Convergence and Critique of Liberalism. Slide from The Equity Collaborative’s Critical Race Theory course The Intro to Critical Race Theory presentation defines Critical Race Theory using a 1995 paper on the role of the theory in higher education, stating that “CRT analyzes the role of race and racism in perpetuating social disparities between dominant and marginalized racial groups.” Using a 2007 paper outlining the use of Critical Race Theory in academic administration, the Equity Collaborative’s slides say the purpose of Critical Race Theory is to “unearth what is taken for granted when analyzing race and privilege, as well as the profound patterns of exclusion that exist in U.S. society.” Other services detailed on the Equity Collaborative website include an “advanced practice series” titled “Equity Leadership through a Critical Race Theory Lens,” which focuses on “applying Critical Race Theory as a form of practice for interrupting systemic racism and creating more equitable learning environments.” The advanced series description says these “conversations are for equity practitioners who are ready to move from changes in their own practice to changes that interrupt the existing system of schooling.” There are five sessions in the series, the first of which is the course removed by WCPSS. WCPSS supplied North State Journal with the request for proposal and Equity Collaborative’s response, as well as $97,000 in invoices and $207,500 worth of service contracts that had purchase orders attached. The service contracts include various professional-development coaching sessions at a rate of $1,500 per person, job-embedded coaching sessions at $2,500 a day and a two-day “Racial Equity Institute” priced at $9,000 a day. One agreement, dated Feb. 3, 2020, was for a speaker to give a “National School Counseling Presentation.” The largest service contract totaled $90,000 for professional development and coaching sessions allegedly held between Nov. 1, 2018, and June 25, 2019. As with the Intro to Critical Race Theory slides on the Equity Collaborative website, past coaching and professional development presentations are also available to view. One presentation, “District Equity Coaching: Creating An Equitable School District Through Coaching,” contains a scenario where “conscious or unconscious bias and racism” is blamed for minority student behavior issues and their failure to grasp concepts in a white female veteran teacher’s classroom. Another past offering, “Intro to Equity,” focuses on concepts of “privilege, bias and oppression” and how they create inequities in schools. It includes a list of who is oppressed and a list of the privileged – male, white, heterosexual, gender-conforming Christians in the United States who are ages 25 to 45, have a college education and were raised in two-parent families. That presentation was given at Apex Middle School by Meyer in 2018. Invoice detailing payment to The Equity Collaborative from Wake County schools What is Critical Race Theory? It is an offshoot of Marxist Critical Theory, which divides all aspects of society into two groups, oppressed and oppressors. The modern version of Critical Race Theory, in short, is identity-based Marxism. Modern Critical Race Theory, which began to evolve during the mid-1970’s continuing up through the 90s, substitutes race for class. It was around that time that Critical Race Theory shifted from being viewed through a legal lens to a much broader one that assumes racism is the norm and is embedded in every person and societal structure — both past and present. Critical Race Theorists often use terms like “social justice,” “privilege,” “equity,” “diversity” and “inclusion.” The definitions of these terms can be fluid and expansive. For example, equity has been used by Critical Race Theorists to propose things such as slavery reparations, and the redistribution of wealth or property. Notable “antiracist” Ibram X. Kendi takes Critical Race Theory’s idea of equity even farther. He has suggested that a national Department of Antiracism be established to monitor and penalize persons or organizations the department might deem as being racist. Critical Race Theory is a national issue What has been happening locally with Critical Race Theory in the classroom is about to get a national boost. On April 19 of this year, a new American History and Civics rule was submitted by President Joe Biden’s Department of Education. The new Biden rule includes support for “Culturally Responsive Teaching,” a form of teaching that claims to bridge race and culture gaps between teacher and student. It, however, assumes the race of the teacher is the main obstacle or reason for poor student achievement. Culturally Responsive Teaching is a derivative of Critical Race Theory that often includes deconstruction of racial identities such as teachers being asked to examine their privilege, power and implicit bias. In a letter dated March 21, 2021, assistant superintendent of the WCPSS Office of Equity Affairs (OEA) Rodney Trice wrote an email to the WCPSS board members about “the emails and calls some of us have received about Critical Race Theory.” Trice’s email follows an article in City-Journal written by Christopher Rufo detailing the “EdCamp Equity” event that included Critical Race Theory and social justice themes. Rufo wrote that one session of the camp’s events implied parents “should be considered an impediment to social justice,” after noting a teacher had stated, “You can’t let parents deter you from the work.” Despite the Equity Collaborative’s numerous trainings over the years and the previous existence of the Intro to Critical Race Theory course, Trice told the school board that “Critical Race Theory has not been and is not incorporated in the PL plans/offerings within the district.” In recent years, WCPSS has included “Culturally Responsive Teaching,” and similar variants have been included in district’s professional-development offerings. The Equity Collaborative’s leadership training centers on this kind of teaching, stating that educators should “move towards teaching practices that prioritizes student thinking.” In 2019, the OEA paid $3,900 to attend a seminar in Colorado called “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain.” The seminar was led by Zaretta Hammond, a self-described “trained facilitator in anti-bias processes” who authored a book with the same name as the seminar. The OEA subsequently recruited WCPSS teachers to participate in Hammond’s study, called “Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain Cohort.”
SERIES: Critical Race Theory-themed training in Wake County public schools Audio and video obtained by North State Journal shows Critical Race Theory themed training conducted by the Wake County Office of Equity Affairs https://nsjonline.com/article/2021/...e-county-schools-critical-race-theory-course/ "Overt White Supremacy (Socially Unacceptable)" pyramid. RALEIGH — Audio and video obtained by North State Journal show Critical Race Theory-themed professional development training conducted by the district’s Office of Equity Affairs (OEA) staff despite one district official’s denials such training existed. As reported by North State Journal, outgoing assistant superintendent of the OEA Rodney Trice had told Wake County School Board members that Critical Race Theory was not part of the district’s offerings. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is based in the belief that all facets of society, all people, and history are inherently racist and that resolution or redemption for those people or societal structures is not possible. CRT is based on Marxist Critical Theory, the premise of which divides all aspects of society into two groups, oppressed and oppressors. CRT adapts Critical Theory using a racial lens, with whites as perpetual oppressors and blacks as the oppressed. The training videos obtained features OEA staff members Christina Spears and Teresa Bunner. Bunner’s title is “Director of Equity Affairs” and Spears is the special assistant to Rodney Trice, the assistant superintendent in charge of the OEA. The training materials obtained by North State Journal revealed multiple “antibias” training sessions conducted at a Wake County school earlier this year. The training, which spanned three non-consecutive sessions, was titled, “Working Towards an Anti-Racist Approach.” A closer look at the materials and discussions showed a hyper-focus on race and culture. Core topics included “social justice,” “culturally responsive” and “antiracist” curriculum. During one session, Bunner told participants the training would help them to “move towards an antiracist instructional approach.” Bunner also said they would “talk about things like social justice curriculum or culturally responsive curriculum or antiracist curriculum,” and that “curriculum is very much in many ways a static thing. It is the materials that we use.” Spears described the use of a “Compass” for staying “morally, emotionally, intellectually, relationally engaged” in the conversation and the use of “four agreements.” Spears went on to describe the “four agreements,” which participants were asked to make which included, “staying engaged,” “experiencing discomfort,” Speak your truth,” and to “expect and accept nonclosure.” A summary of the four agreements Stay engaged: “remaining morally, emotionally, intellectually, and socially involved in the dialogue.” Experience discomfort: discomfort is inevitable, especially when talking about race. Not talking about race creates divisiveness, which already exists in society and in schools. Only through uncomfortable conversations can “healing and change” begin. Speak your truth: Don’t say what you think people want to hear. Be open and truthful about thoughts, feelings and experiences. Expect and accept nonclosure: there is no quick solution to racial understanding. The four agreements come from “Courage Conversations about Race: A field guide for achieving interracial equity in school.” Courageous Conversations is a set of “antiracist” and “antibias” training materials produced by Glenn Singleton and his organization, Pacific Education Group. Courageous Conversations also includes “six conditions.” These conditions tell participants to focus on “the personal, local and immediate,” to “isolate race,” and to “normalize social construction.” Also, participants should “monitor” the agreements and conditions to establish parameters, use a “working definition” for race, and finally, examine the presence and role of “Whiteness.” Singleton’s training has also been used by Wake County Public Schools’ Office of Equity Affairs (OEA) dating back to 2015. Records obtained from Wake County Public Schools include a vendor history from July 1, 2015, to June 10, 2019, which shows total payments of $261,790 to PEG. At least one version of similar training in Wake County involving Singleton’s work included an “overt white supremacy” pyramid chart, as seen below. As previously reported by North State Journal, Wake County Public Schools had offered a professional training course title “Intro to Critical Race Theory.” That course was to be conducted by The Equity Collaborative, a training organization founded by a sitting member of the General Assembly, Rep. Graig Meyer (D- Durham). About a day after North State Journal filed records request for more information, the district removed the course. Additional reporting by North State Journal debunked denials that Wake County had Critical Race Theory offerings made by Trice. On May 6, it was announced Trice would be departing Wake County Schools to return to the Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools district’s equity department. Trice was hired into the OEA position at WCPSS seven years ago with a starting salary of $125,000. As of May 7, 2021, WCPSS said his current salary stands at $141,767. Chapel Hill Carrboro Schools will be paying Trice $161,94 for the role of “Chief Equity and Engagement Officer.”