My View of the 1619 Project | Diane Ravitch's blog

My View of the 1619 Project | Diane Ravitch's blog

My View of the 1619 Project

When I grew up in Houston, Texas, I attended segregated public schools. Everything was segregated, including movie theaters, drinking foundations, churches, restaurants, public transit (the sign “colored” divided passengers, with blacks in the back of the bus; if there were more white passengers than black passengers, the sign was moved back and black passengers gave up their seats and stood), and everything else. Even newspaper ads were segregated, by both race and gender. Blacks entered white homes through the back door. Blacks were expected to step off the sidewalk and into the street when passing a white pedestrian.

In my high school American history class, we learned almost nothing about black history. Our textbooks recognized George Washington Carver and his discovery of the many uses of peanuts. That was about it. In eleventh-grade U.S. history, the textbook taught the now-discredited Dunning theory of the Reconstruction Era (William Archibald Dunning was a Columbia University history professor who taught the white Southern view of the period); we were taught that the South after the Civil CONTINUE READING: My View of the 1619 Project | Diane Ravitch's blog

What Do White Folk Fear? – radical eyes for equity

What Do White Folk Fear? – radical eyes for equity

What Do White Folk Fear?

Consider this description of public schools in the U.S.:

[P]ublic schools … [are] a “dragon … devouring the hope of the country as well as religion.” Secular public education … [is filled with] “Socialism, Red Republicanism, Universalism, Infidelity, Deism, Atheism, and Pantheism—anything, everything, except religion and patriotism.”

FREETHINKERS: A HISTORY OF AMERICAN SECULARISM, SUSAN JACOBY, (PP. 257-258)

Some of this language is archaic, but the attack on public schools here is little different than the current climate in the U.S. where Republicans in at least 15 states are taking aim at Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the 1619 Project, as Sarah Schwartz reports:

In total, lawmakers in at least 15 states have introduced bills that seek to restrict how teachers can discuss racism, sexism, and other social issues.

The legislation, all introduced by Republican lawmakers, uses similar language as an executive order former President Donald Trump put in place to ban diversity training for federal workers. The order has since CONTINUE READING: What Do White Folk Fear? – radical eyes for equity

Board of UNC-Chapel Hill Denies Tenure to Distinguished Journalist | Diane Ravitch's blog

Board of UNC-Chapel Hill Denies Tenure to Distinguished Journalist | Diane Ravitch's blog

Board of UNC-Chapel Hill Denies Tenure to Distinguished Journalist

The faculty at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill selected the highly accomplished Nikole Hannah-Jones to serve as the Knight Chair in Race and Investigative Journalism at the UNC Haussmann School of Journalism and Media.

She was quite a catch: she has won a Pulitzer Prize, a coveted MacArthur Fellowship, has worked for major newspapers. She’s even an alumna of UNC. The committee that interviewed her was impressed. They offered her the chair and tenure. All previous holders of the chair at UNC were awarded tenure.

But the board of the university withdrew the offer of tenure. They said she lacked academic qualifications. They made that lie up on the spot, because the position CONTINUE READING: Board of UNC-Chapel Hill Denies Tenure to Distinguished Journalist | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race

In the GOP’s race to the bottom on teaching about racism, Texas takes the lead. The legislature passed a bill limiting what teachers can teach in history and social studies about race. Rightwing Governor Greg Abbott will sign it.

Here’s a description of the legislation from the Texas Tribune, written before it was passed by the Senate:

The Senate-approved version revives specific essential curriculum standards that students are required to understand, including the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist Papers. But it stripped more than two dozen requirements to study the writings or stories of multiple women and people of color that were also previously approved by the House, despite attempts by Democratic senators to reinstate some of those materials in the bill.

The Senate did vote to include the Federal Civil Rights CONTINUE READING: Texas Legislature Passes Sweeping Restrictions on Teaching About Race | Diane Ravitch's blog

Education Matters: DeSantis goes after tech and teachers

Education Matters: DeSantis goes after tech and teachers

DeSantis goes after tech and teachers

 Ron DeSantis went after big tech today, signing a bill that will fine them if they deplatform politicians who violate their standards and conditions, i.e., lie and insight violence. Juxtapose this next to what he said the other day when he said he would go after teachers who dared to tell the truth about the systemic racism that has pervaded our history. Welcome to Florida, where only what the ruling party says matters, whether it is true or not.   

At his press conference, he said...

Khomeini Died in 1989, long before Twitter and Facebook even existed, and the reason Trump was Deplatformed was because of his constant lies and him instigating violence. More specifically, he was kicked off Twitter and Facebook, private businesses, because he violates their terms and conditions. 

As bad as this is, it's made worse because DeSantis and his little boot have said they plan to stifle teachers' free speech. 

From Flagler Live:

A proposed rule that will be weighed by the State Board of Education aims to control the way history is taugh CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: DeSantis goes after tech and teachers

Indoctrinate this, part 2: Would DeSantis and Latvala fire me for teaching this lesson on the state-mandated 1920 Ocoee pogrom standard? - Public Enemy Number 1

Indoctrinate this, part 2: Would DeSantis and Latvala fire me for teaching this lesson on the state-mandated 1920 Ocoee pogrom standard? - Public Enemy Number 1

Indoctrinate this, part 2: Would DeSantis and Latvala fire me for teaching this lesson on the state-mandated 1920 Ocoee pogrom standard?

A case study in the performative stupidity of your state government and its fake, impotent, embarrassing outrage at real history.

Part 1: The voices of the Great Migration laugh at Richard Corcoran — A grifter who can't make finalist in a university president search rigged for him is no match for the honest, competitive study of America, which is an unpoliceable classroom without walls.

This is part 2 — in which I “teach” a lesson about the Ocoee racial pogrom of 1920. The Florida Legislature recently required the state education system to “teach” it. But I can’t find the actual standard, now long overdue, anywhere.

A new 2020 law requires the task force to recommend to state education leaders by March 1 how to teach the massacre.

But in a state where fewer than 20% of the teachers are Black, and lots of new teachers enter classrooms each year, many teachers are unaware of these events or unsure sure how to tackle tough subjects of violence and racial discrimination.

There may not be a standard yet because Ron DeSantis is unilaterally making it illegal to teach it. What follows is my case study for testing that.

Hopefully, DeSantis and Corcoran and Chris Latvala will tell me if this is fireable so CONTINUE READING: Indoctrinate this, part 2: Would DeSantis and Latvala fire me for teaching this lesson on the state-mandated 1920 Ocoee pogrom standard? - Public Enemy Number 1

Nikole Hannah-Jones was terminated because she did not come from a “traditional academic-type background.” Good grief. Racism in academia. – Fred Klonsky

Nikole Hannah-Jones was terminated because she did not come from a “traditional academic-type background.” Good grief. Racism in academia. – Fred Klonsky

NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES WAS TERMINATED BECAUSE SHE DID NOT COME FROM A “TRADITIONAL ACADEMIC-TYPE BACKGROUND.” GOOD GRIEF. RACISM IN ACADEMIA.

The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill said Thursday that the tenure application for New York Times journalist and The 1619 Project lead author Nikole Hannah-Jones was terminated because she did not come from a “traditional academic-type background.”

As a journalist for the New York Times, Nikole Hannah-Jones has been a leading researcher on the impact of race on education.

Her work on the on the ground-breaking 1619 Project is profound in its story of America’s foundation in the labor of enslaved people, and has found its way into classroom across the country.

And it is racism that led UNC to deny Hannah-Jones tenure.

Nothing else.

My professor and doctoral advisor at the University of Illinois Chicago, Dr. William CONTINUE READING: Nikole Hannah-Jones was terminated because she did not come from a “traditional academic-type background.” Good grief. Racism in academia. – Fred Klonsky

A Case for Critical Race Theory, and More – radical eyes for equity #CRT #blm #BLACKLIVESMATTER

A Case for Critical Race Theory, and More – radical eyes for equity

A Case for Critical Race Theory, and More

White privilege is a system of advantage that benefits all white people (or to be more clear, all people who are perceived of as white).

That racial privilege, however, is no guarantee of success or shield of protection for some individual people who are white. White people fail, white people suffer inequity and disadvantages (such as poverty), and white people in some individual cases are substantially worse off than individual Black people.

Racism is a system of power and race that disadvantages all Black people in the U.S. (or to be more clear, all people who are perceived of as Black).

Racism is not a universal barrier to success or happiness or achievement, but it is a pervasive burden that tints every aspect of living for any Black person.

Black people are typically more starkly aware of racism (nearly moment by moment) than white people are of white privilege; white privilege works in an invisible way for white people while racism is a blunt object for Black people.

Race, however, is not biological; race is a social construction that has very real CONTINUE READING: A Case for Critical Race Theory, and More – radical eyes for equity

The K-12 Culture Wars – Have You Heard

The K-12 Culture Wars – Have You Heard

The K-12 Culture Wars

The public school culture wars are raging more intensely than at any time since the Reagan era. Fueled by intense political polarization and the continued fallout from pandemic school closures, the culture wars now threaten public education. Special guests: New Hampshire teacher Misty Crompton, Iowa teacher Nick Covington, Missouri teacher Jessica Piper and New York City teacher Selena Carrión.

Episode transcript is here. The financial support of listeners like you keeps this podcast going. Subscribe on Patreon or donate on PayPal.

Have You Heard · #113 The K-12 Culture Wars

The K-12 Culture Wars – Have You Heard

FL Dept of Ed Commissioner said he fired a teacher for #BlackLivesMatter #CRT #ISUPPORTAMY | Cloaking Inequity

FL Dept of Ed Commissioner said he fired a teacher for #BlackLivesMatter #CRT #ISUPPORTAMY | Cloaking Inequity

FL DEPT OF ED COMMISSIONER SAID HE FIRED A TEACHER FOR #BLACKLIVESMATTER #CRT #ISUPPORTAMY

You should know this is happening: Richard Corcoran, the Florida Dept of Education Commissioner, said he fired a teacher for #BlackLivesMatter

Here is what the Florida Times-Union said about the situation

A Duval County teacher who hung a Black Lives Matter flag in her classroom says she heard she was fired through a YouTube video. 

On Monday, Amy Donofrio’s legal team released a statement criticizing a recent guest speaking engagement from Florida Department of Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran at Hillsdale College, a private conservative school in Michigan. Until recently, Corcoran was short-listed in the running for the new Florida State University President position. He is not among the three finalists for the position.

Corcoran used Donofrio as an example while speaking about critical race theory and curriculum oversight and announced that he had her fired.

They continued,

In March, the school district announced Donofrio would be removed from her classroom while Duval Schools conducted an investigation for “several allegations.” The district declined to say what those allegations are, citing the active investigation. By April, the Southern Poverty Law Center announced it was suing Duval Schools on Donofrio’s behalf.

“I’m getting sued right now in Duval County, which is in Jacksonville because there was an entire classroom memorialized to Black Lives Matter,” Corcoran said during his presentation. “We made sure she was terminated and now we’re being sued by every one of the liberal left groups who say it’s freedom of speech issue.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center weighed in,

“That this decision has been made by those at the highest level of Florida’s Department of Education before the DCPS investigation is even completed shows the depth of the retaliation and deprivation of due process and free speech upon which Ms. Donofrio’s lawsuit against the District is based. According to Corcoran, a classroom that teaches Black Lives Matter or what Corcoran has labeled ‘crazy liberal stuff’ justifies censorship and the firing of teachers.”

We’ve recently heard quite a bit about “cancel culture” and “free speech” from a certain ilk. Here’s what I tweeted about it recently.

In fact, we used Critical Race Theory in a Harvard Education Review article some years back to talk about the very issue at stake here: Politicians have abused their power to limit scholarly conversation about slavery, racism and other prejudice in classrooms. We found in our research that policymakers and elected official have gone out the way to sanitize historical truths.

Their current strategy is to try to cancel history, Critical Race Theory and limit freedom of speech in the classroom. The irony of their actions relative to their rhetoric is NOT lost on anyone. #ISupportAmy

Please Facebook Like, Tweet, etc below and/or reblog to share this discussion and the tweets in this article with others.

Check out and follow my YouTube channel here.

Twitter: @ProfessorJVH

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FL Dept of Ed Commissioner said he fired a teacher for #BlackLivesMatter #CRT #ISUPPORTAMY | Cloaking Inequity

Big Education Ape: Lee High teacher reassigned to paid, non-teaching post amid controversy over BLM flag, her organization says #BLM #BLACKLIVESMATTER #SPLC - https://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2021/04/lee-high-teacher-reassigned-to-paid-non.html

Why is “Critical Race Theory” Controversial and What Is it? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Why is “Critical Race Theory” Controversial and What Is it? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Why is “Critical Race Theory” Controversial and What Is it?

In several states, the Governor and Legislature have denounced “critical race theory” and even (in Idaho and some other states) banned it from their schools. The controversy over teaching about race gained ground when former President Trump condemned CRT as divisive and launched his own quickie commission to teach “patriotic” education. The object seems to be to minimize or eliminate teaching about racism, past or present.

Retired teacher Nancy Flanagan dissected the controversy here, in one of the best-informed analyses.

It seems that the white adults want children to think of their country as one without faults, flaws, blemishes, or systematic oppression. To see our history whole, the good and the bad, they think, will undermine love of country.

The National Education Policy Center published a useful overview of the controversy and concluded that teaching CONTINUE READING: Why is “Critical Race Theory” Controversial and What Is it? | Diane Ravitch's blog

Is Critical Race Theory Dividing the Country? | Teacher in a strange land

Is Critical Race Theory Dividing the Country? | Teacher in a strange land

Is Critical Race Theory Dividing the Country?

When people start referring to a cultural phenomenon with initials—CRT for ‘critical race theory,’ say—you know that whatever that thing once was, it’s now morphed into something completely unrecognizable. Made less complex. Reduced to stereotype. And in the case of CRT, politicized.  

In my long years of classroom practice, pedagogical strategies and hot topics went in and out of fashion. Back in the 70s, values clarification was all the rage. Parents were a little iffy on having students discuss their values, however—probably because they assumed those values were not securely embedded in their sixth graders. And God forbid a teacher should attempt to inculcate values. Or even discuss them.

After values clarification, there was lots of talk about character education. My school had a multi-year project on Reason, Respect and Responsibility. Our project was home-grown, but you could buy pre-packaged character, it seemed—complete with manuals, posters, workshops and student day planners. Every package seemed to come with a testimonial—57% reduction in suspensions!

Today, I see lots of teacher-chat about mindfulness and trauma-informed education. If you think I’m skeptical about the efficacy of these programs—I’m not. I am strongly in favor of whatever it is schools are doing to encourage students to consider their CONTINUE READING: Is Critical Race Theory Dividing the Country? | Teacher in a strange land

Oklahoma: State Officials Say It’s “Racist” to Teach About Racism | Diane Ravitch's blog

Oklahoma: State Officials Say It’s “Racist” to Teach About Racism | Diane Ravitch's blog

Oklahoma: State Officials Say It’s “Racist” to Teach About Racism

John Thompson, historian and retired teacher, reports that the Republican Governor and Legislature are determined to stop teachers from teaching about racism, sexism, and bias because such topics Dow discord and racism. This “cancel culture” at its worst. Every sentient adult who has studied American history knows that racism runs deep and strong in our history and present culture and the best way to eliminate it to confront it honestly.

Thompson writes:

As Education Week explained, across the nation, legislators are attempting to “make it harder for teachers to talk about racism, sexism, and bias in the classroom,” and directly or indirectly ban Critical Race Theory. Oklahoma passed HR 1775 banning mandatory gender or sexual diversity training or counseling, while implicitly threatening lessons about racism.

Oklahoma provides just one example of the way public education and civil discussions are under assault. But it CONTINUE READING: Oklahoma: State Officials Say It’s “Racist” to Teach About Racism | Diane Ravitch's blog

Randi Weingarten Out Foxes Fox - Turns Tables on Martha MacCallum, Presses Her About Election ‘Misinformation’ - DAILY BEAST,

Randi Weingarten Turns Tables on Martha MacCallum, Presses Her About Election ‘Misinformation

Fox Guest Turns Tables on Host, Presses Her About Election ‘Misinformation’

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten turned an already testy Fox News interview into an extremely heated affair on Monday when she pressed anchor Martha MacCallum about conservative “misinformation” on the last presidential election.

In recent months, there has been a sustained backlash among conservatives over the issue of racial equity in the classroom. GOP legislators across the country have proposed bills to ban the teaching of “critical race theory” in K-12 schools, all while demanding that students be taught that 1776 represents the true founding of America. (Much of this is in response to the New York Times’ 1619 Project, which has sparked criticism among some historians.)

With Fox lately being obsessed with the topic of critical race theory, MacCallum wanted to know whether Weingarten believes the 1619 Project is factual and whether she endorses it being part of American history lesson plans. After Weingarten said it’s a “point in history” that’s worth teaching because it represents the first slave ships arriving in America, MacCallum criticized her for having a “very simplistic take.”

Going back and forth over the merits of the project with Weingarten, MacCallum complained that it “is not factual” as it teaches students that the “country was founded on the basis of wanting to preserve slavery.” The union head, meanwhile, said she’s “not arrived at the same conclusion” about the project’s findings.

At that point, Weingarten decided to change the subject to something a bit more touchy for the Fox News anchor.

“I would hope that Fox would be just as focused on let’s get rid of the misinformation about what happened in this election. This election was free and fair,” Weingarten flatly stated, prompting an incensed MacCallum to interject.

“Oh, come on, Randi,” she exclaimed. “This is not the topic we’re here to talk about! I’m not going to talk about that. We’ve talked about that before… That’s a dodge, OK?!”

MacCallum then tried to swing the discussion back to critical race theory in the CONTINUE READING: Randi Weingarten Turns Tables on Martha MacCallum, Presses Her About Election ‘Misinformation