As with most things, there was a positive side to the COVID pandemic. Virtual learning gave parents the opportunity to really get a good look at what was going on in their children’s classrooms. They were not happy with what they saw. While math and reading scores among American students continue to fall, due in large part to those lockdowns, school districts have other priorities, and they do not involve bringing up those math and reading scores so that American students will be competitive with other students around the world. School districts in many parts of the country are screening teacher applications based on, you guessed it, their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
So some school districts are considering closing the schools. Because enrollment has plummeted to all time lows. I wonder why that could be? 🤔 You
think maybe the woke agenda has anything to do with it. There ya go teachers reap what you sow— Robo MacDowell (@RoboTheLegend) February 12, 2023
The National Opportunity Project is a non-profit government watchdog organization. In their August report, they cited several school districts that are using things like job descriptions, interview questions, and other rubrics to determine just exactly, who those applicants are that are “committed to social justice,” and are willing to “systematically interrupt institutional bias.” But is that really the job of a teacher? The report also goes on to say that, basically, many school districts are not bothering to hide their DEI agenda and that it should come as no surprise that they do not. It says in part:
The influence of political and social ideology on teacher hiring in K-12 public district schools is unmistakable. But it also comes as no surprise, given the devotion that districts articulate through various public commitments and policies. Whether branded as an Equity Statement, Commitment to Educational Equity, Anti-Bias/Anti-Racism Presuppositions, or similar, such manifestos recast the role and purpose of public schools as arbiters of social justice and racism-eliminators.
Some of the school districts cited in the report should also come as no surprise as to what the real nature of their hiring of “qualified” teachers entails. Among some of the tactics employed, Montgomery County Maryland Public Schools ask teacher candidates how they plan to include “gender diversity” and “different racial and cultural backgrounds” into lesson plans. They are also asked how they will make sure that student outcomes will not be predicted by “race, ethnicity, culture, gender, or sexual orientation.” If that were not vague enough, Spokane Washington Public Schools would like to know what their potential hires think a “socially just” classroom looks like.
Vaguery apparently spreads across the country. In Illinois, an individual school, Homewood-Flossmoor High School, would like their candidates to define what “culturally-responsive teaching” means to them. School districts not only want their teachers to identify social injustice, they want to know what their solutions to those injustices are. The Edina Minnesota Public School teacher application asks, “Describe a time when you experienced or witnessed an inequity,” and “What steps did you take in response to the situation?” Couldn’t the definition of an “inequity” be rather subjective?
If you do not want woke ideology, gender twisting ELEMENTARY school doctrine being pushed, CRT, and the like, ELIMINATE the Dept. of Ed.! This all emanates from the FEDERAL GOVT! The INDIVIDUAL school districts serve their communities, not an extreme agenda. PARENTS HAVE RIGHTS!
— JeffreyRader (@HoIndpls) March 6, 2023
Then there are the job “descriptions” that go well beyond that of a teacher, and what many parents might argue are lessons that are their job to teach at home. Another individual school, Evanston Township Illinois District 202, is looking for high school teachers who “demonstrate a commitment to social justice, equity, excellence and high expectations for all students.” But perhaps the most disturbing job description comes from Denver Public Schools, who are looking for someone who “will have an anti-racist mindset and will work to dismantle systems of oppression and inequity in our community.” Wait what?? Your job is to teach kids how to think, not what to think. And maybe you could throw in a few things that might make them productive citizens while you’re at it. Indoctrinating them into thinking they are either perpetually oppressed or a perpetual oppressor will not accomplish that.
Public schools may not feel like they have to hide their agenda any longer, but more parents are saying no to that agenda and are pulling their kids out of those schools. The reason is pretty clear. Jill Simonian is the Director of Outreach for PragerU Kids and a parent herself. She sums up the answer to why parents are done with the woke DEI agenda of public schools, noting:
Part of the reason homeschooling is on the rise is the Leftist political motivations of teachers and school officials. Our education system is being overtaken by Marxism and social movements. It was during COVID lockdowns that my eyes were opened and I saw that my children were being indoctrinated to hate America, to question themselves, to hate themselves, to think that America is a horrible place.
When it comes to their children’s education, parents are going to do whatever they have to to ensure that education is the best it can be. And when that idea of education is diametrically opposed to the public school system, parents are not only going to speak out about it, but they will look for other options. Announcing their agenda may only get America’s woke school districts more failing grades from parents and empty classrooms.
The Woke activist teachers are teaching kids that proper pronunciation is “white supremacy”.
— Mythinformed (@MythinformedMKE) August 20, 2023
